April 28 - Inwood Hill Park - YCNH continues

A gray, cool day with intermittent light rain. However, the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron first found by Nathan O'Reilly last week continues around the edge of the bay north of the soccer fields. Nathan also found a Spotted Sandpiper by Muscota Marsh this morning, a first for the season. Also arriving today were Orchard Orioles and Warbling Vireos north of the soccer fields.

April 27 - Inwood Hill Park

The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron found by Nathan O'Reilly a few days ago was still present Saturday morning. I ran into a couple of birders who said they also saw the Horned Lark, but it had shifted over to the baseball fields along Seaman Avenue. Danny Karlson and I did a walk up onto the ridge and found it pretty quiet. Our list of 26 species is below.

Canada Goose  2
Mallard  4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  2
Mourning Dove  3
Ring-billed Gull  15
Herring Gull  2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron roosting - 04/27/2019 - Inwood Hill Park

Black Vulture  2 flying south over the soccer fields

Black Vulture (bad photo) - 04/27/2019 - Inwood Hill Park

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  2
Blue Jay  6
Tree Swallow  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  2
American Robin  4
Northern Mockingbird  1
European Starling  3
American Goldfinch  2
White-throated Sparrow  4
Savannah Sparrow  1
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  4
House Sparrow  5

April 26 - Inwood Hill Park - Nathan O'Reilly hotstreak continues

Two days ago I wrote about the hotstreak Nathan O'Reilly has been on in the past week in finding good birds in Inwood Hill Park. He continued the streak this morning when he found a Horned Lark on the soccer field at the north end of the park. Nathan kindly texted me and I was able to join him and Nadir in enjoying the bird. It was a very pale individual, which I suspect means it is one of the inland or western races. I am going to do some research on subspecies to see if this can be pinned down.

April 25 - Central Park

A beautiful morning with bright blue, crystal skies for my Thursday AMNH bird walk. We found 37 species with five warblers. Though it was our best Thursday morning yet, we did have to work for the birds. Hopefully, the warbler numbers will increase sharply in the coming weeks.

Canada Goose  2
Mallard  4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  2
Mourning Dove  7
Herring Gull  3
Double-crested Cormorant  1
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Blue-headed Vireo  2
Warbling Vireo  1
Blue Jay  8
Tufted Titmouse  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2
Brown Creeper  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  5
Hermit Thrush  2
Wood Thrush  1
American Robin  15
European Starling  12
House Finch  4
Purple Finch  1
American Goldfinch  5
Chipping Sparrow  5
Field Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  12
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Common Grackle  5
Northern Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  2
Northern Parula  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  4
Northern Cardinal  6
House Sparrow  6

April 19/23 - Inwood Hill Park - Nathan O'Reilly hotstreak

I have done a lot of birding in Central Park in recent weeks and less than I usually do in Inwood. However, I must mention the hot streak Nathan O'Reilly has been on a hot streak in the park over the last week. On April 19, Nathan found a Marsh Wren along the shore of the bay north of the soccer fields at the north end of the park. Marsh Wrens probably occur annually in the park but they are easy to miss and are not regularly reported. (most reports are in the fall.) I know that park regular Danny Karlson also saw the wren on the 19th. On April 22, Nathan found two Blue Grosbeaks on the soccer fields. On a day of intermittent rain, a number of other birders got to see one, or both of the grosbeaks, thanks to Nathan's report - I got to see one of them in the late afternoon after getting home from work. On the evening of April 23, Nathan found a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron roosting in a tree west of Muscota Marsh in the park. He emailed me at 6:35 pm, but I was not logged into my email at the time. Luckily I did check my email about an hour later and saw his message. With light failing under a heavy overcast, I grabbed my binoculars and ran outside where I met a birder who told me he had just seen the Yellow-crown fly from the mudflats onto the grass lawn west of Muscota Marsh. I spotted the Yellow-crown after a quick scan of the grass. This was I believe my 213th species for Inwood Hill Park. Thanks, Nathan. May your streak continue!

April 24 - Central Park

Bright blue, crystal clear skies for my Wednesday AMNH bird walk group. It was our best morning yet, though as always, you hope for more. We found 40 species including five warblers.

Canada Goose  4
Mallard  6
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  4
Mourning Dove  6
Chimney Swift  2
Herring Gull  2
Double-crested Cormorant  4
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  2
Blue-headed Vireo  4
Blue Jay  8
Tufted Titmouse  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  3
Hermit Thrush  1
Wood Thrush  1  (I heard one call once by the feeders)
American Robin  12
Gray Catbird  1
European Starling  6
House Finch  1
Purple Finch  1
American Goldfinch  4
Chipping Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  1
White-throated Sparrow  12
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Common Grackle  3
Ovenbird  1
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Northern Parula  1
Yellow Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  4
House Sparrow  18

April 19 - Central Park (afternoon)

At lunchtime I went back into Central Park to make another attempt to see the Yellow-throated Warbler I had chased with Paul's group in the morning. This time I was successful. A birder said she had seen the bird high in a tree a few minutes earlier, but there was no sign of it now. Over the next ten minutes or so other birders arrived also looking for the bird. Word was the warbler had also been seen south of the 86th Street transverse. We all stood around watching and talking. Suddenly, I saw a bird flying in over the transverse from the south. I raised my binoculars and watched it fly in, then yelled to everyone it was the Yellow-throated. It was a bit distant for my camera, but I did get some recognizable photos.

Yellow-throated Warbler 04/19/2019 Central Park

I headed back south through the park and took a few more bird pictures.

Northern Shoveler 04/19/2019 Central Park reservoir

Mallard 04/19/2019 Central Park Turtle Pond

Palm Warbler preening 04/19/2019 Central Park

White-throated Sparrow preening 04/19/2019 Central Park

April 19 - Central Park

This morning I led Paul Sweet's Friday morning AMNH Central Park bird walk since was unable to do it today. It was a very pleasant morning, weatherwise, but a bit disappointing for birds. We made a dash up to the bridle path south of the Reservoir to look for a Yellow-throated Warbler. Unfortunately, we did not see the bird. The time spent on that cahse is why the species list is only 27 species (see below)

Canada Goose  2
Gadwall  2

Gadwall 04/19/2019: Turtle Pond

Mallard  4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  2
Mourning Dove  4
Herring Gull  4
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
Red-tailed Hawk  3
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Blue Jay  10
Tufted Titmouse  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper  2
American Robin  12
European Starling  8
White-throated Sparrow  18
Song Sparrow  2
Eastern Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Common Grackle  5
Louisiana Waterthrush  1

Louisiana Waterthrush 04/19/2019 Tupelo Meadow

Pine Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  5
House Sparrow  10

April 18 - Central Park

The latest in a string of cool, disappointing mornings for my Thursday AMNH bird walks in Central Park. We did find 36 species and finally got one warbler species. Our morning's tally has been creeping up each week. Maybe next week spring will finally arrive in earnest.

Canada Goose  4
Mallard  6
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  2
Mourning Dove  6
Herring Gull  1
Double-crested Cormorant  1
Great Egret  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Northern Flicker  3
Blue Jay  10
American Crow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  4
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Brown Creeper  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  5
Hermit Thrush  2
American Robin  12
European Starling  10
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  6
Chipping Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  2
Fox Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  1
White-throated Sparrow  40
Swamp Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  2
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Common Grackle  5
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  6
House Sparrow  30

April 17 - Central Park

A beautiful morning in the Ramble for the Wednesday AMNH morning walk. Finally a few warblers (3). A Cooper's Hawk north of the feeders, spotted by Evelyn, was one of the highlights of the 27 species found.

Canada Goose  2
Northern Shoveler  2
Mallard  8
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  2
Mourning Dove  5
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
Blue Jay  10
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  2
Brown Creeper  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  6
Hermit Thrush  3
American Robin  18
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  17
House Finch  2
American Goldfinch  6
Chipping Sparrow  6
Field Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  25
Song Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  2
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Common Grackle  2
Louisiana Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Palm Warbler  3
Northern Cardinal  5
House Sparrow  30

White-winged Dove - addenda

This spring I am participating in an informal competition with a number of AMNH people for the most species of birds seen in Central Park in April and May. So far it has changed my normal spring birding routine. Among other things it meant going into Central Park on a Sunday yesterday - something I almost never do. It meant spending several minutes working to get a look at a singing Northern Mockingbird high in a tree north of the Reservoir. Heard only birds are worth half a point instead of a full point for seen birds. It meant sitting on a bench by the Evodia Field feeders in the Ramble in the afternoon waiting for a Red-breasted Nuthatch to appear. Despite the fact I had seen probably the same nuthatch there a month ago, in March. My reward for watching for the nuthatch was spotting the White-winged Dove feeding on the ground below the feeders - apparently a first record for New York County. The White-winged Dove is my 350th species for the five boroughs of NYC.

BTW, the Red-breasted Nuthatch did show up a short time later.

April 14 - Central Park - White-winged Dove

What was a nice day in the park turned into a great day in the afternoon. I spent the morning at the North End of the park where the best bird was a male Hooded Warbler on the Great Hill. I don't know who first found it, but when I got there there were a number of birders looking for it and it only took a short wait before it appeared. After a short visit to the Museum, I decided to go back into the park and spend some time at the feeders, hoping to see the Red-breasted Nuthatch that had been eluding me there for the last two weeks. While sitting and chatting with other birders I did a casual scan of the birds on the ground below the feeders and was stunned to spot a White-winged Dove mixed in with the Mourning Doves. I instantly called the other birders attention to the bird and quickly sent out the word on a couple of the listservs. My post was immediately picked up by Dave Barrett who promptly sent out a tweet about it. (I hadn't tweeted it myself because I so rarely use Twitter, I decided it was quicker to send it out by email than trying to remember the Twitter procedures. Other birders started appearing within minutes. I want to thank Bruce Yolton for sharing the following photos of the bird and generously giving me permission to post them here.

White-winged Dove - 04/14/2019 - Central Park (photo © Bruce Yolton)

White-winged Dove - 04/14/2019 - Central Park (photo © Bruce Yolton)

Over the hour and a half I watched the bird it was often aggressive towards the slightly smaller Mourning Doves feeding around it.

April 11 - Central Park

A gray, chilly morning for my second Thursday morning AMNH of the spring. No warblers, but we still managed to find 35 species. I am sorry i did not get a chance to post this brief report  until Sunday evening. I will certainly try to be more timely next week.

Canada Goose  4
Northern Shoveler  2
Mallard  6
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  4
Mourning Dove  8
Herring Gull  1
Double-crested Cormorant  13     Flock overhead flying north
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  5
Eastern Phoebe  2
Blue Jay  10
American Crow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  5
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Hermit Thrush  4
American Robin  16
Brown Thrasher  3
European Starling  12
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  14
Dark-eyed Junco  1
White-throated Sparrow  35
Song Sparrow  5
Swamp Sparrow  2
Eastern Towhee  2
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Common Grackle  20
Northern Cardinal  8
House Sparrow  12

April 10 - Central Park

A beautiful early spring morning for my Wednesday AMNH bird walk in Central Park. Blue skies, scattered fluffy clouds, but still a cool breeze from the north and temperature around 50 when we started. The bird of the morning was undoubtedly the Great Horned Owl being chased all around the Ramble by a mob of Blue Jays. In the Ramble we did not have any warblers, but a few of us did see two bright Pine Warblers on the lawn in front of the Museum after we left the park. The full list of 39 species is below.

