This is a late follow-up on Donna Schulman's report from yesterday to provide a more complete tally of the excellent birding at Kissena Park yesterday. As good as Saturday's birding was, yesterday was better. The numbers of flycatchers particularly Eastern Phoebes was impressive.
A total of 19 species of warblers were seen yesterday including Connecticut and Mourning, 22 species seen on Saturday and Sunday combined. (A Worm-eating Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler and Golden- winged Warbler found by Eric Miller earlier in the week makes for a total to 24 warbler species for Kissena for the week.) Of the many highlights this weekend, I found particularly rewarding the opportunity to observe both immature Mourning and Connecticut Warblers in close succession. Most birders concentrated their efforts on the Kissena corridor in the area east of the community gardens and west of the artificial turf football field. This is a fairly open area interspersed with trees which was replanted with tree saplings and a variety of other plants by the NYC Parks Dept. last year. In addition to the species listed below there was a "Budgie" parakeet mixing with a flock of House Sparrows. Birders present (that I am know of) included Eric Miller, Peter Reisfeld, Donna Schulman, Coleen & Bob Veltri, Ian Resnick, Arie Gilbert, Chuck Beilman, Lou Widerka, Mike Ritchie, Corey Finger, Michael McBrien & father, Karlo & Alison Mirth and Seth Ausubel. The following is a composite report of sightings. CONNECTICUT WARBLER (2, 1 immature, likely the same individual seen Saturday, and a second individual that others described as an adult) MOURNING WARBLER (1 immature found by Eric Miller) Tennessee Warbler (1) Nashville Warbler (5+) Yellow Warbler (1) Magnolia Warbler (several) Black-throated Green Warbler (1 or 2) Black-throated Blue Warbler (1 seen by Eric Miller) Black and White Warbler Blackburnian Warbler (1) Prairie Warbler (1) Palm Warbler (numerous) Blackpoll Warbler (numerous) American Redstart (numerous) Wilson's Warbler (1) Northern Parula Ovenbird (1 seen by Peter Reisfeld) Northern Waterthrush (1 or 2) Common Yellowthroat (several) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (1 adult, seen well by many) Black-billed Cuckoo (1 immature, found by Eric Miller) Empid. Flycatcher (numerous) Eastern Wood Pewee (numerous) Eastern Phoebe (many) Blue-headed Vireo (1 or 2) PHILADELPHIA VIREO (seen by Donna Schulman) Red-eyed Vireo (1 or 2) White-eyed Vireo (1 immature) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush (1 seen by Eric Miller) Veery (1 seen by Eric Miller) Cedar Waxwing Chipping Sparrow (1 or 2) CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (1) (re-found by Eric Miller) LARK SPARROW (found by Peter Reisfeld) Savannah Sparrow (several) Swamp Sparrow (1 or 2) White-throated Sparrow (several) Song Sparrow (numerous) Scarlet Tanager (several) Baltimore Oriole (1) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (several) BLUE GROSBEAK (1 or 2) (seen well by many) Indigo Bunting (5-10) Bobolink (2) (found by Eric Miller) Red-winged Blackbird (1 or 2) House Wren Carolina Wren Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1 or 2) (pointed out to me by Corey Finger and Donna Schulman) Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Wood-Pewee Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher Ring-necked Pheasant Great Blue Heron Peregrine Falcon Jeff Ritter Little Neck, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --