Heislerville WMA, May 29th 2008

In another part of Heislerville WMA I spent Thursday morning admiring the collection of shorebirds and Laughing Gulls gathered to feed off Horseshoe Crab eggs. There were a good number of Red Knots, second only in number to the abundant Semipalmated Sandpipers. Laughing Gulls and Ruddy Turnstones were also numerous, there were several Sanderlings (less than I had anticipated) and a few Short-billed Dowitchers. And precisely one Willet.

What there weren't many of, however, were Horseshoe Crabs, and I saw several dead ones and about 10 live ones. Of course it's past full moon, and despite the presumably warming water it is not optimal spawning conditions. Who knows if they will wait for the next full moon (mid-late June) or will finish spawning sooner ?

Further away from the shore I found my first-of-season Willow Flycatcher, and the Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Wrens were numerous in the salt marsh. The water level in the impoundment at Heislerville had dropped considerably since as recently as last Monday, making it less than ideal for photography. I watched shorebirds trickling into the impoundment as the tide rose, but I decided to try and beat traffic and left the area at 3:30pm. I did not find the Curlew Sandpiper(s) but the light was harsh and the birds were in the center of the impoundment rather than pushed further towards the edges.

Links:
Tide predictor for Delaware Bay
Moon phase predictor

Heislerville WMA, May 26th

I made an afternoon run to Heislerville WMA in southern NJ to take photos of shorebirds. High tide was ~2pm so by the time I got down there it was 3 hours past high, with a few birds exiting the impoundment that had been drawn down for them. But many remained - mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers but also Dunlin, Semipalmated Plover, a few Short-billed Dowitchers. And a Curlew Sandpiper. As in 2007, a brightly-plumaged male Curlew Sandpiper was present on the north side of the impoundment, and not particularly shy either.

Despite being the Monday afternoon of Memorial Day, traffic was not too horrendous either.

Shorebird list:

Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Willet (East Point Road)
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot (East Point Road)
Sanderling (East Point Road)
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher

Heislerville WMA, May 25th

In a fit of enthusiasm I baled out of Princeton at 5:30 am and made my way down I-295 and Rt-55 to Heislerville WMA on the southern Delaware Bay shore in NJ. I got there at 7am and found that I had badly miscalculated the tide and the number of shorebirds in the impoundment was low, and getting lower as they flew out to the saltmarsh to feed.

So instead I headed over to Jake's Landing near Dennisville to try and take photos of the usual suspects - in the case of Jake's Landing this is Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Wrens, neither of which were totally cooperative but I did get a few photographs. I saw a few Clapper Rails flying around (and heard far more) but failed to see any Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows as I had done there the previous weekend. Surprisingly, given prior experience, I was neither devoured by no-see-ums nor disturbed every five minutes by boat launchers. A couple of cars with birders were all I found there - has this place become unpopular with the boating public ?

Once the sun started to get high and I tired of creeping up on Seaside Sparrows I headed to the nearby Belleplain State Forest and staked out the Prothonotary Warbler site on Sunset Road. As if by magic the male Prothonotary put in an appearance within 5 minutes, singing over the road. I hung out there for a while, taking pictures as it periodically dropped by (or flew by) and then, in what's a first for me at that location, spotted a female Prothonotary being far less conspicuous except for one brief interaction between the two. Also present were assorted usual suspects: Hooded Warbler (I actually saw one), Pine Warbler, a probable Worm-eating Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Towhee. [Note added later - in early June a Swainson's Warbler was reported singing around this spot, but since nobody has laid their eyes on it, it could conceivably be another warbler singing a strange song].

Despite the bust at Heislerville early in the day it turned out to be relatively productive and worthwhile. On the way out I surveyed Heislerville WMA again at closer to high tide (1pm ?) and had the added bonus of a Curlew Sandpiper seen well but in harsh light at 11:30am.

Highlights:
Clapper Rail (Jake's Landing)
Black-bellied Plover (Heislerville WMA)
Semipalmated Plover (Heislerville WMA)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Heislerville WMA)
Dunlin (Heislerville WMA)
Curlew Sandpiper (Heislerville WMA)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Heislerville WMA)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Belleplain SF)
Acadian Flycatcher (Belleplain SF)
Great Crested Flycatcher (Belleplain SF)
Marsh Wren (Jake's Landing)
Blue-winged Warbler (Belleplain SF)
Yellow-throated Warbler (Belleplain SF)
American Redstart (Jake's Landing)
Prothonotary Warbler (Belleplain SF)
Worm-eating Warbler (Belleplain SF)
Louisiana Waterthrush (Belleplain SF)
Eastern Towhee (Belleplain SF)
Seaside Sparrow (Jake's Landing)
Boat-tailed Grackle (Jake's Landing)

Central Park, May 24th 2008

On what may prove to be my last Central Park visit for spring, birding at Tanner's Spring started out very slow, but the hot spot of the recent days - the bridle path along the south side of the Reservoir - was still productive. There were multiple Blackburnian Warbler males and at least on Bay-breasted Warbler along with a decent selection of other warblers.

