April Summary

By far the best month of year in terms of variety and quality. It's migration, so if you can't find a lot of birds you ain't looking.  Of course, the highlights this month were the warblers--14 species in all and some of them hard to find like Prothonotary, Yellow-throated and Blue-winged Warblers.

Some shorebirds are back, like Willet and Solitary Sandpiper (there are lots more reported but we didn't spend a lot of time around water this month), and we managed to sneak in Harlequin Duck at the beginning of the month, lucky to see a couple of this winter species still hanging around in April.

Anticipation for May is high. We'll miss the peak of migration in the next couple of weeks, but only because we'll be in California looking for lifers there--Shari really wants to see a Black Oystercatcher and there are lots of birds with the word "California" in their common name that we're looking forward to seeing. Then, toward the end of the month I hope we'll be able to get to down to Cape May as well as Brigantine and start finding the shorebirds and waders we haven't seen so far.

April 2011
Counties birded:
New York: Kings, Queens, Richmond
New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Ocean
# of species: 114

Species	First Sighting
Snow Goose	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Brant	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier Two
Canada Goose	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Mute Swan	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Wood Duck	Prospect Park
Gadwall	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
American Wigeon	Marine Park--Southwest
American Black Duck	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Mallard	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier Four
Blue-winged Teal	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Northern Shoveler	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Green-winged Teal	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Greater Scaup	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Lesser Scaup	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Harlequin Duck	Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-tailed Duck	Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bufflehead	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier Four
Hooded Merganser	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Red-breasted Merganser	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier Four
Ruddy Duck	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Wild Turkey	South Beach Psychiatric Center
Common Loon	Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Pied-billed Grebe	Marine Park--Southwest
Horned Grebe	Great Kills Park
Northern Gannet	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Double-crested Cormorant	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Great Blue Heron	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Great Egret	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Snowy Egret	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Little Blue Heron	Marine Park--Southwest
Black-crowned Night-Heron	Prospect Park
Glossy Ibis	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Turkey Vulture	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Osprey	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Sharp-shinned Hawk	Prospect Park
Red-tailed Hawk	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Merlin	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Peregrine Falcon	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
American Coot	Prospect Park
Killdeer	Goethals Pond
American Oystercatcher	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Solitary Sandpiper	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Greater Yellowlegs	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Willet	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Laughing Gull	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier Four
Ring-billed Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Herring Gull	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Great Black-backed Gull	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Common Tern	Marine Park--Southwest
Rock Pigeon	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier Four
Mourning Dove	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Prospect Park
Chimney Swift	Prospect Park
Belted Kingfisher	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Prospect Park
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Downy Woodpecker	Prospect Park
Northern Flicker	Prospect Park
Eastern Phoebe	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
White-eyed Vireo	Prospect Park
Blue-headed Vireo	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Blue Jay	Prospect Park
American Crow	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Fish Crow	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Prospect Park
Tree Swallow	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Barn Swallow	Prospect Park
Black-capped Chickadee	Prospect Park
Tufted Titmouse	Prospect Park
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Prospect Park
White-breasted Nuthatch	Prospect Park
Brown Creeper	Prospect Park
Carolina Wren	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
House Wren	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	Prospect Park
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Prospect Park
Hermit Thrush	Prospect Park
American Robin	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Gray Catbird	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Northern Mockingbird	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Brown Thrasher	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
European Starling	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Blue-winged Warbler	Prospect Park
Northern Parula	Prospect Park
Yellow Warbler	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Black-throated Blue Warbler	Prospect Park
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Prospect Park
Blackburnian Warbler	Prospect Park
Yellow-throated Warbler	Prospect Park
Pine Warbler	Prospect Park
Prairie Warbler	Prospect Park
Palm Warbler	Prospect Park
Black-and-white Warbler	Prospect Park
Prothonotary Warbler	Prospect Park
Northern Waterthrush	Prospect Park
Common Yellowthroat	Prospect Park
Eastern Towhee	Prospect Park
Chipping Sparrow	Prospect Park
Field Sparrow	Prospect Park
Savannah Sparrow	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Song Sparrow	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Swamp Sparrow	Prospect Park
White-throated Sparrow	Prospect Park
Dark-eyed Junco	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Scarlet Tanager	Prospect Park
Northern Cardinal	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Red-winged Blackbird	Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
Eastern Meadowlark	Prospect Park
Common Grackle	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Boat-tailed Grackle	Great Kills Park
Brown-headed Cowbird	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Baltimore Oriole	Prospect Park
American Goldfinch	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
House Sparrow	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One

Prospect Park 4/29--YBCU, BLBW, SCTA

As I was entering the park this morning, Peter put out a tweet that warbler activity on Lookout Hill was "decent" including Tennessee and Cape May Warbler, so I headed in that direction. I wasn't even there when another tweet came in about a Black-billed Cuckoo on the path above the Wellhouse, west of the Maryland Monument. Directionally challenged as I am in the park, it took me a few minutes to figure out which part of the path was west and after a cursory look I gave up and continued up to Lookout, where, by the time I got there, the action had died down to yellow-rumps and a couple of pines, with towhees and catbirds jumping on and off the path.

