Hofstra University Bird Sanctuary: Northern Waterthrush, Chat

 My son is in Boy (not Cub) Scouts and was involved in a project where the scouts planted a native garden and installed bat/ bird and bee houses at the Hofstra University Bid Sanctuary.  I have to admit when I went to school there, they announced that they converted a sump into a "bird sanctuary".  It was still a sump when I went to school there however I have to say it paid off after time and was a pleasant surprise to visit there.  There's some wooden paths that lead you down to a wet area.  The amount and variety of birds were impressive.  There was a professor on hand who I talked to that had just sighted a downy woodpecker and invited me to check it out.  To me, they're a dime a dozen so I went down the path to look forward and was impressed right away.  I didn't see the woodpecker but did see goldfinches, phoebes, yellow rumped warblers, robins, house finches but the biggest surprises were a "late" Northern Waterthrush by the reeds and "pond" and a Chat! that was in the northwest corner eating berries.  I tried to get a photo of the Chat, but don't think I did (I have to go back and check my photos on the computer) but I did see it clearly a couple of times.  Good job Hofstra.