Elsewhere Turtle Pond was quiet, as was most of the Ramble apart from the tail end of a termite hatch-out that we caught at the Oven. Cedar Waxwings, a Scarlet Tanager and a small number of warblers were happily fly-catching the slow moving flying termites. Other reports indicated that termite hatch-outs occurred at the Lower Lobe (Wagner Cove) and Upper Lobe at more-or-less the same time. This corresponds to what I've empirically observed about termite hatch-outs - that they always seem to occur around late morning. At one point it almost looked as if a Green Heron flew in to check out the hatch.

A visit to the Lower Lobe before exiting the park turned up Northern Waterthrush and multiple Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers. 14 warbler species in total.

Migrant list:
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Lincoln's Sparrow

Spring migration - Central Park - May 14th, 15th 2008

Originally planning to skip the park on May 14th, an excited post on eBirdsNYC induced me to hop on the train and come in for the afternoon. A late start meant a limited warbler list on what may have been the biggest day of the season. Migration unpredictability was emphasized by the overnight wind being from the ESE. The best bird of the day was unquestionably a Chuck-will's-widow - only the second one I've seen - roosting on the point. Like last year's bird this one was an adult female.

Other than that there was a decent trickle of warblers in Tanner's Spring on the 14th:

Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat

but I only managed a paltry 11 species.

On the 15th absolute numbers were down, but I had perhaps my best birding day with Tennessee and multiple Cape May Warblers, plus one Blackburnian. Activity at Tanner's Spring was far slower, enlivened by Canada Warbler and White-eyed Vireo but compromised by over-use of flash by the gaggle of photographers there. A nice addition was a Black-billed Cuckoo near Tanner's Spring, my first cuckoo of the season. Other firsts were a Least Flycatcher and my first Scarlet Tanagers in the park this year.

Migrant list:

Wood Duck
Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Tennessee Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Field Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Spring migration - Central Park - May 13th 2008

Migration ramp-up continues even in the absence of favorable winds, not least of all shorebird migration with Spotted, Solitary and Least Sandipipers all found at the Lake's Lower Lobe (aka Wagner Cove). Least Sandpiper is pretty uncommon in the park, but certainly not unprecedented. While the warbler list wasn't spectacular I still found 14 species, including a Prairie Warbler at Strawberry Fields. Other notables were Indigo Bunting and Yellow-throated Vireo - both singing males. Late in the day a somewhat unusual immature Broad-winged Hawk was hunting near Tanner's Spring, moving through the woodland with notably greater speed than the local Red-tails.

Migrant list:
Broad-winged Hawk
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Great Crested Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Wood Thrush
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Swamp Sparrow
Indigo Bunting

Out of area - Wood Sandpiper in Delaware, May 11th

Normally found in the Aleutians, a Wood Sandpiper was found in Delaware on May 5th and was cooperative enough to stick around for at least a week. I've seen this species in Britain a fair number of times since it used to migrate through my local patch as a kid, but not yet on this side of the pond. This was apparently the third record for the north-east (1907, 1990 in Rye NY and this bird). Well worth the drive down to the Broadkill Beach impoundments at Prime Hook NWR south of Dover DE. Big numbers of Least Sandpipers along with other shorebird species, with Blue Grosbeak and Eastern Meadowlark singing from the wires.

The weather wasn't quite as pretty with increasing overcast and quite a bit of wind. I dropped by Bombay Hook NWR on the way back north (near Smyrna, DE) and found quite a few shorebirds along the entrance round although precious few in the rather full impoundments on the reserve proper.

Getting closer to home I stopped at Heislerville WMA in southern NJ and found the impoundment there also rather full from the recent rains - shorebirds were roosting in tight-packed groups at the edge of the impoundment. The species there were mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers.

Dickcissel - May 10th 2008 - Central Park

Along with a nice list of migrants - Cape Mays singing at Bow Bridge, Wilson's Warbler at the Lower Lobe - came news of a very exciting find. Leslie Beebe et al had discovered an adult male Dickcissel at Falconer's Hill. Dickcissels turn up in fall each year, particularly on Long Island, but spring Dickcissels are much rarer, especially in Central Park. This particular male was a little spooky but eventually everyone got decent looks at it, and it attracted a lot of attention.

Princeton area Grasslands - May 7th 2008

After an uninspiring stint in Central Park on May 6th I decided to look locally on May 7th at three local grassland preserves: Griggstown, Six Mile Run and Negri-Nepote, all of which are in Franklin Twp which seems to value its open space in contrast to other localities.

Starting at Griggstown there were swallows looking for mud on the ground, including a Northern Rough-winged Swallow that dropped down into the parking lot. There were four Bobolinks around the parking lot, which left when I arrived, but I kept seeing male Bobolinks in the preserve - they weren't being vocal or displaying however. There were also (silent) Savannah Sparrows but I heard no singing Grasshopper Sparrows. Griggstown appears to be getting a slow start. Wood Thrushes were to be heard from the woodland, at least.

