Author Archives: David Barrett

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About David Barrett

Birder and writer

Striking out on shorebirds

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Many birders have noted greatly decreased shorebird numbers and species variety this year at Jamaica Bay in Queens, one of the nation’s premier fall shorebirding locations.

The best spot in Manhattan for fall shorebirding has long been Sherman Creek in Swindler Cove Park, which the Parks Department now appears to be calling Sherman Creek Park. Sherman Creek offers a 10+ acre saltmarsh on the Harlem River, and is located on the east end of Inwood.

In the two previous years early August has brought flocks of up to 200 Semipalmated Sandpipers to Sherman Creek along with single-digit numbers of Least Sandpipers. Many of these birds would also appear on the Inwood Hill Park saltmarsh at Spuyten Duyvil Creek.

I chased the first report of a Semipalmated Plover on August 1. I got it, but found nothing else of interest. (Solitary Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpipers were around, but these birds are seen regularly during spring migration in Central Park and I had already counted them there.)

I made two more trips to Inwood in the following week and was not able to add any new species. There were single-bird reports of Least Sandpiper at Inwood Hill and Semipalmated Sandpiper at Sherman Creek; I chased the former without success and was not able to chase the latter. It can take me an hour to reach Sherman Creek when there is a wait for the A train, so I cannot justify going there too often.

The northeast shore of Randall’s Island also has a saltmarsh, but a very small one relative to those in Inwood, and one that has not been productive for fall shorebirds. I visited there a couple times in prior weeks, with Killdeer being the only interesting shorebird present (as it is for much of the year there, even into winter).

I had very successful winter and spring seasons, and I finished July with 186 birds for the year. This is ten birds better than my best previous total for that date (2013), and seventeen better than my big year of 2012. Part of it was getting some birds in the spring that I would expect to get in the fall, such as Eastern Bluebird, Clay-colored Sparrow, and American Tree Sparrow.

I am happy to get whatever I can this year, but I will not go to extraordinary lengths to do it. By monitoring New York Harbor in the early morning I probably could have had Black Skimmer. By staking out Governor’s Island or taking a trip to Liberty Island, I might have had Forster’s Tern.

Had social plans not interfered, I also certainly *would* have had the American Avocet that appeared late on July 15 near the Dyckman Street pier on the Hudson River. That certainly is my most regrettable miss of the year so far, as it would have been a life bird.

 

Eurasian Collared-Dove, Chelsea Riverside Park

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On June 22, 2014, a regular birder of the Chelsea area in Manhattan found, photographed, and reported a Eurasian Collared-Dove in the area of Pier 63, the northwest corner. He saw it only briefly before it flew up into trees, and he could not relocate it. I did not chase the observation, though others did, and none reported success.

This morning another birder reported what is almost certainly the same bird twice, first at 7 a.m. and then again at 8 a.m., on the artificial-turf soccer field inside Chelsea Riverside Park, not far from the location of the June 22 sighting. Now it was clear that the bird had chosen to linger in the area, and a chase would be worth the crosstown trip.

I found the Eurasian Collared-Dove almost immediately. It was alone, walking on the grass just south of the southeast end of the soccer field. It let me approach to within twenty feet or so, and I got clear views of its relevant field marks — most notably, the black half-collar on its nape.

Prior to June 22, there were no prior eBird observations of the species in New York City. There have been more frequent reports of it in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

It is considered an invasive species, and has long been common across the southern and western United States after reaching Florida in 1982. There is no reason to think it could not do well in New York, as it generally nests near buildings and has been reported as far north as Alaska.

Bicknell’s Thrush, Strawberry Fields

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I had a somewhat late night, and so I did not make it to the Ramble this morning until 9:55. My primary focus these days is bodybuilding, so I need to get plenty of sleep — otherwise, there is no progress. I wanted to chase the earlier report of a Mourning Warbler at Sparrow Rock. By the time I reached this location there were no birders near it, a bad sign. I gave it a cursory look and then went on my way. I did see some birders at Tanner’s Spring looking for the Kentucky Warbler that had appeared there, a bird that I had gotten two weeks ago and so would not need to chase.

I went to Strawberry Fields, where good warbler reports had come in earlier and where I figured a singing Mourning Warbler was still a possibility. As I ascended the dirt trail on the north end I heard a song that I had reviewed just a few days prior, that of Bicknell’s Thrush. I heard the song again, and then just fifteen feet away, perched at eye level on a bare limb, the bird doing the singing came into view. It looked exactly the way a Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s type thrush should look — the two species cannot reliably be distinguished in the field, though there are some features said to suggest one over the other.

There had been only three eBird reports of Bicknell’s Thrush in Central Park prior to today, the last from 2008. Why so few? It looks just like another unexciting bird, the Gray-cheeked Thrush; it even sounds somewhat like this other bird, with the Bicknell’s song ending on an up-slur and the Gray-cheeked song ending on a down-slur; few birders know the distinction and listen for it; and these thrushes appear only during a relatively narrow window in mid- to late May and then move on. Of course, they return again in the fall, but then they do not sing..

A long, intense birding weekend

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New York City was having a very dismal migration season until late last week when the winds changed and new species arrived by the dozen. The four day period May 1 to 4 was the most productive I have ever had other than at the very start of the year. I added 32 birds to my year list, a phenomenal number that shot me well ahead of any previous year for the date. On May 2 alone I added 14 species, a one-day (non-January) personal record.

Highlights:

Thursday, May 1 — Veery, Wood Thrush, Orchard Oriole, Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler;

Friday, May 2 — Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-crowned Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting;

Saturday, May 3 — Black-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Summer Tanager;

Sunday, May 4 — White-eyed Vireo, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler.

May 2 was the day that ace birder Lenore Swenson gave another Starr Saphir Memorial Bird Walk in the Ramble, the results of which you can see here. Her walk definitely helped add to my total. Just as last year, the walk occurred on the best migration day of the season up to that point.

Today, May 4, had some unusual opportunities. A Prothonotary Warbler (male) had been found late in the afternoon the day before by Gabriel Willow at Madison Square Park. Since I am not doing another full-effort big year, I did not chase it then, though a few people did. When it was confirmed to still be at the park this morning, and after I got two other very good warblers, I decided it was worth a quick trip. I arrived at 3:30 p.m. and within five minutes I found it high in the trees just west of the ShakeShack.

I wasted no time in returning home to eat and rest. I had been running and walking around Central Park for four days, as much as eight hours per day, and my legs were sore. I just wanted to lie in bed.

At 5:35 p.m. an alert chimed in with the report of a Kentucky Warbler in the Evodia Field area. I already had my running clothes on, so I bolted out of bed, grabbed my binoculars, and set off running. There already were six birders on the scene when I arrived, and it took only a couple minutes for the Kentucky to pop out again and then quickly disappear. It ended up flying a bit, with people following it to the other side of the field (the one immediately east of Evodia, where the feeders are) and back. Then it appeared again, moving on the ground, and we got excellent views.

I wanted to take full advantage of some great days for Central Park birding, because the previous year has shown that these days may be few. I admit that I also like the challenge of finding a wide variety of species, even if I am not going to chase every rarity all over town as I did in 2012.

I finish the long weekend with 156 birds for the year in Manhattan.

Cerulean Warbler, Central Park

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A male Cerulean Warbler was first reported over the Gill yesterday (April 22), but very few people saw it and it was not known to be re-found after its initial sighting.

The bird was seen again early this morning and alerts immediately went out, allowing over sixty birders to see it during its extended stay in the trees northwest of Bow Bridge at the southern edge of the Ramble.

Though I went out to view it mid-morning, I got much better views when it appeared over the Oven at 6:25 p.m. with the setting sun illuminating it. Spectacular!

I wrote about the Cerulean Warbler extensively in my book. Not only is it one of the six rarest regularly-occurring warblers in the area, it was also Starr Saphir’s favorite bird, and one that inspired her color choice in outerwear. So seeing it brings back memories of her.

I had just finished viewing another Wilson’s Snipe found at Turtle Pond, along with a Spotted Sandpiper, the first-of-season for me. I also had my first-of-season Prairie Warbler earlier in the day. So it was a good birding day, even though migration has so far been hugely disappointing, even worse than last year, which was the worst year veteran birders could remember.

Wilson’s Snipe, The Point, Central Park

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Yesterday, April 10, a Wilson’s Snipe was reported at the Point in the Central Park Ramble just after 7 a.m. I was immediately faced with a question that I knew would come up often throughout the 2014 spring migration season: do I chase this bird? I am not trying to do a big year in 2014, at least not with anywhere near the level of effort that went into my 2012 big year, and probably not even with the much-reduced effort level of 2013. Still, I enjoy the challenge of birding and I like to observe rare birds. I did a great job again at winter birding, so my total species for the year places me among top few (now second place, 101 species) on the eBird New York County “Top Birders” list, not far from the overall lead. It was a pleasant morning and I can run to the Point in under ten minutes, so I decided to chase the snipe. I got it, but only after a short delay when I first checked the shore of the Point that faces the Boat House.

Wilson’s Snipe figured in my 2012 big year — one appeared at the Upper Lobe and I had to choose between chasing it or chasing a much more distant Yellow-throated Warbler in the limited time I had before a lunch date. I chose to get the snipe, and I ended up getting the Yellow-throated Warbler with Starr a couple weeks later. Wilson’s Snipe is a very good bird for Central Park, one that gets reported roughly once per year. One also appeared in 2013 in nearly exactly the same place on the Point.

When the “do I chase this bird?” question arises next time, I am more inclined to say no — unless it is a life bird. I want to get my securities trading business going, and this requires beginning work by 8 a.m. or so. I probably will make exceptions for some of the best migration mornings. Or I might go out very early, at first light, which is already 6:30 a.m. and will be 6:00 a.m. in a few weeks. This can be a very productive time to bird, when the city is quieter and the parks are mostly empty.

I went out at 7:15 a.m. today, April 11, for what promised to be an excellent morning, one followed by a day and night of moderate south-southwest winds. It was disappointing. There clearly was a huge flight of Northern Flickers, which could be seen everywhere, both in the air and on the ground. I saw at least 50. Many Ruby-crowned Kinglets arrived, too. Just two days ago I was delighted to see a single one, my first of the season. Today I saw at least 15, and they finally outnumbered the Golden-crowned Kinglets.

I added three new species for the year: Palm Warbler, Field Sparrow, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. But I observed no other warblers, not even Yellow-rumped (which I had seen a few days ago), nor did I have any Blue-headed Vireos.

I did reach the 100-bird milestone for the year (101), and so for the sake of comparison I looked back at the prior two years. As of April 11 in 2012 I had 94 birds; in 2013, 98. Of course, spring migration in New York was a disaster last year. All these numbers show is that I have had successively better winters. We will see what happens with the 60+ species that are slated to arrive over the next six weeks.

Common Raven, Chelsea

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The Common Raven has been one of my nemesis birds for over two years now. Until recently, it was extremely rare in the New York City area, with no eBird records (even historical ones) prior to 2010 in Manhattan, and only a few in other parts of the city. Since 2011 it has appeared occasionally in many parts of Manhattan, including Central Park. It has perched on an Upper West Side movie theater, one of the Reservoir pump houses, and the Fort Tryon Park Café.

It is no surprise that ravens should sometimes wander into Manhattan. They are seen regularly in New Jersey over the Palisades and the Meadowlands. They also nest just north of Manhattan and are often occur in Pelham Bay Park.

Ravens have taunted me with nearby appearances. Starr Saphir had one over the Pool just ten minutes before I was planning to meet her in April 2012. More recently, one appeared in January on Randall’s Island the same day I observed the Snowy Owl, and then for a couple mornings after that.

Throughout all these years, there has remained one constant: you have never seen me and a Common Raven in the same place at the same time. The bird has proved superbly skilled at avoiding me — until today.

Over the past week there have been eBird reports on several days of a single Common Raven observed after 4 p.m. in the area near Chelsea Park in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Ravens can range widely, and I was not inclined at first to make a long trip to a place where a raven was the day before hoping it will appear there again. But once the second report came in, from the same spot as the first, I knew the odds were high that the raven would return. It sounded as if it could be nesting there.

I arrived at 23rd Street and the High Line at 4 p.m. today, and I walked the High Line north, searching the skies. I figured that the raised track would offer a good vantage point, but after a half-hour of looking I still had not seen any ravens. So I decided to walk closer to where the raven had been seen flying, over 8th Avenue and 26th Street. As soon as I got there, I heard and saw the raven. It was flying between the 8th Avenue corner of 26th Street and a water tower atop a building on the 9th Avenue corner, and calling loudly. What’s more, perching on the water tower was another Common Raven.

So perhaps Manhattan will have its first nesting pair of Common Ravens? We shall see.

American Woodcock and Red-necked Grebe, Central Park

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In general, American Woodcocks are hard to find. They blend in well with surrounding foliage, and they stay low to the ground and move very little for much of the day. When they are found resting, however, they are good to birds for which to issue alerts, as they usually stay in place unless approached very closely. The Bryant Park woodcock of last March was a good example. It stayed in place for days, causing some to wonder if it was ill, and giving many birders (including me) an easy view of a life county bird.

On Saturday, March 8, two American Woodcocks were found resting near some rotting logs in the area just to the east of Azalea Pond, an area where one had appeared later in the spring last year. These two lingered for another day, giving close views to dozens of birders.

A more exciting find occurred the next day on Sunday, March 9. Peter Post, a longtime Manhattan birder, found a Red-necked Grebe lazily floating on the small area of open water near the Reservoir’s fountain and quickly alerted everyone on NYSBirds.

There are no prior eBird records of this species in Central Park, and it may be the first occurrence of Red-necked Grebe there in forty years (according to Mr. Post). This bird is generally uncommon around the New York City area, but this year the freeze-over of the Great Lakes has driven many Red-necked Grebes further south in search of open water and made it temporarily abundant in some coastal spots. I had it off of Randall’s Island in late January, but it was distant and the view was unsatisfying. The grebe on the Reservoir was close and unmistakable.

White-winged Scoter, Inwood Hill Park

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I am back to trading the markets every day, which is one reason my blog posts are fewer — I am doing a lot less birding. When an opportunity for a life Manhattan bird arises, though, I am always ready to spring into action.

This morning at 9:27 ornithologist Joe DiCostanzo posted to eBirdsNYC that he had observed a drake White-winged Scoter flying west over the Spuyten Duyvil, just north of Inwood Hill Park. At 10:42 he posted that he had observed the scoter again, swimming on the Duyvil just east of the Henry Hudson bridge.

I was 35 minutes late in reading his second message, but I had trades in progress and would not have been able to leave earlier anyway. Ducks tend to linger for the day, particularly in calm locations, so I was not too worried — particularly now that open (unfrozen) water remains relatively scarce.

I arrived at the east end of Inwood Hill Park at 1:15 p.m. I did not initially see any ducks on the water near the bridge, so I walked over to the newly-created Muscota Marsh where DiCostanzo had seen some Canvasbacks this morning, including a leucistic one. I was not seeing them, but I did see three Greater Scaup swimming together on the north side of the creek, which got me year bird number 69.

I thought I would have a better view of the Spuyten Duyvil to the northwest, where the scoter was last seen, if I walked on a promontory that juts out toward it. So I did, and the drake White-winged Scoter, with its characteristic white comma behind each eye, came clearly into view.

I later walked the trail that goes around the northern edge of the park and got a closeup look at the scoter from just east of the Henry Hudson bridge. I did not mind spending the extra time. I figured it probably would be years before I saw another.

While walking back along the Dyckman ball fields after following the trail west and off of Inwood Hill, I saw a drake Canvasback land on the Hudson, only the second time I have observed this species in Manhattan.

Canvasback, Swindler Cove Park

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The Canvasback had long been one of my “white whale” birds. It used to show up on the Hudson fairly often, and it was one of the birds I expected to get during my big year of 2012. I did not, however, despite two next-day chases of Canvasback observations in January 2012. My unsuccessful search for a Canvasback on the Hudson in Chelsea on December 31, 2012 brought my big year to a close.

So it was with great excitement that I saw two messages on my return from the gym at 1 p.m. on January 12, 2014 (the day after I found the Snowy Owl). The first message was a report of three Canvasbacks still being seen at noon at Swindler Cove Park. The second was an eBird report of a Canvasback observed sometime during the morning on the Bronx Kill on the northeast shore of Randall’s Island.

Naturally, I planned to chase these birds right away — but which? The Swindler Cove sighting was the more recent, by perhaps as much as three hours, but getting there would take nearly an hour. The Randall’s Island bird was much closer — I could reach it in a half hour by running across the RFK Bridge — and there was an additional attraction: a Common Raven had been seen lingering on Randall’s Island both that day and the day before. If I got the Canvasback, I planned to search for the raven. If I missed the duck, then I would have to put off looking for the raven and go to Swindler Cove. Ravens are becoming regular in Manhattan, but I could not afford to miss the Canvasback.

After a fast subway ride and a run across the bridge, I was on the northeast shore of Randall’s Island, searching the canal for the Canvasback. I really wanted it to turn up, so I double-checked the Kill and then looked further out in the bay. I had already done an intense morning workout and did not feel like doing more; it was also starting to get cold. But twenty minutes of searching could not produce the Canvasback, so I ran back across the bridge and then across Harlem to catch the A-train.

Just after 3 p.m. I arrived at Swindler Cove Park. It took some scanning, but I found the three drake Canvasbacks exactly where they had been reported previously, on the opposite shore near some wooden moorings. I had waited a long time and searched many miles to add this bird to my life Manhattan list.

I went further inside the park, away from the Sherman Creek mud flats to look for other birds (Swindler Cove can offer surprises) and twenty minutes later the Canvasbacks were no longer in view.

At least one Canvasback reappeared over several following days at Swindler Cove, and on January 15 two drakes showed up on the Central Park Reservoir but were not publicly reported until after dark.