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

May 16/17 - Great Gull Island Birdathon

I have returned from my annual birdathon to benefit the Great Gull Island Project. Still somewhat exhausted and recovering.  Did it this year with Sean Sime, David Sime (Saturday, May 16 only), Jon Hyman and Chuck McAlexander. At the last minute Ann could not participate because of back spasms. I have not had time to prepare a full report - that will come later. Briefly, we fought the weather both days with rain Saturday morning, part of the time, at Bashakill and heavy fog at Jamaica Bay, Sunday morning. These are our two prime birding areas over the weekend. Despite that we totaled 185 species for the weekend - this is our average total over the last ten years. The total did include two species I have not recorded on the birdathon before: a calling Northern Saw-whet Owl at Bashakill and a singing Yellow-throated Warbler at Connetquot River State Park on Long Island. Full report in a day or two.

May 15 - Inwood Hill Park - quick trip

Just a quick walk through the park since I have a busy day ahead. But between 7:30  and 9:30 I found 43 species with a dozen warblers. Two new birds for the year were a calling Eastern Wood Pewee and I saw a Swainson's Thrush. It has been about a week since I got into the park and the foliage is much denser now than last week. It is necessary to do a lot more birding by ear. One wildflower that wasn't out last week, but that is in full bloom now is the Virginia Bluebell.

Virginia Bluebells 05/15/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Full bird list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow

May 14 - Central Park - beautiful morning and birds

Beautiful morning in Central Park Ramble for my Thursday AMNH bird walk group. It was perhaps even cooler at the start than yesterday, but a lot less windy. At least I was dressed warmer today! We had a total of fifty species, including sixteen warblers. There were several standout birds - on the way to the Belvedere Castle another birder told us about a male Bay-breasted Warbler singing on the hill south of the weather station. The bird was often difficult to get a look at, but most of the group had reasonable views. While there we found a singing Yellow-throated Vireo -  I suspect it may have been the same bird my Wednesday group had up by Belvedere yesterday. Later we heard about a male Cape May Warbler by Captain's Bench - we joined a number of other birders looking for the bird there. We were successful and were further rewarded with a female Summer Tanager in the same trees which brought a return to the spot of a number of birders who had left after seeing the Cape May. Also there were male and female Scarlet Tanagers and male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. The full list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (1-2; Hernshead and Balcony Bridge)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (one low on the Lake and others overhead as usual)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird (1; heard at Hernshead)
Yellow-throated Vireo (1; see above)
Warbling Vireo (various places)
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee (1)
Tufted Titmouse (1)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird (several in various places)
Northern Waterthrush (heard; Hernshead and the Point)
Black-and-white Warbler (several)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart (several)
Cape May Warbler (1; see above)
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler (2; male by weather station; female by Azalea Pond)
Yellow Warbler (male heard and female seen on the Point)
Blackpoll Warbler (male seen by Azalea; others heard)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (2-3)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2; s. side Turtle Pond)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Bank Rock Bridge, Upper Lobe)
Canada Warbler (Turtle Pond and the Point)
Wilson's Warbler (female; s. side Turtle Pond)
Song Sparrow (male singing by NBelvedere)
Summer Tanager (female; see above)
Scarlet Tanager (see above)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (see above)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird (heard)
Baltimore Oriole (heard all around Ramble; seen at Captain's Bench)
House Sparrow

May 13 - Central Park

Relatively cool temperatures (at least compared to the last few days) for my Wednesday morning AMNH Central park bird walk group. However, we had some nice birds. The best was a Philadelphia Vireo which I believe was found by Doug Kurz. [UPDATE: The bird was fist seen by Roy Tsao who was birding with Doug.] We heard about it as we were leaving the Point and joined a large mass of birders at the Azalea Pond looking for the bird. It was not seen there and I was headed out with the last diehards of my group well after our official ending time of 9 am when we received word the bird had been refound south of the Tupelo field. We dashed back and got ok views of the bird. Far more cooperative was a nice male Bay-breasted Warbler earlier on the Point. Another good bird was a singing Yellow-throated Vireo by the Belvedere Castle earlier in the walk. Below is the full list of 46 species. I may have missed a couple of species seen by members of the group that I wasn't told about.

Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird (2-3)
Yellow-throated Vireo (see above)
Warbling Vireo (3-4)
Philadelphia Vireo (see above)
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (3)
Barn Swallow (2)
House Wren
Veery
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler (male on the Point)
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager (4-5; most;y males)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male on the Point)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow

May 10 - Helen Hays Honorary Doctorate

I have been out of town for a few days - not birding. Rather it was a great pleasure to go to Storrs, Connecticut to be present at one of the commencement ceremonies at the University of Connecticut where Helen Hays, the founder and head of the Great Gull Island Project where I work was awarded an honorary doctorate for her over forty-five years of work on Great Gull Island. It has been my pleasure and privilege to work with Helen for over forty years, since I was a college student. When I have a chance in the next few days I will try to post the text of the award declaration but it the meantime, below are a few pictures of the ceremony. I am sorry the quality of the pictures is not beter, but the seats we were assigned were on the far side of the arena.

Helen receives her Doctoral "hood" from Dean Teitelbaum

Helen receives award citation and doctorate from Dean Teitelbaum and Provost Mun Choi

during her commencement address Helen gives a "Go Huskies!" cheer

May 9 - Inwood Hill Park - foggy

A relatively short walk around Inwood this morning, joined by Dale Dancis, and later Danny Karlson. Dale and I found a Greater Yellowlegs feeding on the mudflats north of the soccer fields when we started. It was still there a couple of hours later when we came back down off the ridge with Danny. Earlier I also saw a Solitary Sandpiper fly over.

Greater Yellowlegs in the fog 05/09/2015 Inwood Hill Park

There was very little singing going on in the moderate fog, so the warbler count was a paltry two. We did have two nice birds on the ridge. A Black-billed Cuckoo perched up along the central trail between the pine groves. After it flew off we could hear it calling from the same general area. Itexted Dave Barrett about the cuckoo and he ran up from the soccer fields to try and get it. I haven't heard if he did, but just before he came running up, Danny and Dale spotted a Lincoln's Sparrow in the underbrush. In all I had forty species before commitments forced us to leave. Complete list below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs (see above)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo (see above)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher (heard)
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow (1, on ridge)
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting (male north of overlook)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Finally, one last non-avian sighting - we came across the Eastern Cottontail up on the ridge. Just like the turkey last week, it was ready for its closer-up.

Eastern Cottontail 05-09-2015 Inwood Hill Park

May 8 - Central Park - quieter

Beause of work commitments, I got in to Central Park later than the last two mornings and for a shorter time. It seemed much queter than the last two mornings, but still with a variety of birds around. I had forty-one species with a dozen warblers. I missed the Mourning Warbler that was heard by Roger Pasquier at the Point in the morning and then seen by many in the afternoon. My personal best bird was a female Cape May Warbler on the Point. From a listing standpoint, I did pick up one new bird for the year - I heard and finally saw Blackpoll Warbler. There also seemed to be lots of Scarlet tanagers around. Yellow-rumped Warblers were definitely in much lower abundance than a few days ago. My total list is below.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (male on Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird (Turtle Pond)
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow (2-3; Turtle Pond)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler (male singing; Tupelo)
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler (female; the Point)
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager (indiividuals all around the Ramble)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow

[UPDATE: Realized I forgot Savannah Sparrow - added to the list.]

May 7 - Central Park - still lots of variety

It was cooler this morning than yesterday, but the cloudless, crystal blue sky gave my Thursday AMNH bird walk group a much prettier morning, though there were fewer birds. Fewer, but still a good number with good variety - we found 54 species including 15 warblers. The best bird of the morning was a Black-billed Cuckoo that obligingly perched up in a low tree on the south side of Turtle Pond for us. Earlier, looking down from the Belvedere Castle a number of Turtle Pond's namesake denizens could be seen sunning themselves.

Red-eared Sliders sunning at Turtle Pond 05/07/2015

A couple of hours later when we were leaving there was an even bigger group of sunning turtles on a ledge on the west side of the Lake as visible from the Upper Lobe.

sunning turtles on the Lake 05/07/2015 Central Park

Since it was so lovely - and birdy - I did the same thing I did yesterday and stayed in for an extra hour or so with any of my group who were either retired or felt very secure in their jobs. As with yesterday it was worth it. For example a male Cape May Warbler west of the Azalea Pond was seen during "overtime". The total list is below.

