New York Trip Report (21st May-30th May 2015) - Photo Gallery

New York Trip Photo Gallery

American Redstart - Prospect Park (23rd May 2015)

American Robin - Central Park (21st May 2015)

Baltimore Oriole - Central Park (22nd May 2015)

Black and White Warbler - Central Park (22nd May 2015)

Black Duck - Jamaica Bay (29th May 2015)

Black Skimmers - Plumb Beach (24th May 2015)

Black Vultures - Doodletown (24th May 2015)

Blackburnian Warbler - Prospect Park (23rd May 2015)

New York Trip Report (21st May-30th May 2015) - Species List and Locations

Day 1 – Central Park

American Robin – 21^st May – Central Park (Near entrance on south side). Numerous throughout

Blue Jay – 21^st May – Central Park (Near West Drive). Numerous throughout

Northern Cardinal – 21^st May – Central Park (Near Umpire Rock). Numerous throughout

Baltimore Oriole – 21^st May – Central Park (Near Umpire Rock). Plentiful

Chipping Sparrow – 21^st May – Central Park (Near Umpire Rock). A handful seen

Swainson’s Thrush – 21^st May – Central Park (Near Umpire Rock). Plentiful

Cedar Waxwing – 21^st May – Central Park (Near the terrace). Numerous throughout

House Finch – 21^st May – Central Park (On the path towards Bethesda fountain). Male showing well and gathering nesting material. 5 seen in total – all males.

Chimney Swift – 21^st May – Central Park (Flying overhead). Numerous throughout

Cape May Warbler – 21^st May – Central Park (In pines near East Drive). Female feeding in pines. Only one of the trip.

Magnolia Warbler – 21^st May – Central Park (In pines near East Drive). Male feeding in pines. All males seen – plentiful.

Warbling Vireo – 21^st May – Central Park (In trees near East Drive). Two singing in trees behind the path. Several individuals seen throughout.

Common Grackle – 21^st May – Central Park (On field near East Drive). Numerous throughout

Mourning Dove – 21^st May – Central Park (In trees near East Drive). Numerous throughout

Downy Woodpecker – 21^st May – Central Park (In tree next to the lake). Several seen throughout

Blackpoll Warbler – 21^st May – Central Park (In trees at front of lake path). Males and females seen – plentiful.

Gray Catbird – 21^st May – Central Park (In flight near the lake). Numerous throughout

Song Sparrow – 21^st May – Central Park (On grassy patch by the lake). A few seen throughout.

Red-winged Blackbird – 21^st May – Central Park (Flying near the lake). Numerous throughout

Common Yellowthroat – 21^st May – Central Park (Under trees near Robert Wagner Cove). Males and females seen – numerous.

White-throated Sparrow – 21^st May – Central Park (Near lakeside edge of Robert Wagner Cove). One of two seen on the trip.

Swamp Sparrow – 21^st May – Central Park (Near lakeside edge of Robert Wagner Cove). One of two seen on the trip.

Canada Warbler – 21^st May – Central Park (In trees at edge of lake near the ladies pavilion). One of three seen on the trip.

Chestnut-sided Warbler – 21^st May – Central Park (In trees at edge of lake near the ladies pavilion). One of three seen on the trip – males and female seen.

Northern Flicker – 21^st May – Central Park (The Ramble). One of several seen throughout.

Ovenbird – 21^st May – Central Park (The Ramble). One of four seen on the trip.

Red-tailed Hawk – 21^st May – Central Park (The Ramble). One of several seen throughout.

   

Also: House Sparrow, Starling, Canada Goose, Feral Pigeon

Magnolia Warbler

New York Trip Report - Day 10 (Central Park)

Day 10 -  Saturday 30th  May 2015

Our final day in New York dawned and after a great week and a half in this amazing city it was finally time to head home. Enjoying a final croissant from the bakery next door (and being given several sachets of delicious grape jelly to take back to Britain from the diner across the street) we went for a final spot of New York sightseeing, saving the best till last and heading up the fantastic Top of the Rock for breath-taking views of the city below.

An absolute must for anyone going to New York, we enjoyed unbeatable views of Central Park below, getting a birds-eye look at this ultimate green oasis, surrounded by skyscrapers and where we had delighted in our first American birds just over a week ago. Simply stunning.

With a couple of hours to spare before our taxi to JFK, we sat in Central Park to enjoy a final afternoon of New York City birding. Several Wood Ducks clustered around the bread being provided by a family at the water’s edge around the pond, jostling with the Mallards for scraps and providing the best views of this species all trip, being just a few metres away from the edge. 

Wood Duck - showing fantastically!

New York Trip Report - Day 9 (Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge)

Day 9 -  Friday 29th May 2015

With our final full day in America dawning, we had planned to visit Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a fantastic series of coastal and lagoon pools that offer prime habitat for a variety of water birds, many of which would be new to the trip. With reports of herons, egrets and a wealth of shore birds, this was a location that we were really looking forward to exploring.  With coastal marshes and lagoons, the habitat at Jamaica was completely different to what we had experienced so far, and we were aiming to bring our trip total of new birds up to 100 as a result.

