A Couch's Christmas

The Couch's Kingbird happened to make its first visit to the State of New York while I was in visiting my family for Christmas. The whole family made a day of it and went to NYC in search of the Couch's and some Christmas cocktails. Upon arrival the scene was dismal: A group of people were gathered at a street corner looking downtrodden. The bird had not been seen in two hours. Knowing that the bird had been actively hawking insects and that the sun was setting, my brother and I set out to find some areas where the sun was reaching the trees(hard to do in the canyons of Manhattan). Finding nothing along the Hudson River we headed back toward the stakeout spot. Almost everyone was gone. Curious. Suspecting we were missing something, I checked recent ABA posts. Sure enough, the bird had been relocated several blocks away at Bleeker Playground.  It was an incredible spectacle. Sure enough, the Couch's was hunting from a tree(in the sun) to the delight of what seemed like hundreds of onlookers. In addition to the 30 or 50 birders there were many curious bystanders(both tourist and locals).


Find the Couch's Kingbird

 
Everyone wanted to know more about the bird. Every time I lifted my camera someone stopped to ask me what was going on. Traffic was backed up as people in vehicles craned their necks out windows to see what all the hub-bub was about. It was a really fun experience and there were many celebration drinks afterward. Here are my favorite photos:

 I call this one "Lunch"

In photography, size does matter... Here I am feeling inadequate.