Sandy Hook 9/29--Yellow Birds

Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Photos: Shari Zirlin

We spent a couple of hours at Sandy Hook today. Getting a late start, I didn't expect much, but as soon as we got out of the car at the Battery Potter parking lot, I looked into a tree and immediately espied a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in plain sight. I was looking there because Shari saw a cardinal fly in when we pulling in. Never saw the cardinal again. While Shari took loads of pictures of the cuckoo I continued looking into the foliage and soon saw my FOS Golden-crowned Kinglet. Shari said it was going to be yellow bird day. I crossed the road and in quick succession I found a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Common Yellowthroat. Shari came over, saw a few more yumpers and the yellowthroat and then found a Black-and-White Warbler. "Hey, you ruined the streak," she scolded the bird. We walked along a little path in the woods (where someone had oddly dumped a batch of tomatillo plants with perfectly good fruit on them) and in a little clearing came up with a Northern Parula (which also has a lot of yellow on it).

We walked over to the Officer's Club (it must have been great back in its heyday) and there we found Ruby-crowned Kinglet central. They seemed to be in every tree on the property but especially in a huge catalpa that had foot-long pods hanging from it. We found a couple of Black-throated Blue females, easily identified by their little white "handkerchiefs" on the wings, but the most curious sighting was Shari's finding of a Northern Waterthrush on the lawn. It is very peculiar to find this bird nowhere in sight of water. But in fall migration, I guess, birds are apt to land anywhere.

That made 6 warbler species in about an hour. Add in the Cedar Waxwings (always a crowd favorite) we found over by the hawkwatch and we had a pretty good day. Quality over quantity.
23 species
Canada Goose  125
Turkey Vulture  1
Herring Gull  2
Mourning Dove  5
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1    Battery Potter
Northern Flicker  1
Black-capped Chickadee  2    Resident chickadee of Sandy Hook. Gave slower call.
Carolina Wren  1    Heard
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  10
American Robin  2    Heard
Gray Catbird  3
European Starling  1
Cedar Waxwing  5
Northern Waterthrush  1    Officer's club
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  1
Northern Parula  1
Black-throated Blue Warbler  2    Officer's club
Yellow-rumped Warbler  5
Eastern Towhee  1    Heard
Northern Cardinal  1
House Sparrow  1    Guardian Park