Getting an Easy Rarity! Blue Grosbeak

I had to go to work at an ungodly hour Sunday because of a callout. Because of thi,s I got to leave work a little after noon. While I had a free minute I checked my email. I noticed an email from one of the sites I "liked" on Facebook. There was a blue grosbeak in Swan Point Cemetery at 11 am.

Since I was in South Attleboro, MA at the time, I was only fifteen minutes away. After I left work I headed south to Swan Point, which is in Providence. The email said where the bird had been spotted. I went to that area (near the compost piles). I was expecting a dozen birders to be there. To my surprise there was only one car when I pulled up and two people looking for the bird who hadn't seen it yet.

I started looking with them. One of the birders had a network of friends that keeps him updated about rare birds. He made a few phone calls and found out exactly where the bird had been seen. Sure enough there it was.
The blue grosbeak gave the three of us excellent looks for at least ten minutes. It would move from the short trees to the ground and back again. It was the "duller" female but she was a very pretty copper color.

I stayed about thirty minutes and left for a nap. I am grateful Wayne made those phone calls and was kind enough to make sure I saw the bird.  I'm not sure how rare blue grosbeaks are in our area, based on the conversations I had, a couple seem to show up a year, so its not so rare no one has ever seen one. Still, it is a great find even for experienced birders, and a lifebird for me. And, I didn't have to work or drive hard to find it!