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| Varied Thrush in Central Park |
I was at
Jones Beach studying
Gulls with a few birders among them my friend, Doug Futuyma, when the call came in about a
Northern Lapwing found in Connecticut. The call was from
Mardi Dickinson (remember her? she provided constant updates on the Fork-tailed Flycatcher in Stamford CT), who was kind enough to let me know about this great find
(Is Connecticut rocking or what?). I immediately began contemplating the run and started making phone calls to a few people I knew who might be interested in making the run. While doing that, I got another message, this time about a
Varied Thrush being seen at the
Maintenance Meadow in
Central Park. The bird was found by
Mike Bryant and
Ray Slyper around 9:00 a.m. Now here was a fine dilemma - two good birds, which one to chase? I kept thinking "the
Northern Lapwing" is a shorebird, which means you must twitch for it. On the other hand I also thought of "a bird in the hand", the
Varied Thrush was closer. Both would be lifers, but the
Varied Thrush was also going to be a State bird. Doug's phone call to our friend,
Lloyd Spitalnik who confirmed the bird was being seen sealed the deal. It was going to be the
Varied Thrush.
Doug and I decided on one car and our friend Patricia Lindsay, who I had called about the bird decided to join us. It was a quick ride, nabbing the all elusive
Manhattan parking spot and then the walk towards
Maintenance Meadow. When we arrived at the location, there were just a few birders around, including
Brooklyn birder, Rob Bate. We joined the vigil and staked out the location. The first time the bird showed, only a few of us got on it. It disappeared for a while then reappeared again, landing in a tree giving, good looks. We were ecstatic! So much so, that we all turned to each other and said, "Success, Success, Success". It was like a scene right out of the, "Three Stooges", and we all had a good chuckle at our exuberance. The lighting was not the best for photography, but I snapped a few. Now, if that
Northern Lapwing could only hang in there...
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| Varied Thrush at Maintenance Meadow Central Park NY. |
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| Varied Thrush at Maintenance Meadow Central Park NY. |
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| Varied Thrush at Maintenance Meadow Central Park NY. |
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| Varied Thrush at Maintenance Meadow Central Park NY. |
Tags:
Birding,
Varied Thrush,
Central Park NY
5 comments:
Sorry to miss you. Was having lunch at the Boathouse and when I came back I heard you and the gang had been there. Really glad you got to see the thrush.
Thanks Lloyd. We really appreciated your update on the status of the bird :)
You asked me to send you one! ;-)
@YsMum - Ha Robbie, you crossed my mind yesterday as I thought of our conversation. Hope you are still enjoying all of your Varied Thrushes across the border. Oh and thank you for sending me one :)
I had a varied thrush at my feeder in Northern ct Today. see my blog for pictures
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