Bird of the Week #3

Our Bird of the Week is the Hermit Thrush! It was either this or Eastern Towhee to get into the Halloween spirit, but I had to choose the Hermit Thrush because it seemed more significant.

Hermit Thrushes are one of the smaller types of thrushes, about the size of a towhee. The can be told apart from other thrushes due to their reddish tail contrasting greatly with their tan body. Like other Cathurus thrushes, it has a tan belly with black speckles. It also frequently bobs its tail. They usually forage on the ground or in undergrowth and are usually the easiest thrush to find in their range. Their song is a bunch of musical phrases similar to a Wood Thrush.

Hermit Thrushes breed in Canada, the Appalachians, and the Rockies. They winter mostly in the southern half of the United States and Mexico. In New York, they are mostly found from early March
to late April, and from late September through late November, Sometimes they can be found during the winter, and often a few hang around. Hermit Thrushes can usually be found without much trouble in a small clearing or a patch of bushes. Around now they are very easy to find, and are the only thrush around.

That's it for this addition of Bird of the Week. I am happy to announce that next week's bird will be a more uncommon species than will be in most of these posts. Stay tuned!

A Few Late Birds and a Few Interesting Ones Too!

My birding route and the birds seen on Sunday weren't that different from the week before. There were a few late migrants that came in though. I saw a Black-and-White Warbler in Tupelo Field and heard a singing Red-Eyed Vireo at the field near 79 st. At nearby Maintenance Field I saw a Field Sparrow while sifting through the mixed flocks of other sparrows. I also heard from birders there that Purple Finches had been reported at the feeders. I supposed it was worth a go and right when I arrived, there was a female Purple Finch there.

Species List:35

Canada Goose
Mallard
Accipter Sp.
Red-Tailed Hawk
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
RED-EYED VIREO
Blue Jay
Black-Capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-Breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Black-and-White Warbler
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Finch
PURPLE FINCH
House Sparrow

2nd Bird of The Week

This is the 2nd Bird of the Week post so far. This week's bird is the Ruby-Crowned Kinglet!

Ruby-Crowned Kinglets are some of the smallest songbirds in the United States, even smaller than warblers. They are olive with gray bellies and large eye rings. Males have a red crown on their head, which gave the bird its name. They are also able to raise the crown when they are agitated or aggressive. Ruby-Crowned Kinglets forage in the trees, but sometimes are also seen in the undergrowth and on the ground.Their song is usually  a "tsee tsee tsee" followed by some twittering and chipping.
Ruby-Crowned Kinglets can be found across North America. They breed mostly in Canada and the Rockies, and winter in the southern U.S, Mid-Atlantic, and along the Pacific Coast. In New York City, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets are usually found from early April to mid-May and from mid-September through November. Ruby-Crowned Kinglets are often not hard to find in Central Park, and are quite tame. Often you may be able to walk right up to them without them flinching.

In case you were wondering, next week's bird will unfortunately not be Halloween-themed, due to lack of Baltimore Orioles. I think it might get a spot another time.

Irruptive Tendencies

On Sunday, I went to the park as usual not knowing what to expect. As I was walking to get breakfast at the boathouse, I spotted three starlings chasing an accipter. Fortunately, its tail was not spread so it was easy to see that it was a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. That was an unexpected start to the day!

After I ate, I went into the Ramble and went to the bird feeders. I went there because I was hoping that Tufted Titmice returned there. They were absent last winter and no one knows why. Then one appeared at the seed feeder. And then another. I then went to Tupelo Meadow, where the flocks of White-Throated and Song Sparrows were so large that I thought something might be hidden in there. Despite a lot of searching, I was unable to find anything in the flocks. When I spoke with birders there, they said that they found Swamp and Field Sparrows earlier, but nothing now.

We then directed our attention from the ground to the trees. There was already a Blue-Headed Vireo waiting up there, along with a Blackpoll Warbler and a Northern Parula. A few minutes later, a few Yellow-Rumped Warblers and a female Black-Throated Blue Warbler came into some low branches right above us. As I left, I spotted a Brown Thrasher foraging at the end of the meadow.

