They're here at last

Hooded Warbler - 4/29/04
Photo by Cal Vornberger
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Monday was the absolutely the worst first of May any of us can remember. There wasn't a bird in sight, not a warbler, not a vireo, not a flycatcher...nothing. All right, maybe there were a few robins.

Everybody knew why there were no birds. The migrants wait for southwest winds to speed them on their way. On Monday, and for many days before, the winds were from the northeast. So the northward-bound birds waited where they were, North Carolina or Maryland or New Jersey, for the winds to change.

Tuesday was a bit better, but nothing to write home about. Today the bottleneck unclogged. . Of the following list, from the New York City Bird Report, the Early Birders saw quite a few, notably, the Vesper Sparrow [a rare CP visitor] and the stunning little Hooded Warbler.

Best of all, the park was alive with the sound of ... thrushes, thrashers, catbirds and lots of others, all singing. Including the Hooded Warbler. It was singing persistantly as it made its way around the Ramble: Wee-o-wee-o-wee-tee-o.

Central Park Bird Report for May 3, 2006
http://www.nycbirdreport.com/

Double-crested Cormorant*
Great Egret*
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo* (YD)
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker*
Downy Woodpecker*
Northern Flicker*
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo*
Blue-headed Vireo*
Warbling Vireo*
Red-eyed Vireo*
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse*
Red-breasted Nuthatch* (D)
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren*
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery*
Hermit Thrush*
Wood Thrush*
American Robin
Gray Catbird*
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher*
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler*
Nashville Warbler*
Northern Parula*
Yellow Warbler*
Magnolia Warbler* (YD)
Black-throated Blue Warbler*
Yellow-rumped Warbler*
Black-throated Green Warbler*
Pine Warbler* (D)
Prairie Warbler*
Palm Warbler*
Black-and-white Warbler*
American Redstart*
Ovenbird*
Northern Waterthrush*
Louisiana Waterthrush* (D)
Common Yellowthroat*
Hooded Warbler* (YD)
Wilson's Warbler* (YD)
Scarlet Tanager*
Eastern Towhee*
Chipping Sparrow*
Field Sparrow* (D)
Vesper Sparrow* (D)
Savannah Sparrow* (D)
Song Sparrow*
Swamp Sparrow*
White-throated Sparrow*
White-crowned Sparrow*
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak*
Indigo Bunting*
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole*
House Finch
American Goldfinch*
House Sparrow

84 species (excluding hybrids and reported with full confidence)

[YD means the first sighting for the year.. D = a notable bird, though not the first sighting. An asterisk means that if you go to the website, click on Central Park, and click onToday, you'll get additional information about who saw the bird and where.]