Boston 1sts extravaganza

[camper]

Who said birding in urban Boston can't be satisfying?? Over the past
week I've logged 4 new life species.
- 11/18/09 - great views of 2 Orange-crowned Warblers at the Victory
Gardens leading to ....
- 11/19/09 - extra great views of the MacGillivray's Warbler at the
Victory Gardens....
which lead me on a search for the Yellow-breasted Chat at the
Gardens. I've been skunked 3 days in a row, but then Matt Garvey
posted about a Chat at Post Office Square today. It took me less than
10 minutes around noon today to locate it near the elevator.
Fantastic yellow breast and white around the eyes, especially since
the only other birds nearby to compare are drab House Sparrows. To
complete my count of 4, I continued over to Quincy Market and got
outstanding views of "Hooter", the resident Barred Owl who was in his
regular spot. Even with a big line of school children who stopped to
look, he was only slightly bemused at the attention he was drawing.
Some messy rodent remnants underneath his roost are proof-positive
that this area can be an ideal food source for birds of prey.

James Taylor, Fenway