After that I didn't see that many birds at all. I checked Maintenance Meadow, Willow Rock, and Azalea Pond;  After a long while. I decided to check Maintenance Meadow again. I met up with a few birders there, who said they were hearing Purple Finches. Purple Finches are annual in the park in varying numbers. This year, there were alot About a minute later, two finches flew into a distant tree. They looked like they could be Purple Finches, but we weren't sure. After a few minutes, the birds flew out low enough to see that one of them was completely purplish-pink. Then they flew out of sight. My life Purple Finch was seen for just a few seconds. It seems like star birds don't always stay in the spotlight!

Bird List:40

Canada Goose
Mallard
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Gull sp.
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-Headed Vireo
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Black-and-White Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee (Many)
Song Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-Winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
PURPLE FINCH
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Bird of the Week #1!!!

I am happy to announce this new thing I'm doing on the blog called Bird of the Week. This will be a regular series of posts at the beginning of each week for about a year. They will describe a "Bird of the Week", which will be a bird specially chosen by me that seems fitting for the week. The birds can be chosen because of their appearance, significance, or other reasons. The posts will also cover basic information about the birds and where they can be found in New York City. Note that only birds that can be seen in New York County will be on here. This does not exclude rarities.

Without further ado, the first bird of the week is Palm Warbler!

Palm Warblers, like many other warblers, change plumage in the spring and fall. In spring they are yellow with streaked chests and bellies. They also have tan backs and a chestnut cap. In the fall, the bird turns all gray except for some yellow on the underside.It keeps the streaking but loses the chestnut cap. Its song sounds like a buzzy"swee swee swee swee swee swee swee". Palm Warblers like open woodland and often are found around shrubs and dead leaves.
The eastern population breed in the boreal forests of Canada and the northern U.S and winter in the Southeast U.S, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The western population breads in central and western Canada and winters on the pacific coast. In New York City, Palm Warblers can be found from late March to early May and from late September to early November. A spot that was very reliable for Palm Warblers this year was a large pile of dead leaves gathered by park staff. The decay of the leaves attracted insects, which attracted the warblers. It was like an early spring termite hatchout.

This was the first Bird of the Week post. I hope you liked it.
Here are birds that will probably have their own week if this keeps up:

Pine Warbler
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Wood Duck
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Fox Sparrow

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet will be next week's bird

Tennessee in New York?

On Sunday I went to Central Park to go bird watching. I started at the boathouse and took a slightly different path than usual. I wanted to try my luck. I was rewarded with a Brown Thrasher and several Northern Parulas. I then went to The Point, but it was empty. As I was about to try another area, another birdwatcher ran into me and told me try my luck at Strawberry Fields. He said Brown Thrasher, Blue-Headed Vireo, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and the hard-to find Tennessee Warbler were all there. I went there and there were already a few birders there looking for the Tennessee Warbler. One of the birders was keeping a year list of 242, with Northern Wheatear and Clapper Rail in Plumb Beach, Brooklyn being his latest additions. This warbler was one of the species he needed.

Here is why Tennessee Warbler is so hard to get. It is secretive and very hard to identify. 1 or 2 have been reported for the last few weekends at Strawberry Fields. I don't think they are lingering birds, but just migrants that keep turning up there. Anyway, after a couple of minutes, we spotted two warblers in a patch of trees. On was quickly identified as a parula. The other we weren't so sure about. It looked like it could be almost any type of warbler. Eventually we eliminated some of the possibilities, such as Blackpoll and Orange Crowned. After about 20 minutes we lost the bird and we gave up. We started paying more attention to the flickers and pewees that were also here. We also found a Blackpoll Warbler. Not long after, 3 accipters flew over, one of them being a Cooper's Hawk. Then the mystery bird flew over and revealed itself to be the Tennessee Warbler we were hoping for. No one else saw it but me. Later, we saw a bird perched in a tree that was a Tennessee Warbler that I think is the same one from earlier.

After we celebrated our victory, the birders told me that the Pinetum was reported to hold good birds such as Pine Warbler, Golden Crowned Kinglet, and Red-Breasted Nuthatch. I went there and found a spot that seemed like it would be good. Almost immediately, I spotted a flock of several Pine Warblers flycatching, including some beautiful adult males. I also saw singles of Golden and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets together. I turned around and there was a Palm Warbler looking back at me! Also there was a White-Breasted Nuthatch there too! This day was really a success!

Species:35

Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Accipter sp.
Red-Tailed Hawk
Gull sp.
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
White-Breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Black-and-White Warbler
TENNESSEE WARBLER
Northern Parula
Blackpoll Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow