Central Park - Apr 23 - Cool temps, but some good birds!

It was mostly cloudy with cool northwest winds for my Wednesday morning Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. bird walk in the Ramble. Despite the weather we had a great morning. I owe thanks for the best birds to John Walsh and Danny Lynch who were in birding on their own, but who called me on my cell phone with reports. We were up at the south side of Turtle Pond when my phone first rang. It was John calling to say they were looking at a male Cerulean Warbler at the north end of Bow Bridge. We wasted no time getting down there and were rewarded with nice views of the Cerulean. It was frequenting a tree with numbers of Palm, Yellow-rumped and at least two Pine Warblers. After everyone had good looks we continued our walk around the Ramble. We were approaching the Azalea Pond when my phone range again - John again with word of a Prairie Warbler on the Point. It was a much shorter walk this time to lovely views of a very cooperative, singing Prairie. There had also been a Nashville Warbler around, but it had disappeared by the time we got there. The entire list of 32 species follows.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Shoveler - 20 on the Lake
Double-crested Cormorant - a few flying over
Great Egret - one flying over Belvedere
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo - a few scattered individuals
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - one over Lake
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - two or three
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - individuals all around Ramble
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing - six, south of feeders
Cerulean Warbler - one male, north end of Bow Bridge
Palm Warbler - fifteen to twenty; many on the Point and by old Pin Oak area
Pine Warbler - two by Bow Bridge
Yellow-rumped Warbler - many
Prairie Warbler - one singing male on the Point
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow - one, Belvedere
White-throated Sparrow - fewer than in recent weeks but still all over
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch - feeders
House Sparrow

On the way out there was a sleeping Raccoon in a tree near the stone arch by the Upper Lobe.

sleeping Raccoon                                                                                   © Joseph DiCostanzo

When we were leaving another group told us they had seen the Cerulean Warbler on Hernshead, as well as an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron. We did not see the warbler, but Chuck and I did see the night-heron.

Black-crowned Night-Heron                                                                                      © Joseph DiCostanzo

Lydia Thomas and I went into the Ramble at lunchtime. We did not see either of the uncommon warblers, but there were still lots of Palms and Yellow-rumps around.

[UPDATE: I checked my records and the Cerulean was the first time I have had that species on one of my AMNH Central Park bird walks. It was species number 172 for the nearly eighteen years I have been doing the walks.]