Saturday, April 30, 2016

April in Review

April can be a month of extremes. In some years, it takes right up until the last few days for the first wave of the "May" migrants to show up (Yellow Warbler, Indigo Bunting, etc). In others, like this one, they start around Earth Day. The southwest winds around that time helped push many birds in, and when the wind shifted mainly to the south, many birds stayed in the park for days. Anyway, I added an amazing 47 species to my year list this month. My first additions were on the 1st, which were Great Egret, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (maybe a bit early), Swamp Sparrow, and Field Sparrow. On the 2nd, I added two birds missed the previous day, which were Chipping Sparrow and Palm Warbler. No new birds until the 10th, where I successfully chased the first Louisiana Waterthrush of the season and added Brown Thrashers and a Northern Rough-Winged Swallow to the list. The next day, I added an early Black-and-White Warbler as well as a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. On the 14th, Maintenance Meadow was the place to be, where me and many other birders added a White-Eyed Vireo and YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER to their year lists. On the 19th, I added Purple Finch (bad year for them), and Savannah Sparrow (brief park irruption). On the 21st, I added Chimney Swift, Northern Waterthrush, and Blue-Headed Vireo. By this point, I had 87 species on the year list. Earth Day is where things really started to pick up. It started with a House Wren, and I heard Prairie Warblers singing. Then I went to the Point, where I added a Yellow and Worm-Eating Warbler. The 23rd was even better, when I added an early Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Yellow-Throated Vireo, Common Yellowthroat (heard), Northern Parula, Black-Throated Green Warbler (heard), Green Heron, and Barn Swallow. On the 25th, I added Belted Kingfisher (Turtle Pond), Blue-Winged Warbler (#100!), an early Veery, a Black-Throated Blue Warbler, and an early Cape May Warbler. On the 26th, I added Ovenbird and Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (at the feeders!) before being interrupted by a passing storm. Once it was over, I added Wood Thrush, Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Warbling Vireo. On the 27th I added a Nashville Warbler and Orchard Oriole. On the 28th, the rarest bird so far this year showed up. A SWAINSON'S WARBLER was at Strawberry Fields, and I was able to add it to my year/life list along with many others. On the 29th, I went on a school field trip to Liberty Island, and was able to add Fish Crow and Laughing Gull to the list, while in Central Park, I added a young Indigo Bunting. And on the 30th, I added my final bird of the month, which was a flyover Eastern Kingbird.

SWAINSONS WARBLER!!!

On Thursday morning, I recieved a tweet that there was a Swainson's Warbler at Strawberry Fields. This is a southern warbler thst only nests as far north as Virginia. and are found in New YorkSo that afternoon. I got to Strawberry Fields as soon as I could, and saw a bunch of people laying on the West Drive with their binoculars pointed into a bush. I knew I had to join them. I now had the SWAINSON'S WARBLER in my sights. It was foraging in the leaf litter and finding a lot of worms there, so I could see why it didn't move much. This bird was a state lifer for just about everyone, including myself, and is easily the rarest bird I have seen so far this year. Let's just hope something rarer will show this year!

Friday, April 29, 2016

Central Park Rare Bird Report 4-29

Green Heron* (a few scattered)
Belted Kingfisher* (female at Turtle Pond through Thursday)
Veery* (FOS, Maintenance Meadow)
Hermit Thrush*
Wood Thrush* (a few)
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet*
Blue-Winged Warbler* (FOS, scattered)
Northern Parula*
Yellow Warbler*
CAPE MAY WARBLER* (FOS, Oven Sunday through today)
Black-Throated Blue Warbler* (FOS, scattered)
Blackburnian Warbler (scattered)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler*
Black-Throated Green Warbler*
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER (Tupelo Meadow Saturday and Monday)
SWAINSON'S WARBLER** (Strawberry Fields on Thursday, first since 2000)
Pine Warbler*
Prairie Warbler*
Palm Warbler*
Black-and-White Warbler*
Worm-Eating Warbler* (Several scattered)
Ovenbird*
Louisiana Waterthrush*
Northern Waterthrush*
Common Yellowthroat* (FOS, scattered)
American Redstart* (FOS, a few)
Chipping Sparrow* (fewer)
Field Sparrow* (several)
White-Crowned Sparrow (few)
Swamp Sparrow*
Dark-Eyed Junco* (few)
Eastern Towhee*
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak*
Baltimore Oriole*
Orchard Oriole*

Nashville in the Orchard

Wednesday was a good day, with two more additions to my year list. The first was a Nashville Warbler seen in the same tree as a Blue-Winged in the Upper Lobe. The second came a bit later. All day, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole, the latter of which I had seen, had been reported, and Maintenance was said to be the best spot for them. So I went there and it didn't take long to find a male Orchard Oriole (my second addition) high in a tree. On the other hand, I missed a Blackburnian Warbler at Evodia Field by just a few minutes. Anyway, also seen was a brief Yellow-Throated Vireo at the Upper Lobe, good views of a Worm-Eating Warbler near Bow Bridge, a Green Heron at the Oven, a Field Sparrow at Tupelo Meadow, and the continuing Belted Kingfisher at Turtle Pond. 11 warbler species and lots of other stuff made this day a success!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Year Additions 4/25-4/26

4/25: A nice day with 12 warbler species and 5 new year birds. They were

#99 Belted Kingfisher female at Turtle Pond
#100 Blue-Winged Warbler at Turtle Pond
#101 Veery (early) at Maintenance Meadow
#102 Black-Throated Blue Warbler male at Gill Source
#103 CAPE MAY WARBLER (early) female at Oven

4/26: A late-afternoon rainstorm produced some good birds, and got me 10 warbler species and 6 new year birds. They were

#104 Ovenbird at Locust Grove (several others seen)
#105 Rose-Breasted Grosbeak male at feeders
#106 Wood Thrush at Azalea Pond
#107 Chestnut-Sided Warbler near Azalea Pond
#108 Baltimore Oriole at Evodia Field
#109 Warbling Vireo at the Point

At this point, I should lower the amount of expected additions for May because I am adding way more birds than expected for this month. Hopefully the pace keeps up!

Monday, April 25, 2016

Two Away From 100

Since I didn't have school on Saturday, I was able to bird in the morning, starting at 8:30. It started out raining, causing most birds (except Swamp Sparrows, which were numerous) to not be visible, but it let up less than an hour later. This is when the show began. Flocks of warblers began to show, and that's when I decided to climb a slippery rock above Azalea Pond to get a better view of the flocks (the light was terrible all day). I started picking out birds. Yellow-Rumped, Pine (which turned out not to be a warbler, but more were singing), Black-and-White. I then saw something whiz by me that looked like a hummingbird. It briefly perched on a nearby short tree and I was able to see that it was a female/immature RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (Year Bird #92)! Only one had been seen here before in 2016, so this was a real surprise. A birding group came over to the spot, and showed me that the "Pine Warbler" was in fact a Yellow-Throated Vireo (Year Bird #93), a second for the park this season, after they had seen one earlier at the Oven. I then went to the Upper Lobe, where I met up with Ryan and heard a Common Yellowthroat (Year Bird #94) and saw a Northern Parula (Year Bird #95) singing. We then went to look for a Green Heron at Turtle Pond, but were only able to find a Black-Crowned Night Heron. We then went to the Riviera and then to Tueplo Meadow, where I heard a Black-Throated Green Warbler singing (Year Bird #96). A Yellow-Throated Warbler was seen there, but only by a few people and not refound. The Green Heron was sighted again at Maintenance Meadow, but only briefly. Then, just as I was about to leave, it was reported again at Azalea Pond. This time, I was able to catch up with it, and I got great looks of the heron (Year Bird #97) in a tree. As I was looking at the heron, a Barn Swallow (Year Bird #98), a bit overdue, flew over. A great day with 10 warbler species either heard or seen, and 51 species detected in total. I wonder what my next 2 additions will be, as they will be birds #99 and 100!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

New Arrivals 4/21-4/22

Many year additions were made during migration. Here is what Thursday and Friday were like. Saturday will be listed soon, as it was bigger than both days combined.

Thursday:

#85 was a Chimney Swift seen briefly flying over Mugger's Woods. Only a few were seen before mine.
#86 was a Northern Waterthrush foraging in the evening in the Upper Lobe thanks to Ryan. Several were seen before mine.
#87 was a Blue-Headed Vireo at Turtle Pond, again thanks to Ryan. Many were seen before mine.

Friday:

This day is where the dam broke, and many FOS migrants were seen by people.

#88 was a House Wren that popped out of some shrubs at Evodia Field. Several were seen before mine.
#89 was a Prairie Warbler heard around the same time as the House Wren. Several were detected before mine.
#90 was a Yellow Warbler seen singing at The Point. A few were seen before mine.

