Central Park May 13th

I had hoped for an even stronger migrant day on the Sunday, but instead there was evidence for declining numbers compared to Saturday (Thurs, Fri were likely even better but I was at work).  This was the first park visit recently where I didn't snag a first-of-year bird.  Strawberry Fields was quieter, although the calling Least Flycatcher was nice.  Belvedere Castle was still active, although mainly with commoner species, with one male Blackburnian Warbler and one male Bay-breasted Warbler being the best species up there.  Down in the Ramble it was somewhat quiet and patchy, and on the south side of the reservoir I didn't find any additional Bay-breasted but did find another Blackburnian in the south-west corner.

A pair of Tree Swallows were hunting around Turtle Pond and over the Ramble - never a common bird in Central Park, especially since this is already in the middle of Tree Swallow breeding season.

There was quite a lot of evidence of a flight the previous night - Yellow-rumped Warblers had mostly departed, for instance, although the number of Catharus thrushes still seemed anomalously low, even if I heard a few singing Swainson's Thrushes.


Chimney Swift                          
Least Flycatcher                       
Empidonax sp.                          
Eastern Kingbird                       
Red-eyed Vireo                         
Tree Swallow                           
House Wren                             
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                  
Swainson's Thrush                      
Wood Thrush                            
Gray Catbird                           
Cedar Waxwing                          
Ovenbird                               
Northern Waterthrush                   
Black-and-white Warbler                
Nashville Warbler                      
Common Yellowthroat                    
American Redstart                      
Northern Parula                        
Magnolia Warbler                       
Bay-breasted Warbler                   
Blackburnian Warbler                   
Yellow Warbler                         
Chestnut-sided Warbler                 
Blackpoll Warbler                      
Black-throated Blue Warbler            
Yellow-rumped Warbler                  
Black-throated Green Warbler           
Canada Warbler                         
Scarlet Tanager                        
Rose-breasted Grosbeak                 
Baltimore Oriole                       

Central Park - May 12th

After not coming in during the week despite reasonable migration motion, Saturday was at least sunny so I took in more spring migration in Central Park.  I netted 19 species of warbler in a typical mix of species.  Most noteworthy was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that I saw fly out of Maintenance Field and somehow managed to track on two successive hops before making the ID.  Thankfully others also got on the bird.  A close second best were two Bay-breasted Warblers seen on the bridle path that parallels the south side of the Reservoir - a good place for Bay-breasted and Cape Mays in recent years.  Despite hearing one Cape May I could not catch sight of it.  Other new-for-year birds included common ones: Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Blackpoll Warbler.  I also saw 4-5 different Blackburnian Warblers, including a female - I rarely see these.  There was also an anomalous Great Blue Heron headed north at high altitude over the park - it's long past the point where these should be nesting.

Some signs of less than epic volume included a lack of Catharus thrushes - I saw a grand total of 3.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher 
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler  (heard)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler  (several)
Prairie Warbler (heard)
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Eastern Towhee 
White-throated Sparrow  - a few remain
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

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.

Central Park, May 5th

Another overcast day ending in -y, so back to Central Park.  The Grasshopper Sparrow put in another appearance, as did even more Indigo Buntings and a White-crowned Sparrow.  I'd been hearing the White-crowned, but not seeing them, and Falconer's is one of the best places in the park to find them.

The Ramble was significantly quieter than previous days, perhaps with much of the volume of the Weds-Fri migration burst passing through.  Small patches of warbler activity, especially on the west side of the Ramble, added to the warbler species total of 12 but there was clearly a lot less volume around.  Apart from the Grasshopper Sparrow one of the more interesting birds of the day for me was my FOY Green Heron which was feeding in Azalea Pond despite being a little too sensitive to the passing dog walkers and periodically retreating to the trees.  Potential FOY birds Orchard Oriole and Red-eyed Vireo were heard but not seen, but there are still very few Red-eyed in the park.