Canada Goose
Gadwall (pair; Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo (1; south side Turtle Pond)
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female; on the way up to Belvedere Castle)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird (heard; south side Turtle Pond)
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo (heard in a number of places)
Red-eyed Vireo (heard)
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1, the Lake)
Barn Swallow (1, Turtle Pond)
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren (singing birds)
House Wren (seen and heard)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird (several seen)
Worm-eating Warbler (1-2; south of weather station and south of Tupelo)
Northern Waterthrush (seen and heard at Hernshead; heard at Turtle Pond)
Blue-winged Warbler (1; south of weather station)
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler (male; west of Azalea Pond)
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Wilson's Warbler (male; from Upper Lobe bridge)
Eastern Towhee (heard)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager (males and one female)
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting (male; south side Turtle Pond)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

[Supplemental: For the last two mornings I have missed the Bay-breasted Warbler reported in the Ramble. During the day I got reports of Blue Grosbeak and Red-headed Woodpecker in the Ramble as well as the Bay-breast. In the afternoon I did a quick (approximately 30 minutes) dash into the park hoping to catch-up with one or more of these. I managed to get a fairly cooperative Bay-breasted Warbler by the Tupelo tree, but had no luck with the other two.]

May 6 - Inwood Hill Park - mainly non-avian notes

After the great morning I had in Central Park Ann and I went for a late afternoon/early evening walk in Inwood when I got home. Considering how birdy Central was this morning, it was surprisingly quiet, even given that it was now late in the day. Wood Thrushes were still singing in the Clove and on the ridge. We had a few Ovenbirds walking around in the leaf litter and I finally saw my first Magnolia Warbler in the park for the season - I knew others had seen them, but the species had eluded me. Perhaps nicest was a first year male Orchard Oriole vocalizing and feeding in a flowering tree on the edge of the overlook meadow.

first year male Orchard Oriole 05/06/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Our most surprising sighting, however, was not a bird. Up on the ridge as we came onto the middle stretch of the center road, we startled an Eastern Cottontail which scampered off into the woods. I don't remember seeing a rabbit in the park before. I suppose it could have been somebody's spring pet that was dropped in the park, but it looked like a regular wild cottontail, not a pet store rabbit.

We also came across a few flowers seen blooming for the first time this season: a Wild Geranium and Lilies-of-the-valley.

Wild Geranium 05/06/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Lilies-of-the-valley 05/06/2015 Inwood Hill Park

The first American Lady butterfly I have seen in the park this spring came into the flowering lilac bush at the river overlook, but did not sooperate for its picture.

On the way back out, at the bottom of the Clove road, as we approached the old monument rock there was a strong odor of skunk. Perhaps a dog made the mistake of bothering one of our local population!

May 6 - Central Park - lots of variety

It was overcast and spitting occasionally for my Wednesday AMNH Central Park bird walk i the Ramble, but luckily it never really rained. Inspite of the weather we had a great morning. In fact we were doing so well that when we were approaching the official ending time of the walk at 9:00 am I told the group I was going to stay in birding for a while. Mist of the group stayed in with me and we continued to have a great morning, birding until a little after 10:00. Our best bird was a male Summer Tanager between the Azalea Pond and the Captain's Bench. Nearby was another good bird, a Worm-eating Warbler. On our way out some of the group had a Cape May Warbler at Triplets Bridge. Near Warbler Rock we tried for but could not find a Bay-breasted Warbler that had been seen there, but had a nice consolation prize, a male Blackburnian Warbler. In all I counted 67 species on our morning's list with 18 warblers. The full list is below. A great morning!

Canada Goose
Gadwall (pair on Turtle Pond)
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1, the Lake)
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher (1, heard near the base of the Point)
Eastern Kingbird (Turtle Pond)
Blue-headed Vireo (2)
Warbling Vireo (Hernshead and elsewhere)
Red-eyed Vireo (1, heard)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1, Turtle Pond)
Tree Swallow (1, the Point)
Barn Swallow (the Lake)
Black-capped Chickadee (1)
Tufted Titmouse (1)
Carolina Wren (1)
House Wren (2)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3)
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird (singing birds)
Worm-eating Warbler (1)
Northern Waterthrush (3; the Point, Upper Lobe, and the Gill)
Black-and-white Warbler (scattered all over)
Common Yellowthroat (3)
American Redstart (adult male; south side Turtle Pond)
Cape May Warbler (1; Triplets Bridge)
Northern Parula (at least 4-5; singing birds)
Magnolia Warbler (2-3)
Blackburnian Warbler (male, Warbler Rock)
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler (male; Warbler Rock)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler (1, Turtle Pond)
Pine Warbler (1, dull individual, shore of Lake north of Bow Bridge)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (everywhere)
Prairie Warbler (male, south side Turtle Pond)
Black-throated Green Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Summer Tanager (male; between Captain’s Bench and Azalea Pond)
Scarlet Tanager (heard singing near Captain’s Bench)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch (feeders)
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

