Monday, September 26, 2011

Yellow-breasted Chat at Stratford Point

Today was an exceptional day at Stratford Point. Migrants were everywhere on the site, and Twan and I were able to come up with a long list of notable passerines for the day, with the highlights being a rare Yellow-breasted Chat and Clay-colored Sparrow. Here are photos of the cooperative Yellow-breasted Chat and a short HD video of it.















They are known to hide in thick brush and tangles, maddening observers as they are so close yet so far from sight. However, we were able to work on this bird for a while, and it eventually showed itself very well considering the species. This morning Twan thought of finding a Clay-colored Sparrow as we enter the season for one, and a few hours later I did. This afternoon we discussed finding a Yellow-breasted Chat, and an hour later I said "Twan!" quietly but excitedly as we were walking and tallying birds left and right - he knew immediately what I had seen without another word. I was not that surprised, regardless of their rare status, considering how many birds were there. Here is the complete list of only passerine migrants for the afternoon at Stratford Point:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1
Eastern Phoebe  5
Red-eyed Vireo  1
House Wren  2
Swainson's Thrush  1
Gray Catbird  4
Blue-winged Warbler  1
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Nashville Warbler  2
Common Yellowthroat  7
Northern Parula  4
Magnolia Warbler  1
Blackburnian Warbler  1
Yellow Warbler  1
Blackpoll Warbler  2
Palm Warbler  2
Pine Warbler  1
Prairie Warbler  1
Yellow-breasted Chat  1
Clay-colored Sparrow  1
Savannah Sparrow  7
Song Sparrow  3
Lincoln's Sparrow  1
White-throated Sparrow  1
Bobolink  6

Have you seen any exciting migrant groups or fantastic birds lately? It's been a fun couple of days, with my Sunday highlight being a Golden Eagle soaring past the Boothe Park hawk watch. If you have good bird stories from the last week, tell us about them!


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician


Photos 1-2 & video © Scott Kruitbosch; photos 3-5 © Twan Leenders

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