Strawberry Warblers

Sunday's birdwalk started out slow, with not a lot of birds. That all changed when we got to Strawberry Fields, where we picked up an amazing 12 warbler species, including 2 Cape May Warblers! I also added Sharp-Shinned Hawk to the year list with one being chased by Blue Jays at Laupot Bridge. We had good day for bird variety.

Species Seen:

CAPE MAY WARBLER (2)
NASHVILLE WARBLER
Pine Warbler
Northern Parula
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat (before walk)
Yellow Warbler
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Red-Eyed Vireo
Empidonax sp.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe (before walk)
Brown Thrasher
Wood Thrush (Upper Lobe before walk)
Probable Gray-Cheeked Thrush
Veery (before walk)
Eastern Towhee
White-Throated Sparrow
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Elusive Warbler at Trinity Church

Yesterday afternoon, I headed down to Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan in search of a Connecticut Warbler, an uncommon warbler that only comes through in fall. It was found the day before, and was said to give great views sometimes. When I got to the cemetery there, I found a couple of birders looking at the warbler. It was unusual to see a warbler that was not a waterthrush or an ovenbird walking on the ground, but apparently that's what Connecticut Warblers do. The bird gave exposed looks, then flew to the other side of the cemetery, where we viewed it from the outside through the fence. The biggest suprise is that this one little cemetery held 6 warbler species, and makes me think what else the small pocket parks of New York City may hold.

Warbler Species:

CONNECTICUT WARBLER
Black-and-White-Warbler
Northern Waterthrush (in the grass)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Black-Throated Blue Warbler

The October Wave is Moving In

Yesterday, I went to the park and stopped at the Reservoir to find out that the water level was finally raised so that the dike was covered. It also seemed like the gulls were more spread out. As I scanned the gulls, I saw a bird that was small and dark. A Laughing Gull! As I watched the bird, I kept seeing a brownish thing on the edge of my sight. I intiallly thought it was a leaf, but decided to look and realized it was my first Palm Warbler of the season! And I also found a second Laughing Gull! Year bird #144 is in the bag! Other than that, there were the usual birds, but more arrivals had come. At Maintenance Meadow, I found my first Eastern Phoebe of the fall, and at the Gill, I also found my first White-Throated Sparrow of the fall. I also saw a male Hooded Warbler at Azalea Pond, likely the same one that was here last Tuesday. Anyway, here is what I saw:

HOODED WARBLER
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
Northern Parula
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
PALM WARBLER
EASTERN PHOEBE
Swainson's Thrush
Veery
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (The Oven)
Brown Thrasher (Willow Rock)
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Gadwall
LAUGHING GULL

Birds in the Shadows

On the Sunday birdwalk, we had to work for our birds. Still, we did have some highlights, such as 2 Wilson's Warblers near Bow Bridge, a Ruddy Duck on the Lake and a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker at the Swampy Pin Oak. Before the walk, I also saw Nashville Warbler and Scarlet Tanager. 12 warbler species that day. Here is what I saw:

Northern Waterthrush
Nashville Warbler (before the walk)
Black-and-White Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
American Redstart
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
Ovenbird (after the walk)
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Scarlet Tanager (before the walk)
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (before the walk)
Veery (before the walk)
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Empidonax sp. (probably least)
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
American Kestrel (after the walk)
American Coot
Gadwall
RUDDY DUCK

Active Afternoon

On Tuesday afternoon, I went around the park with my friend, Ryan. We saw many birds, including 9 species of warbler. The best bird would have to be the male Hooded Warbler at The Oven that fed out in the open very close. Anyway, here is what we saw:

Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Black-and-White Warbler
Wilson's Warbler (1 at the Reservoir and 1 at the Swampy Pin Oak)
Magnolia Warbler
Northern Parula
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
Pine Warbler (Flock at the Pinetum)
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow (Turtle Pond)
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Baltimore Oriole
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Osprey (Flyover)
Spotted Sandpiper (Reservoir)
Black-Crowned Night Heron (Turtle Pond)
American Coot (Turtle Pond)
Gadwall

Saturday September Species

We saw many species on the Central Park birdwalk on Saturday. I added Osprey and after the walk I added Spotted Sandpiper (finally!) to the year list. Here is what we saw:

NASHVILLE WARBLER (boathouse after the walk)
Northern Parula
American Redstart
Northern Waterthrush
Ovenbird
Magnolia Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
Warbling Vireo
Red-Eyed Vireo
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Baltimore Oriole
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Spotted Sandpiper (#143, at the reservoir)
Osprey (#142, flyover)
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron (flyover at tupelo meadow)

Nashville, Tennessee (Warblers!)

