Crestwood Village 1/2--Red-flanked Bluetail

On my way back from Whitesbog this morning (24 Tundra Swans, my highest count this season), I figured I might as well get it over with, so I parked on Wranglebrook and walked up the block to the bluetail spot. There were about 10 birders standing on the lawn, half of whom I knew. Many were, like me, returning, because we want to have Red-flanked Bluetail on our 2024 year list. The bird had just come out and then jumped back into the foliage. I stood there watching the now famous holly into which it seems to disappear. A Hermit Thrush fooled us for moment. What none of the other birders there seem to realize is that Hermit Thrush is relatively infrequent in Crestwood Village. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times we had one in our backyard. The last time was because we had the only open water in our heated birdbath for blocks around. I thought that a Red-tailed Hawk, which could be seen at the top of a tree over on the next block might discourage the bird from coming out, but after about 15 minutes it was in the front of the holly, in shadows hard to see but for its red flanks. It is a very active bird, so it jumped on the ground, perched on a branch in the open, went back to the holly, went on to the ground again and finally put on its cloaking device and got absorbed into the holly again. I managed one photo in which the blue tail is obvious.  

Afterwards, I felt like I had finished some chore, like doing my taxes, or cleaning out the garage. The bird is on the list and now, that bird is dead to me.