I took a break due to the high humidity causing exhaustion, then resumed birding an hour later.
#91 was a WORM-EATING WARBLER seen in the same tree as the Yellow. Terrible looks, but key field marks were seen. Stayed all day and was the first of the season for the state.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Central Park Rare Bird Report

Chimney Swift
Winter Wren
House Wren
WARBLING VIREO (FOS)
White-Eyed Vireo
Blue-Headed Vireo
Northern Parula
Black-Throated Green Warbler (FOS)
Yellow Warbler (FOS)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler*
Prairie Warbler
Pine Warbler*
Palm Warbler*
Black-and-White Warbler
WORM-EATING WARBLER (FOS)
Ovenbird (FOS)
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush*
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow*
Savannah Sparrow*
BALTIMORE ORIOLE (FOS)
Orchard Oriole (FOS)
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (FOS)
Purple Finch*

Several first of season (FOS) migrants arrived this week, including a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK at the North End on Sunday, OVENBIRD there Saturday, and another at the Swampy Pin Oak on Monday, WARBLING VIREO at the Humming Tombstone, and PRAIRIE WARBLER at Shakespeare Garden on Tuesday, and YELLOW WARBLER and NORTHERN PARULA over the weekend. Regular migrants now include GOLDEN (fewer) and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, WINTER WREN (few), EASTERN PHOEBE (fewer) both waterthrushes (few), PINE, PALM, YELLOW-RUMPED, and BLACK-AND-WHTE WARBLERS (few), FIELD, CHIPPING, and SAVANNAH SPARROWS (small numbers), RUSTY BLACKBIRD, and PURPLE FINCH

Warblers seen this week include good numbers of PINE, PALM, YELLOW-RUMPED, and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, along with smaller numbers of BLACK-AND-WHITE and N. WATERTHRUSH, with reports of OVENBIRD, PRAIRIE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, N. PARULA, YELLOW, and a WORM-EATING WARBLER (Point)

Other migrants include BALTIMORE and ORCHARD ORIOLE (one of each), CHIMNEY SWIFT (few), ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (one), RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, PURPLE FINCH, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, WINTER and HOUSE WRENS, FIELD, CHIPPING and SAVANNAH SPARROWS, EASTERN PHOEBE (few) and RUSTY BLACKBIRD (few).

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Year Birds on a Bad April Afternoon

I started Tuesday afternoon in Central Park where the Reservoir and Pinetum were empty. In the Ramble, I had a Purple Finch (Year Bird #83) at the weather station. I just saw normal birds other than that, until I spotted a Savannah Sparrow (Year Bird #84) at Turtle Pond. A so-so day today.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER Central Park!

On Thursday afternoon, a Yellow-Throated Warbler was reported at the source of the Gill in Central Park. When I arrived around 4:30, I was informed that it has disappeared not long before. I looked a bit in a few sites, when it was seen again at Maintenance Meadow. I arrived too late again, but it allowed a perfect opportunity to look for a White-Eyed Vireo that has been seen here for the last two days. It didn't take long to find the White-Eyed Vireo (Year Bird #81) which was low and gave great views on the east side of the meadow. After enjoying the vireo for a LONG time, I spotted a small crowd of people at the other end of the meadow. I looked at them through my binoculars and realized they were birders, probably looking at the warbler! I rushed over there and treated myself to decent views of my life YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER (Year Bird #82)! The next afternoon, I was able to get great views of both birds once again, as they were easier to keep track of with so many people. This rarity was one I didn't think I had a chance of seeing, but thanks to a likely irruption of this species (several in the city and Long Island, and with bad winds!) many people got good looks at these scarce spring overshoots.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Central Park Rare Bird Report 4/15/16

Birds mentioned in report

RING-NECKED DUCK
Great Egret*
Black-Crowned Night Heron*
Bald Eagle
Eastern Phoebe*
White-Eyed Vireo* (FOS)
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow*
Tree Swallow*
Barn Swallow
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-Crowned Kinglet*
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet*
Hermit Thrush*
EASTERN BLUEBIRD
Brown Thrasher*
NORTHERN PARULA
Yellow-Rumped Warbler*
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER* (FOS)
Pine Warbler*
Palm Warbler*
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER* (FOS)
Chipping Sparrow*
Field Sparrow*
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow*
Eastern Towhee*
Rusty Blackbird*
Purple Finch

Following moderate migration on Saturday, a decent sized push of migrants happened on Monday and Tuesday, bringing in some early migrants, including a NORTHERN PARULA in an unspecified Ramble location and a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER at the Point that was refound at the Upper Lobe, along with a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH there, which were all seen on Monday. Tuesday brought in some good birds as well, including the park's first WHITE-EYED VIREO of the season at Maintenance Meadow sticking around through today, a flyover RING-NECKED DUCK at the Reservoir, an EASTERN BLUEBIRD at the North Meadow, and a few PURPLE FINCHES in the Ramble. But trumping all of this was a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER on Wednesday afternoon, first seen at the Gill source, then subsequently briefly seen by others twice at Maintenance Meadow. Today it was seen several times at Cedar Hill and Maintenance Meadow. GREAT EGRETS and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS are around, and at least two  BALD EAGLES were seen flying over the park on Saturday. Regular migrants at this time, with most increasing in number, include PINE, PALM, and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS(not many), EASTERN PHOEBE, CHIPPING, FIELD, SAVANNAH (a few), and SWAMP SPARROWS, EASTERN TOWHEE, GOLDEN and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BROWN THRASHER, HERMIT THRUSH, BARN (not many), NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED, and TREE SWALLOWS, and RUSTY BLACKBIRD.



Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Zebra Comes in Early

On Monday evening, I went into Central Park hoping to find migrants after good winds the previous night. I just started birding the Ramble when I get a text from Ryan that there was an early Black-and-White Warbler at the Upper Lobe! I ran over to the location to find that the bird had disappeared. We waited for a few minutes, when another birder with us spotted something. Was it the warbler? It turned out to be the Louisiana Waterthrush that had been here all day lawn. But when I ran over to the spot, I spotted a small, streaky bird crawling up a tree. The BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (Year Bird #79)! I got good views of it, and also the waterthrush (bathing!). We then went to the Turtle Pond dock to look for swallows, but we saw a warbler fly across that looked like a possible Yellow-Rumped. We went to the other side of the pond near Belvedere Castle to find a Pine, Palm, and Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Year Bird #80) flitting around in the trees. We then headed to the Pinetum, where it started raining, but we still managed to find a Field Sparrow in a large feeding flock of Chipping Sparrows and juncos despite the weather. A good day, with 36 species seen, including 5 warbler species, unusual for this early in the season, but will be possible pretty soon.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Beautiful Brown Birds

On Sunday afternoon, I went into Central Park and headed straight for the Pond, where a Louisiana Waterthrush has been seen for several days. I failed to find it two days earlier, but hoped to locate it that day. I went for the northeast corner, where there is a small mudflat that waterthrushes like, but many city birds were bathing there, probably driving it off. I then scanned the north shore, when I saw a willow tree leaning into the water that looked good for a waterthrush. I then started to hear faint chipping and saw some movement. After a minute, a small bird flies across the Pond to my side. The Louisiana Waterthrush (Year Bird #76)! After seeing this as well as a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet and  a Swamp Sparrow there, I headed to the Ramble. Not much was there, but I did see two Brown Thrashers (Year Bird #77) at Azalea Pond. I then went to see a Black-Crowned Night Heron at the Lake, which was easy to spot. I then went to Turtle Pond, where I saw a Tree Swallow. The Pinetum, was barren, only yielding one Pine Warbler. I later returned to Turtle Pond looking for a Northern Rough-Winged Swallow, and decided to wait. After about 15 minutes the swallow (Year Bird #78) finally appeared and stayed for quite a while. 3 year birds and 47 species were definitely great for the day. More warblers feel like their just around the corner .

Friday, April 8, 2016

Central Park Rare Bird Report 4/8/16

Birds Mentioned

Great Egret*
Tree Swallow*
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Barn Swallow (FOS)
Eastern Phoebe*
Hermit Thrush*
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher*
Golden-Crowned Kinglet*
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet*
Louisiana Waterthrush (FOS)
NORTHERN PARULA (FOS)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler*
Palm Warbler*
Eastern Towhee*
Chipping Sparrow*





