Bad Migration Situation

Migration has been so slow this fall!

During a time when it is normal to get over a dozen warbler species in a few hours, most people are getting half that or even less. When someone would see a Black-and-White Warbler or American Redstart and shrug it off, they now cherish it. It seems like the only exception to this '2014 migration rule' is the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, which seems to be coming in good numbers and is almost certain in Central Park's Upper Lobe. Until yesterday, my best birds of the season for Central Park were Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Yellow Warbler, and not many others. On Sunday however, birds seemed to be showing themselves a bit more than usual. At The Oven, I saw a Magnolia Warbler followed by a glimpse of a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher and then a flyover by a Scarlet Tanager. As I was leaving The Oven, I flushed a House Wren.

 After that, I saw mostly nothing (apart from a grosbeak in the upper lobe) until I got to Maintenance Field. Several birders there told me that there had been many sightings of Bald Eagles and Ospreys migrating overhead. As if on cue, we spotted a Bald Eagle high up in the sky, followed a few minutes later by a Red-Tailed Hawk and an Osprey flying together. I guess maybe I was wrong about grosbeaks being the only migrants in normal quantity. I also had a quick glimpse at a Prairie Warbler in flight there.

 I then went to Turtle Pond with a couple of other birders in search of a Canada Warbler (cherished due to lack of warblers) there. When we got there, we saw a few Gadwalls on the pond and I spotted 2 small birds in the tree above us. One was the Canada and we thought the other one was a Magnolia. As if it was furious that it was identified wrong, the second bird came down from the tree and landed in a smaller tree 10 feet from us so that we could see the Magnolia was actually a Northern Parula, which was much scarcer than most warblers this year. This day was better than most. 30 species was a good score considering it would normally be 50!

Species List: 30

Gadwall
Mallard
OSPREY
Falcon or Accipter sp.
BALD EAGLE
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
White-Breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Thrush sp.
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
House Finch
House Sparrow