Mixed species flock in Ewing 9/17

And by Ewing I mean in my yard in NJ. I was tinkering with the aging Honda's splash guard and heard a mixed flock moving through.

The local boys were:
Downy Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Chickadee

However they were accompanied by a rather nice selection of migrants:
Northern Flicker (multiple)
Gray Catbird
Red-eyed Vireo
American Redstart
Northern Parula (multiple)
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Common Yellowthroat

and the finale was a high altitude Osprey coasting over the yard headed for the Delaware River. The Osprey and three of the warblers were yard birds. The species list also compares pretty well to my Central Park sightings list from earlier in the day. I also heard a Song Sparrow sound off, which may or may not be a migrant - most summer breeders leave my yard before fall migration, which is why Gray Catbird is included on the migrant list.

Cerulean Warbler - Central Park - May 4th

Well, not actually in Central Park - the Cerulean was on 89th Street near the park, attracting quite a lot of attention between excited birders and bemused passers-by. Hopefully groups of binocular-toting strangers didn't freak out the locals too much.

I was in Central Park for another day's birding, and while numbers may have been marginally lower than the previous day the diversity was right up there - I found my highest total for seen/heard warblers so far this spring, but still just shy of the iconic 20 with a nice total of 18. Other nice birds were a late Junco, a heard-only White-eyed Vireo, three Rusty Blackbirds with a Louisiana Waterthrush in the Gill, and a singing Blackburnian Warbler just as I was leaving at Shakespeare's Garden.

There's still a mix of early/mid-spring birds, although today I did see my first Magnolia Warbler. However Blue-headed Vireos and Louisiana Waterthrushes are more characteristic of late April. Migration might lag a little, but it's about to play catch-up.

But back to the Cerulean. Doug Futuyma apparently found this bird while going to his car, and then word of it spread rapidly through the park. I saw it around 1:30pm and took a few photos: see the Cerulean Warbler link off my home page or the Cerulean Warbler page at my gallery. My previous best neighborhood bird was a Yellow-throated Warbler I once found along E65th Street in 2005 - a species that's a pretty good find in NYC but it was during a year in which several were found in Central Park. I think the Cerulean trumps it.

Migrant list:
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch

Spring migration - Central Park - May 3rd

Since May 2nd apparently spawned a dropout while I cooled my heels at work in Princeton, I went into Central Park for the morning of Saturday. Migrants were numerous and I reached my highest warbler species of the spring: 16

Migrant list:
Solitary Sandpiper
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole