Central Park Fri-Sat-Sun 17th-19th, 21 warbler species

With migration now moving along quickly I made what is likely to be my last spring migration CPK trip of 2013 as a Friday to Sunday triple.  Thursday was in fact the biggest migration day, but with birds left over on both Saturday and Sunday even if the weather on Sunday was quite wet.

Best birds: Olive-sided Flycatcher (Saturday), Black-billed Cuckoo (Friday), Tennessee Warblers (Sat, Sun: singing), a very late Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, late Prairie Warbler (Sat, Sun: singing).  The new first-of-year birds included me finally catching up with Cedar Waxwings.  I still maintained a perfect-miss record on Mourning and Kentucky, however.

On Monday morning, although a work day, migration was still humming along based on three warbler species (Blackpoll, Magnolia, Redstart) singing in my back yard, plus Red-eyed Vireo.




Double-crested Cormorant
Spotted Sandpiper (Sat)
Black-billed Cuckoo (Fri)
Chimney Swift
Northern Flicker
Cedar Waxwing
Olive-sided Flycatcher (Sat)
Least Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Sat)
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush (Sun)
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler (Sat, Sun)
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler (Fri, Sat)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler (Fri, Sat)
Prairie Warbler (Sat, Sun)
Bay-breasted Warbler (Fri, Sat)
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler (Sat)
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
White-crowned Sparrow (Fri)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole

Central Park Oct 6th

My first Purple Finches of the year - last winter was not an invasion year - were in Strawberry Fields, although I missed the Pine Siskins by 15 minutes.  Both were female-type but at least one was probably immature male since it started singing.  There were also my first Golden-crowned Kinglets in fall migration.

Despite a somewhat northerly wind the warbler numbers were unexceptional all day.  There was a hint of a raptor flight, with two Cooper's Hawks, a Merlin and an ambiguous falcon (Merlin/Peregrine) over the Maintenance Field.  But otherwise the day's biggest migrant numbers were unquestionably Cedar Waxwings.  Flocks of mainly juveniles (many molting into a facsimile of adult plumage) were all over the park all day feeding on pokeweed and crab apples.

My best bird turned out to be an immature Black-billed Cuckoo, which popped up in the Upper Lobe while I was listening to another Purple Finch making the 'pik' call on the other side of the water.  This was followed by a Gray-cheeked Thrush - one of my rather more unlikely misses this year since they are regular in the park.  This particular Gray-cheeked gave no hint of candidate Bicknell's and had a nice cold olive-brown tone to it.

Otherwise birding was not high volume.  In the afternoon I ventured out to Duke Farms (Somerset area in NJ) in the mid afternoon and found the parking lot brimming with walkers and cyclists.  Between overcast and a fairly strong breeze the bird activity was relatively low, but I did have a Peregrine (likely a migrant headed down-river after coming off the Watchung Ridge), a family of American Kestrels, Palm Warblers and Savannah Sparrow.  This looks not a bad bet for early winter birding because much of the weedy field habitat is intact - over in Griggstown Preserve they've mowed 90% of the habitat down to the stubble in another example of how not to manage habitat for fall migrants, so there's little reason to revisit it.

Cooper's Hawk                          
Black-billed Cuckoo                    
Chimney Swift                          
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker               
Northern Flicker                       
Merlin                                 
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe                         
Black-capped Chickadee                 
Red-breasted Nuthatch                  
White-breasted Nuthatch                
Golden-crowned Kinglet                 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet                   
Gray-cheeked Thrush                    
Hermit Thrush                          
Gray Catbird                           
Brown Thrasher                         
Cedar Waxwing                          
Common Yellowthroat                    
American Redstart                      
Northern Parula                        
Magnolia Warbler                       
Blackpoll Warbler                      
Black-throated Blue Warbler            
Swamp Sparrow                          
White-throated Sparrow                 
Dark-eyed Junco
Scarlet Tanager                       
Northern Cardinal                      
Rose-breasted Grosbeak                 
Purple Finch                           
American Goldfinch                     

Central Park 9/25 (Cuckoos, Tennessee)

Quite a slow start in Strawberry Fields, where I learnt that early in the morning a Mississippi Kite had been seen overhead by Peter Post. However migrant activity was extremely patchy in the initial overcast of the day. Wandering into the Ramble I got a #cpkbirds tweet about a Yellow-billed Cuckoo at the Upper Lobe and went over to check it out. The lone willow tree was quite active with multiple Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Gray Catbirds, a few Swainson's Thrushes, Pewee and Phoebe. There were also one or two warblers including the lone Northern Waterthrush for the day. Being there for a while I saw a cuckoo fly down the Upper Lobe and assumed it was the Yellow-billed. However some time later a Black-billed Cuckoo flew into the willow, and gave quite a few people good looks especially when it was out on a sunny rock on the other side of the lobe.

