Spring is over, but summer hasn't started

Let's start with the big news from Central Park: the Warbling Vireos have hatched!

Warbling Vireo feeding nestling

The hatching happened over the weekend while I was sick, but I was able to get a couple of nice photos of the nestlings being fed today. I'm pretty sure there are at least two nestlings, and this species usually lays four eggs, so they might be more.

It was interesting watching the nest. It seems to work just as I've read: most of the feeding is done by the female, though the male does some and is always nearby guarding the area. What happens is, he'll give a short burst of song, then fly in to quickly check the nest, and fly off; sometimes he'll sing again after flying out. The female arrives a minute or so later and does a more thorough job of feeding.

Also, the intervals between feedings are surprisingly long (again, just as I've read), between five and ten minutes. They're supposed to get increasingly frequent during the two weeks it will take the little ones to fledge.

That seems backwards, doesn't it? Shouldn't the newborns demand constant feeding? I wonder if it's a defense against parasitism. The much larger cowbird babies need more feeding. That's why they kick their host's offspring out of the nest--they'd starve if they had to share resources at all--and kicking them out is part of why they have to be larger at hatching. Anyway, it seems to me that the very slow feeding schedule of the Warbling Vireos would be bad for such nestlings--maybe that's enough to keep their nests from being parasitized.

Anyway, Spring ended with the traditional sighting of a flurry of female Blackpoll warblers.

that's all, folks!

Blackpolls are the latest Spring migrants among warblers, and the females (as in many species) migrate later than males, so when you see female Blackpolls coming through, it's about over.

Of course, there are some later-arriving non-warbler species, like this Yellow-Billed Cuckoo.

a two-cuckoo year!

That sighting game me both Cuckoo species for the year, which doesn't always happen. And there are always stragglers, like this Lincoln's Sparrow who is stuck in Bryant park:

Lincoln's lurking near the library

There was a nice Swamp Sparrow, too, and a couple of White-Throateds, all around the birdbath in the northeast part of the park. Hopefully the'll all find their way out soon.

So spring is gone, but it doesn't feel much like Summer yet--cool though humid. But there are fledling birds all over--robins and Starlings and House sparrows, and at Turtle Pond, a raft of ducklings.

a raft of ducklings

I think these are Mallards, but another observer thought Gadwalls. There is a possibly nesting Gadwall pair as well as a female Mallard nesting near the pond. I think their bills are too long for Gadwalls, though those flank spots are very Gadwallish.

Since we're back to the baby birds, here's another pic of the Vireos. Wonderful little birds.

I warn you, you're going to be seeing a lot of this nest the nest couple of weeks

Surprises

There are always surprises. On Monday, a Marsh Wren popped up in Bryant Park. He (the bird was reported singing a few times) was a lot more accessible than his species usually is. I suppose he didn't have much choice--there's not that much room to hide there.

uncharacteristically sassy

The wren was in the southwest corner, next to the guard booth. He was there yesterday as well, but I haven't seen any reports from today.

After a few slow days, Tuesday was pretty busy in Central Park. On my way through in the morning, there was a commotion of birds bathing and drinking at the stretch of slow water just north of Azalea Pond. Several warblers buzzed around, including Yellow-Rumped, Black-and-White, female Black-Throated Green and Blackpoll, and a very drab one I couldn't identify. I got a bunch of photos of it and moved on.

Fifty feet on, I saw movement up in a tree. The bird seemed large but well-hidden--and then it came out.

"I'm ready for my screen-test"

A Black-Billed Cuckoo! I'd missed this species so far this Spring, despite it being reported more frequently than usual. But there it was, posing nicely. I got a few passing birders onto it, and then a bunch more showed up when I tweeted the sighting. (Reminder: a lot of good birds in Manhattan are reported on the Twitter hashtag #birdcp. There's a description of the system on David Barrett's website at https://bigmanhattanyear.wordpress.com/using-birdcp-text-alerts/)

On the way out of the Ramble, I saw my first Chestnut-Sided Warblers of the Spring. About time, too.

