December 26/27 - Inwood Hill Park - mild weather

People sometimes refer to Christmas in July. This year it is more like May at Christmas. The record warm temperatures have lasted all week, but it has been very damp. I did some brief walks in the park on Saturday and Sunday. The birding was pretty quiet. I did hear Carolina Wrens calling, plus a White-breasted Nuthatch, but otherwise very little activity in the woods. On Sunday, in the bay off the soccer fields at the north end of the park there were three Northern Shovelers (2 males, 1 female). They are certainly not the first I have seen in the park, but we don't get them too frequently. They are much more common down in Central Park.

Northern Shovelers 12-27-2015 Inwood Hill Park

As usual there were, of course, lots of Ring-billed Gulls around. The one below was photographed at low tide on Saturday by Muscota Marsh.

Ring-billed Gull 12-26-2015 Inwood Hill Park

Finally, one of the "Black" Gray Squirrels decided to pose irresistibly.

melanistic Gray Squirrel 12-27-2015 Inwood Hill Park

December 6 - Brooklyn birding spectacular!

After hearing about it for a week; after seeing reports on it in the New York Post, the New York Times, and on local CBS News, Ann and I finally got to Brooklyn to look for the now famous male Painted Bunting in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. We took my sister Toni to search for the bird. It was not much of a search. All we had to do was look for the crowd of birders ad other interested people near the Lefrak skating rink and there was the spectacular stray from the south! Toni even managed to get some pictures of the bird, though it was not as cooperative as it has been for others at times.

Male Painted Bunting - Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 12/06/2015

We were also lucky enough to see, late in the day, the subadult Black-headed Gull that had been found in the morning by a birding group from the Brooklyn Bird Club.

Black-headed Gull - Prospect Park lake, Brooklyn, 12-06-2015

Rounding out the day was a pair of Great Horned Owls at an undisclosed Brooklyn location.

Quite a Brooklyn birding spectacular, and an amazing first day of birding for my sister, Toni!

November 25 - Inwood Hill Park - lovely day, few birds

Ann and I went for a walk in Inwood Hill Park today. Lots of blue sky, but not many birds. Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows in the Clove. Also good numbers of Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees. The leaves are gone from most of the trees, but the was at least one very large Gingko still in full, glorious fall color.

Gimgko 11-25-2015 Inwood Hill Park

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 14 - Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge - Cave Swallow and waterfowl

On Saturday I led my annual Linnaean Society of New York field trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens. Except when it has been canceled due to bad weather (or the aftermath of hurricane Sandy), I have been doing this trip each November for 20 -30 years, or more. We had a crisp, breezy fall day for the trip this year with nine participants. We were hopeful for some good birds because of the influx of Franklin's Gulls into the area that were seen throughout the NYC area on Friday. We also hoped for Cave Swallow since they were also being reported. Indeed, just after we started out arounf the West Pond trail I received a text message from Sean Sime that two Cave Swallows had been seen south of us at Fort Tilden. When we were out at the breach in the West Pond, we spotted a couple of swallows, but they were all Tree Swallows. Flocks of Brant were the first of 18 species of waterfowl for the morning. The tide was in so there were no nearby mudflats, but I did spot a large group of shorebirds on a spit far out in the bay to the south. They appeared to be primarily Black-bellied Plover and Dunlin. Most of the waterfowl were on the East Pond. At the south end there was a nice male Redhead hanging out with a small group of American Coot. There were also two pair of Northern Pintail there and Hooded Mergansers. A fair-sized group of Snow Geese were visible over towards the Raunt. We next headed up to the lookout by the Raunt where there were lots more coot and good numbers of Ruddy Ducks as well as a good variety of waterfowl including another 2 Redhead (male and female), two Ring-necked Ducks that appeared to be young molting males. Across the pond when we first arrived at the Raunt was a lone Snowy Egret - it is getting late in the fall for this species. Walking back towards Big John's Pond a bright yellow warbler skulked low in the vegetation. Unfortunately, only a few of the group got a look at what proved to be a bright male Wilson's Warbler before it flew across the path and disappeared. Big John's itself had a number of Green-winged Teal (as had the East Pond) and a bright female Wood Duck to add to our waterfowl count. We then headed back across Cross Bay Boulevard and walked north through the gardens to the north marsh. In the gardens a flock of Cedar Waxwings were feeding on the berries in a juniper tree. The north marsh was quiet so we headed back to the headquarters building. Most of us had lunch at the picnic tables on the edge of the parking lot. Elijah Shiffer hadn't packed a lunch so he decided to get a head start for the trip back to Manhattan via the subway. We were just finishing lunch when Elijah called Kathleen Howley (the trip registrar) by cellphone to say he was watching two Cave Swallows at the Broad Channel subway station! Needless to say, we quickly dashed down there. Everyone was thrilled to see the birds from the subway waiting room over the tracks. (Thank you Elijah!) These were part of an influx of the species into the NYC area this day with reports coming in from many locales. It was only the second time that I had seen the species in New York (the first two years ago on Staten Island). The first record for the species in New York State was only 25 years ago in May 1990 at Jamaica Bay. In recent years they have become almost annual in the region, but almost always in November. Our total for the morning at Jamaica Bay was 47 species; the full list is below.

After leaving Broad Channel, Dale Dancis, Ann Shaw and I drove down to Fort Tilden and Riis Park. We had just crossed the south channel bridge onto the Rockaways when Dale got a call from Don Riepe that a friend of his had just photographed a White Pelican flying south over the West Pond. We kept our eye on the sky hoping to spot the pelican going by, but had no luck. We did come across another two Cave Swallows at Fort Tilden and Dale spotted a small flock of 8 Snow Buntings over the beach at Riis. A really nice day's birding.

Snow Goose
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck (female)
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail (2 pair)
Green-winged Teal
Redhead (3)
Ring-necked Duck (2)
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Merlin
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
American Oystercatcher
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Tree Swallow
Cave Swallow
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

November 6 - Central Park - waterfowl

This morning was my last AMNH Central Park bird walk of the fall - dubbed the "Papal Walk" because it was a make-up walk for the Friday that most of the park was closed during the Pope's visit. For this last walk we headed up to the reservoir to check out the increasing variety of waterfowl the late fall brings to the park we were not disappointed. The list follows.

Canada Goose (2, the Lake)
Gadwall (at least 20, Reservoir)
American Black Duck (2, Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (many on Reservoir)
Bufflehead (3, Reservoir)
Hooded Merganser (4, Reservoir)
Ruddy Duck (many, Reservoir)
Double-crested Cormorant (1, Reservoir)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot (2, Reservoir)
Ring-billed Gull (Reservoir)
Herring Gull (Reservoir)
Great Black-backed Gull (Reservoir)
Rock Pigeon
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker (feeders)
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee (1, Shakespeare Garden)
Tufted Titmouse (feeders)
White-breasted Nuthatch (several heard)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (Shakespeare Garden)
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

October 31 - Inwood Hill Park - fall color

Before going to Brooklyn to visit family for Halloween I did a short walk around Inwood Hill Park on a lovely, but cool morning. The winds were from the northwest so i had high hopes for migrants, especially raptors, but birds were surprisingly scarce and there were no raptors at all in the two hours from 9:00 to 11:00 am. However, there was one uncommon bird seen. While enjoying the view of the Palisades across the Hudson from the meadow overlook a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker flew by headed south! But the real treat of the walk was the fall foliage, probably at its peak right now in the park. Below is a picture of one of the park paths and a panorama of the Palisades, followed by the morning's bird list.

East path on the ridge

Palisades across from Inwood

Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

October 30 - Central Park - Red-headed Woodpecker

After the rainy weather and then clearing skies of the last two days, it was a stunning fall day for the Friday AMNH bird walk in Central Park. The highlights of the walk were the fall foliage and an immature Red-headed Woodpecker just north of the Oven in the Ramble. Perhaps the most spectacular tree was the Tupelo in the Tupelo Meadow.

Tupelo - Central Park (cell phone picture) 

 There were lots of Hermit Thrushes around, but only one Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The full bird list follows.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker (1, immature, north of Oven)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo (1, south side Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Hermit Thrush (many)
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee (1)
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 29 - Central Park - clearing skies

Yesterday morning my AMNH bird walk group got out of Central Park just before the rains started. Today we did the walk under clearing skies. I think the threat of rain did deter a number of participants so I only had one person for the last Thursday morning walk of the season. As on yesterday's walk, we headed up to the reservoir since it was still dark in the Ramble even though the skies were starting to clear. We had pretty much the same waterfowl as yesterday. Overall our list was smaller than yesterday since we never did make it down into the Ramble. Instead we went out of the park via Tanner's Spring, but landbirds were relatively scarce. The morning's list follows.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck (1, male, Turtle Pond)
Gadwall (Reservoir)
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (Reservoir)
Bufflehead (1, male, Reservoir)
Ruddy Duck (Reservoir)
Double-crested Cormorant (Reservoir)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
House Sparrow

October 28 - Central Park - overcast and threatening

An overcast and threatening morning for the last Central Park Wednesday morning AMNH bird walk of the fall season. Since we are still on Daylight Savings Time and sunrise wasn't until well after our normal starting time of 7:00 am, I had arranged with the group to start at 7:15. With the morning's heavy overcast, even at 7:15 it was still quite dim. Rather than try to bird by streetlight in the Ramble we headed up to the reservoir to look for ducks first before going back to the Ramble. We picked up a few species of ducks on the reservoir and added two pair of Wood Duck and two Black Ducks on Turtle Pond on the way back. The Ramble itself was fairly quiet with fewer landbirds than in recent weeks. We were lucky with the weather and the rains held off until after the walk ended. The full list is below.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck (4, Turtle Pond)
Gadwall (Reservoir)
American Black Duck (2, Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (Reservoir)
Bufflehead (1 male, Reservoir)
Ruddy Duck (Reservoir)
Double-crested Cormorant (Reservoir)
Ring-billed Gull (Reservoir)
Herring Gull (Reservoir)
Great Black-backed Gull (Reservoir)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blackpoll Warbler (1)
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow

October 27 - Central Park - final Tuesday walks of the fall

Today was the final Tuesday AMNH Central Park bird walks for the fall. We had nice weather, but the bird numbers and variety were noticeably down from last week. We could not even find a kinglet or warbler on the morning walk and only had one of each at lunchtime.

Morning walk (7:15 - 9:15 am)
Canada Goose
Mallard
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Lunchtime walk (12:00 - 1:45 pm)
Canada Goose
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Blackpoll Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 23 - Central Park - lots of Chipping Sparrows

For the Friday morning AMNH bird walk we varied our normal route this week. We headed north from the Ramble through the Locust Grove to the Pinetum. We found Palm and Yellow-rumped warblers as we went through the Locust Grove. Most notable were the numbers of Chipping Sparrows on the ground in the Pinetum.

Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk (1, by Sparrow Rock)
American Kestrel
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Palm Warbler (Locust Grove)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow (flocks on the ground at the Pinetum)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Sparrow Rock)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 22 - Central Park - a raptor morning

Another in a string of lovely mornings for my today's AMNH bird walk. There were lots of White-throated and Song sparrows, Hermit Thrushes and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The stars of the morning, however, were raptors. We had a Red-tailed Hawk, a flyover Peregrine Falcon and as we were headed out an adult Cooper's Hawk south of Azalea Pond with a just caught flicker. The full list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 21 - Central Park - kinglets and a handful of warblers

Venus was still shining brightly in the sky when my Wednesday AMNH bird walk group headed into the park at 7 am; since we are still on Daylight Savings Time, the sun does not come up until nearly 7:15. We had lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and one Golden-crowned. The full list of 36 species is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren (1, path going south from the Maintenance Meadow)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1, same spot as the wren above)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Brown Creeper (Thank you to Lenore for pointing out I missed putting this one on the list)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher (2)
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (south side of Turtle Pond)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (1, male by Azalea Pond)
Pine Warbler (2, south side of Turtle Pond)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (2, south end of Maintenance Meadow)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Finch (2, males by Blevedere)
House Sparrow

October 20 - Central Park - morning and mid-day walks

I led two bird walks in the Rambler in Central park for AMNH groups on Tuesday. The morning was cool and sunny. Among the highlights was a male Green-winged Teal on the Lake and a female Wood Duck on Turtle Pond. By lunchtime, the Lake was almost cleared of waterfowl by boaters, but I added another duck to the day's list with an American Black Duck on Turtle Pond. On both walks there were lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows.

