Probable Gray-breasted Martin in New York ~ April 4, 2021

It was no April Fool's joke when, on the 1st, professional tour guide Doug Gochfeld noticed a martin flying around Prospect Lake in Prospect Park, located in Brooklyn, New York that didn't match the expected Purple Martin. After further study and many photos, the bird was narrowed down to three very similar-looking species----Gray-breasted Martin, Carribean Martin, and Cuban Martin.
Early on the 4th, a birding friend and I drove to Brooklyn, hoping that the bird was still there. Thankfully, the bird was already flying around by itself at the point of the peninsula when we arrived. It eventually landed near the top of a tree in the small northeast cove of the lake. After that, it was periodically flying around to feed and then returning to perch near the top of the trees on the peninsula where it spent a lot of time preening. It later left the northeast cove and worked the area around the tip of the peninsula. At one point, it landed in a tree with Tree Swallows, allowing for a nice size comparison. The cloudy morning made getting photos that weren't silhouetted difficult since the bird was often flying well above eye level. I was lucky to get a few worthwhile photos of it.

Probable Gray-breasted Martin

A consensus by "the experts" seems to point to the bird being a Gray-breasted Martin, a bird normally found in Mexico, and Central and South America. If so, it would be only the 3rd record for the United States, the first two being specimens found in Texas way back in the 1880's! More photos of it can be found in my New York Photo Album.

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