Then, on the subway to work, I took a look through my photos. That drab warbler? Wasn't a warbler.

got to be good-looking 'cause you're so hard to see

Philadelphia Vireo! Not a frequently-seen bird around here, and when we have it it's usually in the Fall. And they usually stay up pretty high and well back in the leaves, so this is by far the best view I've ever had of a Philadelphia. It simply never entered my mind that one would be around, so I didn't recognize it while I was looking at it.

During the day, people found an Olive-Sided Flycatcher in the Ramble. That's not as infrequent a visitor as the Vireo, and we regularly get one at the same location every May about this time. I'm convinced it's the same bird every year.

*

his favorite place for dinner when passing through the City

It likes the top of a tall mostly-bare tree just at the northwest corner of Azalea Pond. It's a good perch for an Olive-Sided, and there's lots of larger insects around. The bird will sally and return to the perch over and over, pausing in between to eat its catch. And that's where I found it in the good late-afternoon light.

This Olive-Sided comes back in mid-August, usually just a little earlier than returning birds of that species are expected. This has gone on for some years now.

This morning, I saw my first Pewees of the season. That leaves Great Blue Heron as the most common bird I haven't seen this year. That's a surprise, too--I've usually seen several by this point in the year.

have you seen me?

Luck and local rarities

the Savannah Sparrow who inadvertently led me to the meadowlark

I decided to swing by the Great lawn this morning, because birders who uses th3 Twitter handle @Dendroicist was in the park at 6:30am and had a Savannah Sparrow in the NW corner. A bit later he reported a Louisiana Waterthrush at Azalea Pond, but I decided to chase the Savannah--they're slightly harder to find and I hoped to get to work quicker if I didn't ramble the Ramble.

I walked past the east and north sides of Turtle Pond. The crowd of Palm and Pine Warblers that was there a few days ago had tinned out, but there were a bunch of Ruby-Crowned Kinglets. Oddly, I still didn't see any Swallows on the pond.

Walking up the west side of the Great Lawn, I scanned the grass. Amidst the Robins was a pale bird, holding itself parallel to the grass. I could see it had a chevron on its chest, and thought at first it was a Flicker. But it was small, and the back pattern was not right, and it was not really acting like a foraging Flicker. In the binoculars it had a dark eyestripe and when it raised its head I saw a straight bill and yellow on the breast and belly. Meadowlark! A life bird for me, and rather rare in the City.

Pure luck. If it hadn't been for the Savannah report, I'd never have been looking at the Great Lawn. The bird was distant but I took a bunch of photos.

Meadowlark and colleagues

Park workers were cleaning up the ballfields. They were nowhere near the bird, but when a motor started, it flew a bit south. I circled back to follow it, hoping for a closer look, but the second time a motor turned over it flew up high, in a big flat curve high into the trees across from the northeast part of the lawn.

I didn't find it on the fields north of the Lawn (next to the Pinetarium), and it didn't come back when the workers left. I did find the Savannah at the backstop of ballfield #5, just where Dendroicist's report said it was. I wasn't early for work.

Then, at my desk, I saw eBird reports of a nightjar in Bryant Park, just a few blocks away. At lunch, I had an appointment to pick up stuff from my tax accountant, and I was able to twitch the bird on my way to and from it.

Chuck-Will's-Widow, a rarity in New York

People were saying this is a Chuck-Will's-Widow--the largest and rarest of the northeastern nightjars. I ID'd it mostly on the size--a Downy Woodpecker and a White-Throated Sparrow passed through its tree, and I could see it was about twice their length, so it was maybe 12 inches long; Whippoorwills and Nighthawks are about 9 inches. Also, it was browner than those birds, and the big flat head is fairly distinctive.

another view of the Chuckie

Chuck-Will's-Widow (named for the sound of it's call) is quite rare in the area, although this is the third year in a row there's been a sighting in Manhattan. A lot of people (fifty-six reports on eBird!) were able to take advantage of the convenient midtown location and very good views of this one (including Elena, who came by after work).

I was happy to learn later, that at least a couple of people had managed to refind the Meadowlark. The only think better than finding a rarity is finding one that other people get to enjoy too.