Yesterday morning I went into the park hoping for warblers. While there were many birds, the light was terrible, and I was only to identify 6 common species, as well as a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. In the afternoon, I hung out around Maintenance Field looking for a Yellow-Breasted Chat that was reported there. A guys there said he saw a large yellow and olive bird fly into some vegetation and I was able to find it. It was a Great Crested Flycatcher. A good bird in itself, with similar colors, but not what I was looking for. I hung out there for a while, during which I saw 2 empids, 3 redstarts, a Downy Woodpecker, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, and all the Red-Eyed Vireos and Veerys you could ask for. I then met up there with my friend, Ryan. We looked around the field, and found an empid, possibly one of the birds from before. Oh how fun the empid game is for a birder. Fortunately, the bird made a "wit" call, and we were able to deduce that it was a Willow Flycatcher. Year bird #140! After that, we then went to Azalea Pond, which wasn't that active, and we headed down to Laupot Bridge. There, we spotted a Northern Parula. Then we realized that we found a flock of about a half dozen warblers at least. We started identifying them one by one. Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, another Parula. A Pewee gives good looks for us. Then, we spotted an interesting warbler. It turns out to be a Tennessee Warbler. Year bird #141! Not long after seeing the Tennessee, we saw a parula that didn't look right. We noticed the eye ring and concluded it was definitely a Nashville Warbler! It was a good day for birds, with me seeing 9 species of warblers, and also adding to birds to my year list! Here is what I found:

American Redstart
Northern Parula
TENNESSEE WARBLER (#141)
NASHVILLE WARBLER
Common Yellowthroat
Black-and-White Warbler
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Ovenbird
WILLOW FLYCATCHER (#140)
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Red-Eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Tupelo Meadow)
Gadwall (Over a dozen at Turtle Pond)

Many Species, Low Numbers

I went on a new early 7:30 am birdwalk on Saturday, so no pre-walk birding. We started out with an Eastern Kingbird eating berries near the boathouse, but we were having trouble finding birds after that. Once we found our first warblers after a while of nothing, which were 2 Magnolia Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat at the Swampy Pin Oak, we started getting species fast. Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Chestnut-Sided Warbler. We kept getting species and by 9 am, we had 9 warbler species. When the second birdwalk at 9 am joined us, we went to The Oven to find a Red-Tailed Hawk hanging out there and drinking the water. We also found nearly all of the warblers we saw before. At the Upper Lobe, I heard a bird calling which I recognized as an Ovenbird. As I found the small, brownish, black-speckled bird, I saw a larger brownish, black-speckled bird above it. It was a thrush, obviously, and seemed to have a reddish tint. I was so excited that I had just found a WOOD THRUSH! Others were able to confirm its identity, and it was one of the highlights of our day. We also found a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird at Tupelo Meadow (one later wasn't seen by me). Just before the walk ended, we found our 10th warbler species of the day, a really high Blue-Winged Warbler. It seems like today had good diversity, but low numbers. Here is what I saw today.

American Redstart
Northern Parula
Northern Waterthrush
Ovenbird
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Blue-Winged Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Wood Pewee (heard)
Eastern Kingbird
Veery
WOOD THRUSH (at the Upper Lobe)
Warbling Vireo
Red-Eyed Vireo
Baltimore Oriole
Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Slow Birding in Early September

Birding was slow late this week. Many species were around, but most of them were only here in low numbers. This meant you had to WORK for what you would find. Despite that, I did see some migrants on Thursday and Friday, including 7 warbler species. I saw less birds on Friday than on Thursday. Here is what I saw.

T= Thursday only
F= Friday only

American Redstart
Magnolia Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Waterthrush
Ovenbird (T)
Black-and-White Warbler (T)
BAY-BREASTED/BLACKPOLL WARBLER (T,Azalea Pond, a bit early for either)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (T)
Empidonax sp. (T, Tupelo Field, likely least)
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (F, Azalea Pond)
Veery
Cedar Waxwing (T)
Warbling Vireo
Red-Eyed Vireo
American Goldfinch
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (T, Tupelo Meadow)

Slow Late August Day

A slow walk in Central Park on Sunday but there were some birds to be seen. Before the walk, I saw several warblers in Maintenance Field, including my FOS Northern Parula, as well as Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, and Ruby-Throated Hummingbird among other things. When the walk started, we headed back to Maintenance Field, only to find out everything was gone. Consolation came in the form of a Veery only seen by me and a flyover Peregrine Falcon. We then went to Tupelo Meadow, where after a bit of waiting. we found a flock of Magnolia Warblers and American Redstarts, along with my FOS Chestnut-Sided Warbler. Not many other new birds besides that, but the group did have our FOS Scarlet Tanager at the Swampy Pin Oak. 8 species of warbler for the day. Here is what we saw:

Chestnut-Sided Warbler (FOS)

Northern Parula (FOS)

Common Yellowthroat

Ovenbird

Magnolia Warbler

American Redstart

Northern Waterthrush

Black-and-White Warbler

Eastern Kingbird

Warbling Vireo

Red-Eyed Vireo

Baltimore Oriole

SCARLET TANAGER (FOS)

Swainson's Thrush

Veery

American Crow

Carolina Wren

Black-Capped Chickadee (heard)

American Goldfinch

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Peregrine Falcon