Central Park Sept 15th and 16th

The front passed too late in the night to make Saturday a good migration day and so birding was extremely patchy.  Strawberry Fields was extremely slow, the Ramble a little better, but excitement came in the form of an Eastern Whip-poor-will found in the Ramble.  This is the first one I've seen in CPK in quite a few years (spring 2004 was the last), and also the first one in fall.  Based on pointed tail feathers it appeared to be an immature bird.  While watching the nightjar other good birds of the day were Cape May Warblers (possible ad. female and imm. male) and a Least Flycatcher.  The final icing was the ongoing American Bittern at Turtle Pond - I almost missed it until it flew across the pond to the island just as I turned to leave.  This is only my second Bittern in the park (last: in April 2004).  Other migrants included Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager and only three other species of warbler (American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat).

As of Monday morning the Whip-poor-will reappeared in the same tree - I'm pretty confident that this is the first time anyone's refound a bird like that in the same roosting spot in the park.


On Sunday migrant volume was better, although still not spectacular and the initial stop at Strawberry Fields included my first Red-breasted Nuthatch for the year - a bird that had been tormenting me.  There was also a start of a change-over in warbler species: Black-throated Green, Blackpoll and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet being evidence of that.  Swainson's Thrushes were numerous but Cedar Waxwings were putting up the best migrant numbers in the park with multiple flocks moving through places like the Maintenance Field while I was there.  A decent raptor flight occurred in the morning with multiple Broad-winged Hawks and an Osprey.  I also had my first White-throated Sparrows of fall.  The American Bittern remained at Turtle Pond, this time giving good views while hunting on the north side of the island.  Despite its persistence here it's a pretty rare bird in Central Park, actually a rarer sighting than the Connecticut Warbler that evaded me in the Ramble later that morning.

Brigantine and Tuckerton Oct 16th

(Catching up with old neglected sightings)

I went to Tuckerton and Brigantine NWR on a windy but sunny Sunday morning to pursue reported Ammodramus sparrows, with little success, but ended up with my first Cape May Warbler for NJ (other omissions that you might consider surprising include Bay-breasted, Wilson's and Tennessee).

At Tuckerton the brisk wind had the passerines seeking cover, so it was a bad day for sparrows and I was a little early for a high tide to push the sparrows out of the saltmarsh. Instead I contented myself with multiple flyover shorebird flocks: Black-bellied Plover, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Semipalmated/Western Sandpipers (uncertain which). A sheltered spot along Great Bay Blvd yielded one or perhaps two Cape May Warblers but it was mainly Yellow-rumped Warblers in that flock. Northern Flicker along that road, somewhat out of habitat also provided the impression of migration. There was also a brief glimpse of a fat hummingbird. I'm calling it Ruby-throated by default, not least of all because fall migrant hummingbirds are often loaded with fat prior to migration and look bigger - but I really can't rule out Selasphorus hummingbird (Rufous/Allen's) for which the date and the location would also be possible.

Further down the road at Brigantine NWR there were some shorebird flocks, largely the same composition but without the Knot, and quite a few waterfowl. For some strange reason I had left the scope at home so I lacked things like Wigeon and Gadwall but the other usual suspects: Am. Black Duck, Mallard, Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, abundant Northern Pintail. There was also a small flock of Snow Geese - far short of the population that usually winters here so apparently a vanguard. Unlike Brant Geese, which tend to do the whole migration in one flight, non-stop, Snow Geese stage at multiple points as they "drift" south.

There was a lot of raptor activity at Brig, including at least two Bald Eagles, a few Northern Harriers and one or two Peregrines which were enthusiastically harassing anything small in sight (so I assume they were hungry). There were also noteworthy flocks of two other species: Forster's Terns present in quite high numbers, and also good numbers of Double-crested Cormorant, apparently mostly immatures.

