Six Mile Run, Griggstown, Pole Farm: May 30th

Results for Six Mile Run (Franklin, NJ) were almost identical to the visit on the 26th:
http://nycbirding.blogspot.com/2010/05/six-mile-run-may-26th.html
The most cooperative bird was the same Willow Flycatcher, actively marking territory.

Dropping down to Griggstown the grass has grown up but there was somewhat of a dearth of singing heard from the parking lot. Orchard Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak were fly-bys but I didn't linger there.

Instead I headed to Pole Farm to check for Bobolink, which were there in modest numbers (4-5 males, 1 female) along with Eastern Meadowlark and Willow Flycatcher. Despite the new kestrel box, I didn't see any raptors.

Heislerville WMA, May 29th

The first foray of the long Memorial Day weekend was down to the Delaware bay shore for migrating shorebirds. At the pullout before I hiked the beach road a nice find was Blue Grosbeak (singing male) along with House Wren and Cedar Waxwing. Along the road there were the predictable Marsh Wrens and Seaside Sparrows and fly-over Herons.

The weather was overcast with mediocre light for photo ops, but that wasn't so bad because the shorebirds at the bay were 99% Semipalmated Sandpipers, with very few Dunlin, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones and absolutely NO Red Knots. Erosion was evident here and some of the coastal marsh from the previous year had been rendered into a pile of vegetation washed up by the tide. Not sure if this was a factor or if timing and food supply led to the Knots being concentrated elsewhere. There were certainly a number of Horseshoe Crabs and eggs, as the abundant Laughing Gulls can attest to. I snapped a few pictures of Semipalmated in very average light and left. On the walk back Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpipers flew by.

I actually had to take a little jaunt down to Kimball's Beach (Cape May NWR) to see Red Knots along the roped off area of the beach although the number of shorebirds here was quite modest. On the way back up I stopped at CMBO at Goshen in the hopes of finding a hummingbird but the seed feeders here were empty and there were no hummingbird feeders at all - previously this location was good for hummingbirds.

After that I went to Belleplain SF along Sunset Road, but activity there was low in the late morning. I could hear and not see Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Acadian Flycatcher so left unsuccessful.

And finally the coup de grace was at the impoundments at Heislerville where despite the high tide there were relatively few shorebirds, and certainly no Curlew Sandpiper or Ruff.

Six Mile Run, May 26th

A quick hour-and-a-bit around the main field trails (east of the parking lot) before work. Three male Willow Flycatchers (one on marginal territory but the most active singer), two Orchard Oriole males (one first spring), two or three singing Grasshopper Sparrow males were the highlights of this trip and not coincidentally also year birds. Otherwise a worthwhile but totally predictable list of species. The biggest miss was Indigo Bunting, neither seen nor heard.

Great Blue Heron (fly-over)
Red-tailed Hawk
Black Vulture
Willow Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Tree Swallow
House Wren
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Field Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Orchard Oriole
American Goldfinch

Stirling Forest and nw NJ, May 22nd

A better title might be "Stirling Forest and afterthoughts" since the action was squarely at the first location.

Along Long Meadow Road there was a beautiful male Brewster's Warbler (Golden-winged X Blue-winged hybrid) singing, along with more silent Golden-winged males, something that sounded like a Blue-winged, Great Crested Flycatcher and some fast-acting Eastern Phoebe's that already had two fledgelings. There was signs of trimming and herbicide use here, which has damaged the habitat. A Pileated Woodpecker was touring its territory, making big drumming noises and flying over twice. Warbling Vireo, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart fleshed out the list here.

On to the other part of the power line cut at Ironwood Road where the same patches of herbicide use were evident. However there were still good numbers of Golden-winged Warblers, a Blue-winged, several Prairie Warblers and Indigo Buntings and a pair of Field Sparrows. A calling pair of Common Ravens drifted over. Unseen but vocal birds included Eastern Wood-Peewee, Hooded Warber, Ovenbird and a quick burst from a Worm-eating Warbler. I didn't hear any Ceruleans, however.

That was a good start, with several "year" birds, although the Brewster's was the #1 star since I see this hybrid rarely. I then cut across through Warwick toward Oil City Road and the northern edge of Wallkill River NWR. Not a great deal there, just a few swallows and Least and Solitary Sandpipers. And then on to High Point State Park, although en route I did see a few Wild Turkeys.

Following a fairly typical route I coasted down Sawmill Road listening for Ceruleans, although I failed to find any. Despite it being 1pm many birds were in full song: American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird were the most frequent. A brief sprint along Deckertown Pike brought me to Stokes State Forest and more Cerulean territory and eventually I did find an actively singing one. I walked along the trail downstream along the Flatbrook River and saw Ovenbird, Veery and heard a Black-throated Green Warbler. What was missing here were Empidonax flycatchers - no Acadian on the Flatbrook, no Least near the parking lot, no Willow at Wallkill and as it turned out there would be no Alder at Layton. Dropping out of Stokes SF I heard a couple more Ceruleans singing.

And then finally to Layton and the Delaware Water Gap at Van Ness Rd, itself a destination for several early morning forays over the years. Prairie, Yellow and Blue-winged Warblers sounded off. There was no sign of any Golden-winged. The habitat here has filled in compared to my first years here and has probably become too overgrown for Golden-winged, now nearly extirpated in NJ. It's probably getting too "mature" for Blue-winged too. Wood Thrushes and Veeries were singing in the background, but it was relatively quiet (and late in the day) for a "good" day at Layton.