May 5 - Inwood Hill Park - New migrants

It has been interesting how each morning has brought a noticeably different assemblage of migrants. Just after starting out this morning I picked up a first of the year migrant - four Solitary Sandpipers feeding on the incoming tide on the mudflats north of the soccer field.

slightly blurry, distant photo of Solitary Sandpiper 05/05/2015 Inwood Hill Park

As I went up the Clove and along the ridge I noticed differences from yesterday. Overall numbers of birds seemed down, though in the end total variety was similar to yesterday with 54 species today compared to 55 yesterday. The White-throated Sparrows were gone (again), but flycatchers are now coming in with calling Great Crested and Least flycatchers on the ridge. I did not encounter "Norma" the Wild Turkey today. Easily the best bird of the morning perched up briefly on the path leading out to the wall over the Indian Caves where the eagle hacking station had been a few years ago - a Yellow-breasted Chat! Unfortunately, it quickly disappeared into the tangle when a jogger came by and i had no chance to try for a picture. I immediately got the word out by text message. James Knox joined me within a few minutes to look for the bird, and a couple of other birders who had seen the alert also showed up, but at least while I was still there, we did not refind the chat. The chat was my second new bird species for my Inwood list in three days (after the Summer Tanager on Sunday); it was number 209!

James and I did have some other nice warblers: a Worm-eating Warbler was feeding in the oak catkins at the path intersection north of the pines on the ridge and there was a lovely male Canada Warbler in the pines north of the Hudson River overlook.

I had to leave to get down to the office, but I did have two more nice finds on the way out. By the wall over the Indian Caves an Eastern Tailed Blue landed in the leaf litter in front of me. A last new bird was a singing Chestnut-sided Warbler halfway down the switchback trail from that overlook.

Eastern Tailed Blue 05/05/2015 Inwood Hill Park (note the orange spot on the hindwing)

The complete bird list for the morning is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Solitary Sandpiper (4, on mudflats north of soccer fields on the incoming tide in the morning)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher (1-2; calling on the ridge)
Great Crested Flycatcher (2; calling on the ridge)
Eastern Kingbird (2-3; soccer field and ridge)
Warbling Vireo (around the soccer field)
Red-eyed Vireo (1. the ridge)
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (soccer field)
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren (2-3; the Clove and the ridge)
Veery (1, ridge)
Wood Thrush (singing in the Clove and on the ridge)
American Robin
Gray Catbird (all over)
Northern Mockingbird (Muscota)
European Starling
Ovenbird (the Clove and the ridge)
Worm-eating Warbler (1; feeding in oak catkins, path intersection north of pine groves, the ridge)
Black-and-white Warbler (scattered individuals)

male (note the sharply defined streaking)  Black-and-white Warbler 05/05/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Northern Parula (singing birds on the ridge)
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler (1; singing male on the switchback path coming down from the ridge)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (males all over)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler (fewer than yesterday)
Canada Warbler (1; male in the pines north of the Hudson River overlook)
Yellow-breasted Chat (1; by the old eagle hacking site)
Eastern Towhee (calling birds all over)
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2-3; males and a female)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole (around the soccer field and on the ridge)
Baltimore Oriole (all over)
House Sparrow

May 4 - Inwood Hill Park - migrants, old and new

Another beautiful morning in Inwood Hill Park with even more birds than yesterday. Yesterday Ed Eden and I found 52 species in 5 hours; this morning I found 55 in three hours. It was a sort of strange mix of new arrivals and early spring migrants that had mostly passed through already. Clearly the overnight migration brought in some of these early migrants that had wintered further south. For instance, yesterday morning we did not hear or see a single White-throated Sparrow. This morning its familiar old sam peabody, peabody, peabody  was one of the first things I heard in the Clove and I later came across some small groups of them on the ridge. Similarly, I hadn't seen an Eaastern Phoebe in the park in probably more than a week, but I came across one this morning.

Before moving on to some of the new arrivals, I want to report that the Wild Turkey was encountered again this morning. As I said in some facebook psotings, I have decided its name is Norma, because it was ready for its close-up!

Wild Turkey 05/04/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Actually, I think what happened was it was trying to quietly walk away from an approaching dog-walker when I suddenly came around a bend in the path and came upon it, and it just froze allowing me to get this headshot. Though I must say, it is not very wary.

Back to the more conventional migrants. On the incoming tide there were two Least Sandpipers feeding on the shrinking mudflats of the bay north of the soccer fields - my first of the year. Yesterday Ed and I were surprised that we did not see a Black-throated Blue Warbler, especially when there were so many Black-throated Greens around. Today the Blues outnumbered the Greens!

male Black-throated Blue Warbler 05/04/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Another new arrival, and not a common bird in the park was a Yellow-throated Vireo singing its three-eight, three-eight song from the top of a tree on the ridge north of the pine groves. Later, a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was feeding and singing in the same vicinity.

male Rose-breasted Grosbeak 05/04/2015 Inwood Hill Park

On the ridge I encountered Danny Karlson who said he had just had a wabler singing in a tree, but he hadn't been able to identify it as it was high up and mostly silhouetted against the sun. We tracked it down and it turned out to be my first American Redstart of the year. I understood Danny's problem because it was a first year male, nit yet in its bright black and orange colors. Also as is typical of many of these young males, it hasn't really perfected its song yet so it doesn't sound right. It was surprosing that this young male was my first of the species for the year since the adult males tned tobe the first migrants. My complete list for the morning is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Wild Turkey
Great Egret
Least Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Finally, to mention a few plants - the large lilac bush by the Hudson River overlook has started to bloom.

Lilacs 05/04/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Also the invasive, and abundant, Garlis-Mustard that covers so much of the woodland understory is starting to bloom.

Garlic-Mustard 05/04/2015 Inwood Hill Park

I seem to have a strange mental block about remembering the name of this abundant weed, since once again this year I had to get it identified for me. Perhaps if I embarrass myself enough times askig for its identification I may finally get past the block and rember it myself!

May 3 - Inwood Hill Park - T & T

The T's stand for turkey and tanager - read on.

A fun morning in Inwood Hill Park. I went in at 7 am and Ed Eden joined me at 7:45 and we birded the park until about noon. Between us we amassed a bird list of 52 species - I saw a flyover Great Blue Heron before Ed arrived and he saw a Hermit Thrush while I was looking elsewhere, so our persoanl lists were each 51. Before Ed arrived I watched the Muskrat swimming around the middle pool in Muscota Marsh and watched some Northern Rough-winged Swallows apparently gathering nesting material there. Ther were defintely more birds around this morning than yesterday with more new arrivals among the summer breeders. As yesterday one or more male Orchard Orioles were singing along the north edge of the soccer fields at the north end of the park. In the same area today there were singing Warbling Vireos, which I did not see or hear yesterday - they also nest here. As Ed and I headed up the Clove we first heard and then saw an Ovenbird - my first of the year. Wood Thrush was again singing in the Clove. When we got to the upper end of the Clove we heard a Black-throated Green Warbler singing. I had heard from others that this species was in recently, but this was the first time I finally caught up with it. Later on the ridge we saw at least six individuals on the west side of the ridge well north of the overlook.

male Black-throated Green Warbler singing 05/03/2015 Inwood Hill Park

When we were up on the ridge I told Ed about hearing the Wild Turkey yesterday morning. A few minutes later I caught some movement to my right out of the corner of my eye. There was the Wild Turkey walking through the underbrush. As Ed and I watched the bird mostly ignored us and walked away, finally crossing the main trail. Based on the red wattle under the throat I think it may be a young male.

Wild Turkey 05/03/2015 Inwood Hill Park

 While we tried to spot a Yellow Warbler singing on the ridge, Ed spotted a male Summer Tanager high in an oak between the two small pine groves on the center path of the ridge. Earlier we had encountered James Knox, so I called him on his cell to let him know about the tanager. He quickly got there with Danny Karlson and they and several other birders got to enjoy the bird. Unfortunately, the tanager was too far away for me to get a picture with the short lens on my camera. Summer tanager was new for me in Inwood Hill Park. It is species number 208 for me in the park.

Later, in the Overlook Meadow, Ed and I saw my first Black Swallowtail butterfly of the year, a female with the bkue markings on the upper surface of the hindwings, though that is not visibile in the photo below.

female Black Swallowtail 05/03/2015 Inwood Hill Park

On our way out, at the bottom of the Clove we encountered James Knox again. He told us he had seen Blue-winged, Nashville and Magnolia warblers up the switchback trail that comes down from the old eagle hacking spot. We tried for them, but had no luck. Our full list of birds is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Wild Turkey (see photo above)
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (1)
Great Egret (1)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (4-5, over the ridge)
Belted Kingfisher (1, bay by the soccer fields in the morning)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird (1, the ridge)
Blue-headed Vireo (1, the ridge)
Warbling Vireo (see above)
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (4-5)
Tree Swallow (2-3)
Barn Swallow (1)
Black-capped Chickadee (2)
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Wood Thrush (several singing in the Clove)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird (2-3)
Black-and-white Warbler (4-5)
Northern Parula (several on the ridge)

Northern Parula 05/03/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Yellow Warbler (1)
Palm Warbler (3-4)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (all over)
Black-throated Green Warbler (at least 8)
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Summer Tanager (1, male)
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1, male)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole (at least 2)
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch (1, heard flying over)
House Sparrow

May 2 - Inwood Hill Park - Oh what a beautiful morning!

And this isn't even Oklahoma!

It really was a spectacularly beautiful morning in Inwood this morning with a bright, cyrstal blue, cloudless sky and pleasant temperatures. Even the fact that I could only find two warbler species on May 2 did not lessen the morning. Other birds compensated for the paucity of warblers. One of the first birds I encountered going into the park was a singing male Orchard Oriole, my first of the year.

male Orchard Oriole 05/02/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Continuing into the park, several Tree Swallows were hunting over the soccer fields and sometimes landing on the goal posts.

Tree Swallow 05/02/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Though I have seen Tree Swallows in several places this year already, these were the first i have had here in Inwood. The most surprisning bird of the morning was one I only heard. Going up through the Clove I heard the gobble of a Wild Turkey! It has been several years since I have seen turkey in the park so I thought I must be mistaken. However, later in the morning I encountered another local birder who spontaneously asked me if I had seen the tom Wild Turkey that had been in the park over the last week or so. I never did see the turkey this morning, but despite their lare size these birds can be surprisingly hard to find. Baltimore Orioles are definitely in in good numbers now with singing males foud in a number of places. The male below alternated singing with feeding in the catkins.

feeding Baltimore Oriole 05/02/2015 Inwood Hill Park

In the end I found forty species on my nearly three hour leisurely walk. Another highlight was a female Purple Finch up on the ridge. The forecast for tonight is southwest winds, so I am looking forward to tomorrow morning, hoping for the first serious wave of migrants of the spring. My full list is below.

In non-avian nature, up on the ridge I found one of the park's Flowering Dogwoods just starting to bloom. I always look forward to the lovely show this tree puts on each spring. Shadblow0Serviceberry is also starting in the park.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Wild Turkey (1; heard)
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (several overhead)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird (1; my first of the year; by the old eagle hacking spot)
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow (see above)
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren (singing)
Veery (1, in the Clove; my first of the year)
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush (singing and calling in the Clove)
American Robin (on nests now)
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler (1; singing male on the ridge)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (several)
Eastern Towhee (calling and singing)
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (still a few around singing)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole (1; see above)
Baltimore Oriole (see above)
Purple Finch (1; see above)
American Goldfinch (at least one calling as it flew over)
House Sparrow

[UPDATE: At 7:20 pm there was a great Egret feeding in the slatmarsh grass of Muscota Marsh bringing my Inwood day list total to 41.]

May 1 - Inwood Hill Park

I went into Inwood this morning for a short walk before going to work. It was relatively quiet. I saw no warblers, but I did pick up some new birds for the year. Yesterday in Central Park I saw the first Gray Catbirds and Baltimore Oriole I had seen anywhere this year. This morning, both species were present in numbers in Inwood Hill Park. I must have heard about six orioles calling on the ridge. Completely new for me for the year was a Wood Thrush singing in the Clove as was a skulking House Wren near the old eagle hacking site.

Among flowers, I think I came across the same large Jack-in-the-pulpit that Jessica Ancker reported to inwoodbirdwatchers.

Jack-in-the-pulpit 05/01/2015 Inwood Hill Park

Common Violoets were also in bloom on the east side of the Clove.

Common Violet 05/01/2015 Inwood Hill Park