Saturday was very productive with migrants, with decent numbers of migrants, including BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHES, PINE and PALM WARBLER, EASTERN PHOEBE, HERMIT THRUSH, GOLDEN and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, EASTERN TOWHEE, and CHIPPING SPARROW, along with a few FOX SPARROWS, at least one RUSTY BLACKBIRD, and other migrants found mainly in March. Migration lessened with a trickle of regular migrants, including those mentioned, throughout the first half of the week, but got a bit better in terms of quantity more than quality later in the week. The park's first LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH of the year was seen Tuesday thru Friday at the Pond, which has a small mudflat that can be good for both waterthrushes. Nearby in the Hallet Sanctuary, an early NORTHERN PARULA was seen this morning. Two TREE SWALLOWS were seen at Turtle Pond on Tuesday, but they will surely become fairly common over time as well as NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS and BARN SWALLOWS, of which a few have been seen. GREAT EGRETS are now a regular sight with both flyovers and birds at the water bodies throughout the park. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS may be right around the corner, with one reported in the north end today, and possibly a few more around

Sunday, April 3, 2016

More Early April Migrants in the Palm of my Hand

Yesterday, I went into Central Park hoping to find the two migrants that I missed on Friday, which were Chipping Sparrow and Palm Warbler. Anyway, my strategy for finding the Chipping Sparrow was to head to the bird feeders to see if there was a Chipping Sparrow there after heading to each spot. It took me four tries, but I found one (Year bird # 74) there. I also saw 2 Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, one at Azalea Pond and another at the Point, as well as a pair of Golden-Crowned Kinglets at the latter location. I then went to Maintenance Meadow and saw a birder walking there, then suddenly stop and look at the ground. I thought she was looking at a Northern Flicker (they were everywhere), but she was actually looking at a Palm Warbler (Year bird #75)! I also found a second bird there too. I then saw am aggressive pair of Ruby-Crowned Kinglets at Turtle Pond, and at least three Pine Warblers at the Pinetum. Overall, it was better than Friday, and I saw my remaining targets.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

March to April = Winter to Migration

Yesterday it was bright and warm, the cherry blossoms were blooming, and a wave of migrants had arrived in the city, so it was a great time to find year birds in Central Park. I went there that afternoon. I started at the Reservoir, where there were usual waterfowl. and then went to the Pinetum, where there was nothing. I then headed to Turtle Pond, where I saw a Great Egret (Year bird #70) hunting in the shallows. After that, I went into the Ramble and went into the Upper Lobe. I read a report of my phone about which migrants became more numerous recently, including Chipping Sparrows, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, and Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers. I then hear a strange call, sounding a bit like a Blue Jay got something got stuck in its throat. It sounded exactly like a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (Year bird #71). I decided to hang around there for a few minutes to see it the caller would reveal itself. It did, and offered me great views. I then met up with my friend, Ryan and went to try to find more migrants. At Tupelo Meadow, we saw a pair of Swamp Sparrows (Year bird #72) and an Eastern Phoebe. After a bit, we went to Maintenance Meadow to try to find a Field Sparrow in a flock of Chipping Sparrows, both of which would be new for the year. We arrived there as thunder was cracking. It seemed that most of the birds were taking shelter in the brush from the impending storm, but we did manage to find the Field Sparrow (Year bird #73) before the rain started. With 4 new birds for the year, it was a great day, but there are still some migrants such as those Chipping Sparrows that I have yet to see.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Central Park Rare Bird Report 4/1

I'm beginning a new series of posts called the 'Central Park Rare Bird Reports'. These will be weekly posts each Friday that compile the data I have gotten through various reliable sources. On the 'Birds Mentioned' section, birds with an asterisk were seen by me during the report period (this week's starting on Friday, March 25), and all-caps names are really rare birds. All birds are in all-caps in the report, just to make them stand out better. Anyway, here is the report.

Birds Mentioned:
Great Egret* (FOS)
Black-Crowned Night Heron* (FOS)
Osprey
Northern Flicker*
Eastern Phoebe*
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow (FOS)
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (FOS)
Golden-Crowned Kinglet *
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet*
EASTERN BLUEBIRD (FOS)
Hermit Thrush*
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (FOS)
Pine Warbler*
Palm Warbler (FOS)
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow*
Fox Sparrow*
Song Sparrow*
Rusty Blackbird (FOS)


Winds were bad during the weekend and the beginning of the week, but that didn’t stop an early BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER from arriving at the Great Hill on Saturday, with possibly the same bird (likely different) being seen nearby in the North Woods Thursday through today. Additionally, at least a few other gnatcatchers have made their way into the park today, with myself finding one at the Upper Lobe.  Also at the Great Hill was a male EASTERN BLUEBIRD seen last Friday and Saturday. Because of the bad winds, only small to moderate numbers of migrants were coming through such as EASTERN PHOEBES, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, OSPREY, HERMIT THRUSHES, NORTHERN FLICKERS, and PINE WARBLERS, the last of which started coming in last Wednesday.