For the final stop I took a somewhat circuitous route before finding the Kay Environmental Center just south of Chester (west of Morristown). I was trying for a Golden-winged sweep by seeing the Lawrence's Warbler (another hybrid) that was reported there, but directions were a little vague and a Priarie Warbler was the only species in evidence here.

Brigantine, May 16th

After two park days and getting home from NYC at 4pm I somehow mustered the energy to do a late afternoon sprint to Brigantine NWR to look for the reported Bar-tailed Godwit. The route, mainly via NJ-539, took about 90 minutes so that's not too bad - most of the (beach) traffic was going the other way.

At Brig I failed to find the Bar-tailed Godwit since it had left the scene mid-morning (this wasn't evident from the email lists) and did not return. Nevertheless it was a fun time, albeit a brief one, and one that could have been enhanced if I'd remembered to pack the bug spray. Best birds were Whimbrel (several), 4 seen Clapper Rails, hoards of shorebirds mostly in full alternate plumage, and some Brant flocks. Some of the earlier Brant flocks before sundown looked almost as if they were migrating since they were at higher altitude. The later Brant flocks were lower and seemed content to remain locally. A fly-by northbound Common Loon was unexpected. A variety of first-of-year birds included Seaside Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Short-billed Dowitcher, Whimbrel, Purple Martin. Observation time was relatively short (I got there at 6:15pm, sunset was at 7:40pm) so some birds were missed and the "uplands" were totally ignored so there were no passerines other than the saltmarsh ones.

An extra bonus was a flock of ~15 Common Nighthawks hunting lower over the freshwater marsh near the exit of the drive - this might be the first time I've seen them at Brig, but not unrelated to the fact that I don't usually stay after sunset.

Brant (several hundred)
American Black Duck
Mallard
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
Clapper Rail
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Whimbrel
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Gull-billed Tern
Forster's Tern
Common Nighthawk
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Common Yellowthroat
Seaside Sparrow (multiple singing males)

May 15th-16th, Central Park

As luck would have it the two best spring days have been Fridays that I can't make the park: April 30th and May 14th. May 14th was probably the biggest day of spring, but Sat May 15th wasn't too bad although Sunday was a lot slower.

Highlights Saturday were Bay-breasted Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler at Tanner's Spring, Mourning Warbler in the Maintenance Field, heard Yellow-throated Vireo at Delacorte Theater and a Philadelphia Vireo at the edge of Evodia Field. Additionally Canada Warbler and Least Flycatcher were first-of-year for me. Sunday was slower with two female Cape May Warblers at the south edge of the reservoir being the best birds I found. 18 warblers aggregated over two days was acceptable but Sat was almost certainly a 20 warbler sp day if I hadn't spent too much time at Tanner's Spring and was carrying the camera.

Least Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting

Kentucky Warbler, western Fox Sparrow

The excitement in Strawberry Fields on May 13th was an unusual Fox Sparrow that had been found by Steve Chang. Apart from the fact that it is beyond late for an eastern red Fox Sparrow, it also didn't look a great deal like one (see the above pic). It was clearly one of the western subspecies of Fox Sparrow. This is interesting, but even more exciting if you consider that the Fox Sparrow is fairly likely to be split into different species in the not very distant future.

Although there wasn't much of a migration it turned out to be a decent day even without the Fox Sparrow exotica: a Kentucky Warbler in the Evodia Field turned up on it's grand circle while I was there, a female Hooded Warbler was nearby and there were two singing male Cape May Warblers. Lacking were flycatchers of any sort, or cuckoos, but it's never a bad day when you see a Kentucky.

Chimney Swift
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
House Wren
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Baltimore Oriole

Baldpate Mountain, May 9th

Faced with overcast, lines of storms and a howling wind I didn't do all that much birding on the weekend of the 8th-9th, but did make a visit to Baldpate Mtn (Titusville NJ) on the mid morning of Sunday May 9th. Blue-winged Warbler and Yellow Warblers were singing along the entrance road to the parking lot. Things along the blue trail (ridge trail) were quieter and many of the birds were heard-only in light of a lot of wind-induced movement in the canopy. Highlights were most certainly the singing Kentucky and Hooded Warblers - and I managed to see both of them after the Kentucky popped up to investigate why the cardinals were agitated (they must have been nesting close to the trail).

After Baldpate Mtn I made a brief visit to Bull's Island SP where I found 3 species of swallows (Cliff, Barn, Northern Rough-winged) and a fly-by young Peregrine was an unusual find. Around noon there was little activity along the canal-side nature trail and in particular no Acadian Flycatchers (it probably being a little early for them).

Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Blue-winged Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Kentucky Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Baltimore Oriole

Central Park May 1st and 2nd

Although April 30th was probably the most numerous day (I was at work), May 1st and 2nd in the park were good migration days and signalled a rapid switch from early to mid spring migrants. The species mix was different on the two days, with many Black-throated Greens on Sat and none on Sun. Best birds on Saturday were multiple Hooded Warblers, Worm-eating Warbler and Yellow-throated Vireo amongst a lot of new-for-year birds. On Sunday an early Bay-breasted Warbler (last year I had one on Apr 26th), Blackburnian Warbler, a few Blackpolls, and a Prairie Warbler. There were multiple termite hatch-outs at before 10am in the Ramble on Sunday under very humid conditions. 19 warbler species aggregated over two days with others (Cape May and Cerulean) at least reported.

May 1st:

White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Waterthrush
Hooded Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

May 2nd:

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Baltimore Oriole