April 28 - Central Park - Swainson's Warbler!

This is just a quick note, since I am going to be busy for the next few days. My Thursday AMNH bird walk group was treated to a Swainson's Warbler in Central Park today. A New York State bird for me - # 420! I did not get any pictures of the bird myself, though many others did. When we saw the bird there must have been 50+ birders there. Below is a shot of one of the scenes.

Birders looking at a Swainson's Warbler south of Strawberry Fields in Central Park

April 27 - Central Park - finally warblers!

Cool and overcast for my Wednesday AMNH Central Park bird walk group. But finally warblers are in. We had ten species of warblers and I heard about at least another six species we didn't see. Whenever you see a male Blackburnian Warbler it is a good morning and we had a fairly cooperative bird near the Azalea Pond. Probably the bird I was most surprised to see was a Least Flycatcher on the Point. It is a bit early, but certainly not record early. Below is a poor, blurry picture of the bird.

Least Flycatcher 04/27/2016 Central Park

The morning's complete list of 44 species is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1, the Lake)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher (1, above)
Blue-headed Vireo (2, Turtle Pond)
Warbling Vireo (1, singing bird, the Point)
Red-eyed Vireo (1, Maintenance)
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (all over the Ramble)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird (2)
Northern Waterthrush (2, Hernshead and Azalea Pond)
Blue-winged Warbler (1, the Point)
Black-and-white Warbler (several)
Nashville Warbler (1, Azalea Pond)
Northern Parula (1, Humming Tombstone)
Blackburnian Warbler (1, Azalea Pond)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (2, male and female)
Palm Warbler (several)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (all over)
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow (1, Hernshead)
Swamp Sparrow (1, Azalea Pond)
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

April 23 - Inwood Hill Park - Grasshopper Sparrow

The April 23 date in the title of this post is correct. On Saturday, April 23, Ricki Ravitts and Danny Karlson found a sparrow they did not immediately recognize on the edge of the soccer fields at the north end of Inwood Hill Park. After studying it they identified it as a Grasshopper Sparrow - a rare find for Inwood, or indeed almost anywhere in New York City. I ran into Danny in the park the next day and he told me about there find. It was another couple of days before I received Ricki's lovely photos of the bird which she has given me permission to post here. Enjoy! And try not to be too envious.

And to save the wondering, yes, I have looked for the bird since Saturday and there has been no sign of it.

Grasshopper Sparrow 04/23/2016 Inwood Hill Park

Grasshopper Sparrow 04/23/2016 Inwood Hill Park

Congratulations to Ricki and Danny on a great find. And thank you Ricki for permission to post your very nice pictures!

April 26 - Inwood Hill Park - migration finally hits home

Early yesterday morning, within minutes of each other I heard from Sean Sime in Brooklyn and Nadir Souirgi birding on the ridge in Inwood Hill Park that there were lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers (with a scattering of other birds) passing through. Unfortunately, I couldn't get out yesterday, so I decided to try to go this morning, weather permitting. Thunderstorms during the night made me suspect i wouldn't get in to the park afterall. When I got up this morning it was very gray, with a low overcast, but a check of the weather radar indicated there should be a window of dry weather, or at least a spell of no rain, in which I could check out the park. The weather did indeed cooperate. There were good numbers of Yellow-rumps on the ridge, though in apparently less numbers than reported yesterday by Nadir. I also found a couple of Palm Warblers in the meadow on the ridge as well as a Blue-headed Vireo. A first for the year for me was a Baltimore Oriole heard up on the ridge. When I encountered James Knox as I came back down the valley, he said he had heard an Orchard Oriole singing on the south side of the soccer fields by the spring. James had also seen three Snowy Egrets flyover, much rarer here than our usual Great Egrets, and a couple of Greater Yellowlegs on the flats. Another first of the year for me was a Veery partway down the main valley path.

Veery 04/26/2016 Inwood Hill Park

Back on the soccer fields I ran into Danny Karlson and we headed over to the northwest corner of the fields to look for the Northern Waterthrush that James had reported there. Shortly after getting there we first heard it singing and then saw it walking on the mud under the trees.

To leave birds for a moment, the Dogwood is starting to flower up on the ridge. My complete list of forty species is below after the Dogwood picture.

