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

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.

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 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

Scott's Oriole in Union Square Park (NYC)

I went into NYC early on Monday morning to track down the first winter Scott's Oriole that was being seen in Union Square Park, of all places. True to form the bird was seen quite easily - perching over my head in a tree pre-sunrise and returning to the small garden in the southwest corner of the park a couple of times to pose in the sunlight. This is potentially a first NY State record for this species. More pictures with text here and a fuller collection on my gallery page for this species.