More Central Park in May!

New York, NY

Tuesday 10 May 2022 71 °F

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4:

Now is the time of year I get behind in reporting and my reports are more concise due to so much time actually birding and limited time to write. “Today” I hit Central Park as I was expecting there to be a modest influx of new neotropical arrivals, plus, I got a rare bird alert about a Chuck-will’s-widow which would be a photographic lifer. And I was right about the migrants! Right off the bat, I noticed a wealth of newly-arrived NORTHERN PARULAS:

OVENBIRD:

I made a bee line to the pinned location for the CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW in the North Woods and immediately found a couple birders peering at it with their scopes and cameras. It was tucked up high on a branch on a tree, true to nightjar form. It was only found because somebody accidentally flushed it up there earlier in the morning.

Photographic lifer! Here you can see how it so easily camouflages into the surroundings:

A BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was also a great one to pick up for the year:

Many NASHVILLE WARBLERS were also around, FOY:

And my FOY ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER which is uncommon for around here:

BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER:

Male BALTIMORE ORIOLE, FOY:

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW:

FISH CROW is always a great flyover at Central Park — it thankfully honked right on cue:

Another FOY: ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK:

BLUE-HEADED VIREO:

HERMIT THRUSH:

CHIPPING SPARROW:

My FOY BLUE-WINGED WARBLER was a nice one to pick up at the High Meadow:

And a BLACK-THROATED GREEN:

FOY INDIGO BUNTING:

Yet another FOY, a LEAST FLYCATCHER:

WARBLING VIREO:

NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH:

FOY CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER!

GADWALL:

YELLOW WARBLER:

FOY AMERICAN REDSTART:

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW is actually quite an uncommon find here so this was great to see:

The next stop was the Harlem Meer in search of a Bank Swallow which is another uncommon species for Manhattan. Unfortunately, I dipped, only finding the more common swallows like NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED: