Central Park: April 27th/28th

Saturday was slow going with low numbers but a significant uptick in diversity compared to Thursday, the larger volume day.  Notable were first-of-year (for me) Black-throated Green Warbler and an Eastern Kingbird and an especially elusive Hooded Warbler that I finally caught up with at the Tupelo. In contrast to Thursday there were actually some thrushes around, all Hermits.  Nevertheless the going was relatively slow and I managed only 8 warbler species.  A roosting Red Bat was pointed out to me - the first time I've actually seen one roosting in the park although we sometimes encounter daytime bats (perhaps sick ones).

Sunday held the promise of better winds, and migration had a bit more volume but it didn't quite constitute a "good" day.  Highlights were new American Redstart, new Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Worm-eating Warbler and a Great Crested Flycatcher.  Notable by its absence was Kentucky Warbler - seen in Prospect Park and should be pretty much the perfect time for one.   Numbers were up but it manifested as much as more Black-and-whites or Ruby-crowned Kinglets and I netted only one more warbler species on the Sunday than the Saturday.

Saturday:

Gadwall
Chimney Swift
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Hooded Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow

Sunday:

Chimney Swift

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Great Crested Flycatcher

Blue-headed Vireo

Warbling Vireo (heard)

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Hermit Thrush

Wood Thrush (heard)

Gray Catbird

Northern Parula

Yellow Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

American Redstart

Worm-eating Warbler

Ovenbird

Eastern Towhee

Swamp Sparrow

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

4/25 Central Park: 11 warbler species

In what felt like a "right on time" migration day I managed to pick the weather right and chose the cooler of the two days to visit the park based on wind direction (Weds was 75 degrees but the previous night had northerlies).  I had 4 Chimney Swifts the night before over my house (c.NJ) and on the northbound train at dawn there were another four over Linden.

The initial impression from Strawberry Fields was that it was quiet, albeit quiet with a lot of Chipping Sparrows, a singing Yellow Warbler and a Northern Parula.  I encountered some Chipping Sparrow flocks in the Ramble and elsewhere that suggested a big day for them.  In contrast only the one lingering female Dark-eyed Junco.  Hernshead was rather more active with two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers.  A distant waterthrush seemed Northern-ish and there were one or two Northerns at the Upper Lobe.  I was reluctant to call the waterthrush at the Triplets Bridge a Louisiana at the time, but on my way out of the park caught up with Louisiana Waterthrush south of Hernshead.  That's my first one for the year.

In the Ramble there were a lot of Palm Warblers exploring the now more open areas where many trees came down in Hurricane Sandy: the swampy ex-Pin Oak area and the Summer House.  Many Eastern (yellow) Palms in that area, and overall I saw perhaps as many as 30 throughout the park - rather a contrast to the Palms I saw in Florida recently which were all of the drab Western subspecies.  Several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, more Gnatcatchers, a few Blue-headed Vireos, but only one Hermit Thrush and zero Phoebes.  The Black-and-white Warblers had as many females as males - a strange thing for their first big movement in the park.  However the best two warblers for the day were a male Prairie Warbler and a male Hooded Warbler, the latter covering ground rapidly near the Summer House and Swampy Pin Oak.

The final interesting birds for the day were a brief glimpse of Ovenbird near Azalea Pond and a male Baltimore Oriole at Maintenance Field.



Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo (3+)
Barn Swallow
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (5+)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (5+)
Hermit Thrush
Northern Parula (1)
Yellow Warbler (2)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler (1 first spring female)
Prairie Warbler (1)
Palm Warbler (30+)
Black-and-white Warbler (5)
Ovenbird (1)
Northern Waterthrush (2)
Louisiana Waterthrush (1)
Hooded Warbler (1)
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (1)
Baltimore Oriole

Spring migration April 20th/21st

On Saturday 20th I was in Central Park, although not too many migrants were there along with me.  Lingering Northern Shovelers on the Lake, plus three species of swallows (Barn, Northern Rough-winged, Tree) and later on joined by a Great Egret.  A single Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was overshadowed by the continuing pair of Hairy Woodpeckers (common elsewhere, very uncommon in the park) where the female is rather buffy in ways reminiscent of western Hairy subspecies.  They are quite vocal and one has to think that the prospects of nesting are fairly high.


There were a couple of first-of-year-for-park birds, with Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Northern Waterthrush, but the actual New World warbler count was only up to 3: Yellow-rumped (1) and Palm Warbler (2) adding to the list.  The Gnatcatcher is an Old World warbler.  The limited migration was rather expected from the colder temperatures and northern-trending winds, however.

On Sunday morning the overwintering female Red-breasted Nuthatch showed up at my feeders again, apparently also unimpressed with spring migration weather.   The previous day's Wilson's Phalarope did not "stick" at Negri-Nepote Preserve (Franklin Twp, Central NJ) so I was left with ~8 Greater Yellowlegs and single Killdeer.  The morning was redeemed by the ongoing American Bittern in the pond at Princeton's Institute Woods and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

On the 24th the overnight northerly winds nevertheless allowed some migration, judging from the appearance of a slightly early Gray Catbird on the suet in my back yard.  The overwintering sparrows seem to have left (Juncos first, then White-throated) being replaced by incoming Chipping Sparrows.

Strong migration for early April, Central Park

Rarely do I go into Central Park on a workday morning in April, much less on April NINTH, but the forecast for today was for a second day of unseasonable heat - into the high 70's and perhaps 80's, bringing with it hopes of a strong migration showing.

Early April means much lower diversity than early May, but there were about as many individuals of each of the migrant species as I remember seeing this early on in spring migration.  I had double digits of both Kinglets and Hermit Thrushes, Flickers were bordering on abundant, but the date being what it was I had only one warbler species - three Palm Warblers - having missed the Louisiana Waterthrush.  Best bird for the day was a single Rusty Blackbird in fully black plumage, spending time in the Upper Lobe with the Wood Duck pair.  Two Winter Wrens were also a decent find.  Fox Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Towhees and a singles of Swamp and Field Sparrow were the sparrow migrants of note, with also an uptick of Song Sparrows.

In a couple of weeks this sort of pro-migration weather would be expected to carpet the park with Yellow-rumped Warblers.


Wood Duck
Gadwall
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Palm Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rusty Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch

Central Park and South Amboy, April 6th

A morning's visit to Central Park on Saturday did not turn up much of note, although some early spring migrants did put in an appearance: several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a couple of Eastern Phoebes and a Hermit Thrush.  A pair of Wood Ducks were hanging out on the Lake near the Point.

In the afternoon, on the South Amboy waterfront at Raritan Bay I was in search of "exotic" gulls.  The Little Gull from earlier in the week was not to be found, neither were the (increasingly common) Lesser Black-backed and the truly exotic Nelson's Gull (Glaucous x Herring).  However the immature Black-headed Gull was present, spending time with the Bonaparte's Flock.  Other birds in the bay included at least 50 Horned Grebes in a range of plumages from basic through full alternate, one breeding plumage Common Loon, several adult Gannets.

Black-headed Gull immature

Bonaparte's Gull immature (for comparison)