Snow Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Black-bellied Plover
Red Knot
Sanderling
Western or Semipalmated Sandpiper
Dunlin
Dowitcher sp.
Forster's Tern
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Tree Swallow
Cape May Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Boat-tailed Grackle

Sunday 5/8

This was a slower day, both measured in terms of the numbers of warblers but also the extent to which they quieted down by late morning. I did find a Cape May Warbler at Strawberry Fields, singing, but missed the Blue Grosbeak (a lingerer, presumably) and Bay-breasted Warbler. Cape May has been moderately numerous again this spring. Birds like Blackpoll Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler were notably absent today.

By late morning I decided to pack it in and get some brunch at one of my old UES haunts. I had driven into the city and had parked at 79th/Madison.

After brunch I decided to hit a couple of birding spots and my preferred nursery before getting home. First stop was DeKorte Park in the Meadowlands Lyndhurst. DeKorte has great potential as a spring shorebirding spot if only they would draw down the water a little and expose a little more mud, even in one small section. In the event I saw Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper (one quite advanced, very rufous, with a prominent white eye ring), and one Spotted Sandpiper. Also present were Gadwall, American Black Duck, Mallard (with ducklings), Tree/Barn/Bank Swallows. Passerine migration was also in evidence, with the trees and pond edge containing Yellow-rumped Warblers, Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat.

After a visit to Belle Mead C0-op for grass seed, I went down to nearby Griggstown Preserve (Franklin Twp, NJ) to check for Bobolinks. Someone had reported quite a few near the parking lot. I found one, a male that still had a rather subdued plumage - either in mid-molt or a young bird. As often happens here, the Bobolinks drop in but don't seem to stick for very long. Also there was Orchard Oriole, Tree Swallow, Warbling Vireo and many Red-winged Blackbirds.

CPK 5/3 (Acadian, Cape May)

I often feel like Accuweather let the 16-year old interns play with the forecast, so I wasn't totally surprised on Monday evening to see that Sunday's forecast for the week was wrong and Tuesday had prospects for a good migration day.

And so it was.

Entering Strawberry Fields at 7:15am I saw three Great Blue Herons migrating north. Isn't that a little late for them ? I had Great Blues migrating over the ocean on 3/26. Also in Strawberry were a lot of Gray Catbirds (as in: 7 in one small tree, many elsewhere). Outnumbering the Catbirds were White-throated Sparrows, which were there in the hundreds. Common Yellowthroat also put in a strong showing today too, and I saw at least twenty.

There were rarities about, but I only put my eyes on a few really interesting birds. The high point for me was an Acadian Flycatcher in Strawberry Fields (greenish, long-billed, long-primary projection). Acadian was my #1 park nemesis bird for many years - I've heard a few over the years - but compared to the Least Flycatchers I saw later the difference was quite marked. Marked, that is, for an Empidonax. Other nice birds included multiple singing White-crowned Sparrows (never common there), Cape May Warbler, Hooded Warbler. I also picked up Rose-breasted Grosbeak and American Redstart as year birds along with the Cape May Warbler, Acadian and Least Flycatchers. One of the better nn-FOY birds was Louisiana Waterthrush which stood out since the supercilium was indeed "the whitest thing on the bird". Lots of Northern Waterthrushes too. 17 warber species in all - pretty good going for a day originally forecast as rainy.


Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Chimney Swift
Acadian Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole

Central Park 9/11

Migration on this 9/11 was reminiscent of the other 9/11 with clear skies and a cool start off a northwestern wind - pretty good although not yet maximal in terms of diversity. This one lacked the attendant disaster, thank God. I stayed in Strawberry Fields much of the time, reflecting the steady volume there. At one point I had Blackpoll, Blackburnian and Bay-breasted in one small part of a tree. Later on I added Cape May, shortly after a Bald Eagle flew past. I only added a couple more warbler species elsewhere.

Bald Eagle
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Empidonax Flycatcher sp.
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

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

Central Park, Oct 4th

A big Blue Jay migration day with multiple flocks over the park, and one small flock still heaed south over the marshland near Secaucus NJ seen from the southbound NJ Train. Not seen by me was a Connecticut Warbler. A decent mix with 12 species of warbler, modest numbers, but notably a mid-late fall mix with both species of kinglet, Pewee and Phoebe.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Red-eyed Vireo
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Nashville Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Indigo Bunting