[mou] Cliff Fen chat

[linda whyte]

The y-b. chat was refound slightly west of the aspen grove late this 
afternoon. He was vocalizing--relatively quietly, for him--at brief 
intervals, along the shrub line on the south side of the path. He was 
first heard in the sumac directly in line with the power stanchion, but 
moved slightly east to where the first, short, single aspen appears 
among the bushes. Initially he kept low and deep in the cover. After a 
long time, he flew over the path, into the shrubs on the north side of 
the trail, giving just enough of a look to see the dark uppers, the 
yellow breast and belly with white anal area, and the darker markings 
around the face. It was too quick a view to get the binoculars on the 
broken eye ring, because he dropped immediately into the bushes, but 
there was no doubt about his identity.

There were Bell's vireos singing nearby, in some shrubs in the field, 
but they were not seen. The pair near the first power stanchion made 
almost no sound today. Since they were building a nest last week, 
perhaps they no longer advertise their location; or perhaps the time of 
day, coupled with heat and humidity, kept them quiet. All the other 
usual residents were present also, but much less was heard from any of them.

Linda Whyte