Van Cortlandt Park Birdathon - and the winners are....

Us...we did it!!! Our team retained our title from last year as this year's winners of the Van Cortlandt Park Birdathon. This year we tallied 63 species beating last year's number of 56. The day (May 19th), started with Frank Donovan and I working a few spots as early as 6:00 a.m. we quickly picked up a number of species and by the time we met up with Hilary Russ, we were well into the twenties. At 8:00 a.m. we picked up the rest of the folks who would participate with us and birded the Parade Grounds, Vault Hill, and then the North West Woods.

 It was obvious that many of the birds we had from the previous week were not around and it appeared that there were little to no new arrivals; however, with some hard work we slowly but surely added to our list. Black-crowned night Heron, Broad-winged Hawk and Purple Martin were species we picked up that I felt other teams would be hard pressed to find. We looked hard for a Solitary Sandpiper that I found the previous week but could not find it (I learned later that someone else had seen it); instead we picked up several Least Sandpipers, which were new for the year.

We took a break for lunch, something we did not do last year and then birded the Putnam Trail, where we tried to add Titmouse; we did not find any and I considered this a bad miss. We pondered about going into the North East Woods, but decided against it because we had already birded 10 + hours and folks were starting to lag. In the end 63 species was good enough! Huge thanks and congratulations to the team consisting of Frank Donovan, Hilary Russ, Abby Turner, Joan Klavan, Tamara Loomis, Ann Murray, Gerry McGee and his wife and Ryan Davis. 

If you wish to support our effort in the Birdathon, you could still make a pledge. Remember, it is all for a good cause as the money goes into the conservation work and birding programs at Van Cortlandt Park. Click here to view and download the pledge form or you could click here to donate online. A complete list of birds from our walk is provided below.

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis)
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Purple Martin (Progne subis)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Tags: Van Cortlandt Park Birdathon, Bronx NY

Today's Photos - Eastern Willet...

Wordless Wednesday - Birds of Costa Rica...

American Dipper

American Dipper

Ruff or Reeve...I'll take it...

When word of an apparent Ruff (Philomachus pugnax), was still being reported in Connecticut, it did not take much convincing to get my juices going for a chase especially when it would be a lifer shorebird.  That is exactly what we did when Heydi Lopes and I successfully chased down the target bird on May 18th, in Connecticut at Hammonasset Beach State Park CT.  It was touch and go on the way as we were not picking up any reports of the bird being seen that day while on route, but we erased any negative thoughts and hoped for the best.

When we arrived, the lack of birders in the area gave us a sinking feeling that maybe the bird was not around, but we focused on searching the area.  I chased down a couple who I spotted with binoculars only to learn that they were not even aware that a rarity was in the area.  Not, what we wanted to hear, but I urged them to join us to look for the bird!  We continued exploring the area and were looking at a strange looking Tri-colored Heron (more on this later), when I noticed another couple with a spotting scope looking at another pond (later determined to be Boulder Pond).  They had a field guide out and I began to get excited.  Field Guide could only mean one thing; they had a bird that they needed to verify the ID.   

Ruff/Reeve a lifer!!

Ruff/Reeve...perhaps was my thought.  I shouted out to Heydi, that I was heading over to the couple and hurried over to where they were standing.  Asking if they had the Reeve/Ruff, I was greeted with, "ah…not sure…we think so" followed by an offer to look in their scope.  I took one look and a huge grin engulfed my face.  Ruffreevelieved I was!!!  I had a lifer.  Turing around to Heydi and the other couple, I yelled out that it was here.  We quickly setup our own scopes and got great looks at the Ruff/Reeve.  Heydi and I hung out all afternoon at the location birding the area, helping others to get on the bird and totally enjoying our lifer Ruff/Reeve.  Shout out to Toby and Dottie (hopefully I spelled their names correctly), thank you for your kind words and for sharing a good bird with us.

Readers might be wondering why when describing this bird, I choose to use Ruff/Reeve.  Even though the size seems to point to a female (Reeve), I have no experience with this species and so I cannot confidently say this is a male or female.  Well, how about the plumage of the males you may wonder...isn't it different than females?  Yes and no.  At this time of the year "typical" males known as Ruffs would be easy to identify with their extensive neck plumes which goes on full display when courting or lekking.  But wait, I just used "typical", so what does that mean? 

Ruffs, the males, have a lekmating system with three males types, the colourful independent males, the white satellite males and the faeders, who so closely resemble females that they are indistinguishable in the field (Hogan-Warburg 1966; van Rhijn 1991; Jukema & Piersma 2006).  This bird could very well fall into the faeder category; hence, my position.   If you want to learn more about this fascinating species, then take a look at this  link and also google for more information.  It is pretty cool stuff!

Nice size comparison: Far left - Ruff/Reeve, center - Greater Yellow-legs, right - Eastern Willet.

Ruff/Reeve in flight.

Tags: Ruff, Hammonasset Beach State Park CT, Reeve

Wordless Wednesday...

Birding Van Cortlandt Park 05-12-12...

Our Saturday morning walk at Van Cortlandt Park started off slowly, but picked up steam as we headed around the Van Cortlandt Lake. A male Swamp Sparrow (more red in the crown than a female) enthralled us with his song as he trilled away for several minutes giving us great views of him singing. While enjoying the looks, we had views of several Common Yellowthroat Warblers and Baltimore Orioles that worked around the area.

As we worked our way further around the lake, the songs of Yellow Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata), Black-throated Green Warblers (Setophaga virens) and Black-throated Blue Warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) filled the air. We found it tough finding the birds in the leafed out trees, but managed to get decent looks at the few we saw. One of our more interesting sight of the day was a pair of Ospreys fishing in the lake.  We had never seen them this close to the lake before and it appeared that the low water levels at the lake had something to do with it as the Ospreys found the fish in the lake to be easy pickings.  As if the Osprey were not cool enough, we had another good sight at the bridge by the golf course;  I spotted a Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) working the shores near the edges of the marsh. Our Van Cortlandt walk has not produced many shorebirds, so it was nice to see this one.

As we made our way towards the parade grounds, I heard a singing Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla), but could not get the group on it and it was while I was listening for the Nashville, I heard a singing Wilson's Warbler. I stopped the group and worked the area where I had heard the bird and sure enough after a few minutes, a sharp looking male Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) popped into view. We all got looks and for many it was a life bird. We then worked our way up into the meadows towards Vault Hill, where several Black-throated Green Warblers as well as a Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) put on a show for us. A couple of male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (Pheucticus ludovicianus) made their presence known and we added Veery (Catharus fuscescens) and Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) to our day list.

We ended our walk shortly thereafter. I did some butterflying and then headed into the North West woods for a hike. There I was surprised at the lack in diversity of birds as I had hoped to add to the list of warblers seen.  The only birds of note I added to my day list were Wood Thrush,  Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) and Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis) as new birds to my list for the day. Here is a complete lists of birds seen:

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla )
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis)
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus )
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Tags: Van Cortlandt Park, Canada Warbler, Solitary Sandpiper

Wordless Wednesday - Birds of Costa Rica...

Laughing Falcon

Laughing Falcon

Laughing Falcon

Migration Madness...

What's this I hear?  Hmm...sounds like a Yellow-rumped Warbler, or is it?  Spring madness is here! Yes, that time is upon us again as birders of all levels who have waited anxiously for the return of those migrating birds are gearing up. This is especially the time when those colorful warblers are beginning to arrive.

Birders worth their salt will tell you that they were preparing in the closing winter stages, studying plumage and the songs of these fast moving birds that often tend to stay high in tree canopies. And speaking of tree canopies, with the warm weather, trees have leafed out much faster than many would have liked. This is where knowing the songs or chip notes will enable a birder to zero in on location and species.  It is not easy and no amount of gadgets will substitute for empirical observation in the field.  Here are some photos highlighting some of the fantastic birds seen over the past week as I did a bit of ground and pound in Manhattan, Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn.

Eastern Willets

Wilson's Phalarope

Black-and-White Warbler

Kentucky Warbler

Tags: Eastern Willets, Wilson's Phalarope, Kentucky Warbler
, Queens

Today's Photo - Solitary Sandpiper

Wildflower Friday...

Turk's Cap Lily (Lilium superbum), is a rare one for Forest Park Queens NY.  Seen and photographed with the help of my friend and botany extraordinaire, Mike Feder.  Turk's-cap lily flowers have a green star at the center, which makes a good identifying mark for this plant. The green star will distinguish Turk's-cap lily from tiger lily (Lilium trigrinum), a plant from Asia that sometimes escapes from gardens. When in bloom Turk's-cap lily, has a gorgeous flower.

The Viburnum Leaf Beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull), is an invasive, non-native beetle that first appeared in New York along Lake Ontario in 1996, and has steadily spread. It is a voracious eater that can defoliate viburnum shrubs entirely. Plants may die after two or three years of heavy infestation. This image is the Larvae in the first stage.

Tags: Turk's Cap Lily, Viburnum Leaf Beetle, Forest Park Queens

Wordless Wednesday - Birds of Costa Rica...

Female Green Hermit.

Female Green Hermit.