The first NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS of the season were seen at the Lake, and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET that overwintered at the feeders has been hanging out at Azalea Pond recently. The FOX and SONG SPARROW numbers have dropped off significantly in the last week or two, but small numbers are still coming through. On Thursday and today, another wave of migrants came in, featuring the regular species above but also seen was the park’s first-of-season PALM WARBLERS, along with a FIELD SPARROW at Maintenance Meadow, at least two reports of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and a handful of CHIPPING SPARROWS and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS throughout the park. Two PURPLE FINCHES were briefly seen at the feeders on Thursday. A trio of BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS was seen late last week at the Pond, with 2 at the Point on Thursday. A Great Egret was seen foraging in Turtle Pond as well on Thursday through today

April Targets

These are my targets for April. Since there hasn't been a 'normal' spring since 2012, how often some of the birds show up in late April is unknown to me, Many birds on the list are birds I expect to see in May, but could arrive earlier. I expect to add 30-45 species this month if it's good.

Probable
Great Egret (Probably will take up residence at Turtle Pond)
Chimney Swift (Migrants)
Blue-Headed Vireo (Migrants)
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow (migrants over ponds)
Barn Swallow (Migrants over ponds)
Carolina Wren (Migrants/resident)
House Wren (Migrants)
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (Migrants)
Brown Thrasher (Migrants)
Northern Parula (Migrants)
Yellow Warbler (Migrants)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Abundant migrants)
Prairie Warbler (Migrants, will not be my nemesis bird)
Palm Warbler (Common migrants)
American Redstart (Migrants)
Black-and-White Warbler (Common migrants)
Ovenbird (Migrants)
Northern Waterthrush (Migrants near water)
Louisiana Waterthrush (Migrants near water)
Common Yellowthroat (Migrants)
Chipping Sparrow (Migrants at feeders)
Swamp Sparrow (Migrants)


Possible
Common Loon (Reservoir)
Snowy Egret (Flyover)
Turkey Vulture (Flyover)
Osprey (Flyover)
Sharp-Shinned Hawk (Mostly flyovers)
Red-Shouldered Hawk (flyover, unlikely)
Broad-Winged Hawk (flyover, unlikely)
Merlin (Central Park)
Spotted Sandpiper (Lake and Reservoir)
Solitairy Sandpiper (Lake and streams)
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Migrants)
Great-Crested Flycatcher (Migrants)
Eastern Kingbird (Migrants)
White-Eyed Vireo (Migrants)
Yellow-Throated Vireo (Migrants)
Warbling Vireo (Migrants)
Red-Eyed Vireo (Migrants)
Red-Breasted Nuthatch (Migrants)
Veery (Migrants)
Wood Thrush (Migrants)
Blue-Winged Warbler (Migrants)
Nashville Warbler (Migrants)
Chestnut-Sided Warbler (Migrants)
Magnolia Warbler (Migrants)
Black-Throated Blue Warbler (Migrants)
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler (Migrants)
Bay-Breasted Warbler (Migrants)
Hooded Warbler (Migrants)
Worm-Eating Warbler (Migrants)
Field Sparrow (Migrants in fields)
Savannah Sparrow (Migrants in fields)
White-Crowned Sparrow (Migrants in fields)
Scarlet Tanager (Migrants)
Indigo Bunting (Migrants)
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Migrants)
Baltimore Oriole (Migrants)
Orchard Oriole (Migrants)
Purple Finch (Migrants)
Pine Siskin (Migrants)

Longshots
Bald Eagle (Flyover)
Killdeer (On sports fields)
Wilson's Snipe (Annual in spring)
Cuckoos (Early migrants)
Belted Kingfisher (Migrants at water bodies)
Least Flycatcher (Early migrants)
Other Swallows (Scarce Migrants)
Fish Crow (Flyover)
Swainson's Thrush (Early migrants)
Yellow-Throated Warbler (Spring overshoot)
Cerulean Warbler (Rare migrants)
Prothonotary Warbler (Spring overshoot)
Kentucky Warbler (Spring overshoot)
Cape May Warbler (Early migrants)
Canada Warbler (Early migrants)

Unexpected
Glaucous Gull (Hudson River early in month)
Iceland Gull (Hudson River early in month)
Bonaparte's Gull (Reservoir briefly mid-month)
Swainson's Warbler (First NYC record in many years at Strawberry Fields)