Spring begins

Spring has arrived, and with it the first migrants. American Woodcocks have been seen in the Ramble several times in the last couple of weeks; then on Tuesday, a pair showed up in Bryant Park.

Woodcocks have a terrible time navigating through cities. They migrate at night, flying very low--only about 50 feet up--and their eyes are placed so far back on their heads that their vision straight in front is poor. All this makes them the most like birds to be involved in window collisions.

These two seemed OK--they were foraging actively in the light rain, and seemed quite aware that they were being watched. They didn't flush to cover, but they did move away from the observers' lines of sight. Of course, who can really tell how a collision-dazed Woodcock would act?

It rained into the evening, so they might not have flown out tonight. If you're in New York City and reading this on Wednesday, it might be worth looking for them. Today I found them in the daffodil plantings near the birdbath in the northeast part of the park.

Sparrows are moving through as well--this Swamp Sparrow was also in Bryant Park, and I've seen several in Central Park as well. Both parks are covered in a fine mist of Song Sparrows. Central Park has also been hosting a large number of Fox Sparrows--I've seen a dozen in a day.

Other recent arrivals are Black-Crowned Night Heron; one has been reported around the Lake in Central Park. I haven't seen it yet, but I did have my first Great Egret of the year at Turtle Pond on Monday evening.

And of course, Spring isn't Spring until the Phoebes arrive. They started to come in at the end of last week, hurrah!

I haven't seen any warblers yet, but there was a sighting of a Pine Warbler at the Ross Pinetum in Central Park on Monday. Keep watching the skies!

Warm day, bath day!

Wednesday morning came up sunny and unseasonably warm, and the birds took advantage by getting nice and clean. Pale Male took a dip at the southeast end of Turtle Pond, while a few Mallards dabbled nearby and a single Bufflehead fished.

the royal bath

Over at the other end, starlings splashed around in a puddle.

splish-splash!

Downtown, at Bryant Park, I was looking for the Ovenbird (didn't find it) when this weird apparition popped up in front of me.

fresh from the bath

It took me a minute to figure out it was a Common Yellowthroat dripping wet from a dip in the park's fountain. People have been reporting a Common Yellowthroat in Bryant Park all autumn, but I hadn't seen it before. A very friendly bird--it accepted a few sunflower seeds and hopped all around me for a minute.

fluffing dry

You can see it was drying off pretty quickly.

Early Winter notes

I'm sad to report that the American Woodcock that was sighted many times in Bryant Park in November, died. I saw it lying on a bare patch of ground in the southeast part of the park on December 2. It's a hard life, being a bird.

The Ovenbird in the northwest corner is still hanging on.

hanging in there

It appears completely without fear of Man, which I suspect means it is very hungry indeed. The other day I tried feeding it pumpkin seeds, and it seemed interested, but they were apparently too large for it. I suppose I could crush some. Or maybe sunflower seeds? Dried fruit? I need something I can carry around for days without it rotting. I can't just leave food out for the pigeons and sparrows to eat (they're doing fine, anyway); I want to feed this particular bird on the days I see it in the morning.

Bryant Park also has a female Towhee I first noticed last Thursday, and saw again today.

Towhee and friends

I assume that, being a sparrow, she'll be fine eating whatever the crowd of White-Throateds subsist on.

Several Catbirds are still there as well.

Nothing very out-of-season has showed up in Central Park that I know of, though a pair of Ring-Necked drakes continues in the Reservoir. By the way, the Conservancy's renovation of the running track continues to close off more and more of the Reservoir from observation; and somehow they never seem to finish work on any part of it before closing off more. Very annoying.

A Goshawk appeared in the north end of Central Park on Sunday. Nadir Souirgi, who spotted it, thought it's behavior meant it might hang around at least a day or so. Also, there have been a steady stream of sightings of red-Shouldered Hawks in the area.

I went out to Randall's Island on Sunday and walked all around. There was nothing much to report there. No Pipits appeared to me, nor did I spot the Nelson's Sparrow (still reported as of 11/29).

The Central Park Christmas Bird Count id this Sunday (12/14) at 8:00am, meeting at the south pumphouse of the Reservoir. That rounds out the birding year. I started this blog right after last year's CBC.