Green Heron                            
Chimney Swift                       
Northern Flicker                       
Blue-headed Vireo                      
Warbling Vireo                         
Red-eyed Vireo (heard)                    
Barn Swallow                           
House Wren                             
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                  
Wood Thrush                          
Ovenbird                               
Blue-winged Warbler                    
Black-and-white Warbler                
Nashville Warbler                      
Common Yellowthroat                    
American Redstart                      
Northern Parula                        
Magnolia Warbler                       
Blackburnian Warbler                   
Chestnut-sided Warbler                 
Yellow-rumped Warbler                  
Black-throated Green Warbler    
Grasshopper Sparrow     
Chipping Sparrow                       
Swamp Sparrow                          
White-throated Sparrow                 
White-crowned Sparrow                  
Scarlet Tanager                        
Indigo Bunting                         
Orchard Oriole (heard)                         
Baltimore Oriole                       
        

Central Park, May 4th

On the second of what was eventually four consecutive days birding the park, the numbers in the Ramble were almost as high as the previous day (Thursday).  The highlight of the day was a Grasshopper Sparrow which had been found on the croquet courts the previous day, and which I happened to find first on adjacent Falconer's Hill early in the morning.  This is my third species of Ammodramus sparrow in Central Park - the others being Saltmarsh Sparrow (twice!) and Nelson's Sparrow.  My park list is now 196 although getting to 200 would be quite a challenge.  Also on Falconer's were the colorful duo of male Indigo Bunting and two male Scarlet Tanager.

A close second in the celebrity stakes was a male Cerulean Warbler, initially silent but finally singing, making it easier to find in its traditional canopy top habits.  The area it was found in (the small hillock now called the "Captain's Bench" is approximately the same as that of last year, and might reflect the Cerulean's habitat preference of sycamores associated with nearby water, at least based on where I find them in NJ and NY.  Many Baltimore Orioles were nearby, particularly fond of the flowering Tulip Trees.

Other good birds included Veery, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-throated Vireos, Blackburnian Warblers and a Least Flycatcher that actually vocalized in addition to a silent Empidonax seen later.  The light was still challenging, with significant overcast, which made identifications frequently a challenge.  Before returning to Falconer's Hill to watch the Grasshopper Sparrow again in the early afternoon I saw quite an unlikely event: a Solitary Sandpiper flying through the Ramble at eye level headed through the trees toward the Lake.

16 species of warbler, down a little from the previous day but covering reduced territory.

Solitary Sandpiper                     
Ruby-throated Hummingbird              
Least Flycatcher                       
Empidonax sp. (Least-ish)                    
Great Crested Flycatcher               
Yellow-throated Vireo                  
Blue-headed Vireo                      
Warbling Vireo                         
House Wren                             
Ruby-crowned Kinglet                   
Veery                                  
Hermit Thrush                          
Wood Thrush                            
Brown Thrasher                         
Ovenbird                               
Northern Waterthrush                   
Black-and-white Warbler                
Nashville Warbler                      
Common Yellowthroat                    
American Redstart                      
Cerulean Warbler                       
Northern Parula                        
Magnolia Warbler                       
Blackburnian Warbler                   
Yellow Warbler                         
Chestnut-sided Warbler                 
Black-throated Blue Warbler            
Yellow-rumped Warbler                  
Prairie Warbler                        
Black-throated Green Warbler           
Eastern Towhee                         
Chipping Sparrow                       
Grasshopper Sparrow                    
Swamp Sparrow                          
Scarlet Tanager                        
Rose-breasted Grosbeak                 
Indigo Bunting                         

Migration wave, Central Park, May 3rd

It is approaching the peak season of  May 5th-12th, and today's birding showed that despite challenging viewing conditions with dark overcast.  I left the camera at home - a rarity for me - and ranged further afield, starting at the North End which already had interesting reports by the time I reached the park.  I found one of these birds - a Tennessee Warbler - fairly quickly.  The Tennessee was literally belting its song out, although it was a lot easier to hear than see and I only got mediocre views.  For quite a while it was singing semi-continuously.  There were also a lot of other singing birds, particularly Nashvilles and Yellows.  I found Yellow-throated Vireo by song, and saw at least two up there.  Blue-headed Vireo was especially numerous.  I also found Blackburnian by song, and finally tracked down a Blue-winged when I was searching for the elusive "Lawrence's" (Blue-winged x Golden-winged).  I also had a fleeting glimpse of a tantalizing bird - something that by size and particularly color was either a female Summer Tanager or a female Blue Grosbeak, but which was extremely uncooperative and I had to leave that unidentified.  I didn't even wander off the Great Hill, such was the activity.  There was also a Least-ish Empidonax flycatcher hunting low on the south slope of Great Hill, but did not sing for confirmation.

Eventually I headed south toward the Ramble.  I found Prairie Warbler near the Tennis Courts, American Redstart at the nw corner of the Reservoir, and about 100 yards south I stopped to listen to something that sounded somewhere in the range Hooded-Magnolia Warbler song.  It wasn't full-fledged Hooded and I suspected Magnolia for a while because a second bird was answering it.  The west side of the Reservoir is not really Hooded Warbler territory being mainly trees with little understory.  A  surprise, then, when this second bird turned out to be a male Hooded Warbler, and the first male Hooded showed itself after they'd taken a break from singing at each other.

Nothing was happening at the Upper Lobe at the Ramble, despite Bay-breasted being reported there earlier, but I did pick up Hermit Thrush and my first Wood Thrush nearby.  Toward Azalea Pond there was a good mix of warblers present, with two Magnolias and  Black-throated Blue Warbler also being new for the year.  Down at the Gill there was Northern Waterthrush, Northern Parula (one of many heard all day) and another year-first: Canada Warbler.

On my way out of the park I picked up two Great Crested Flycatchers and a single Veery, bringing my new-for-the-year additions to a grand total of twelve and a total of twenty warbler species for the day, with Tennessee and Hooded the best of those.

American Kestrel
Empidonax sp.
Great Crested Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo  (many)
Warbling Vireo
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler (many)
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler (several)
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole (several)

Princeton, post-deluge, May 1st

South-east winds are not outstanding for migrants but I suspected that the morning's storm front would dump some migrants locally.  There were quite a few warblers in Princeton Institute Woods, most of which were Yellow-rumped.  Unfortunately the low light and gray skies made for some difficult tree-top birding.  As with Central Park the previous weekend, lots of migrants were heard and not seen in 30 minutes birding before work.  The biggest one to get away was a Yellow-throated Vireo that I could follow through the canopy by ear but could not get on it before it left the scene.  House Wrens were also putting in a strong showing - perhaps migrants had swelled the numbers of birds already attempting to hold territory and I heard my first Wood Thrush of the year (not pursued in the very wet woods)

Yellow-throated Vireo
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Wood Thrush
Ovenbird
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart  (first of year)
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler  (many)
Eastern Towhee 

Possible heard-only: Blackburnian Warbler

Central Park, April 28th

In one week numbers have dropped because of indifferent migration weather, but diversity has exploded.  Somehow - and many of these were heard-only - I racked up 15 species of warbler in a morning while spending chunks of it looking for a Kentucky Warbler.

The Kentucky had been seen the previous day and stuck around the same place in Shakespeare Garden on the Saturday.  I was told it had not been seen in an hour, but Kentucky's often make regular circuits of the same terrain and vanish for quite some time between appearances.  I first saw it - a ventral view - scooting into a tree and dropping onto the ground whence it did a very Kentucky thing and vanished entirely.  Subsequently found by others it eventually ante'd up by perching on the fence and the semi-exposed rock.  Right on time, that Kentucky, in the last few days of April.

Also right on time was the Nashville in Strawberry Fields, the singing Prairie Warbler in the Upper Lobe and the Blue-winged singing on top of Shakespeare Garden.  Two of these were heard-only, but at least I found a Northern Parula near Belvedere Castle while being taunted by an elusive Black-throated Green.  Challenging Kentucky for the best bird of the day was a singing Orange-crowned Warbler in the big oak still standing in Maintenance Field.  Another decent bird was a Chestnut-sided Warbler also in the Maintenance Field.  Despite a warm winter and prematurely warm March the migrant timing is pretty much as expected - some early appearances but most of them are clamped by the need to fly a couple of thousand miles during spring.  Kind of tough to speed that up.  This is still a transitional stage in spring migration, as evidenced by more early spring species like Blue-headed Vireo and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Hermit Thrush as the only Catharus.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Blue-headed Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Eastern Towhee

Negri-Nepote, pre-deluge, Apr 22nd

Yellow Warbler was singing from the neighborhood when I was getting ready to depart for Negri-Nepote despite threatening weather and a day's worth of rain headed up on the southerly winds.  It didn't quite make it to my yard list or my year list, since I never saw it and it didn't come quite close enough.

Instead, in heavy cloud and beginning drizzle I headed out to Negri-Nepote Grasslands (Franklin Twp) to check for shorebirds in the small pond there.  Field Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, House Wren and Common Yellowthroat were all singing.  Along with four Mallard males in the pond were four breeding plumage Greater Yellowlegs, a nice find, and the real prize was a Pectoral Sandpiper at the back of the pond.  No Wilson's Snipe, recently reported here, but I don't usually see Pectoral until the fall.  As the rain started to fall I retreated to snag my first seen Common Yellowthroat for spring migration, close to the parking lot.