First warbler arrives on St. Patrick's Day

Louisiana Waterthrush - 3/17/06
Photo by Cal Vornberger

The first warbler in Central Park is usually the Pine Warbler, showing up at the beginning of April. The La. Waterthrush appears on the New York City Bird Report* with an early date of April 5. According to Lloyd Spitalnik, the very earliest Central Park sighting of that species was on March 23 a few years ago.

That makes yesterday's sighting of the Louisiana Waterthrush a record. Indeed, it may be a record for the entire state of New York. The small, ground-dwelling warbler was found and photographed in the Loch area of the North Woods by Cal Vornberger . You'll enjoy Cal's website at http://www.calvorn.com/

*And check out the New York City Bird Report for the absolutely latest sightings, sent in by the park's best birdwatchers. Http://www.NYCBirdReport.com