From the Upper Lobe I went to the Maintenance Field which also was moderately active. After a few minutes I found another Black-billed Cuckoo - this must have been quite a good Cuckoo day since Yellow-billed were also reported from these same areas earlier. Here I also picked up migrating raptors: Osprey and Sharp-shinned Hawk, although that activity was slow. A few Monarch Butterflies were migrating. While here I "heard" of a third hand report of Tennessee and Connecticut Warblers in some vaguely defined area "near Tupelo". I elected to stay and do a little hawk watching since it had been a long while since I had seen a kettle of Broad-winged. At one point there were two Eastern Phoebes and at least two Eastern Wood-Pewee's flycatching here.

This was a bit of a mistake - there was a Connecticut near Tupelo giving excellent looks, and by the time I got there it had gone. Although I did see: Tennessee and Nashville Warblers and several other warblers (Ovenbird, C. Yellowthroat, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, Restart). They all particularly liked the insect-laden asters as the sun warmed them up.

Shame about the Connecticut since it's rare to get good views. However it's also been a long while since I had eye level looks at Tennessee in fall in the park, so that's the consolation prize.

(On the way home I stopped at the Allentown NJ sod farms and finally picked up American Golden Plover for the year).

Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Black-billed Cuckoo (Maint. Field, Upper Lobe)
Chimney Swift
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee (multiple)
Eastern Phoebe (multiple)
Winter Wren (Upper Lobe)
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (many)
Indigo Bunting

Saturday 5/7 - good migration

A pretty good migration happened overnight Friday-Saturday although the numbers were not huge in Central Park. In Strawberry Fields the diversity was decent and I picked up Blackpoll Warbler for the year (a singing male, one of a few that day and not atypical for the end of the first week in May). On the way into the Ramble I heard/saw Blackburnian Warbler and Northern Waterthrush and then shortly thereafter I found my first Swainson's Thrush for the year. It's not been a good year for Catharus-type Thrushes and Saturday was no exception with only a couple of Veeries and a Wood Thrush to add to the total (and Wood Thrush isn't even a Catharus). Still it's too early to expect Gray-cheeked so it may yet pick up.

Still, it was a decent mix of earlier and mid spring birds - Black-throated Green Warblers were in a couple of places, but there was also Canada Warbler. Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos. Along the point there was my second Summer Tanager for the year - certainly the only year when I've seen two in the park. There were also tame Canada and Magnolia Warblers, American Redstart - the relatively warm area along the Point was the most active part of the Ramble, perhaps reflecting a cool start to the day. Two good birds were in the Evodia Field area: a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a Black-billed Cuckoo. I was alerted to the Cuckoo by other birders and was frankly amazed when it was chased out of the tree by another Cuckoo ! We rarely see multiple Cuckoos in the park, and when we do we really don't see that sort of territorial interaction. I assume the second Cuckoo was also Black-billed but I wasn't able to relocate it. Turns out this was my first Black-billed Cuckoo in a few years. I usually have better luck with Yellow-billed, although they really aren't that much more common.

Following up on a sighting of more than one Cape May at the Bethesda Fountain I wandered south of the boathouse - something I rarely do now but it used to be part of my regular route into the park when I lived on the UES in Manhattan. I was lucky enough to hear a singing male and after a little search did get onto it. A park employee showed me two roosting Raccoons, and later in the day I saw two more near the Upper Lobe - 4 being the most I've ever seen in one day in the park. Despite culling due to rabies infection they still seem to be present.

There was also a Blue Grosbeak - another park rarity - that I didn't see after it was initially found at Cherry Hill. At that point in time (early afternoon) the crowds would probably scare away most wild birds. (Probably the same bird was found the subsequent day at Strawberry Fields).

Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia 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
Canada Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole