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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pinewood" data-source="post: 3656347" data-attributes="member: 10255">That elusive flycatcherHello all,First of all, I appreciate Graham Osborne's kind comments, which encourages me to continue my posts, I am surprised at how many bird watchers look at my jottings.  I suspect that many are curious about birds in a big city like New York.Today, there was still ice on the Lake and on Turtle Pond, so I saw only a few mallards.  I did see tufted titmice and a downy woodpecker, at the bird feeders as well as a great blue heron, at Turtle Pond.  Since the tenth, inst., there have been sightings of <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hammonds_Flycatcher/id" target="_blank">a Hammond's flycatcher</a>.  On the eleventh and twelfth, it was pointed out as it fly by, not far from Azalea Pond.  Today, I noticed a sparrow sized bird, near the west side of the Lake, with odd markings.  My glass, a now old fashioned Zeiss 8x30 BGAT*,, showed an epidonax flycatcher with two wing bars, the forward one less distinct than the after one, with a long tail.  Dr. Robert de Candido, "Briding Bob,"  agreed with my identification of the Hammond flycatcher.   I was not seeking it, but I was happy to get a sufficiently good look to count it as a life bird.  As I have written, an awareness of one's surroundings, patience and persistence are more important in this pastime than how much one spends on optics.  Happy bird watching,Arthur :scribe:</blockquote>

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