May 16 - Central Park

A gray, overcast morning with occasional raindrops, turning into a regular light rain toward the end of my 9:00 to 11:00 AMNH bird walk in Central Park. Despite the weather we found forty species with a dozen warblers. The highlight of the morning, however, was not a warbler, but a Bicknell's Thrush. The bird was in the Evodia Field near the bird feeders. We had seen the bird on the ground and I had identified it as a Gray-cheeked type; though we did note the bird displayed warmer tonesd on the back and especially the tail. Dave Barrett then appeared and told us they had had both Gray-cheeked and Bicknell's thrushes there and that the Bicknell's had responded to playback. He played a Bicknell's recording and the bird responded with a Bicknell's song. We watched it feeding on the ground and moving back and forth across the east path of the Evodia Field. At one point we spotted a second thrush which was a clear Gray-cheeked Thrush. It was noticeably grayer than the Bicknell's, especially around the face and lacked the warm tones of the Bicknell's. The Bicknell's Thrush was a life bird for many in the group. In total we noted forty species on the walk (list below). Many in the group joined me for an earlier scouting trip through the Ramble at 7:00 am. That walk also tallied forty species, though the list was not identical. The earlier list included ten species not seen on the regular walk. Those ten species are listed separately below the main list.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Bicknell's Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
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
Wilson's Warbler
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow

[From the earlier walk: Double-crested Cormorant, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Least Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Canada Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow.]