Canada Goose  4
Northern Shoveler  4
Mallard  6
Ruddy Duck  1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  5
Mourning Dove  8
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Great Horned Owl  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
Blue Jay  8
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  10  
White-breasted Nuthatch  5
Brown Creeper  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  3
Hermit Thrush  3
American Robin  18
European Starling  12
American Goldfinch  10
Chipping Sparrow  6
Field Sparrow  1
Fox Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  3
White-throated Sparrow  30
Song Sparrow  4
Swamp Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  3
Red-winged Blackbird  3
Common Grackle  14
Pine Warbler  2

Pine Warbler - 04/10/2019

Northern Cardinal  5
House Sparrow  8

April 4 - Central Park

The first Thursday morning AMNH Central Park walk had beautiful weather with crystal blue skies, though it was still a bit on the cool side. We found 31 species, but no warblers (though Pine, Palm, and Black-and-white have all been reported). For us the highlight was probably the Belted Kingfisher seen briefly on the west side of the lake north of Hernshead. A Hermit Thrush was also the first I have seen this year.

Canada Goose - 6
Northern Shoveler - 20 (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Mallard - 8 (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Ruddy Duck - 2 (pair on the Lake)
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) - 6
Mourning Dove - 14 (many at the feeders)
Herring Gull - 1 (flyover)
Great Egret - 1 (west side of the Lake)
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1 (west side of the Lake)
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 3
Blue Jay - 10
Black-capped Chickadee - 2 (the feeders)
Tufted Titmouse - 20 (all over)

Tufted Titmouse 0 04/04/2019 - Central Park

White-breasted Nuthatch - 3
Hermit Thrush - 1 (along the lower Gill)
American Robin - 25
European Starling  -10
American Goldfinch - 8 (mainly at the feeders)
Chipping Sparrow - 1 (the feeders)
Fox Sparrow - 1 (northeast of the Upper Lobe)
Dark-eyed Junco - 6 (the feeders)
White-throated Sparrow - 40 (everywhere)
Song Sparrow - 2 (Tupelo Meadow)
Swamp Sparrow - 1 (Laupot Bridge)
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
Common Grackle - 20
Northern Cardinal - 6
House Sparrow - 10

April 3 - Central Park

This morning was the first of my spring AMNH bird walks in Central Park. It was a beautiful, clear morning, but a bit cool. We did not have any warblers, but we did have a nice list with a total of 34 species. The full list is below.

Canada Goose - 5 (the Lake)
Northern Shoveler - 26 (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Mallard - 6 (the Lake and Turtle Pond)
Ruddy Duck - 2 (south end of the Lake)
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) - 3
Mourning Dove - 4
Ring-billed Gull - 2 (overhead)
Double-crested Cormorant - 1 (flyby)
Red-tailed Hawk - 1 (carrying nesting material towards the San Remo on CPW)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 5
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 3
Eastern Phoebe - 1 (south side of Turtle Pond)
Blue Jay - 14
American Crow - 1 (heard)
Black-capped Chickadee - 2 (the feeders)
Tufted Titmouse - 20 (conservative count; everywhere)
White-breasted Nuthatch - 6

White-breasted Nuthatch - 04/03/2019 - Central Park

American Robin - 30 (everywhere)
Brown Thrasher - 3 (Maintenance Meadow)
European Starling - 8
American Goldfinch - 10 (most at the feeders; scattered individuals elsewhere)
Chipping Sparrow - 2 (the feeders)
Fox Sparrow - 1 (south of Azalea Pond)
Dark-eyed Junco - 5 (feeders)
White-throated Sparrow - 40 (everywhere)

White-throated Sparrow - 04/03/2019 - Central Park

Song Sparrow - 2
Swamp Sparrow - 1 (along the Gill)
Red-winged Blackbird - 4
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1 (the feeders)
Common Grackle - 16
Northern Cardinal - 10
House Sparrow - 15