Saturday, May 3, 2014

Still very birdy in Central Park

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Northern Parula, Central Park
Northern Parula

Saturday was perhaps a bit less frenetically birdy that Friday, but still a lot of activity.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; American Redstart singing, Central Park
American Redstart singing

I had 46 species, seven of them first-of-year for me (up to 137 for the year). One of the FOY species was a Black-Billed Cuckoo (hiding deep in the leaves of a treetop near Warbler Rock), which doesn't always appear in Manhattan.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Lincoln's Sparrow, Central Park
Lincoln's Sparrow

Two sparrows, Lincoln's and White-Crowned, usually show up somewhere but generally need some work to find.  The Lincoln's was hanging out in a marshy lawn area with just an Indigo Bunting, but the White-crowned was in a flock of seventy or so White-Throated Sparrows methodically working over a newly-seeded slope.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; White-Crowned and White-Throated Sparrows, Central Park
White-Crowned Sparrow with White-Throated Sparrows

The other four new species (Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Least Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, and Magnolia Warbler) are common visitors, but always nice to see. And of course, many species already present were seen everywhere.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Rose-Breasted Grosbeak singing, Central Park
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak singing

It looks to me like the winds started out southerly tonight, but are turning westerly in the small hours. I think that means that some birds will move out, but fewer will come in. I could be completely wrong; we'll see.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Magnolia Warbler, Central Park
Magnolia Warbler

I did miss one very good bird seen in the Ramble, a Summer Tanager.  Maybe tomorrow.  It's supposed to be a beautiful day again.

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