Author Archives: David Barrett

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About David Barrett

Birder and writer

Grasshopper Sparrow, Central Park

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At 11:39 a.m. today, as I was watching the market, I received an email from eBirdsNYC: Stephen Chang, one of Manhattan’s top birders, had found a rare Grasshopper Sparrow on the lawn west of Triplets Bridge. (This lawn is at the very west end of Central Park, north of the 77th Street entrance off Central Park West and a block east of CPW, just west of the stream that feeds the Lake.)

Mr. Chang seems to have a way with Grasshopper Sparrows. He also was the finder of the one near the Lawn Bowling courts in May 2012 about which I wrote in my book.

I ran to area, arriving at 11:55 a.m. I was first on the scene, and I saw neither the bird nor its original finder. I did see some House Sparrows on the lawn, so I scanned them and then circled around the lawn.

As I was searching the opposite side of the lawn, another birder called out that the bird was appearing by the fence just west of the stream. I turned and got a good look. Its eye ring, buffy throat, and overall shape and coloring left no doubt as to its identity.

The bird remained in view for five minutes and then seemed to disappear into the brush. I remained on the scene for another twenty minutes as seven birders watched for it, but it did not reappear. It was reported again later in the afternoon.

The Grasshopper Sparrow has been appearing roughly once per season in recent years in Central Park. As we begin the fall sparrowing season, I am hoping that more ammodramus sparrows will show up in Central Park.

I visited the northeast shore of Randall’s Island on Monday, September 30, and found the lone Saltmarsh Sparrow (also of the ammodramus genus) that had been found by another observer the day before.

Eastern Whip-poor-will in Central Park Ramble

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An Eastern Whip-poor-will was reported at 11:39 a.m. today roosting thirty feet high in a tree just north of the Gill and west of Azalea Pond. I arrived on the scene at 12:35 p.m. and saw two of Central Park’s top bird photographers with their cameras in place. The bird was resting on a mostly horizontal branch in full view, so it was easy to see the relevant markings.

This is the second nightjar appearance of the year in Central Park — a Chuck-will’s-widow was seen by many in Tupelo Field on 16 May. The last noted appearance of an Eastern Whip-poor-will in the park was just over a year ago, 15 September 2012, at the very source of the Gill only a hundred yards away.

Virginia Rail in the Central Park Loch

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At the very early hour of 5:50 a.m. on 9 September, a downtown birder observed a juvenile Virginia Rail in the Wall Street area near Maiden and William streets and later reported it on eBird. The observer was unable to re-find the bird after it flew off, so I did not expect to have any better luck trying at least several hours later, and so, did not pursue it.

The incident did, however, start me thinking about Virginia Rails and about the Rallidae family of birds in general. One member of this family, the American Coot, appears regularly in Manhattan. American Coots can be seen every day on the Reservoir in Central Park during the cold months of the year. Most of the others are never noted in Manhattan except  for the Sora and the Common Gallinule, which are reported at most a few times per decade. The last verified sighting of a Sora in Central Park was during 17-19 September 2011; and of a Common Gallinule, May 2010.

So I was surprised when I received an email from Andrew Farnsworth late on the evening of 10 September asking if I had chased the Virginia Rail. I initially figured he meant the one from the previous day seen downtown, but when I checked the rest of my inbox I saw an 11:28 p.m. eBirdsNYC report of a Virginia Rail in the Central Park Loch.

I had missed the finder’s alert because my cell often does not receive texts in a timely manner when I am at home. But when I put together the timeline, I realized that I probably would not have been able to get the bird even if I had received the alert immediately.

The lone observer noted seeing the Virginia Rail along the shore of the Loch in the Central Park North End between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m. and no more after that. The observer finished birding at 6:10, and did not send the alert until 6:30. I have no idea why the lengthy delay.

At any rate, some birders tried to re-find the bird the following morning without success. The Sora had remained for three days, so I knew there was some chance that the Virginia Rail would stick around, particularly since the winds were not favorable for migration and the bird had chosen a hospitable section of the park.

At 5:23 p.m. that evening two North End birders alerted that they were seeing the Virginia Rail. I was just on my way back from the gym, so I ran home, got my binoculars, and ran to the Loch, arriving at 5:40. After five minutes of waiting, the Rail popped out of cover and began walking along the shore and drinking from the stream.

The bird appeared at least several more times on the evening of 11 September, giving close views (it did not seem to mind the presence of people) to all who went.

Red-necked Phalarope on the Hudson

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Just before 1 p.m. today a Red-necked Phalarope was reporting swimming near the Manhattan shore of the Hudson River south of Pier 40.