Morning walk (7 - 9 am)
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Lunchtime walk (12- 2 pm)
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Cooper's Hawk
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 16 - Central Park - the usual suspects

A pleasant morning for the Friday morning AMNH bird walk group in the Ramble. We found many of the expected species for this time in the fall migration, including both kinglets and lots of White-throated Sparrows. The full list of 31 species is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Magnolia Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 15 - Central Park - White-throated Sparrow time

A cool, crisp fall morning for my Thursday AMNH bird walk. One of the highlights of the morning was at the start when we were at Hernshead on the west side of the Lake. A Peregrine Falcon was spotted flying over the trees to the east carrying a kill (it looked like a robin). Northern Flickers and Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed to be moving overhead, but the species in big numbers was the White-throated Sparrow - they were everywhere.

Canada Goose (21, the Lake)
Wood Duck (2, males on Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Peregrine Falcon (1)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Eastern Phoebe (2)
Blue-headed Vireo (2)
Blue Jay
American Crow (10-15, overhead)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (several)
Hermit Thrush (4)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (one small flock)
Palm Warbler (5, Belvedere and Maintenance Meadow)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow (not as many as White-throats, but a lot)
White-throated Sparrow (everywhere)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch (1, heard flying over Maintenance Meadow)
House Sparrow

October 14 - Central Park - thrushes and warblers

A very pleasant morning for my Wednesday AMNH bird walk group. It started out slow, but then picked up towards the end. There was some activity in the Maintenance Meadow, particularly Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Magnolia Warbler. From there we went over to the Tupelo Meadow to look for sparrows. There were White-throats, Songs and three Chipping Sparrows, but the real surprise was a dull Pine Warbler feeding in the grass like a sparrow. From there we went down to the Azalea Pond where we had another burst of activity to end the walk. Total list was 37 species.

Canada Goose (7. the Lake)
Mallard (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (2, a member of the group saw one and I heard one)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (1)
Blue-headed Vireo (1, near Azalea Pond)
Blue Jay
American Crow (4, flying overhead calling)
Black-capped Chickadee (heard near Belvedere)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1, near Azalea Pond)
Brown Creeper (1, near Azalea Pond)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (several in the Maintenance Meadow)
Gray-cheeked Thrush (1, west of Azalea Pond)
Swainson's Thrush (1, near Azalea Pond)
Hermit Thrush (several)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher (2, on the ground in the Maintenance Meadow)
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (small flock in a Gingko northeast of Maintenance Meadow)
Black-and-white Warbler (2, near Azalea Pond)
Northern Parula (1, near Azalea Pond)
Magnolia Warbler (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Blackpoll Warbler (1, s. side Turtle Pond)
Pine Warbler (1, Tupelo Meadow)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (3, Maintenance Meadow)
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow (3, Tupelo Meadow)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 10 & 11 - Inwood Hill Park - migrating Brant and Blue Jays

I went birding in Inwood Hill Park on Saturday and Sunday mornings. On Saturday with Kathryn Long and Sunday with Ed Eden. On Saturday we also spent some time birding with Nadir Sourigi. Both mornings were beautiful with clear, blue skies. However, the winds were very different on the two mornings and that made for somewhat different birding. On Saturday the winds were from the northwest while on Sunday morning they were lighter and from the southwest. On both days the temperatures started out in the low 50s. Both days there were flocks of Blue Jays migrating south, especially over the Hudson. On Saturday there were also many flocks of Brant flying over and down the Hudson ranging in size from about half a dozen to 50 or 60 at a time. On Saturday there were groups of vultures over the Palisades across the Hudson, a lone Bald Eagle and small numbers of Osprey. On Sunday there were just a couple of Osprey. Now that we are well into October the numbers and variety of sparrows are building up. Over the two mornings I recorded 49 species.

Brant (Oct 10 only; see above)
Canada Goose (both days)
Mallard (both days)
Double-crested Cormorant (Oct 10)
Great Blue Heron (1, both days)
Great Egret (1, both days)
Black Vulture (Oct 10 only; see above)
Turkey Vulture (Oct 10 only; see above)
Osprey (both days)
Bald Eagle (Oct 10 only; see above)
Ring-billed Gull (both days)
Herring Gull (both days)
Great Black-backed Gull (both days)
Rock Pigeon (both days)
Mourning Dove (both days)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (both days)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1, Oct 11)
Downy Woodpecker (both days)
Northern Flicker (Oct 10)
Eastern Phoebe (both days)
Blue-headed Vireo (1, Oct 11)
Blue Jay (both days)
White-breasted Nuthatch (both days)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1, Oct 11)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, Oct 11)
American Robin (both days)
Gray Catbird (both days)
Northern Mockingbird (both days)
European Starling (both days)
Nashville Warbler (1, Oct 11)
Common Yellowthroat (1, Oct 10)
Northern Parula (1, Oct 10)
Magnolia Warbler (1, Oct 10)
Blackpoll Warbler (1, Oct 11)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (both days)
Black-throated Green Warbler (1, Oct 10)
Eastern Towhee (both days)
Chipping Sparrow (both days)
Field Sparrow (1, Oct 11)
Savannah Sparrow (1, Oct 10)
Song Sparrow (both days)
Swamp Sparrow (1, both days)
White-throated Sparrow (both days)
White-crowned Sparrow (2, Oct 10)
Northern Cardinal (both days)
Common Grackle (1, Oct 11)
House Finch (3, Oct 11)
American Goldfinch (1, Oct 10)
House Sparrow (both days)

October 8 - Central Park - Gray-cheeked Thrush, White-crowned Sparrow

A beautiful fall morning for my Thursday AMNH bird walk group. There seemed to be more birds around then yesterday morning. Ruby-crowned Kinglet numbers in particular seemed to be up. We had several good birds: a flyover snipe when we were on the Oak Bridge crossing the Upper Lobe; an immature White-crowned Sparrow in the Tupelo Meadow and two Gray-cheeked Thrushes. Full list below.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck (1, male flyover the Maintenance Meadow)
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk (1, flushed by mobbing Blue Jays)
Wilson's Snipe (1, flyover)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (several)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (several)
Blue-headed Vireo (2)
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
House Wren (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (all over)
Gray-cheeked Thrush (2, stream leading into Azalea Pond and east of Upper Lobe)
Swainson's Thrush (several)
Hermit Thrush (several)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (two small flocks)
Northern Waterthrush (1, Upper Lobe)
Northern Parula (1)
Magnolia Warbler (1, Maintenace Meadow)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (1, female)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (several)
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (1, along the Gill)
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow (1, immature, Tupelo Meadow)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 7 - Central Park - cooler temperatures; more fall arrivals

It was a pleasant, though cool morning for my Wednesday AMNH bird walk group. Unfortunately, we are now late enough into the fall that sun-up is at about the time of our 7:00 am start time. So when we have some clouds, as we did this morning, it is still relatively dim when we start. This is going to be more and more of a problem as the walks continue through the end of the month. Despite that we started off nicely with two male Wood Ducks on the far side of the Lake as seen from Hernshead. Lenore Swenson first spotted one bird which quickly swam under some low bushes along the shore. We kept watching for it to come back out when suddenly two birds took off and flew away. The dim light and the still thick leaf cover made for some frustrating birding, but in the end we saw 36 species over the two hours of the walk.

Canada Goose (2, the Lake)
Wood Duck (2 males, the Lake)
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (1)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (several)
Downy Woodpecker (1, heard)
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1, near Upper Lobe)
Eastern Phoebe (several)
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren (1, by Upper Lobe; first this fall)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (several)
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush (several; first this fall)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher (1)
European Starling
Northern Parula (1)
Magnolia Warbler (1)
Blackpoll Warbler (2)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2)
Eastern Towhee (1, male)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager (1)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

October 2 - Central Park - a bit damp, but a surprising number of birds

Two brave birders from Paul Sweet's Friday morning AMNH bird walk braved the weather to join me as I filled in for Paul. Despite the light rain we ran up a bigger list than my Wednesday and Thursday walks did in the slightly drier weather. There was nothing rare, but there were some firsts of the season for us.

Canada Goose (4, the Lake)
American Black Duck (1, the Lake; first we have seen this fall)
Mallard
Great Egret (1, flying over Turtle Pond)
Cooper's Hawk (1, Upper Lobe)
Great Black-backed Gull (usually seen on the Reservoir or flying overhead, but one was on the Lake)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (4, over Maintenance Meadow)
Belted Kingfisher (1 or 2, the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1, heard in Maintenance Meadow)
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (1)
Blue-headed Vireo (1, briefly in Maintenance Meadow)
Red-eyed Vireo (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2)
Swainson's Thrush (several)
Wood Thrush (1)
American Robin
Gray Catbird (many)
Brown Thrasher (4-6)
European Starling
Ovenbird (2)
Black-and-white Warbler (1)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart (1)
Magnolia Warbler (1)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (4, first I have seen this fall)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1, Maintenance Meadow)
House Sparrow

October 1 - Muscota Marsh, Inwood Hill Park - Red Phalarope

I normally only put my own sightings on my blog, but this is such a rarity I wanted to post it here. Sometime around 9:00 am Andrew Farnsworth found and photographed a Red Phalarope at Muscota Marsh. The bird flew off soon after. Amazingly, this is a second record for the species at this location. I saw one from my apartment window in the ship channel off Muscota Marsh the morning after superstorm Sandy came through on October 30, 2012.

I was leading my Central Park bird walk group this morning or this bird could have been an incredible second record for my apartment list. I always thought of the post-Sandy bird as a never to be repeated event!

October 1 - Central Park - overcast and cool

An overcast and cool morning for my Thursday morning AMNH bird walk group. There was a brisk, cool northerly breeze. It was relatively quiet with no sign of yesterday's Dickcissel. We did manage to find 28 species by the end of the two hour walk.

Canada Goose (the Lake)
Mallard (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, soaring over the south end of the park)
American Coot (1, Turtle Pond again)
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1, still coming in to the Jewelweed at the Oven)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1 - 2)
Northern Flicker (a number flying over)
Eastern Phoebe (2)
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, along the Gill)
Swainson's Thrush (several)
American Robin
Gray Catbird (everywhere)
Brown Thrasher (2-3)
European Starling
Ovenbird (1)
Common Yellowthroat (Oak Bridge)
Eastern Towhee (1, south side Turtle Pond)
White-throated Sparrow (numbers starting to build)
Scarlet Tanager (2 - 3)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle (starting to form flocks)
House Sparrow

September 30 - Central Park - overcast with a Dickcissel

When I went to bed Tuesday night the forecast for Wednesday morning was fairly miserable - rain and fog. It did, indeed, rain overnight, but this morning the weather radar showed that most of the rain was no past the city. Four brave birders decided to ignore the overnight forecasts and join me for my Wednesday morning AMNH bird walk in the Ramble. They were rewarded with only a few birds, but one of them was a really good one. We had a few minutes of light drizzle when we were by the Belvedere Castle, but this passed by the time we were on the road by the south side of Turtle Pond. We had a frustrating few minutes trying to identify a few warblers high in a tree. The light was bad and the birds were mostly silhouettes. One may have been a Blackpoll, another was certainly a Northern Parula. We headed around to the Maintenance Meadow where many birders had seen a Dickcissel on Tuesday. I checked the weedy area on the northeast corner of the meadow where the bird was reported yesterday, but there was no sign of it. A check of s group of House Sparrows west of the Maintenance Building also turned up nothing. As we headed out into the meadow itself, I saw a group of House Sparrows feeding in the middle of the meadow. Raising my binoculars, I spotted the Dickcissel with them! It was a very nice reward to the four brave birders who came on the walk. The full morning's list follows.

Canada Goose (on the Lake)
Mallard (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1, Turtle Pond)
American Coot (1, Turtle Pond - about two weeks now)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (a few overhead)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1, feeding on the large Jewelweed patch at the Oven)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch (1, heard)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher (2, Evodia Field and south of Azalea Pond)
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Eastern Towhee
White-throated Sparrow (10, various places)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1, near Belvedere)
Dickcissel (1, see account above; first I have ever add in Central Park)
House Sparrow

September 24 - Central Park - another beautiful morning, without a significant flight

A beautiful, pleasant morning for my AMNH Thursday morning bird walk, but once again without a big flight of birds. Our best bird was an uncooperative Worm-eating Warbler seen from the pavilion by the Belvedere Castle. The bird sat still for a long time, but well back behind leaves and hard to see. The coot continues on Turtle Pond, but we did not see the Ruddy Duck that has been on the Lake through yesterday. Today also marked the first time in three weeks that I did not see or hear a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in the Ramble. Full list of 33 species is below.

Canada Goose (6, the Lake – as usual; probably a family group)
Gadwall (Turtle Pond; also as usual)
Mallard (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, Shakespeare Theater)
American Coot (1, Turtle Pond)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (high individuals)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (2, at Jewelweed patches)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1, west of Belvdere)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
“Traill’s Flycatcher” (1, perched high, south of Maintenance Meadow)
Blue Jay
American Crow
White-breasted Nuthatch (2, Shakespeare Garden)
Swainson's Thrush (1)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird (2, high overhead at Maintenance Meadow and along the Gill)
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (6, maintenance Meadow)
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler (female, east of Loupot Bridge)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2, s. end of Maintenance Meadow and Belvedere)
Black-and-white Warbler (1, near Azalea Pond
Worm-eating Warbler (1, Belvedere)
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager (male, Maintenance Meadow)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

September 23 - Central Park - a beautiful morning for the first day of fall

My Wednesday morning AMNH bird walk group had an absolutely beautiful morning for our walk in the Ramble. The temperatures were very pleasant and the sky was spectacular. When we started at Hernshead by the Lake there was a flight of at least ten flickers going over, headed south. The Ramble started slow, but we managed to pick up a number of species as the two hour walk proceeded, including a few firsts for the fall. In the end we had 35 species.

Canada Goose (6, the Lake – as usual; probably a family group)
Gadwall (Turtle Pond; also as usual)
Mallard (the Lake and Turtle Pond0
Ruddy Duck (continuing male on the Lake)
American Coot (1, Turtle Pond)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (2, high over the Maintenance Meadow)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (2, at Jewelweed patches)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1, Maintenance Meadow – our first of the season)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (10+ flying south over the Lake just after 7 am)
Eastern Phoebe (1)
Red-eyed Vireo (2)
Blue Jay
American Crow (1, heard)
Veery (1)
Swainson's Thrush (several)
American Robin (everywhere)
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher (2)
European Starling
Ovenbird (1, west side of hill by Evodia Field)
Northern Parula (1, Azalea Pond)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (female, Maintenance Meadow - thank you to Lenore for reminding me)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1, s. end of Maintenance Meadow; our first of the season)
Black-and-white Warbler (1, near Azalea Pond
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee (1, heard)
Scarlet Tanager (1, near Belvedere)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2)
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

September 22 - Central Park - mainly overcast with pleasant temperatures

As for the last two weeks I led bird walks in the Ramble in Central Park for AMNH participants in the morning and again at lunchtime. Paul Sweet normally does these walks but had been out of the country, but will be taking them over again as of next week. Temperatures today were quite pleasant and fall-like. unfortunately the birding did not match. The winds were from the northeast and produced overcast skies in the morning, clearing skies at midday, but not a lot of birds. The best bird of the day was a Philadelphia Vireo in the Maintenance Meadow on the morning walk, which was unfortunately only seen by myself and a few others before it disappeared back into the dense foliage. Hummingbirds continue to feed on the various Jewelweed patches in the Ramble and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks continue to be heard and seen every day. The lists for both walks follow.

Morning walk (7-9 am)
Canada Goose (6, the Lake)
Gadwall (Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Ruddy Duck (male on the Lake)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (3)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (1, Turtle Pond)
Philadelphia Vireo (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Red-eyed Vireo (several)
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Veery (1)
Swainson's Thrush (several)
American Robin (everywhere)
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher (Maintenance Meadow)
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (small flyover flock)
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat (several)
American Redstart (scattered individuals)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch (1, heard flying over south of Belvedere)
House Sparrow

Lunchtime walk (12 – 1:30 pm)
Canada Goose (6, the Lake)
Gadwall (Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Ruddy Duck (male on the Lake)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (2)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin (everywhere)
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler (male, east of stone arch by Upper Lobe)
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat (several)
American Redstart (scattered individuals)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (near Azalea Pond)
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

September 18 - Central Park - warm with few birds

The Friday morning AMNH bird walk to the Ramble in Central Park was warm, with not many birds around.In fact, from 9 - 11 am, we only found 19 species. My apologies to the group for not getting this list posted until today.

Canada Goose (6, the Lake)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
American Robin (everywhere)
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart (scattered individuals)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

September 17 - Central Park - lovely morning, fewer birds

My Thursday morning AMNH bird walk group had weather as pretty as yesterday, but fewer birds were around. One of the most active spots for the last week has been the section of the Gill above the iron railing bridge - this was true again this morning. Total list of 33 species is below.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk (1, Azalea Pond - nearly gave a Gray Squirrel heart failure)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
American Kestrel (1, flyover)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee (2)
Warbling Vireo (1, along the Gill)
Red-eyed Vireo (1, along the Gill)
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee (1, calling along the Gill)
Carolina Wren (several heard)
Veery (1, Azalea Pond)
Swainson's Thrush (several)
American Robin (everywhere)
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (a couple of small flyover flocks)
Northern Waterthrush (1, north end of Upper Lobe)
Tennessee Warbler (1, along the Gill)
Black-throated Green Warbler (1, the Belvedere)
Black-and-white Warbler (several)
Common Yellowthroat (several)
American Redstart (scattered individuals)
Northern Parula (1, along the Gill)
Scarlet Tanager (1, along the Gill)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (several)
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

September 16 - Central Park - Beautiful morning with birds

A nice morning in Central Park for my Wednesday morning AMNH bird walk group - blue skies, pleasant temperatures and birds to see. It was not a major flight of migrants, but there were birds around if you hunted for them. The best areas were the Maintenance Meadow and immediately south of it and along the Gill southwest of the Azalea Pond. The total list of 40 species is below.

Canada Goose (2, the Lake)

Gadwall (Turtle Pond)

Mallard

Osprey (1, flying south over the Lake early)

American Coot (1, Turtle Pond - a surprise, they are usually on the Reservoir in the winter)

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1, s. end of Maintenance Meadow)

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Eastern Wood-Pewee (2, Lenore heard one at Belvedere; everyone saw one s of Maintenance Meadow)

Great Crested Flycatcher (1, spotted high in a tree by Lenore Swenson sw of Azalea Pond)

Red-eyed Vireo (along the Gill)

Blue Jay

American Crow (group of a dozen or more flew over)

Black-capped Chickadee (1, heard by Belvedere Castle)

White-breasted Nuthatch (1, heard)

House Wren (1, Hernshead)

Swainson's Thrush (various places)

American Robin (everywhere)

Gray Catbird

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing (small flocks flying over)

Ovenbird (1, path at s end of Maintenance Meadow)

Blue-winged Warbler (1, found by Chuck McAlexander s end of Maintenance Meadow)

Black-and-white Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

American Redstart

Northern Parula (1, along the Gill)

Magnolia Warbler (1, along the Gill)

Bay-breasted Warbler (1, briefly at the Belvedere)

Yellow Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler (1, along the Gill)

Prairie Warbler (1, along the Gill)

Scarlet Tanager (1, along the Gill)

Northern Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (there have been individuals all around the Ramble for the last week)

Common Grackle

House Sparrow

September 15 - Central Park - a beautiful fall day

It was a beautiful day for the AMNH Tuesday morning and lunchtime bird walks in the Ramble in Central Park. Crystal blue skies with pleasant, cool temperatures in the morning. Still cloudless blue skies, though warmer at lunchtime. It was not a spectacular flight of birds by any means, but both walks had a few nice birds. There was at least a small hawk flight going over as evidenced by the harrier in the morning and the Red-Tail (high overhead) and the Osprey at lunchtime. The full lists are below.

Morning Walk (7-9 am)
Canada Goose (6, the Lake)
Mallard (the Lake)
Northern Harrier (imm., flyover)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (small flocks overhead)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (a number moving through)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (2, s. of Maintenance Meadow and along the Gill)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (1, s. of Maintenance Meadow)
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren (1)
Veery (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Swainson’s Thrush (3, Maintenance Meadow)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler (1, along Gill)
Blackpoll Warbler (1, s. of Maintenance Meadow - my first of the Fall)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Belvedere & along Gill)
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch (along Gill)
House Sparrow

Lunchtime walk (12 – 1:30 pm)
Canada Goose (2, the Lake)
Mallard (Turtle Pond)
Osprey (1, flyover by Turtle Pond)
Red-tailed Hawk (flyover Maintenance Meadow)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (the Oven)
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Magnolia Warbler (1, Azalea Pond)
Black-throated Bluel Warbler (female, Azalea Pond)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Hooded Warbler (male, north of the Oven)
Scarlet Tanager (along Gill)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Azalea Pond)
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole (along Gill)
House Sparrow

September 11 - Central Park - Finally a fall morning

Finally a nice fall morning for the Friday morning AMNH Central Park bird walk group. Several times the skies looked threatening, but we never had any rain and the temperatures and humidity was pleasant for the first time this week. We found 31 species with six warblers. The list is below.

Canada Goose (the Lake)
Mallard
Gadwall (on Turtle Pond)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee (Maintenance Meadow)
Tufted Titmouse
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler (Belvedere)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler (1)
American Redstart (including adult males)
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager (along Gill)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1, along Gill)
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole (along Gill)
House Finch (along Gill)
American Goldfinch (along Gill)
House Sparrow

September 10 - Central Park - a bit wet

My first Thursday morning AMNH Central Park bird walk for the fall was a bit damp - actually it was just plain wet. For more than half the two hour walk there was a steady light rain, though there were clearer areas visible to the east. At one point we actually had some fairly bright sunshine while it continued to rain! Six intrepid birders met me at 7 am and did the whole two hours with me. We were actually rewarded with a few nice birds. The list follows.

Mallard
Gadwall (on Turtle Pond)
Solitary Sandpiper (2, on rocks below Belvedere Castle, south side Turtle Pond)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (about 20, flying north over Belvedere)
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Veery (south of feeders)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (along Gill)
Northern Parula (along Gill)
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager (2, along Gill)
Eastern Towhee (male, south of feeders)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1, along Gill)
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole (south of Gill)
House Sparrow

September 9 - Central Park - still warm, but a few birds

This morning was the first of my Wednesday morning AMNH bird walks in Central park for the Fall. It was a bit cooler than yesterday morning, but still warm and quite humid. The winds were from the south overnight, so it was not a good night for migration. Despite that we did manage to find a few birds. The total list of 36 species is below. [When I first posted this list I accidentally left off a few species - Thanks to Lenore Swenson for the heads-up.]

Canada Goose (6 on the Lake)

Mallard

Gadwall (on Turtle Pond)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (adult, Upper Lobe)

Herring Gull

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Warbling Vireo (1, heard at north end of Maintenance Meadow)

Red-eyed Vireo 

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee (1, below Belvedere Castle)

White-breasted Nuthatch

Carolina Wren

Veery

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird (1, Maintenance Meadow)
European Starling

Northern Parula (along Gill)

Magnolia Warbler (2)

Black-and-white Warbler (1)

American Redstart

Northern Waterthrush (2, Hernshead and Upper Lobe)
Common Yellowthroat

Scarlet Tanager (along Gill)
Song Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1, heard north side of Turtle Pond)

Common Grackle

Baltimore Oriole

House Finch (along Gill)

American Goldfinch (along Gill)

House Sparrow

September 8 - Central Park - AMNH fall walks begin.

My fall walks in Central Park for the American Museum of Natural History began today. Actually, my own walks begin tomorrow, but Paul Sweet, who leads the Tuesday morning and Tuesday lunchtime walks is out of the country so I am covering his walks while he is away. I did two walks today in the Ramble; the first from 7:00 - 9:00 am and the second from 12:00  - 1:30 pm.While the morning walk was in warm temperatures, the noon walk was probably in the hottest temperatures I have ever done any of the AMNH Central Park walks. Despite the unseasonable temperatures and southerly winda, which did not fave migration we did manage to see a few birds, though nothing unusual. Below are the lists for the two walks.

Morning walk
Canada Goose (6 on the Lake)
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (1, high over Maintenance Meadow)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (several heard)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Warbling Vireo (1, heard at north end of Maintenance Meadow)
Red-eyed Vireo (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee (1, heard below Belvedere Castle)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird (1, Maintenance Meadow)
American Redstart
Ovenbird (1, west of Tupelo Meadow)
Northern Waterthrush (1, by Oak Bridge at Upper Lobe)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Lunchtime walk
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Parula (1, near Azalea Pond)
Black-and-white Warbler (1, near Azalea Pond)
American Redstart (1, adult male near Azalea Pond)
Scarlet Tanager (1, by Azalea Pond)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole (1, sw of Azalea Pond)
House Sparrow

(By midday temperatures were in the 90's and the Lake was clear of waterfowl due to all the people and boats.)