The view of Manhattan from Jamaica Bay

Arriving at the visitor centre mid-morning, the lady at the desk promptly banned us from taking any food on to the reserve, so we quickly tucked in to everything we had brought with us at the picnic tables outside. This proved to be a good move, as several large crows flying overhead identified themselves by a series of low grunts – diagnostic of Fish Crows and our first new species of the day.

Having finished our snacks, we headed in to the reserve, following the trail between Black Wall Marsh and West Pond to see what we could find. Several egrets on the coastal marsh were Snowy Egrets, the American equivalent of our Little Egrets and another new species for us both. 

Snowy Egret

Much smaller than the scattering of Great Egrets interspersed along the marsh and extremely similar to our more familiar Littles, Snowy Egrets can be separated by the yellow lores underneath the eye (grey in those of the Little). 

Snowy Egret and Great Egret displaying the size difference between the two!

The yellow lores clearly visible

Now we’re aware of the differences, we’ll definitely be checking each Little Egret in the UK a little more thoroughly for any Snowies hiding amongst them unnoticed!

Tree Swallows were in abundance at Jamaica Bay, and several zipped over our heads before landing in the nearby trees, giving fantastic views of their shimmering turquoise feathers. 

Tree Swallow

The most attractive swallows we saw during our trip, it was amazing to come across several nest boxes in use at the side of the path where the adults could be seen regularly peeking out of the holes and perching on the top.

New York Trip Report - Day 8 (Inwood Hill Park)

Day 8 -  Thursday 28th May 2015

With Wednesday having been dedicated to sightseeing at the Statue of Liberty and several species being regularly reported at Inwood Hill Park that we hadn’t yet seen during our trip (Orchard Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbreak, Hairy Woodpecker and Veery in particular), we decided to head up to the northern most point of Manhattan for our penultimate full days birding in the hopes of cleaning up on a few extra birds. 

Having not seen any in either Central or Prospect Park, and with individuals seen frequently here according to e-bird, our main target here was Orchard Oriole - slightly smaller and duller than the brightly coloured Baltimore Orioles we had become accustomed to.

One of the Central Park Baltimores - the only Oriole species we had managed to locate as of yet!

Arriving at Inwood Hill and walking the short stretch from the tube station, we were soon heading along the winding paths that made their way through the huge trees and up the hill the park is named after. With much denser tree coverage than at Central Park, it was interesting to see how this difference affected both the species and the number of birds that we found.

A calling White-breasted Nuthatch was the first notable bird of the day, creeping up the trunk of one of the large trees lining the path before stopping to feed on a small morsel it had discovered lodged inside a dead branch. Being at the very tail end of migration now meant that we only saw a handful of warblers – the usual American Redstarts and Common Yellowthroats were flitting amongst the leaves while a female Blackpoll was the only other warbler species of note. A very quick view of a male House Finch disappearing behind a branch was a good addition for the day, while only our second Great-crested Flycatcher of the trip was equally as brief.

Heading east along the trail, we heard an alarm call echoing loudly through the trees and moving slowly closer to the source of the noise eventually revealed a woodpecker. Calling Alex over, I was sure I’d found us one of our target missing species – the larger size and positively huge bill in relation to the head eliminating any thoughts of the more familiar Downy. With Hairy Woodpeckers not often recorded in Central or Prospect Park, it was a relief to finally catch up with this chunky woodpecker after seeing so many Downys during the week. 

Hairy Woodpecker - at last!

Calling continuously and with a male Baltimore Oriole flitting around the branches nearby, I did wonder if the Hairy had a nest somewhere nearby. We watched this charismatic woodpecker for a good while as it scrambled up and down the dead branches above us, providing fantastic views and showing off the dagger like bill.

Significantly larger than the Downy Woodpecker, size is the main thing to take note of when separating these two similar American Woodpeckers, but as is often the case with a lone individual on a trunk, a true idea of size can sometimes be hard to determine when there is nothing to compare it to.

The beak is therefore another key feature to look out for, and on the Hairy Woodpecker it is usually the same length as the head, as opposed to the small, stubby bill of a Downy. 

Note the huge bill with regards to the size of the head

The outer tail feathers will also separate the two, as Downy Woodpeckers will have black bars all along the outer tail feathers compared to the all-white ones of the Hairys.

The white outer tail feathers were also clearly noticeable

New York Trip Report - Days 5 & 6 (Green-wood Cemetery, Prospect Park & Niagara Falls)

Days 5 & 6 -  Monday 25th May & Tuesday 26th May 2015

The next day we decided to concentrate on finding one of the missing species so far on our trip and one that we had thought we were guaranteed to see – Veery. With a lady at Prospect Park on Saturday mentioning she had seen them in abundance at Green-wood Cemetery, we took the tube back down to Brooklyn again in the hope of catching up with this tiny ginger thrush.

The tombstones at Green-wood Cemetery

Starting off the morning at Prospect Park, it was now evident that migration was most definitely reaching the tail end, with just single male Chestnut-sided and Blackpoll Warbler along with a couple of Common Yellowthroats and American Redstarts flitting about the trees in a 45 minute period. This was a complete contrast to Saturday morning when the woods were absolutely alive with activity and birds were positively dripping off the trees in comparison! It really goes to show just how incredible a fall of birds can be.

Walking around the lake and keeping our eyes peeled for the pair of Belted Kingfishers that had been seen yesterday, a Song Sparrow stood out from the numerous Red-winged Blackbirds nesting in the reeds, their distinctive calls carrying across the water. The large swallow flock from two days ago had also reduced in numbers, with just a handful of Chimney Swifts chattering above the surface of the water. I managed to pick out a Tree Swallow again fluttering over the waves, the iridescent marine blue plumage shining out, but the increase of pedal boat numbers due to people enjoying the gorgeous weather on what was a bank holiday meant there was very little bird activity.

The birds revenge on Alex...

A Red-spotted Purple Butterfly showed extremely well at the edge of the water, and despite having a plastic sheet detailing the common New York butterflies, this was the only species we managed to positively ID (and the only one that actually remained still enough to do so!)

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly

We headed through the bustling Brooklyn Streets and on to Green-wood Cemetery, stopping to get some refreshing juice in the heat. A small falcon flew overhead above the apartment blocks, and although probably the first American Kestrel of the trip, I didn’t get enough on it to get a positive ID before it had sped off over the trees.

Green-wood Cemetery held a variety of birds that we otherwise hadn’t seen in Prospect Park. A Chipping Sparrow hopped along the road pecking at the crumbs left behind by relatives visiting their loved ones, while a House Finch foraging by the side of the leaf strewn path was only the second of our trip. 

This Downy Woodpecker got our hopes up as being a Hairy before we got a closer look - another species we had yet to find in New York

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!

New York Trip Report - Day 3 (Prospect Park)

Day 3 -  Saturday 23rd May 2015

We arose bright and early the next morning ready for our first day at a new location – Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Taking the tube and arriving at around half 8, it was obvious that despite not being there at the crack of dawn, the day would provide a wealth of birds – there had evidently been a huge fall in the night. Taking just a few steps down the path, I immediately heard a call that was now engraved in my memory – the high pitched chiming trill of a Blackburnian Warbler high at the tops of the trees. With decent views the day before but no photos, I was keen to try and catch up with what would be our second individual of the trip, and we headed in the direction the call was coming from to try and track down this fantastic warbler.

My favourite bird of the entire trip - Blackburnian Warbler!

The perfect overnight conditions had obviously brought down a large number of birds in the park, and the trees were alive with brilliantly coloured warblers in every direction we looked. Craning our necks to see right to the tips of the branches, the bright yellow of a male Canada Warbler caught our eye in the leaves above while several Magnolia Warblers flitted from branch to branch. Red-eyed Vireos called from the very tops of the trees, while American Redstarts and Northern Parulas flashed their lively colours in abundance.

American Redstart

And then we had it. A beautiful male Blackburnian Warbler foraging at the tips of one of the branches high above our head, the vibrant tropical orange throat unmistakeable as it peered through the leaves. Grabbing my camera, I was finally able to get some record shots of what was for me, the star species of the trip.

The bright orange throat was clear even at a height

With the Blackburnian Warbler disappearing high in to the very tops of the trees, we continued exploring the rest of Mid-Wood to see what other goodies we could find. A quick, mouse-like movement up the trunk of a tree at the side of the path turned out to be our first House Wren of the trip, providing brief views as it crept up the bark. Much more elongated than our Wrens back in the UK, the difference was clear to see, and we watched as it scurried high up the tree and disappeared out of sight around the back of the trunk.

Heading further in to the trees, an extremely showy Ovenbird provided great views as it perched on an open branch right in front of us, while numerous American Robins and Swainson’s Thrushes turned over the leaves almost everywhere we looked in the search for insect prey. 

Ovenbird - showed so well but the light was terrible!

Swainson's Thrush

A great spot by Alex of a pale coloured warbler above the undergrowth resulted in a female Bay-breasted Warbler, our first new warbler species of the day and a bird which we hadn’t managed to locate in Central Park. Quite a large bulky warbler, the females are readily identifiable by an overall peachy wash to the belly and two thick distinctive white wing-bars that can be seen even at a distance. A great bird to catch up with and one of our main targets for the day crossed off our list.

Following the twisting trails around Mid-Wood, the birds kept coming thick and fast. A female Black and White Warbler gave the best views yet as it foraged right in front of us on the wooden sides of the path, this time completely unobscured from any branches and providing the perfect opportunity to get some photos.

The Black and Warblers moved more like a Nuthatch!