Date: May 7, 2008
Location: Central Park, NYC
Reported by: Joe Giunta
Today was the second in our series of Spring Migration Wednesday morning bird walks. The weather could not have been any better and the birds were flooding through. As we started the morning at Strawberry Fields warblers seemed to be in all directions. We spent about two hours just in Strawberry Fields just sorting through the birds. At the end of the morning we had seen 13 warbler species, also we very much aware of the beautiful songs that they were singing. We had a great time comparing the Louisiana Waterthrush with the Northern Waterthrush. Besides warblers we also had very good looks at the ‘Big Three’, namely Scarlet Tanager (m&f), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (m&f) and a few Baltimore Orioles. It was after 12 noon that we finished.
Species Seen:
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Veery
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue Jay
European Starling
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
House Sparrow
Species seen - 43
Date: April 30, 2008
Location: Central Park, NYC
Reported by: Joe Giunta
It was the first day of our ‘Wednesday morning spring birding migration walks’. The weather was cool but dry. After having two days of rain we were expecting a large fallout of spring migrants. This didn’t happen probably because the winds continued out of the northwest and probably held back the stream of migrants. Still some very good birds were observed. The highlights were a very well seen Louisiana Waterthrush and a side by side comparison of a Rusty Blackbird and a Common Grackle.
Species Seen:
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Canada Goose
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
Rock Pigeon
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue Jay
European Starling
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow
Species seen - 32
Date: May 11, 2008
Location: Central Park, NYC
Reported by: Joe Giunta
The weather was perfect for our Warbler Class field trip. We started the day at 8am and immediately went to Strawberry Fields. There were a good amount of birds in that part of Central Park and we actually stayed in Strawberry Fields for almost two hours. In total for the day we saw 14 species of warblers including Cape May, Prairie, and Hooded. While concentrating on warblers we also had excellent views of other birds namely Summer Tanager and Indigo Buntings. These two species were life birds for many in our group of 15 eager birders. In the lower lobe of the lake we had excellent side by side comparisons of Spotted Sandpiper right next to Solitary Sandpiper. It made for a great learning opportunity. All during our walk we constantly saw and heard Baltimore Orioles. One of the last birds we saw during the day was the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Both male and female were present in an area of the ramble known as the gill. We ended the walk a little after 12 noon.
Species Seen:
Great Egret
Mallard
Red-tailed Hawk
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Gray Catbird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Tufted Titmouse
Blue Jay
European Starling
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Summer Tanager
Swamp Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow
Species seen - 48
Date: May 4, 2008
Location: Sterling Forest State Park
Reported by: Don Riepe
Sterling Forest, a 20,000-acre preserve located in New York and New Jersey is less than an hour north of Manhattan just off route 17. It is home to a good diversity of plants and animals including black bears and timber rattlesnakes. For birders, it is a good place to see breeding cerulean, golden-winged, hooded and blue-winged warblers. Our trip produced a nice array of critters including a black rat snake, garter snake and three entwined northern water snakes - a menage a trois? Frog and turtle species encountered included green frog, pickerel frog, bull frog, spring peeper (heard) as well as painted and snapping turtles. Someone also found a red-backed salamander under a log. Birds were singing everywhere, although John & I have trouble with hearing the high registers. We did have some nice looks at prairie warblers involved in a territorial dispute. Some other birds seen or heard were great crested flycatcher, yellow-throated vireo, red-eyed vireo, red-bellied woodpecker, Baltimore oriole, black-capped chickadee, black and white warbler, common yellowthroat, yellow warbler, red-tailed hawk and goshawk to name a few. Along the trail we also found a beautiful blooming red trillium and John was impressed that we saw a small butterfly, a falcate orange tip female laying eggs on an arabis host plant. He said it was a new record for the area. All in all it was a good day hike of about 4 miles with a stop for lunch at a small scenic beach at the northern end of Sterling Lake.
Date: April 13, 2008
Location: Central Park, NYC
Observers: NYC Audubon Birding Song Class
Reported by: Joe Giunta
The weather held and we had a very nice outing. We observed 36 species. The highlights were a Black-and-white warbler, Palm warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrushes, Eastern Phoebe, both Kinglets, four species of Woodpeckers and six species of Sparrows including both Fox and Field. At one point in Strawberry Fields we were surrounded by song as many White-throats, Juncos, Cardinals and an Eastern Towhee entertained us.
Species Seen:
Double-crested Cormorant
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Blue Jay
European Starling
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Species seen - 36
Date: March 9, 2008
Location: Sandy Hook, NJ
Reported by: Joe Giunta
The weather was cold and windy but the birds were great. We saw a Townsend’s Solitaire, a rare visitor from the Southwest, specifically New Mexico and Arizona. The bird perched very cooperatively for everyone to get excellent views. It was a ‘lifer’ for almost everyone on the trip. Quickly following the Solitaire sighting we all saw an immature Bald Eagle fly over the group as we made our way to the viewing platform at the ‘K-lot’, the northern part of Sandy Hook. Another exciting part of the trip was to see the good number of Northern Gannets flying over the ocean and diving straight down into the water as they fed. This was another life sighting for many members of the group. We also saw a raft of about a thousand Greater Scaup. The raft turned part of the bay black. A Turkey Vulture provided us with an up-close and personal appearance as the bird flew close over the group. Except for Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds spring migrants were not to be found. Complete list of sightings follows.
Species Seen:
Horned Grebe
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Brant
American Wigeon
Mallard
American Black Duck
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Tree Swallow
Carolina Wren
Townsend's Solitaire
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
American Crow
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
House Sparrow
Species seen - 33
Date: March 4, 2008
Location: Barnegat, NJ
Reported by: Joe Giunta
The weather was very good for birding at the Barnegat Lighthouse this year, unlike last year when we felt like we were in the frozen arctic. There was some rain in the New York City area but we avoided the precipitation by being 80 miles south of the city. We made the trip especially to see Harlequin Ducks and we saw a good number of them. We saw about 20 of these beautiful ducks very close to the rock jetties. We were able to approach so close that the binoculars were not necessary. The Harlequins were a life bird for some of our group. We also had the good fortune of seeing Purple Sandpipers, also without the aid of binoculars. The inlet was filled with about 80 Long-tailed ducks. Both male and female Long-tails flew up and down the inlet and put on a very nice show. Land birds were also present. We picked out a Horned Lark with a very bright yellow throat. A bird of some significance was a Phoebe. The bird was picking off insects as it perched on some snow fencing near the lighthouse. It was mentioned that this bird is a true harbinger of spring and will probably be up in New York City in about one week.
Species Seen:
Common Loon
Great Cormorant
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Brant
Harlequin Duck
Long-tailed Duck
Surf Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Purple Sandpiper
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Eastern Phoebe
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
American Crow
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Species seen - 27
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