August 6 - Inwood Hill Park - Semis, Semis, and hornets.

I spent nearly all of June and ore than half of July doing field work on Great Gull Island, so this is my first post back in NYC, even tough I have been back for a couple of weeks.

I have been watching the mudflats next to Muscota Marsh at the north end of Inwood Hill Park in recent days waiting for the southbound shorebirds to appear. Last summer the area was very productive with groups of Semipalmated Sandpipers and a few Semipalmated Plovers regular and even some nice surprises such as a Pectoral Sandpiper that lingered for more than a week and a one day White-rumped Sandpiper. So far this year, the flats have been quiet. This morning I had a little time available so I checked the larger flats north of the soccer fields. I was rewarded with a scattered feeding group of Semipalmated Plovers (5) and Semipalmated Sandpipers (7-8). Also on and around the flats were two Great Blue Herons, a Great Egret and a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron. I did not have time to get up into the woods so I do not know if there were any passerine migrants around. I did hear some American Goldfinches calling as they flew over.

On a non-avian note there was a large hornet nest hanging in a tree - I believe it is a Bald-faced Hornet (Vespula maculata) nest. Large numbers of people pass under it on a daily basis, I am sure with most being unaware of it. It is high enough in the tree that it is unlikely to be accidentally disturbed so it should not prove troublesome to anyone. It was fun to see such a marvel of biological engineering.

Bald-faced Hornet (?) nest - 08/06/2015

2015 Great Gull Island Birdathon

It has been a very busy spring. I finally completed my account and species list for my 2015 Great Gull Island Birdathon done on May 16/17 last month. The report is on a separate page that can be found here.

May 31/June 1 - pelagic birding trip

It has taken a few days to mostly recover from a fabulous pelagic birding trip on June 1 on the Brooklyn VI out of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The trip was organized by Paul Guris through his See Life Paulagics pelagic birding company. I have been on several of Paul's pelagic birding trips in recent years and they have all been well run and in many cases spectacularly successful. In the interest of "full disclosure" I will mention that many of Paul's trip leaders are acquaintances (even close friends) and I have served on one trip as a leader. My first pelagic birding trip was out of Montauk, on eastern Long Island, over forty years ago, and I have done enough trips over the years to know they are always a gamble. You never know whether you will see many birds or only a few. The lure is seeing sea birds you are just not going to see very often (or ever!) from land and seeing them in their natural habitat. Some of these species only occur in our area for a few months (or less) of the year, visiting here from their nesting areas on the other side of the world.

Last week the long range weather forecasts for the trip were not encouraging. But, I long ago learned to consider all long range weather forecasts with a fair degree of skepticism. Even short range forecasts can be way off. I am sure we have all experienced going to bed at night expecting a certain kind of weather for the next morning's birding, only to wake with something totally different going on outside. The uncertainty can be even greater with pelagic trips since the weather offshore can at times be very different than onshore/inland. The forecast for Monday in NYC was pretty miserable - rain/fog/wind/ cold - but the forecast offshore was much different and that was what Paul and the boat captain went by. A few trip participants opted not to go because of the NYC forecasts, but most decided to give it a go and were well rewarded! Not only was the birding great, but for the most part so was the weather. When I packed sunscreen for the trip on Sunday, Ann said I was being very optimistic. I was glad I had it since I used it and shared it with others who didn't bring any.

Sunday afternoon (May 31) I arrived at my friend Sean Sime's Brooklyn apartment with gathering storm clouds looking very ominous. On a call to home in Inwood, I learned from Ann the skies there were very dark and lightning was flashing. Sean was one of the trip leaders so we had to get to Sheepshead Bay early. After running some errands for the trip and hunting for parking we sat in the car through several torrential downpours. Normally, participants are boarded on the boat in the order in which they signed up for the trip, but Paul (who was himself delayed by weather and traffic) called Sean and Doug Gochfeld (another leader) and told him to let people get on board out of the rain and he would sort everything out before the boat left. By the time my name came up in the list of participants all the interior cabin benches had been claimed, but I have slept outside on every pelagic trip I have ever done, so I did not mind grabbing some deck space between benches on the upper deck - particularly since the weather radar and forecasts showed the precipitation was all on the coast and no rain was indicated offshore. In fact, for much of the cruise out overnight we were motoring under a fairly bright, nearly full moon, obscured by a light haze. The main problem was that the deck was soaked from the downpours before we left and there was still light rain as we set up sleeping arrangements and departed. I got some sleep in snatches during the night, noticing only one or two people succumbing to seasickness during the night.

I was up from about 3 am on with a couple of other birders watching for birds by moonlight. By first light we were about 120+ miles offshore on the edge of the continental shelf and started a chum slick to attract birds. The first birds glimpsed in the dimness were Wilson's Storm-Petrels. I think a fair number of people were still asleep, or just getting up, when the cry of "Leach's Storm-Petrel!" galvanized them awake and off their benches. This was one of the target birds of the trip and for many years had been at the top of my most wanted list until I finally caught up with it last August on another Paulagics trip. The excitement caused by this sighting, however, was nothing compared to the stir a short time later following the screams of "Skua! Skua!" as a South Polar Skua came into the chum slick. The sun wasn't even up yet! this was the first of half a dozen skuas during the morning hours. For quite sometime we had an amazing three South Polar Skuas in attendance around the boat, sometimes all sitting near each other on the water within the same binocular field. This was a life bird for many on board, though not for me. I had seen my first one exactly 39 years ago on May 31, 1976 on a pelagic trip out of Montauk. At that time all the skuas were considered one species and Cox's Ledge had not yet been classified as in Rhode Island waters. I had seen the species since in Massachusetts waters and off Argentina in the South Atlantic, but I was now able to finally put the species on my New York State list!

