Date: Sunday, 20 September 2009 (7:35a-6:00p) Location: Central Park - Strawberry Fields, Ramble, Pinetum & Summit Rock Observers: many incl. John Wittenberg, Eve Levine, Janet Wooten & Bob Levy Reported by: Ben Cacace
Highlights today were mainly in the Ramble and included great looks at Nashville Warbler near the source of the Gill, Prairie Warbler in the Oven and Wilson's Warbler on the west edge of Maintenance Meadow. Towards the end of the day the Pinetum was the most active area based on a tip from Pat Pollock. The highlight was a Red-breasted Nuthatch spotted by Eve. Also seen were numerous Black-throated Green Warblers, a Brown Creeper, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and some Palm Warblers. The end of the day was topped off with great views of a juvenile Black-billed Cuckoo first spotted by Janet and identified by Eve. When the bird settled down we moved over to the bird's location which Eve relocated. The bird appeared to have settled in for the night with its back to the Sun. This was around 6pm. ** Checklist in taxonomic order below the section breakdown by 'commonality'. Weather for 20-Sep in Central Park (time) < http://tinyurl.com/neuhya >: - Conditions: Clear - Temperature: 55.9 to 73.0 F (13.3 to 22.8 C) - Wind direction: variable - Wind speed: calm to 8 mph (no gusts) ** Total species - 51 ** Abundance categories below from 'An Annotated Checklist: The Birds of Central Park'. 'Less Common' migrants [14 spp]: - Gadwall - 3 on Turtle Pond - Osprey - 1 flyover from Maintenance Meadow - Black-billed Cuckoo - 1 north of Sparrow Ridge (near Summit Rock) - Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Several (2+) - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2 incl. the Pinetum & Summit Rock - Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 at the Pinetum caching pine cone seeds - Brown Creeper - 1 at the Pinetum - Carolina Wren - 1 in Maintenance Meadow - Wood Thrush - 1 near the source of the Gill - Brown Thrasher - 3 calling & seen on Falconer's Hill - Nashville Warbler - 1 at the source of the Gill - Prairie Warbler - 1 at the Oven - Wilson's Warbler - 1 in Maintenance Meadow - Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1 at the Oven 'Common' migrants [23 spp]: - Double-crested Cormorant - 1 flyover from Belvedere Castle - Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1 adult on the west edge of the lake - Cooper's Hawk - 1 adult in the Tupelo Tree on Tupelo Meadow - Chimney Swift - 20+ over Turtle Pond - Northern Flicker - 50++ - Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1 - Eastern Phoebe - Several (3+) - Red-eyed Vireo - Several (3+) - Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 at the Oven - Swainson's Thrush - 2 - American Robin - 24+ - Gray Catbird - 12+ - Cedar Waxwing - 12+ - Northern Parula - 4+ - Magnolia Warbler - 4+ - Black-throated Green Warbler - 3+ at the Pinetum - Palm Warbler - 2+ at the Pinetum - Blackpoll Warbler - 3+ - Black-and-white Warbler - 3+ - American Redstart - 2+ - Common Yellowthroat - 2+ - Scarlet Tanager - 1 female on the south end of Strawberry Fields - Common Grackle - 50+ Year round residents [14 spp]: - Canada Goose - 3 - Mallard - 12+ - Red-tailed Hawk - 3 incl. 2 locals & 1 distant migrant - Peregrine Falcon - 1 juvenile over Tupelo Meadow heading north - Herring Gull - 12+ - Great Black-backed Gull - 2+ - Rock Pigeon - 12+ - Mourning Dove - 12+ - Downy Woodpecker - 2+ heard - Blue Jay - 12+ seen & heard - American Crow - 4 on Sheep Meadow 1st thing in the morning - European Starling - 12+ - Northern Cardinal - 6+ - House Sparrow - 50+ /------* Taxonomic order: - Canada Goose - 3 - Gadwall - 3 on Turtle Pond - Mallard - 12+ - Double-crested Cormorant - 1 flyover from Belvedere Castle - Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1 adult on the west edge of the lake - Osprey - 1 flyover from Maintenance Meadow - Cooper's Hawk - 1 adult in the Tupelo Tree on Tupelo Meadow - Red-tailed Hawk - 3 incl. 2 locals & 1 distant migrant - Peregrine Falcon - 1 juvenile over Tupelo Meadow heading north - Herring Gull - 12+ - Great Black-backed Gull - 2+ - Rock Pigeon - 12+ - Mourning Dove - 12+ - Black-billed Cuckoo - 1 north of Sparrow Ridge (near Summit Rock) - Chimney Swift - 20+ over Turtle Pond - Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Several (2+) - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2 incl. the Pinetum & Summit Rock - Downy Woodpecker - 2+ heard - Northern Flicker - 50++ - Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1 - Eastern Phoebe - Several (3+) - Red-eyed Vireo - Several (3+) - Blue Jay - 12+ seen & heard - American Crow - 4 on Sheep Meadow 1st thing in the morning - Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 at the Pinetum caching pine cone seeds - Brown Creeper - 1 at the Pinetum - Carolina Wren - 1 in Maintenance Meadow - Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 at the Oven - Swainson's Thrush - 2 - Wood Thrush - 1 near the source of the Gill - American Robin - 24+ - Gray Catbird - 12+ - Brown Thrasher - 3 calling & seen on Falconer's Hill - European Starling - 12+ - Cedar Waxwing - 12+ - Nashville Warbler - 1 at the source of the Gill - Northern Parula - 4+ - Magnolia Warbler - 4+ - Black-throated Green Warbler - 3+ at the Pinetum - Prairie Warbler - 1 at the Oven - Palm Warbler - 2+ at the Pinetum - Blackpoll Warbler - 3+ - Black-and-white Warbler - 3+ - American Redstart - 2+ - Common Yellowthroat - 2+ - Wilson's Warbler - 1 in Maintenance Meadow - Scarlet Tanager - 1 female on the south end of Strawberry Fields - Northern Cardinal - 6+ - Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1 at the Oven - Common Grackle - 50+ - House Sparrow - 50+ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
