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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andrew Whitehouse" data-source="post: 1210427" data-attributes="member: 3550">New York.  The Big Apple, isn’ it.  And also, and I think this has been said before, it’s pretty good for migrant warblers.  On Saturday morning I headed to Central Park for an early morning saunter before going off to do some actual work by presenting a paper at a conference.  I was supposed to meet up with Streatham but a conspicuous lack of cleverness on my part meant that I was at the wrong place and we failed to connect.  Luke went on to get 20 species of warbler that day!  I only managed 13 but I only had until 9am.  The highlight was a very lovely Chestnut-sided Warbler at the Azalea Pond.  Another lifer was Swamp Sparrow and I had good views of two, one on the lower lobe of the Lake and the other by the Azalea Pond.  Also on the lake was a very elegant and approachable Solitary Sandpiper and an equally obliging Northern Waterthrush.On Sunday I had a bit more time free and ended up birding most of the day.  During the morning I had a pretty extensive roam about Central Park, starting at the north end and then wending my way down to the Ramble.  The warbler list eventually clocked in at 17 species, my best of the trip although not quite up with the pace set by Luke.  One of the highlights was some good views of Bay-breasted Warblers.  A single female was at the Gill but nearby was a lovely singing male.  I had even better views of a male at the Azalea Pond.  These are really one of the most colourful of warblers.  I birded for a bit with a guy from Seattle, who seemed as impressed with the warblers as I was.  He got me on to the highlight of the morning – a brilliant male Cape May Warbler high in the treetops along the Riviera.  For the record, the additional warbler species that day were: Yellow, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Wilson’s, Canada and Common Yellowthroat.  Magnolia was probably the most numerous but there was a real feeling of variety throughout the park.Birds other than warblers were also rather nifty.  In the North Woods there were lots of Cedar Waxwings and by the Loch I was treated to one of the highlights of the trip.  A pied thrush-sized bird flew into a tree near where I was standing and initially I was puzzled as to what it might be.  Then it turned around to reveal a chunky pale bill and a crimson shawl around its midrif: a smashing male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  On the Ramble I finally managed to have good views of a Veery, wandering through the undergrowth.  A couple of Empidomax flycatchers refused conclusive identification though.In the afternoon, I reckoned a change of scene would help the list along so I hopped on the A-train and headed down to Broad Channel and then to Jamaica BayGlossy Ibises.  My only other visit to this famous site was fifteen years ago and in the middle of winter, so things were a bit different now.  I walked around the main trail, which was quite enjoyable, although a lot of the waders were rather distant and out on the saltmarsh islands of the bay.  Much more cooperative were the pair of Ospreys that breed on a nesting platform.  I watched them sitting about on the nest or on the saltmarsh and bringing in fish.  Later on I saw one of them bathing in one of the lakes.  I had good views of a variety of herons and other large wading birds, including a couple of smart Yellow-crowned Night Herons, a few Green Herons and several Great and Snowy Egrets and Glossy Ibises.  The waders were sometimes tricky but I had some long and close views of a small flock of calidris sandpipers.  Most were Semipalmated Sandpipers but there were also some Least and White-rumped Sandpipers, a Dunlin and a couple of Sanderling.  Out on the saltmarsh I could see quite a few Black-bellied (Grey) Plovers and Red Knot and also a couple of too distant to ID dowitchers.  A few Semipalmated Plovers were seen well and I had good views of several brown-backed American Oystercatchers.  One bird that was very common and, I’m slightly embarrassed to say, was a lifer was Laughing Gull.  I’ve really never seen any before, despite a few previous visits to America, but they were hard to avoid here with the adults looking very smart.  I was surprised to see that there were still large numbers of pale-bellied Brent Geese around on the bay.  Several Forster’s Terns were fishing and a number of Boat-tailed Grackles were on the saltmarsh.  The scrub and trees around the bay held numerous Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats but it was hard to look for migrants in the strong winds.  Lots of Tree Swallows were attending to the nest boxes that are provided for them.  After walking the main trail I had a quick look on the East Pond and saw a few Lesser Yellowlegs wading in the shallows.  A very fine looking adult Little Blue Heron flew in to join the other waterbirds.On Monday morning I had a good look around Central Park again but things really seemed to be a bit quieter.  Eventually I managed ten specis of warbler but that was quite a struggle.  Highlights were good views of a Chestnut-sided Warbler and a Black-and-white Warbler and there were quite good numbers of Blackpoll Warblers giving their high-pitched cricket-like song.  I should have hung around the upper lobe of the Lake a bit longer because a Mourning Warbler was seen there a few times.  A couple of Empidomax flycatchers again proved ‘tricky’.</blockquote>

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