The only other historical eBird record of this species in Manhattan is from 28 August 2011, when Andrew Farnsworth observed over 70 birds in several flocks flying south after being displaced by Hurricane Irene.

I was at the gym, so I did not see today’s alert until 2 p.m. Then I needed to eat, and I also needed to be ready to meet a friend at 3:30 in midtown. I was not set to to leave until 2:35, when I realized that I probably would not be able to both see the bird and make it to my meeting on time. Later a report came in that the bird was no longer being seen at 2 p.m., so I was glad I had not tried for it.

After I was free again at 5:35 I saw reports that the bird had been re-found near the prior location. I walked home, refueled quickly, and by 6:20 was out the door. The Lexington line was fast and took me right to Canal Street, from which I ran to the Hudson shore, arriving around 6:49. Still plenty of light, but a scan of the area did not turn up the bird. I ended up walking further north to Pier 40. It took a few minutes of searching, but the small, long-billed bird popped into view near a couple of gulls. By walking out on Pier 40 I was able to observe the phalarope from as close as 20 feet.

Summer update

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It’s been two months since my last report, and fall migrants are already passing through. Let’s look back at some interesting birds that have appeared in the interim in Manhattan.

A Red-headed Woodpecker appeared over Evodia on May 27 and lingered just southeast of there in the Ramble for roughly a week.

A couple Purple Martins were observed over Turtle Pond in Central Park beginning June 14 through June 19, reported only by one observer. I watched for them and might have seen one flying high at midday but cannot say so conclusively.

A Black Skimmer was reported feeding over the model boat pond in Central Park at 10 p.m. on July 10. I arrived at 11 p.m. that night, and visited again on some successive nights, but did not see it, nor have I seen them on the Reservoir at night, an even more likely spot to check. Black Skimmers had been photographed last in July 2008 on the model boat pond.

Yesterday afternoon, August 5, I visited Swindler Cove Park in Inwood just after low tide and was treated to a flock of fifty Semipalmated Sandpipers ranging over the Sherman Creek mudflats. These birds appeared in 2012 on these mudflats in large numbers, as many as 200 at peak. along with other more unusual shorebirds.

The last couple days have also brought reports of a variety of expected warblers and flycatchers in Central Park.

I am pleased to see that my recent book, “A Big Manhattan Year,” continues to sell well on Amazon. If you want to learn more about birding Manhattan, or just want to read a good big-year story, you should check it out.

Migrants move on

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Wednesday, May 22, was a good day for birding Central Park. There was decent warbler variety, with a Mourning Warbler appearing at times on the Point in the afternoon and evening. An Alder Flycatcher was seen and heard there in the morning, and it may have been the empidonax flycatcher that I saw there in the afternoon. Since it did not vocalize then, I could not make the species ID. Cedar Waxwings, some of which will linger throughout the summer, were also observed frequently in flocks throughout the park.

The good birding days began on May 9 and it appears that May 22 was the last of them. Yesterday very little bird song could be heard in the Ramble, aside from some Baltimore Orioles, Red-eyed Vireos, and Blackpoll Warblers. I noticed a Spotted Sandpiper working the northeast shore of Turtle Pond. Aside from these, it was very quiet. It had the steamy feeling of a June day.

It is possible that we get one more push of migrants. We did last year — May 25, 2012, was a great day, one of the few best of the spring. I certainly would not count on it, though.

I added Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Cedar Waxwing on the 22nd. Common Nighthawk and Chuck-will’s-widow appeared openly on the same day last week and were widely reported; Least Flycatcher and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron showed up at Randall’s Island.

As I have said before, I am not trying to do another big year. I expect that other responsibilities will take precedence over fall birding (which can begin as early as mid-July), but I probably will get out to Randall’s Island and Swindler Cove Park for the summer shorebird season.

A Torrent of Migrants

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The last seven days offered excellent species variety in Manhattan. I added 21 new species for the year, including some rare warblers that I was not expecting to get. This leaves me with 170 species for the year, which suddenly puts me well ahead of last year’s pace (had 161 as of the same date then) after having been well behind it last week.

My warbler deficit largely got filled with a great influx of the rarer varieties: Blackburnian, Cape May, Prothonotary, Mourning, and Tennessee.

I also picked up my “peeps,” with Solitary Sandpiper and Spotted Sandpiper foraging side-by-side in the Compost Heap last Sunday. I had a single Least Sandpiper on Randall’s Island off the NE shore today. It was near a wading Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, another new species for the year that I had in the same spot last year in July.

