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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Ovenbird - showed so well but the light was terrible! |
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| 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.
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| The Black and Warblers moved more like a Nuthatch! |