I ran into Peter and Keir there and soon Rob B came along. Three great birders and with Peter obviously being a bird magnet today I tagged along with them. And that strategy worked: Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo (a rarity this time of year), and Scarlet Tanager (female) all along Center Drive.

Keir peeled off after the tanager and the three of us continued north but activity died down after around 10. It's funny how hot spots can overnight turn into not spots: not a blessed bird at the compost pile. (And then later, turn back into a hot spot--the Prothonotary Warbler was reported there again, mid afternoon!) The Rose Garden, Vale, and Nelly's Lawn had Chipping Sparrows (6 picking at one dandelion), Northern Parulas, and a Baltimore Oriole.

Later on, by my lonesome on the Peninsula there were a couple of more warblers (yellow-rumps, as usual, were everywhere) and a couple of species of swallows, though even they seemed sparse compared to the last few times I've been there.

The lake was empty save for 6 cormorants and a few ducks, gulls, and those aquatic pigeons known as swans.

A decent day--there were something like 22 species of warbler reported by all the birders (and there were a lot of them in the park today). In sports, you can't win 'em all. In birding, you can't see 'em all, to my teeth-gnashing frustration.
Number of species:    40
Canada Goose    6
Mute Swan    4
Mallard    15
Double-crested Cormorant    6
Red-tailed Hawk    2
Herring Gull    10
Rock Pigeon    2
Mourning Dove    3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo    1    Left side Nethemead bridge above path
Red-bellied Woodpecker    4
Downy Woodpecker    1
Northern Flicker    1    Center Drive
Blue Jay    2
Tree Swallow    2    Peninsula
Barn Swallow    7    Lake
Black-capped Chickadee    3
Tufted Titmouse    1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher    1    Peninsula
Hermit Thrush    1    Midwood
American Robin    75
Gray Catbird    7
European Starling    75
Northern Parula    4
Yellow Warbler    3
Yellow-rumped Warbler    30
Blackburnian Warbler    1    Center Drive horse trail inside woods
Pine Warbler    3
Palm Warbler    1    Center Drive
Black-and-white Warbler    1    Peninsula
Eastern Towhee    5
Chipping Sparrow    7    Nelly's Lawn & Peninsula
Song Sparrow    2    Peninsula
White-throated Sparrow    25
Scarlet Tanager    1    Center Drive (female)
Northern Cardinal    10
Red-winged Blackbird    25
Common Grackle    15
Brown-headed Cowbird    4    Center Drive & Wellhouse Drive
Baltimore Oriole    1    Vale
House Sparrow    5

Prospect Park 4/26--Prothonotary Warbler

Shari & I went to the park late this afternoon, hoping to find the Worm-eating Warbler
Scene: A saloon in Deadeye, North Dakota.
Cowboy 1 (Slamming beer down on bar)to Cowboy 2: Why you Worm-eating Warbler!
Cowboy 2: Smile when you say that.
(Gunfight ensues)
reported there.

We didn't find it in the Vale of Cashmere, but there were lots of other birds including our FOY Baltimore Oriole and Northern Parula. A new site in the park is a compost/mulch pile north of the zoo. Compost attracts bugs. Bugs attract warblers. We walked over there and the place was jumping with warblers, including a brilliant Prothonotary Warbler, which was fairly tame, allowing very close, "naked eye" looks.  Not a lifer, but almost as good.

Photo: Shari Zirlin

29 species, mostly from the Vale and the compost pile.
Mallard    4
Red-tailed Hawk    2
Rock Pigeon    3
Mourning Dove    4
Red-bellied Woodpecker    1
Downy Woodpecker    1
Northern Flicker    2
Blue Jay    1
Black-capped Chickadee    1
Red-breasted Nuthatch    1
American Robin    50
Gray Catbird    2
European Starling    25
Northern Parula    2
Yellow Warbler    1
Black-throated Blue Warbler    3
Yellow-rumped Warbler    5
Palm Warbler    6
Black-and-white Warbler    2
Prothonotary Warbler    1
Common Yellowthroat    2
Eastern Towhee    1
Swamp Sparrow    1
White-throated Sparrow    15
Northern Cardinal    2
Red-winged Blackbird    5
Baltimore Oriole    1
American Goldfinch    1
House Sparrow    25