I also had a few unexpected species. A Marsh Wren showed up last Saturday in the bamboo on the Riviera section of the Lake. Even more surprising were the two nightjars I had (along with dozens of other birders) yesterday. A Common Nighthawk was found high up in a tree SW of Mugger’s Woods in the Ramble. I wrote a chapter (“Nighthawk Watchman”) in my book about how I spent many August and September evenings watching in vain for a Common Nighthawk flyover until a pair finally arrived. I will not need to repeat that exercise this year. Later another nightjar was found perching prominently high above the north end of Tupelo Meadow. After some debate and close inspection, this bird was determined to be a Chuck-will’s-widow, a species with no prior eBird records for Manhattan. It was a life Manhattan bird for nearly everyone who saw it, including me.

Just minutes after viewing it, I wandered over to the fenced-in area just west of Humming Tombstone and had a Willow Flycatcher, which I identified by call. This, too, was a life Manhattan bird, one of the easiest of those I was missing.

Winds change — birds return!

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It was looking as if we were not going to have a real spring migration in the New York area. The first three days of the week were awful! On Wednesday, May 7, I spent two early-morning hours in the Ramble and had just a single warbler.

Then on Wednesday evening the winds switched to southerly, and Thursday turned out to be very good, though marred by intermittent rain in the morning that soon became heavy and chased birders out of the park. By afternoon the sun was out, and the songs of warblers could be heard all over the Ramble again. I had 14 total warbler species, and added six new birds for the year: Yellow-throated Vireo, Veery, Blue-winged Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, and Scarlet Tanager.

Today, Friday the 10th, was even better. Species variety and individual numbers were by far the highest for the year and on par with the best spring days of 2012. A single oak at Summit Rock produced over a dozen migrants over twenty minutes of watching. I added Swainson’s Thrush, Bay-breasted Warbler, Canada Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, and Summer Tanager.

My total for the year now is 149 species, not far behind the 158 I had at this time last year. You can tell I am not going for another big year because I did not run to the Blockhouse area in the North End to get the ultra-rare American Bittern that was reported there. Nor did I chase the nearby Black-billed Cuckoo.

A morning at Inwood Hill Park

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I have never gone to Inwood Hill for spring migration before. As I mention in my book, it is one of the best places in Manhattan for fall raptor migration. The east bay can be good for shorebirds in the summer. It has held mating Great Horned Owls. Three weeks ago there were Pileated Woodpecker reports.

It is not, however, a place I generally would recommend for warblers and other spring migrants. It does not have Central Park’s geographical advantage, nor plentiful small ponds and marshes, and its canopy is very high, making for difficult views.

But Central Park right now lacks some species that are appearing at Inwood Hill Park: Orchard Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, and Wood Thrush. (All of these have appeared in previous days in Central Park, but in singles or very low numbers.) Generally, the last three of these species have been common in Central Park at this time of year, birds you could expect to find nearly every day, and even Orchard Oriole appeared frequently last year — it is just by nature somewhat hard to find.

I did not want to miss these birds, so off I went to Inwood Hill. I arrived just before 9 a.m. I could hear at least one Orchard Oriole singing in the trees at the north end of the soccer fields, and soon I saw one. Several Warbling Vireos also could be heard and even seen.

Shortly after taking a trail into the woods I began hearing Wood Thrush songs, which alone made the trip worthwhile.

It took some searching, but near the highest point of the Ridge I began hearing the scratchy vreeeep call of the Great Crested Flycatcher, and soon I had the bird in sight.

I never did observe the Eastern Kingbird, but this species peaks in the third week of May and lingers in Central Park through much of the summer, so there is still plenty of time.

Worst May 2 Ever

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The last five birding days have gone from sub-par to awful. None of these days had large numbers of individual birds, though Sunday at least had a decent species count wherein you could observe singles of a variety of warblers, like Chestnut-sided and Black-throated Blue.

This morning was eerily bad. I had only two warblers, Northern Parula and Prairie Warbler (which I have had every day now for a week) and well under 30 total species. Last year on the same date I had 20 warblers and 70 species.

The strange thing is that temperatures have been only a bit cool, in the low 50s at dawn, and winds have been light, though usually with an easterly or northerly component.

Some say that all it takes is light easterly winds to deflect migrants to the west of New York City (and the East Coast in general), so that migration may be happening and it may be passing us by. I don’t know. eBird maps do not show many warbler observations to the west and north, but these areas tend to be less well-reported.

I will look forward to reading the next weekly BirdCast projections, which should be coming out on Friday the 3rd. According to Weather.com, the winds should have an easterly component for the next ten (!!) days, with only a small southerly component beginning on Sunday. This cannot be good.