Rondeau Delights! Yellow-breasted Chat vs White-eyed Vireo!

Yesterday I had fieldwork in the Chatham area and zipped into Rondeau to look for birds before I got down to business.  It was quite windy so I decided to start at the Pony Barn - an area which is quite sheltered.  As soon as I got out of the car I heard a White-eyed Vireo singing in a tangle nearby!  I waited for a minute or two and it moved out to the edge of the parking lot.  I photographed it briefly and was quite shocked to see a Yellow-breasted Chat pop up on a branch right in front of me!  The vireo was none too pleased and went after it, trying to grab its tail feathers. The chat was not having it, and stood its ground until the vireo decided to pick on some of the smaller warblers.  I was fortunate enough to snap a few pictures of the sequence!  To get not one, but two rare birds in the same photo was fantastic!

Chat above, white-eyed vireo below

I also heard a Yellow-throated Vireo singing in the distance and it eventually came close enough that I could get a few distant shots.

I posted to the Discord group about these birds and a few birders showed up.  Unfortunately the chat promptly disappeared before many people got a chance to see it!  Sorry Blake and Steve (I don't feel too bad for those guys, they will see more chats than me this year!!).  Part of the great thing about migration is that you get to see the same folks out at the familiar spots, and it is really a small and friendly community of birders!

Overall, a fantastic couple of hours in the park, and I can't wait to get back down there again.