a haunting bird song yesterday and today's report

Whip-poor-will sleeping in Central Park --4/20/07

Photo by LLOYD SPITALNIK - http://www.lloydspitalnikphotos.com

At around 8 pm yesterday I received a phone call from fellow birder and friend Rebekah Creshkoff. She was at the Great Hill in the north part of the park, listening to a Whip-poor-will singing its familiar eponymic song [well, it's actually a call]. She held up her cell phone and I heard it too, quite clearly: whip-poor-WILL, whip-poor-WILL whip-poor-WILL. Thrilling.

Here's Chris Cooper 's report, via eBirdsNYC, of TODAY'S bird sightings:

A third great day in a row, if one waited out the dawn thunderstorm. Highlights from 5:50-9:45 AM were the continuing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW on Falconer's Hill/the croquet field, already mentioned in Phil's post and found yesterday by Anders Peltomaa; and a CERULEAN W at the Captain's Bench (thanks to to Al Levantin for spotting it once we got there, and to whoever first found the bird and spread the word), later reported at the Azalea Pond/Gill area. But the whole Ramble was alive with singing birds, with many multiples of nearly everything one would expect to see this time of year.

OTHER NOTABLES (not in taxonomic order)

N Parula BLACKBURNIAN W (at least 5 scattered throughout) Yellow-rumped W Prairie W (the Humming Tombstone) Yellow W Black-throated Green W Black-throated Blue W Chestnut-sided W Magnolia W Blackpoll W (heard only) Am Redstart Black-and-white W Nashville W Canada W (the Swampy Pin Oak) HOODED W (vicinity of the Swampy Pin Oak, moving a lot and staying relatively high for a Hooded) C Yellowthroat (many, finally) Ovenbird N Waterthrush YELLOW-THROATED VIREO (the Azalea Pond) Warbling Vireo Blue-headed Vireo RC Kinglet Wood Thrush Veery Great Crested Flycatcher Rose-breasted Grosbeak Baltimore Oriole E Towhee Swamp Sparrow Also reported: Bay-breasted W (Strawberry Fields, by Paul Szabo), Yellow-breasted Chat (Maintenance Field, by Morgan Tingley), Worm-eating W (general vicinity of Humming Tombstone, multiple observers)