Next I went to Six Mile Run, where the usual Chipping Sparrows were in the parking lot and Brown Thrasher, Baltimore Oriole and Yellow Warbler were in the scrubby area nearby. One interesting thing was watching a female Yellow Warbler gather silk strands from a Gypsy Moth caterpillar tent for nest building. She visited various tents several times for this. In the fields Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and Field Sparrows are inevitable. Two Indigo Buntings were singing, along with a Blue-winged Warbler. Further down the trail I came across the first of four singing Grasshopper Sparrows - in fact the first one was a very brightly-marked male. Since they starting singing later in the morning it's conceivable that they hadn't started at Griggstown.

After Six Mile Run I went to Negri-Nepote, where a Prairie Warbler sang near the parking lot, another Grasshopper Sparrow at the first of the grasslands. At the freshwater pond there were Hooded Merganser, several Least Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpipers, a full breeding plumage Spotted Sandpiper and a Lesser Yellowlegs. The sun was high enough that I didn't waste time photographing them, but it was interesting to see how they use any little bit of water they can find. Near Negri-Nepote I noticed other undeveloped private land that looked like it could be good for grassland species, although the two lots on the corner of Skillman Rd right next to the preserve had For Sale signs on them.

Finally I visited Princeton's Institute Woods to check that there hadn't been a warbler dropout - apart from Rose-breasted Grosbeak and singing Yellow Warbler things were relatively quiet at 11am and I left without spending too much time there.

Cerulean Warbler - Central Park - May 4th

Well, not actually in Central Park - the Cerulean was on 89th Street near the park, attracting quite a lot of attention between excited birders and bemused passers-by. Hopefully groups of binocular-toting strangers didn't freak out the locals too much.

I was in Central Park for another day's birding, and while numbers may have been marginally lower than the previous day the diversity was right up there - I found my highest total for seen/heard warblers so far this spring, but still just shy of the iconic 20 with a nice total of 18. Other nice birds were a late Junco, a heard-only White-eyed Vireo, three Rusty Blackbirds with a Louisiana Waterthrush in the Gill, and a singing Blackburnian Warbler just as I was leaving at Shakespeare's Garden.

There's still a mix of early/mid-spring birds, although today I did see my first Magnolia Warbler. However Blue-headed Vireos and Louisiana Waterthrushes are more characteristic of late April. Migration might lag a little, but it's about to play catch-up.

But back to the Cerulean. Doug Futuyma apparently found this bird while going to his car, and then word of it spread rapidly through the park. I saw it around 1:30pm and took a few photos: see the Cerulean Warbler link off my home page or the Cerulean Warbler page at my gallery. My previous best neighborhood bird was a Yellow-throated Warbler I once found along E65th Street in 2005 - a species that's a pretty good find in NYC but it was during a year in which several were found in Central Park. I think the Cerulean trumps it.

Migrant list:
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch

Spring migration - Central Park - May 3rd

Since May 2nd apparently spawned a dropout while I cooled my heels at work in Princeton, I went into Central Park for the morning of Saturday. Migrants were numerous and I reached my highest warbler species of the spring: 16

Migrant list:
Solitary Sandpiper
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole

Pale Male and Lola - nest failure (again)

It's May, and by now the Red-tailed Hawk watchers are usually eagerly anticipating the mid-May fledging of this year's juveniles. Instead we have a New York Times piece on the failure of the classical Central Park Red-tailed Hawk nest for the fourth year in succession. It's difficult to say where the problem lies here - the nest disturbance in the winter of 2004/5, or the fact that Pale Male is now 17 or 18 years old - at the upper limit of wild Red-tailed Hawk life-expectancy. The current female (Lola) is considerably younger.

Marie Winn's page is usually the best place to go for information on that pair of hawks, if you're interested in more.

Spring migration - Princeton - May 2nd

Overnight rain combined with a southerly wind raised the prospects of migrant dropouts, and before I even got into Princeton there'd already been mention of them in a couple of places in NJ. The road towards the water facility at the Institute Woods had a couple of trees with many warblers in them - most of them Yellow-rumped Warblers. Quite a few singing species including multiple Black-throated Green Warblers and Blue-winged Warblers. I heard and tracked down a Blackburnian Warbler, which together with Black-throated Blue Warbler were new birds for the year. Overall, however, diversity wasn't that high although I did make it to 10 warbler species in about 1/4 of the time it took me the previous day.

Twenty minutes later, by 10am, these same trees were empty and the flock had moved on.

Migrant list:
Warbling Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Blue-winged Warbler (multiple)
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch

Spring migration - Central Park - May 1st

After winter trips to Florida (Feb) and Texas (April 10-18th) I had spring migration almost backwards, seeing all sorts of migrant warblers/orioles/tanagers before they ever turn up in the New York area. But after recovering from the TX trip I made it into the park on April 26th (Louisiana Waterthrush was a nice find) and on May 1st.

I usually think of the first "big" day in the park as May 5th, but apart from a slow start on the west side - where a male Purple Finch was singing - there were decent numbers of warblers in the Ramble. I managed to see 10 species which is acceptable, but not epic, in spring when I'm carrying the camera. The warblers were mostly the usual suspects - best birds for the day were the Purple Finch, Eastern Kingbird, and an exceptionally drab Pine Warbler which was rather gray except for a little green on the crown.

Migrant list:

Chimney Swift
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Eastern Towhee
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch