All - This afternoon was fairly productive Central Park. From the top of Belvedere Castle I saw 5 Kestrels, 1 Merlin an Osprey and a young Bald Eagle during a hour's watch. With the gusty north winds I expected a bit more than the numbers I actually saw. Many swifts were active, perhaps indicating some southward movement on their part.
In the Ramble we were able to find several species of warbler fairly easily but the highlight was a basic plumaged Hooded Warbler in the west side of Tupelo Field found by Rhys Marsh. Redstarts dominated the warbler mix today and flocks of young Robins were omnipresent. In the North Woods, we found many more Redstarts along with good looks at a Wilson's Warbler and Chestnut-sided Warbler. The wildflower meadow was thick with Common Yellowthroats and I wonder how many breed there or if they are all just passing through? On the Reservoir we found a Laughing Gull in with the Ringers, Herring and Great Black-backs. Two Common Nighthawks also flew south across the Reservoir while we watched. There seems to be a great variety and number of Dragonflies currently in the park. I noticed at least 7+ species in passing and from the Castle while looking for hawks I got to see great numbers of them, one of which was eaten by a passing Merlin. Should be a good weekend for birding! Sam Stuart NYC -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Temporary archive: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --