Central Park May 14th

An even slower day than Sunday, complete with overcast conditions, was enlivened by two things: large numbers of Cedar Waxwings, one or two of which were doing the berry-passing courtship ritual, and a female Summer Tanager which was between Belvedere Castle and Delacorte Theater.  Still very much an overshoot bird from its more southerly breeding territories, Summer Tanager is an annual but pretty scarce park visitor.  Also around the castle were continuing Tree Swallows, which surely must be thinking about nesting there (if they try they usually fail) and two Orchard Orioles, a female and immature male.

Peregrine Falcon                       
Chimney Swift                          
Eastern Wood-Pewee                     
Red-eyed Vireo                         
Tree Swallow                           
Veery                                  
Swainson's Thrush                      
Wood Thrush                            
Cedar Waxwing                          
Ovenbird                               
Northern Waterthrush                   
Black-and-white Warbler                
Common Yellowthroat                    
American Redstart                      
Northern Parula                        
Magnolia Warbler                       
Blackburnian Warbler                   
Yellow Warbler                         
Chestnut-sided Warbler                 
Blackpoll Warbler                      
Black-throated Blue Warbler            
Yellow-rumped Warbler                  
Canada Warbler                         
Wilson's Warbler                       
Summer Tanager                         
Scarlet Tanager                        
Rose-breasted Grosbeak                 
Orchard Oriole                         

Central Park, May 6th - the day of the Red Admirals

The final day of the early May quartet of Central Park visits had the lowest volume.  Falconer's Hill was quiet (no Indigo's, even) but there were a couple of patches on the west side of the Ramble, particularly the Upper Lobe, were warblers showed well including multiple singing Blackburnian Warblers.  I did have a singing Wilson's Warbler at Hernshead which was a first for the season (FOY was TX in January).  Actual first of year birds were Eastern Kingbird, Swainson's Thrush and finally snagging a look at an Orchard Oriole.  I did come up with 16 warbler species, but numbers were low and most birds were singles (Nashvilles and Blackburnians were the exception).

The most interesting observation of the day was the abundant Red Admirals that were milling around the park - I'd seen reports of masses of the on the move the previous day in NJ and PA, and they had come out in force in Central Park on Sunday.  I saw hundreds in my limited area of coverage, so I imagine there were tens of thousands in the park.  It was mainly Red Admirals with a few Commas and Painted Lady's mixed in.

Time to take a break from Central Park and hope to time the next migration wave.

American Kestrel                       
Chimney Swift                          
Eastern Kingbird                       
Blue-headed Vireo                      
Warbling Vireo                         
House Wren                             
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                  
Swainson's Thrush                      
Hermit Thrush                          
Wood Thrush                            
Ovenbird                               
Northern Waterthrush                   
Black-and-white Warbler                
Nashville Warbler                      
Common Yellowthroat                    
American Redstart                      
Northern Parula                        
Magnolia Warbler                       
Blackburnian Warbler                   
Yellow Warbler                         
Chestnut-sided Warbler                 
Black-throated Blue Warbler            
Yellow-rumped Warbler                  
Prairie Warbler                        
Black-throated Green Warbler           
Wilson's Warbler                       
Eastern Towhee                         
Chipping Sparrow                       
White-crowned Sparrow                  
Indigo Bunting                         
Orchard Oriole                         
Baltimore Oriole 
                     
On the way home from the train I visited Negri-Nepote Grasslands (Franklin Twp, NJ) to check out the pond.  Prairie Warblers, Indigo Buntings and Grasshopper Sparrows were singing - the burst of sunshine certainly helped.  On the pond were Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpipers, and this little patch of water continues to be a draw for migrating shorebirds.

Griggstown Preserve, August 10th

A late summer visit to Griggstown after several weekends bogged down with house-hunting revealed no great surprises. Song Sparrows, Field Sparrows and a few Indigo Buntings were in evidence. The Red-winged Blackbirds had moved off breeding territories although a few appeared to be staging at the cherry trees over toward Canal Rd. Also there were two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, chasing each other. There were a few Bobolinks - either all females/juveniles or the males had already molted. I'm not sure if they bred here this year, but at the very least they were using it in late summer - a promising sign. Other species were several Eastern Bluebirds including juveniles (despite the wet and cold spring), Barn Swallows, House and Carolina Wrens, Common Yellowthroat, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Orchard Oriole and heard Baltimore Oriole. A loud begging juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was making its way around the edge of one of the fields and there was also a large (female?) immature Cooper's Hawk being far more unobtrusive.

Very little singing, as you might expect, apart from a Song Sparrow or two and an Indigo Bunting.