Three of us saw the bird between 8:30am and 9:15am today. I think the bird
was maybe halfway down (south) from the gap, where there was one large
pokeberry bush. The first car saw it about 8:30am, the second car (Michael
O'Sullivan) moved up and saw it about 9am.
I was the third car and Mike told me that the key to finding it was that
when the bird showed up it was found foraging in the grass next to the road,
i.e. between the snowy swale and the road.
I saw it about 9:15am at the same spot and twice more in the next five
minutes, ALWAYS foraging in the roadside grass but only half visible because
of the dip in the bank (a high vehicle helps). I never saw it below the
bushes on the other side of the swale.
Anyone looking might try to park in the appropriate spot and concentrate on
the grassy bank between the swale and the edge of the road. The bird was
very spooky and dashed back into the bushes after ten or twenty seconds in
the grass. There were only a few sparrows in the grassy area which makes
searching much easier.
Good luck.
-Joe Byrnes |