Small pocket parks in New York City can yield great birds as was the case this week with a Yellow-breasted Chat in Verizon Plaza just west of 3 Bryant Park, between 41st and 42nd and Sixth and Broadway. Chat’s can be hard to find, as they tend to hide in brush, and only come out into view ever so often. However, this bird, in this park during migration was easy to watch. It was a nice treat after the heavy rains we have been having.

A Clay-colored Sparrow was found and reported by Edmund Berry on Sunday afternoon in Central Park’s Pinetum. It was a great find, and was enjoyed by many birders, who ended up discussing the finer points of Spizella pallida identification, with Chipping Sparrows and Field Sparrows nearby.

I found some nice articles online, including this PDF.

I had brief looks at the Belted Kingfisher that was at Turtle Pond on Friday. I love seeing them during migration at Turtle Pond or year-round out on Randalls Island.

It looks like the Chimney Swift roost on Fifth Avenue now has double or triple the number of swifts going to roost nightly then in August. I suspect we have a mix of local and migrating swifts now. No mater how many times I watch them drop into the chimney, I still am amazed at how they all seem to get sucked in as though there’s a vacumn.

I’m not sure who found it in Sheep Meadow today, but lots of birders got great looks at an Eastern Meadowlark foraging in the grass.

I visited Governors Island on Saturday, given the concert in Central Park. Its a nice place to bird and has a very nice community of birders. And on Saturdays through the end of October, NYC Audubon has a 2:00pm bird walk, with a nice mix of beginning and intermediate birders.

After the walk, along with some other birders, we birded Fort Jay, and found a very nice female type, Blue Grosbeak.