Lunchtime twitching in Central Park

One of the nice things about living and working in New York City is that when the rare birds show up, they're usually not far away. This month, I had a couple of opportunities to see excellent birds on my lunch hour.

cooperative Connecticut

September 6, there was a report in the morning of a Connecticut Warbler in Central Park, near the Pilgrim statue on 72nd Street. So I decided that it was a good opportunity for a quick "twitch" (originally British slang; a trip made specifically to follow a report of a rare bird). I took the Madison Avenue bus up and walked along the 72nd Street Transverse until I spotted people peering into low shrubs on a the little hill below the statue.

not actually going to perch in the tree, mind you

Here is a thing I've learned: if you're looking for a skulky ground-hugging bird on a hill, try to get below it. It will be easier to spot looking uphill than down (where all the vegetation will screen the bird from you).

It worked this time. It wasn't long before I spotted the Connecticut walking around in the shrubbery. This was a very cooperative bird (for a Connecticut), and he spent some time in the open. All in all, twenty minutes on the bus, a half-hour looking at the bird, twenty back downtown--I was back at my desk practically before anyone noticed I was missing.

spot the birdie

A few days later, a report of a Virginal Rail drew me out again. Usually, when that species is spotted in Central park, it's because one ran into trouble and was treated by the Wild Bird Fund, and after rehab,released in the park. Under The Official Rules, you're not supposed to count such a released bird. So there were apparently frantic calls to the rehabbers--who reported that they had not released a Virginia Rail, and there was much rejoicing.

Even better, this normally reclusive bird was right out in the open in a spot (the bridge where the Gill empties into the Lake, which will only mean anything to Central Park regulars) offering great close views.

oh, there you are!

Anyway, I had some adventures getting to the spot this time--wound up walking from 68th and Park to about 77th in the middle of the park--and the bird was gone by the time I got there. Woe and despair! I searched for a half-hour, and decided I needed ti get back to work. As I was deciding what the best way of getting back might be, I looked at Twitter and found that the excellent birder Steve Chang had re-found the rail nearby, at a little pond (more of a big puddle) in the area called called the Swampy Pin Oak.

I hustled over there, and in the shadows of the sheltered pond, was able to spot the rail. I got a life bird on my lunch hour, a very successful twitch. I wasn't even that late getting back to work.

Connecticut Warbler!

Connecticut Warbler, up close and personal

I've mentioned before that I've never seen a Connecticut Warbler in a dozen or so attempts. Once, I was standing next to four other birders, who all saw one skulking in the bushes only a few feet away. The Connecticut is kind of a "nemesis bird" for me.

Monday, I took the day off from work for an appointment. It ended sooner than I expected, and when I was finishing lunch afterwards, I saw a tweet that a Connecticut Warbler had been seen in Trinity Church Cemetery, which stands at the head of Wall Street.

The Lexington Avenue subway entrance is literally right in front of the church, so I was there inside of a half-hour. I spotted birders among the ancient tombstones in the northwest corner. And there was the bird, popping out of the shrubs and flower beds occasionally. It would walk under the shrubs (and walking is one of the field marks of the Connecticut), once in a while jumping up to snatch at an insect. When it reached the edge of one planting it would take off low and fast to the next.

I watched it circle the area several time in this way. It's big eye-ring was plain to see (when the bird was in sight), as was the dull brown hood. Eventually it retreated...somewhere.

I walked around a bit. There were several other warbler species there--Black-and-White, Redstart, Black-Throated Blue, Common Yellowthroat--plus a Veery and a couple of Catbirds. Quite birdy for such a small bit of greenery.

new bird, old headstones

The northeast part of the churchyard is blocked off from visitors--I believe they're doing some renovation--and we spotted a bird walking on the grass there--a second Connecticut, or the same one? It was rather distant from any place one could stand and watch it, though.

On a hunch, I walked out of the churchyard onto Broadway, and looked through the wrought iron fence. As I hoped, the bird worked its way closer to Broadway, away from the bird paparazzi inside the cemetery.

putting on a show

For about a half-hour, I was the only one watching the warbler from the street. I saw people moving back to the northwest corner inside. The bird became quite confiding, coming to within perhaps eight to ten feet from the fence at times. An excellent view!

the blemish below the eye is probably a tick

Eventually other birders came out onto Broadway as well. They had been watching the other Connecticut--so clearly there were two--back in the northwest shrubs, and then it flew to somewhere in the closed-off area. We never had both birds in view at once, but the one I'd been watching continued to wander fairly close to Broadway, and everybody got fine views.

So now I have seen a Connecticut Warbler and I'm going to need a new nemesis bird. Of the northeastern warblers, only the quite rare Golden-Winged Warbler isn't on my Manhattan list, but that's really too rare to be a nemesis--I've never even had a chance to chase one.

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The Connecticuts continued at Trinity church on Tuesday, and I'd say the odds are fair they'll be there Wednesday, so if you're in town it's worth a look in.

Strike three!

I went back to Madison Square Park this morning, not that the MTA was any help. I walked around for forty minutes or so. No Connecticut Warbler. There were a few Common Yellowthroats; two of them came and perched in a tree right in front of me. They were very cute, but didn't hold still for a double portrait.

good morning!

Also some White-Throated Sparrows and three Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. No Connecticut. Oh well.

Late in the afternoon, there was a report of yet another Connecticut, in Central Park's Strawberry Fields. Like the other two Connecticuts, it was apparently walking around out in the open rather than skulking deep in the foliage. I wouldn't know, obviously,

Double-dip

not the bird I was looking for

In birder jargon, a "dip" is when you chase a reported rare bird and fail to see it. I dipped twice today on the same species of bird.

Yesterday, several people saw a Connecticut Warbler in Central Park, between the Riviera and the Rustic Shelter in the Ramble. The Connecticut Warbler is a skulky bird, a little smaller than a House Sparrow, mostly olive, with a full hood, grey (in adult males) brownish otherwise, and a bold eye-ring. They walk on the ground rather than hopping or flitting, usually come through New York only in the Fall migration (in Spring I think they go north inland), and are quite uncommon even then.

Yesterday's reports were from late in the afternoon until a bit after sunset, so it seemed possible that the bird might stay overnight. So I went out in the morning to try to spot it. Nope! It wasn't a total loss--a cool humid morning with several wrens (all Carolinas, I think), various sparrows, and my first Ruby-Crowned Kinglet of the season. (Not the one above--the light was terrible this morning.)

In the afternoon, I saw a report online of another Connecticut, this one in Madison Square Park. I wasn't able to get down there until after sunset. There were a few birders left, but no bird.

In birder jargon, a "nemesis bird" is a rare bird that a birder has tried and failed to see several times. I'm not really a good enough birder to have an actual nemesis bird, but I have never seen a Connecticut Warbler in a dozen or so attempts. Some of those chases were stakeouts lasting many hours, including one where the other five birders there all saw the warbler skulking in the shrubbery at one point.

That one made me swear off chasing Connecticuts, but there I was again today--and I'll see if I can get up early enough to try again tomorrow.