Yellow-breasted Chat III by John Brenneman published on 2012-07-04T19:44:11Z A friend invited me to come see and record the Yellow-breasted Chats that nest on his property each year. The location is down in a canyon in the butte country in the foothills east of Chico,CA. There is a year-round stream with large sycamore trees and open areas adjacent with lots of blackberry bushes. This habitat is exactly what the field guides say these birds prefer. This recording was made with parabolic dish in mono. My intrusion into their area sent the most vocal bird over to a perch on the edge of the sunny opening where he sang a purposeful song. later I set up to record in stereo,getting out of the way . It didn't take long for the 3 or maybe more Chats to go back to their business, sounding as they did when I first arrived and listened from a distance. This is late in their nesting cycle and late in the day as well. I hope to come earlier in the future to get a fuller understanding of such an interesting species.
