Yesterday's birder magnet and more warblers by David

Remember Liliana? Here she is in her birdwatching uniform, thinking about all the birds her Daddy, David Speiser, photographed in Central Park this week.

First: yesterday's birder magnet
Chuck-will's-widow [asleep]
Photo by David Speiser - May 14, 2008

A Chuck-will's -widow, a bird in the goatsucker family closely related to the Whip-poor-will, was discovered sleeping on a horizontal branch at The Point.

The Whip-poor-will's famous song has three syllables and resembles its name. The Chuck-will's-widow's has four syllables, also resembling its name. Both bird's are nocturnal, only seen when some sharp-eyed birder spots one sleeping on a branch during the day. Then the birding community comes a'running, as they did with this one yesterday. Especially well-represented were the photographers, among them David Speiser, who took the thrilling photo above.


Other birds of the last few days, also photographed by David Speiser:


Canada Warbler

Wilson's Warbler



Overnbird


Northern Waterthrush

Cape May Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Tomorrow: More about the Riverside Hawks, and a progress [or lack of progress] report about Pale Male and Lola