New York Trip Report - Day 4 (Doodletown & Plumb Beach)

Day 4 -  Sunday 24th May 2015

Sunday dawned with bright blue skies and sun, perfect weather for what was my most looked forward to day of our trip – Doodletown. Part of Bear Mountain State Park and situated just over an hour’s drive north of Manhattan, this fantastic area is a well-known and popular destination amongst New York birders.

Lots of Black Vultures took advantage of the clear skies - the diagnostic white tips to the wings were visible even at a distance

Hiring a car for the day, despite our reservations, turned out to be a brilliant decision, and we were soon well on our way, crossing the George Washington Bridge and heading north through New Jersey. We encountered our first Black Vulture of the trip taking advantage of the thermals, passing several more as we travelled, along with a classic American cop chase encounter unfolding right in front of our eyes. A quick chase resulted in the two motorcyclists crashing head first over their handlebars before being pinned down, cuffed and seeing 5 guns pointed at their heads by the American police.

Getting slightly lost finding the car parking area for the start of our walk at Bear Mountain, we stopped at a layby to reassess. A Northern Mockingbird (a bird we had so far missed in the two parks) immediately flew in to the sunny clearing, beak laden with juicy caterpillars and indicating a nest may be nearby. 

Northern Mockingbird with caterpillars - presumably to feed young

A small, brightly coloured bird perched on the wires also caught my eye, and a closer look through binoculars revealed a fine male Indigo Bunting, again another bird that we were yet to catch up with on the trip. With a second bird flying through the Mockingbird clearing, we were really able to admire the stunning bright blue plumage that gives the birds their name. Eventually seeing around 4 in total, this was the only location during our trip that we managed to connect with these brightly coloured wonders.

Heading back to the car, it soon became clear that we wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon – neither of us had any idea how to start the car! Luckily a passing cop helped us out and thankfully we were on our way again, having had a much better experience of American cops first hand than the two unfortunate motorcyclists earlier.

Reaching our parking layby opposite a small body of water, our first Turkey Vulture of the trip soared low down overhead. Distinguished from the Black Vultures by the strip of silver on the underwing, the two are easily told apart even from a distance. A Great Blue Heron (the American equivalent of our Grey Herons) passed overhead, its sheer size apparent, while a male Yellow Warbler flitted through the trees.

Turkey Vulture - The thick white stripe on the underside meant we could tell the two vulture species apart easily

The sun now beating down, we headed up the trail to track down some of the many warbler wonders that breed here. Unlike the warblers passing through Central and Prospect Park that merely pass through on their migration, the warblers at Bear Mountain actually stop to breed in the area, meaning a whole variety of new species would be opened up for us. With such mouth-watering treats as Hooded, Cerulean, Blue-winged and the delightfully named Worm-eating Warbler all easily accessible here, yet only encountered very occasionally in the Manhattan parks, we hoped to catch up with this colourful cast on their breeding grounds.

Black Vulture

Heading up the trail and admiring a large flock of Black and Turkey Vultures that were right overhead, we had barely gone a few metres before we picked up the high pitched call of a Cerulean Warbler. This beautiful powder-blue warbler was high up on my list of most wanted birds to see, and within a few minutes of peering up in to the tree, I caught sight of a movement amongst the twisting vines as a fine male flitted through the leaves, giving great views as it remained stationary on an exposed branch. Bingo. Much easier to see than we had expected and our first target safely in the bag – Doodletown was proving to be a doddle!

One of the typical warbler-rich trails at Doodletown

Heading down the track and having memorised the songs of the warbler species we expected to see here, we soon stopped when I recognised a familiar call coming from a tree by the side of the trail – Blue-winged Warbler. Within moments, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye as a flash of colour flew towards the telegraph pole at the side of the road next to us. Singing continuously, for such a brightly coloured bird it was almost impossible to relocate – the sound so loud but the bird seemingly obscured deep in a bush somewhere to our right. Finally, I had it, a gorgeous male, nestled within the branches and leaves of the shrub right in front of us. 

We stopped to watch this beautiful warbler, now busy preening, and took in the bright sunshine yellow body, blue wings and olive green back. Settled and content, the Blue-winged Warbler continued to sing his heart out, and we left him to attract a mate in peace, another of our target warblers off the list.

The 'Blue-winged Warbler's Blue wings'

Another familiar call soon caught our attention, and a quick check of our app revealed it to be a Yellow-throated Vireo. This proved to be a nightmare to find, the call emanating from different parts of the trees as this elusive bird seemed to move all over the place. After around 15 frustrating minutes, we eventually pinned it down to a stand of trees on the other side of the trail, the yellow throat and double white wing-bars unmistakeable.

Walking further up the trail, we stopped at a clearing overlooking a stand of woodland. A bird flying out of the trees and over the path caught my eye, and raising my binoculars I was stunned to be greeted by a pristine male Hooded Warbler – Alex’s number 1 target bird of the trip. 

The equivalent of my male Blackburnian Warbler, panic then ensued as I tried to direct him to the bird – luckily in a much shorter time than it took me to find the first Blackburnian at Central Park! With the classic “baby baby, I love you” song that was ingrained in our memory, we watched as this beautiful warbler sang from the branches opposite, the jet black hood standing out from the bright yellow body (reminding me of a bumble bee) and ecstatic that we had tracked down our main target at the site.

Our much sought after Hooded Warbler!