Flowering Dogwood 04/26/2016

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant (1, flying south over the Hudson)
Great Egret (2)
American Kestrel (1, flying west over the soccer fields carrying something in its talons)
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo (1)
Warbling Vireo (1, singing along north edge of soccer fields)
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow (1, over the water)
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren (singing)
Veery (1, picture above)
American Robin
Gray Catbird (1, my first of the year)
Northern Mockingbird (1, Muscota Marsh)
European Starling
Northern Waterthrush (1, see above)
Yellow Warbler (1, north side of soccer fields)
Palm Warbler (2, see above)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (many)
Eastern Towhee (singing)
Chipping Sparrow (soccer fields)
Field Sparrow (1, soccer fields)
Savannah Sparrow (1, soccer fields)
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (2, almost all gone now)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole (1, see above)
American Goldfinch (1, adult male up on ridge)
House Sparrow

April 24 - Inwood Hill Park - beautiful morning

Crystal blue skies and cool temperatures this morning for a walk in Inwood Hill Park. As in recent days, Red-winged Blackbirds were singing along the water's edge on the north side of the soccer fields.

Red-winged Blackbird calling 04/24/2016 Inwood Hill Park

On Friday morning I had found Savannah, Swamp, and two Field sparrows on the soccer fields. There was no sign of those birds this morning, but there were a few Brown-headed Cowbirds and Chipping Sparrows feeding on the grass. As I started into the Clove, I encountered Danny Karlson and we joined forces. In recent days there were usually White-throated Sparrows feeding on the ground in the woods and singing everywhere. This morning we did not see or hear any. Up on the ridge, I finally saw my first Palm Warbler of the spring. I believe Danny had seen them at least a week ago, and I know they have been seen all week down in Central Park, but they had eluded me until today. The Palm was followed in quick succession by a Yellow-rumped Warbler and then a Black-and-white Warbler. These were the only warbler species we found this morning. On Friday morning I had encountered a Louisiana Waterthrush, an uncommon species in the park. On the ridge we ran into James Knox and Nadir Souirgi. They had heard and seen a Prairie Warbler shortly before we met them, but we never refound it. The four of us continued along the ridge. Lots of the residents were calling and singing, but the only other notable migrant encountered was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. My full list of thirty-five bird species for the morning is below.

More and more wildflowers are coming into bloom. A couple I photographed this morning were Virginia Bluebell and White Trillium.

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) 04/24/2016 Inwood

White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) 04/24/2016 Inwood

Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher (1, heard)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee (singing)
Tufted Titmouse (singing)
White-breasted Nuthatch (calling)
Carolina Wren (singing)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee (calling)
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

On my way out, I couldn't resist a Great Egret that was "ready for his close-up"!

Great Egret 04/24/2016 Inwood

April 22 - New book on New York City parks

Forty-five yeas ago when I was a new (and much younger) birder, one of my favorite books about nature in New York City was Elizabeth Barlow's The Forest and Wetlands of New York City. It has remained a favorite and though it has been long out of print I have recommended it many times over the years. It is the first book on my page of references to local natural history books posted on the side of this blog. So it was a great pleasure to meet Betsy Barlow Rogers a few years ago. She has now written a new book, a sort of successor to that earlier wonderful book. It is Green Metropolis: The Extraordinary Landscapes of New York City as Nature, History, and Design and was published by Alfred A. Knopf earlier this week.

After a brief overview of natural areas around New York City it has chapters about Staten Island, Jamaica Bay, Inwood Hill Park, the Ramble in Central Park, Roosevelt Island, Freshkills Park and the High Line. I think you will enjoy. And I do not say that just because my AMNH Central Park bird walks are featured in the chapter on the Ramble!

April 21 - Central Park - disappointing

A lovely morning with southerly winds and surprisingly few birds around for my Thursday AMNH bird walk group. We did, however, pick up our first vireo of the spring. The full list of thirty species below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (1 male on the Upper Lobe)
Double-crested Cormorant (the Lake)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, going into its apparent nest on Central Park West)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher (1, Turtle Pond)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo (1, Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse (calling individuals all around the Ramble)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (scattered all around the Ramble; many of the males displaying)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler (scattered individuals)
Eastern Towhee (calling birds)
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (1, Azalea Pond)
White-throated Sparrow (many singing birds)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch (feeders)
American Goldfinch (near Azalea Pond)
House Sparrow

April 20 - Central Park - warblers start to arrive

A truly gorgeous morning with crystal blue skies for my Wednesday morning AMNH bird walk group in the Ramble. The weather is finally warming up after the recent weeks of cool temperatures but it was still on the quiet side for the birds. However, we finally had more than one warbler species for the walk. The full list of 33 species is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (3 males on the Upper Lobe which flew off as we crossed the bridge)
Double-crested Cormorant (the Lake)
Great Egret (1, Turtle Pond as usual)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, going into its apparent nest on Central Park West)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher (1, flew off over the Lake towards Central Park West)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (scattered all around the Ramble; many of the males displaying)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Louisiana Waterthrush (2, Triplets Bridge and the Azalea Pond)
Black-and-white Warbler (1, along the Gill)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (scattered individuals)
Eastern Towhee (a male perched up out in the open along Turtle Pond)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (many singing birds)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird (1, male high in a tree southwest of Azalea Pond)
House Finch (feeders)
American Goldfinch (feeders, some bright males now)
House Sparrow

Lots of wildflowers are in bloom now. This Purple Trillium was by Azalea Pond.

