Friday, May 03, 2013

Highlights of Thursday's Not-so Early Birders' walk

 Fox Sparrow --May 2, 2013 - Photo by BARRIE RAIK


American Kestrel - May 2, 2013 - Photo by BARRIE RAIK

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Phil and Chris despair: this morning's report plus PS


Pale Male bathing in the Gill, 4/22/2008 - photo by BARRIE RAIK

Chris Cooper writes early this morning:

Stay in bed. From 6 to 8 AM:

Northern Parula (1)
Palm Warbler (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1)
Warbling Vireo (2, heard only)
Chimney Swift
Red-tailed Hawk (adult--Pale Male?--bathing in the Azalea Pond)

ALSO REPORTED: Pine Warbler (by Morgan Tingley)

Worst May 2 ever.


Phil Jeffrey responds:

The source of Chris's despair is nicely illustrated by:
http://hint.fm/wind/
which shows a general anti-migration wind pattern for the last 24 hours. There is a small shift to a south wind overnight, but given the weak air flow it is anyone's guess if you'd get a big movement of pent up migrants or yet another blah day. It also suggests that the weekend could easily be unimpressive, irrespective of the actual date and the generally nice weather. More birders than birds, perhaps.


PS 
A propos of the photo at the top, a viewer of this blog . Nathan O'Reilly,  just sent me some photos of a redtail bathing at the Azalea Pond this morning! Here's the link he sent:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95419980@N03/

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Walk to honor Starr



David Barrett writes:


If you knew Starr Saphir or were ever on one of her birding walks, the event below may be of interest to you. 

Lenore Swenson, who birded with Starr Saphir for over 23 years, is leading a memorial birding walk for Starr on Wednesday, May 8, at 7:30 a.m. at Summit Rock in Central Park, New York City. The walk is free and open to all. Summit Rock is just east of Central Park West and 83rd Street, and can be reached by entering the park at West 81st Street or West 85th Street.
This walk will offer the chance to explore the Central Park Ramble near the height of spring migration under Lenore’s excellent guidance. It also will allow many people from decades of Starr’s walks to see each other again. The walk will linger at Summit Rock (an excellent spot for observing warblers and other migrants) for awhile at the beginning so that those who wish to say a few words in memory of Starr will have the opportunity to do so.
There is no registration – just show up.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Last day of April report from Nadir:

NADIR SOUIRGI reports [via eBirdsNYC]  his sightings in the North Woods and Great Hill today at 9:44 a.m
White-eyed Vireo - 5/6/2010- photo by LLOYD SPITALNIK - www.lloydspitalnikphotos.com

I birded the North Woods, Great Hill, and Loch from about 6:50 to 8:30 this morning. The north end of the ridge trail (where the wood chips collide with the paved path) in the woods and the west half of the Loch produced my three highlights so far with one Prairie Warbler in the former and both a singing White-eyed Vireo and a Blue-winged Warbler in the latter. Hopefully the clouds will break up a bit and give some life to this day; here are the few other migrants I scraped together in spite of it.

North Woods:
Loon sp. (fly over)
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Blue-headed Vireo
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
American Redstart
Black-and-white Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
Purple Finch (singing)
Baltimore Oriole

Great Hill: 
Ovenbird
Chipping Sparrow (very few, so I guess that answers that question, though I didn't expect them to take off so early and in a southerly direction)
Eastern Towhee

Loch:
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
White-eyed Vireo
Northern Parula
American Redstart
Blue-winged Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee

Keep'em up!

Nadir Souirgi

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Exciting Bird in the North Woods and a Loon on Reservoir


Yellow-crowned Night Heron - photo by LLOYD SPITALNIK taken at the Marine Nature Study Area, Oceanside, L.I., NY  on 6/6/2009


Ethan Goodman wrote today at 7:13 am [via eBirdsNYC]:

I just had a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the North Woods high in a tree off the woodchip path. Central Park first for me. 



He added at 5:21 pm:

Following up on my prior post to clarify, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron was an adult in full plumage with clear yellow crown, and as such unmistakable as a YC rather than a BC. I saw it fly in from the east and land high in a tall oak near the big rock along the woodchip path at about 7am, but it was not there I returned with some other birders a couple of hours later. (If there's a better name for this area, please let me know. "The Ridge"?)

Generally, variety was good this morning, if overall numbers left something to be desired. Other notables from the North End and elsewhere in CP:
Palm Warbler (woodchip path)
Prairie Warbler (2: loch, woodchip path)
BT Green Warbler (woodchip path)
Yellow Warbler (2: east of the blockhouse, later at the Point)
American Redstart (FOY, about 4 total: loch, strawberry fields)
N. Parula (2 in N End, 1 at Azalea pond)
N. Waterthrush (among 3 Waterthrushes in Loch, probably all Northern)
Black-and-White Warbler (very numerous now)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (also very numerous now)
Blue-headed Vireo (more than I've ever seen in CP)
Chimney Swift (4 or so flying high above north end)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (loch)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (FOY, where iron-railed bridge crosses Gill)
Gray Catbird (FOY, so actually exciting)
RC Kinglet (along with Yellow-rumps, the most abundant Warblerish)
Field Sparrow (Falconer's Hill)

Chipping Sparrows are still around, in somewhat reduced numbers. Same for Swamp Sparrows. Hermit Thrushes seem to have abated somewhat but are still very present. And Blue-headed Vireos are truly earning their not-so-new name this year, as they are anything but solitary: I must have had at least 15 over the course of the day. Others in the ramble were reporting Worm-eating, Magnolia and Black-throated Blue warbler, none of which I saw today.

 Ardith Bondi reports: 
At least one Common Loon in breeding plumage was still 
on the Reservoir at 3pm today (Sunday, April 28, 2013). 
Was on the west side, but pretty far out and moving around
a lot while fishing.
 

Finally, Lynn Hertzog writes at 5:47pm 
Adding to Ethan's list -

 In the North Woods I had a late Golden-crowned Kinglet,
 heard an Ovenbird  and observed 2 male Baltimore Orioles.
Gorgeous day!