South Polar Skua 06/01/2015       © Sean Sime

Over the next few hours we continued to do well with seabirds. We had good views of multiples of five species of shearwaters: Audubon's, Great, Cory's, Sooty, and Manx. Basically, this was a shearwater sweep of all the species regularly seen in New York waters. We did not pick up any more species of storm-petrels, but we did get more relatives of the skuas. A distant Pomarine Jaeger unfortunately flew quickly by and was not seen by many on the boat. Much better was a more cooperative young Long-tailed Jaeger. I saw many of this species in Alaska as well as one off Massachusetts and in the South Atlantic off Argentina, but this was new for me for New York - my second state bird of the morning bringing my state list to 417). I hoped we might see a Parasitic Jaeger by the end of the day to complete a jaeger sweep, but we did not get this last species. Rounding out the great seabird list was Common and Arctic terns; the latter a rare bird for New York. Other birds seen were Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant and two Barn Swallows more than eighty miles offshore.

Long-tailed Jaeger 06/01/2015      © Sean Sime

Leach's Storm-Petrel 06/01/2015     © Sean Sime

Cory's Shearwater 06/01/2015               © Sean Sime

Great Shearwater 06/01/2015                      © Sean Sime

Sooty Shearwater 06/01/2015                             © Sean Sime

Birds were not the only pelagic species seen on this great trip. We also saw Blue Shark and, incredibly, a Basking Shark breaching right next to the boat! There were a number of Rizzo's Dolphins (formerly called Grampus), including a mother with young. We also had a few Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola), including a very large individual - one of them swam under the boat! The star invertebrate of the trip were a number of Portugese Man-of-war jellyfish, including one with attendant pilot fish swimming among its tentacles.

Basking Shark 06/01/2015        © Sean Sime

Ocean Sunfish 06/01/2015                                   © Sean Sime

Everyone on board thanks Paul Guris, Sean Sime, Doug Gochfeld and the other leaders for a fabulous trip. I particularly want to thank Sean for allowing me to use the above pictures in this report.

I want to thank Stan Cho for a lift home after the trip. After getting off the boat, we tried, unsuccessfully, for the Franklin's Gull that has been hanging out at Plum Beach in Brooklyn before heading home to Inwood.

May 30 - Inwood Hill Park - Mainly insects

I went for a short walk in Inwood, Saturday morning. The bird migration has really wound down. The only definite migrant I came across was a Northern Parula heard singing from a distance up on the ridge. This did not mean there were not other natural history things to take note of on a lovely, warm late-spring morning. Among resident birds, Wood Thrushes were singing in the Clove and both Baltimore and Orchard orioles were singing around the soccer fields and up on the ridge, as were Warbling Vireos around the bay on the north side of the soccer fields.

There is now a variety of butterflies in evidence around the park. Along with the usual Cabbage Whites, there were what appeared to be a few Orange Sulphurs flitting about the soccer fields. there were also a few duskywings which i believe were Juvenal's Duskywings, though the duskywings are notoriously difficult to pin down to id.

Juvenal's Duskywing ? 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park.

Up on the ridge there were lots more Cabbage Whites and a number of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. In the overlook meadow Silver-spotted Skippers were chasing each other around with some landing for their portraits.

Silver-spotted Skipper 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park

I have set up a separate page for pictures of Inwood Hill Park butterflies here.

In the meadow i also came across a number of frothy secretions on plants that I believe are the productions of the Meadow Spittlebug (family Cercopidae).

"Spittle" of the Meadow Spittlebug 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park

To end with a note on wildflowers, I came across a number of patches of Herb-Robert in bloom on the ridge.

Herb-Robert 05/30/2015 Inwood Hill Park

My page of some Inwood Park flowers can be found here.

May 28 - Central Park - Final Thursday AMNH walk of the spring.

It was warm and muggy for my final Thursday morning AMNH Central Park bird walk of the spring. Despite that we had a very pleasant walk with 28 species. We even added two species to our spring total list (Turkey Vulture and Eastern Wood-Pewee), bringing our cumulative list for the spring to 100 species. The total list can be seen here.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (2 males; Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Turkey Vulture (1; circling over, going north, as seen from Belvedere)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (3; Belvedere)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1; calling bird seen sw of Azalea Pond)
Eastern Kingbird (1; Turtle Pond)
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo (1; Belvedere)
Blue Jay
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (2; Belvedere)
American Redstart (Belvedere)
Blackpoll Warbler (2, male and female; Belvedere)
Canada Warbler (female; Belvedere)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole (heard)
House Finch (3 female types; Belvedere)
House Sparrow

May 27 - Central Park - Final Wednesday walk of the spring

This morning was my final Wednesday morning AMNH Central Park bird walk for the spring. The migration is definitely winding down. We found only 26 species with only three warblers. The cumulative list for the Wednesday spring walks was 99 species and can be found here. I hope everyone had a good time. See you in the fall.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (pair on Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1; Upper Lobe)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1; heard by swampy pin oak area)
Eastern Kingbird (1; flying east over the Lake)
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (small groups; Belvedere Castle and Maintenance Meadow)
Northern Waterthrush (1; heard - Upper Lobe)
Magnolia Warbler (2; Upper Lobe)
Blackpoll Warbler (female; Belvedere)
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow

May 21 - Central Park - lots of foliage makes it hard to see migrants

We have reached the time in migration when the trees are mostly leafed out so it is hard to spot the birds in them. Couple that with the fact that as we get into the later portion of migration there are many more females coming through and females don't sing (for the most part) and you have a recipe for at times frustrating birding. Nevertheless my Thursday morning AMNH bird walk group had a very pleasant outing. We found 41 species, including 13 warblers.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (pair on Turtle Pond - a bit frustrating since I missed this species for the first time ever on the                          Birdathon last weekend)
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker (1; by the Belvedere)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (1; I spotted one on the island in Turtle Pond)
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Veery (1)
Swainson's Thrush (1)
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (2; Belvedere)
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler (1; Belvedere)
Mourning Warbler (1; I heard one sing twice near Azalea Pond)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler (female, plus a heard male singing)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Canada Warbler
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow

May 20 - Central Park - Cool and many fewer birds

My last official AMNH Wednesday bird walk in Central park started out cool and sunny, but over the course of two hours became mostly cloudy and cooler. Birds were somewhat scarce too. We found only 33 species with a dozen warblers from 7 - 9 am. There were at least three Northern Waterthrushs around Hernshead when we started - two calling nearby and a third walking along the shoreline south of Hernshead. Another highlight was a lovely male Chestnut-sided Warbler on the south side of Turtle pond. The complete list is below.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (pair; Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird (Turtle Pond)
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2-3; Maintenance Meadow; getting late for this species)
Wilson's Warbler (s. side turtle Pond)
Canada Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow