Central Park Birding

 After what seemed a very long time from booking, Mrs D and I headed to the Big Apple last weekend to celebrate her big birthday from earlier in the year. Three nights & four days of non stop sight seeing from dawn to dusk definitely tested the feet but we saw some wonderful sightings including the Empire State Building, Rockafeller Building, library, Statue of Liberty, 9/11 museum & memorial, Brooklyn Bridge plus so much more. 

 American Robin

Chipping Sparrow

As we headed into the city our first bird of note was a Red-winged Blackbird trying to keep up with the train. When passing the Statue of Liberty we recorded American Herring Gulls, a Peregrine fly past, Great Cormorants, four Laughing Gulls and six Brent Geese. The only other bird we saw on our travels were Common Grackle. When over in Brooklyn we finally found our first American Robin, much bigger than I expected and pretty tame allowing me to take some photos at close quarters. In the same area I also found a small group of Chipping Sparrows that were much prettier than expected. 

I'd spent many hours researching how Central Park always attracts a fantastic array of birds during spring & Autumn migration as they migrate along the eastern seaboard. There seemed to be a real community of knowledgable birders which actually featured in a HBO documentary called Birders: The Central Park Effect. For months I'd been following with interest all the local birders on Twitter & even formed by own Twitter list for quick click news. Author David Barrett offered plenty of great advice in advance and we met up at the Boathouse at 7.30am. David had recommended Birding Bob as a guide as he would cover most of the park and target the spring migrants. 

Bob is now very well known and charges just $5 per person per walk. There was about 7/8 of us on the first walk which swelled to around 25 for the 9am walk. Also joining us was Warwick birder @1stbirdoftheday.

1st bird of day running the locals through patch list for Warwick Racecourse

Birding Bob

7.30 group in full swing

 Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Blue Jay

Northern Waterthrush

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-bellied Woodpecker

 Downey Woodpecker

Racoon

House Finch

Female Northern Cardinal

Black-crowned Nigh Heron

Northern Cardinal

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 

Wood Thrush

Nesting American Robin

Blue-headed Vireo (File photo)

Palm Warbler

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Yellow-rumped Warbler (File photo)

American Goldfinch

Orange-crowned Warbler (File photo)

I'll try and write up the sightings as best as possible but the action was fast & my priority was to see the birds well before making a note & taking a photograph. Whilst waiting at the Boathouse for the rest of the early group I recorded by first Blue Jays (a real iconic bird for me to see but actually very common), Red-bellied Woodpecker, American Robins & Common Grackles.

We then walked towards the point where a Green Heron with orange legs took flight above us whilst a Belted Kingfisher was sat on the other side of the pool. An American Coot was on the edge of the reeds & an American Goldfinch sat for a few seconds before flying towards the boat house.

It was easy to get distracted by the common species but as we edged towards the famous Point we record both White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches. The White-breasted was a real gem of a bird that spent most of its time feeding low unlike our Nuthatch. 

It was then the action went ballistic with Ruby-crowned Kinglet (first of ten seen in morning), Orange-crowned Warbler, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler & Yellow-rumped Warbler. Five Wood Warblers all with close proximity feeding high above us. The Yellow-rumped stood out for me but the rarity was actually the Orange-crowned which the locals were purring over. 

Northern Cardinal was one of the birds I was keen to see & whilst the research indicated they would be common I didn't expect to see as many as I did, some at very close quarters. Same applied to Downey Woodpeckers, these were similar in size to our Lesser Spots and could be seen in excellent detail.

As we edged through the famous Ramble area & the other side of the Point we recorded species including Northern Waterthrush, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, American Crow, Northern Flicker, Mourning Dove, six Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Finch & White-throated Sparrow.

The areas around the water continued to attract great birds throughout the morning, either on the edges or over head. These sightings included two Chimney Swifts soaring high, four Double-crested Cormorant, a Canada Goose on eggs (locals were very excited about this !), Hermit Thrush & Louisiana Waterthrush which 1st bird of the day actually found. 

Red-tailed Hawk's were soaring over 5th Avenue and we saw one land on its spring nest. The Hawks population continues to grow in Manhattan where there are now over 20 pairs. 

Around the Maintenance & Tupelo fields there were more hidden gems with an American Kestrel overhead, three Blue-headed Vireo & three Field Sparrows. 

As we headed south east we picked up a high House Wren, a uncommon Wood Thrush, two Brown-headed Cowbird & an Eastern Towhee.  

Our final bird was a Red-headed Woodpecker, the first-spring record at the Dene.