Purple Trillium (Trillium erectum) 04/20/2016 Central Park 

April 17 - Western Long Island birding

Ed Eden, Ann and I spent a lovely Sunday birding various locations on western Long Island. We started out at Connetquot River State Park looking for the previously reported Yellow-throated Warbler. Unfortunately, the warbler eluded us, however, we did enjoy the lovely "bouncing ball" song of a Field Sparrow. From there we went to the coast at Robert Moses State Park where we were treated to forty or so Northern Gannets, most of them adults, flying and plunge diving for fish not far off the beach. A few flocks of Black Scoters were moving east, with a lone White-winged Scoter mixed in. Then it was on to the Coast Guard Station at the West End of Jones Beach State Park. In the distance across the bay we spotted about thirty Forster's Terns standing on a dock. They are my first terns of the year. Much closer to us was a male Black Scoter and a couple of long-tailed Ducks. Feding on the grass was a flock of Brant. I couldn't resist taking a portrait of one of the cooperative birds walking along.

Brant 04/17/2016 Jones Beach

Finally, we checked in at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge back in New York City. There was still a variety of waterfowl on the East Pond - Ruddy Ducks mostly, but also including Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, a lone female Greater Scaup, plus the usual Mallards and American Black Ducks. Most of the Mute Swans were at the northern end of the pond, but one kept paddling by us in breeding display mode.

Mute Swan 04/17/2016 Jamaica Bay

Normally, I ignore Mute Swans, but this one was putting on such a show, I had to take its picture.

April 14 - Central Park - Deja vu all over again

Almost a repeat of yesterday morning for my Thursday AMNH bird walk in Central Park. Once again a bright, cool morning with blue skies. Unfortunately there were somewhat fewer birds in evidence than yesterday, perhaps a result of the slightly stronger northerly breeze. However, we were able to find yesterday's best bird, a Rusty Blackbird.

Canada Goose (the Lake)
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (6, the Lake, all males)
Double-crested Cormorant (2, the Lake)
Great Egret (1, Turtle Pond)
Herring Gull (flying overhead)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (males & females, various locations)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (2, Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay
American Crow (1, flying over)
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch (vicinity of feeders)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (various locations)
Hermit Thrush (several)
American Robin

American Robin - 04/14/2016 - Central Park

Yellow-rumped Warbler (1, bright male, near feeders; our first of the spring)
European Starling
Eastern Towhee (calling birds and a female seen near Azalea Pond)
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (2, Azalea Pond)
White-throated Sparrow (singing birds everywhere)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird (1, along the Gill)

Rusty Blackbird - 04/14/2016 - Central Park

Common Grackle
House Finch (2, the feeders)
American Goldfinch (the feeders)
House Sparrow

April 13 - Central Park - Another cool spring morning

Bright blue skies, but a cool morning for my Wednesday American Museum of Natural History bird walk group. I think it was 39° F when we started at 7:00 am. Also the winds were from the north west - not the best prospects for a spring morning. Nevertheless, we had a good walk with 38 species found. The best was easily the Rusty Blackbirds at the Azalea Pond and along the Gill. The complete list, with some photos, follows.

Canada Goose (the Lake)
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (8, the Lake)
Bufflehead (male, Turtle Pond)
Double-crested Cormorant (1, the Lake)
Great Egret (1, Turtle Pond)
Red-tailed Hawk (2, over Central Park West)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (males & females, various locations)

male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker peaking around trunk - 04/13/2016 - Central Park

Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (1, Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch (2, feeders and near the Gill)

White-breasted Nuthatch - 04/13/2016 - Central Park

Brown Creeper (1, near feeders)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (various locations)
Hermit Thrush (several)
American Robin

American Robin - 04/13/2016 - Central Park

Pine Warbler (1, Belvedere)
European Starling
Eastern Towhee (2, Maintenance Meadow and Azalea Pond)
Field Sparrow (1, Maintenance Meadow)
Fox Sparrow (1, near the Gill)
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (2, along the Gill)
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird (4, Azalea Pond and along the Gill - males and females)

Rusty Blackbird - 04/13/2016 - Central Park

Common Grackle
House Finch (3, the feeders)
American Goldfinch (8, the feeders)

American Goldfinch - 04/13/2016 - Central Park

House Sparrow

April 9/10 - Inwood Hill Park - Wild Turkey, wildflowers, and butterflies

I went into Inwood Hill Park for brief walks Saturday morning and with Ann midday on Sunday. Saturday morning was overcast and cool, but Sunday was a beautiful spring day bright blue skies, though still somewhat cool. I was hoping to find some spring bird migrants, but didn't find many. On Sunday, we found a lone Eastern Phoebe up on the ridge. However, there was lots of song, mostly from the residents: Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, and others. The best bird was a Wild Turkey that Ann and I came across walking through the woods on the ridge near the meadow. The full bird list is at the bottom of this post.

Wild Turkey - 04/10/2016 - Inwood Hill Park

With the bright sun on Sunday, I was hoping for a Mourning Cloak butterfly, but did not come across one. I did spot a Cabbage White, which was to be expected and a lone Red Admiral, which I was not expecting.

Ann came on the walk on Sunday to see the Dutchman's-Breeches blooming in the Clove. They have been out for a while now and the recent frosts, I think, have been hard on them.

Dutchman's-Breeches - 04/09/2016 - Inwood Hill Park

Lots of Periwinkles are in bloom, though some of them also seem to have been affected by the recent frosts. On Saturday morning, I looked for Lesser Celandine, but didn't find any in bloom. However, at midday on Sunday in the bright sun, they seemed to be in bloom everywhere.

Lesser Celandine - 04/10/2016 - Inwood Hill Park

Also in bloom in several spots was the Pachysandra and Common Dandelion.

Japanese Pachysandra - 04/10/2016 Inwood Hill Park

Among the flowering trees, the Eastern Redbud and the Shadblow/Serviceberry are coming out.

Eastern Redbud - 04/10/2016 - Inwood Hill Park

Shadblow/Serviceberry - 04/10/2016 - Inwood Hill Park

Below is the total list of 29 species of birds seen over the two days.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Wild Turkey
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
House Sparrow

April 7 - Central Park

It was warmer this morning than the last few days. Also the rains held off for my Thursday morning AMNH bird walk group.Despite the warmer temperatures and the southerly breeze, it was fairly quiet, though we did find 28 species.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Shoveler (4, the Lake)
Double-crested Cormorant (2, the Lake)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1, west side of the Lake, north of Hernshead)
Red-tailed Hawk (soaring over Central Park West)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male, below Belvedere)
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (1, Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay
American Crow (1)
Tufted Titmouse (heard calling around the Ramble)
American Robin
European Starling
Fox Sparrow (2, by feeders and Azalea Pond)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (singing birds throughout the Ramble)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird (adult and juvenile males)
Common Grackle
House Finch (feeders)
American Goldfinch (feeders)
House Sparrow

April 6 - Central Park

After missing the first Wednesday AMNH Central Park bird walk last week because of jury duty, I got to start the Wednesday walks today. It felt more like a late winter walk than a spring walk. There were beautiful, blue, cloudless skies, but the temperature was at freezing when we started. Nevertheless. we found 28 species with a few spring birds.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant (1, flying around the Lake)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (1, west side of the Lake, north of Hernshead)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow (1)
Black-capped Chickadee (feeders)
Tufted Titmouse (singing birds in several places)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (I missed it, but Jon Hyman and Chuck McAlexander had one on the way out)
Hermit Thrush (2)
American Robin
European Starling
Pine Warbler (1, south side Turtle Pond)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (singing birds throughout the Ramble)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird (calling male, Turtle Pond)
Common Grackle
House Finch (feeders)
American Goldfinch (feeders)
House Sparrow

March 31 - Central Park

This was my first bird walk in the Ramble in Central Park for my Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist. spring walks. I missed my first Wednesday walk on March 30 (Paul Sweet filled in for me), because I was doing Federal jury duty. We found thirty species.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Bufflehead (1 male on Turtle Pond)
Great Egret (1, Turtle Pond)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (2, The Point)
Red-tailed Hawk (2, one carrying nesting material over the west park drive)
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (1, Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Pine Warbler (2)
Chipping Sparrow (1, Maintenance Meadow)
White-throated Sparrow (singing birds throughout the Ramble)
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch (feeders)
American Goldfinch (feeders)
House Sparrow

My apologies for the tardiness of this post.