2013-10-29 Waterthrush At Dairy Mart Ponds

I’d heard reports of a Northern Waterthrush at the ‘stick pond’ near Dairy Mart Road for at least a month. Having looked and failed to find this bird when on my 2005 Alaska expedition, I took a run at this warbler now in my backyard. I often wait too long to respond to ‘rarity reports’, finding they’ve gone by the time I get around to following up such leads, but I’d rather meet a bird in its home range than on my own. On this Tuesday in late November, all the ‘me firsters’ had had their tick marks entered on their lists, and I was able to meet the bird with no crowd in sight.

Besides the Northern Waterthrush, I also met a Song Sparrow and a Common Yellow-Throat.