There was a south wind last night, from SE - S - SW and therefore a few new migrants were seen this morning:  Chestnut-sided warbler,  Black & White warbler,  Black-throated blue warbler and Ovenbird.  The temp at 7 a.m. was 8-degrees in fog, which quickly lifted and in a couple of hours it was 19-degrees.  Other sightings included:  Hermit thrush,  Veery,  Northern waterthrush,  Red-tailed hawk,  Cooper's hawk,  Turkey vulture,  Flickers,  Common yellowthroat,  Nashville warbler,  Myrtle warbler,  and legions of White-throated sparrows.  A few juncos still around.  Kept hearing Baltimore orioles way up in the trees, out of reach, even with a step ladder.


Red-tailed hawk


Black & White warbler


Chestnut-sided warbler


Ovenbird


Hermit thrush


Light-morph White-throated sparrow


Black & White warbler


Chestnut-sided warbler


Black-throated blue warbler


Chestnut-sided warbler

It's the first of May ... how exciting!  Ah, must not forget rule #4 ... don't get too excited because it doesn't help.  Out at the edge of the bluff cursing the east wind that blows no good.  You might even say, it sucks.  The worst birding occurs within your home.  The second worst birding occurs during a easterly wind.  What a let-down!  April is gone and so are the few birds that were here.  Standing on the brink of the bluffs waving them in like spitfires returning to Dover doesn't cut it with birds ... especially when they are not there to laugh at me. 

I saw one Myrtle warbler this morning.  One towhee, briefly.  Fewer WT sparrows than the last few days, but they still run the place.  One RTH circling.  One RBWW and one flicker.  Oddly enough, fewer dogs and hardly any vociferous pedestrians with cellphones.  Saw only two birders, both with cameras, but they quickly left the scene.  What a sad report.

The last day of April and eventually full sun, but hazy cloud prior to that big reveal.  The northern breeze was quite a slap in the face this morning, making the 3-degrees feel much colder.  The park was not as peopled today, but dog walkers still managed to arrive just as I had found something to photograph.  FOY today included:  White-crowned sparrow and Northern waterthrush.  Some of the regular visitors:  Hermit thrush,  Flickers,  RC kinglets,  Palm warbler,  Nashville warbler,  Myrtle warbler,  Common yellowthroat,  Eastern towhee (M),  Baltimore oriole,  Loon (h),  House wren,  RBWP,  and Hairy WP.  There are still uncountable White-throated sparrows about and among all those I saw only two Song sparrows chasing each other.  I haven't seen the Brown thrasher for quite some time now.  I have no idea where it is hiding.  Still no further reappearance of a Veery.  They both disappeared at about the same time.  Those two are up to something, I'm certain.  RTH was circling and so was a T. vulture.


Nashville warbler



Myrtle warbler (Eastern yellow-rumped)


Can you do this, old man?    Common yellowthroat




Palm warbler


White-crowned sparrow




Northern waterthrush

A thinly overcast morning with little wind.  In some places, like my car, there was no wind at all, although as previously acknowledged that is not guaranteed.  The first thing that I noticed was the call of a Baltimore oriole.  It didn't take long to locate it.  There were two males at the top of the tree and they stayed way up there, out of reach like a high-minded concept.  The second bird that I noticed was a male towhee, which quickly vanished as a towhee is wont to do.  Between 8 o'clock and 8:45 there were a few warblers, such as Myrtle, Palm, Nashville and Yellow.  They soon vanished as well.  I saw no GC kinglets but a few RC kinglets could be heard.  I noticed a pair of wood ducks in a tree.  The male was obstructed by branches but the female was fair game.  There was another pair as well and two pair beats a pair in any game.  A RTH showed up, perched itself like a potentate and scanned the deadwood.  Briefly spotted a Winter wren and heard a House wren singing.  Saw a Hermit thrush eating berries.  A few flicker were flying around screaming like children in a playground and a couple of Red-bellied woodpeckers.  Not much else.


Baltimore oriole FOY


Yellow warbler (male) FOY


Palm warbler


Nashville warbler over a mini wet woods  FOY to photograph


Nashville warbler (starboard side)


Female Wood duck


Hermit thrush eating red berries




Red-bellied woodpecker  (note the red belly patch)




Red-tailed hawk



 

A beautiful morning with full sun and a slight breeze.  Only 5-degrees at 7:45 a.m. but that changed quickly.  Unfortunately there was little bird migration action at the park.  Not only didn't I encounter any new warblers, bunt there were none of the previous warblers in sight, only a few kinglets (both species) and the RC were singing.  Today was also the first morning that I heard a winter wren singing.  Saw it for only a few seconds.  No Fox sparrow, but the male towhee did show up along with countless numbers of White-throated sparrows, both light and dark morph.  A few flickers (one was repeatedly calling from a hole at the top of a tall dead tree trunk), a few YBSSs, a couple of Hairy WPs and Downy WPs.  A RTH flew over a couple of times.  Also saw a Merlin and a juvenile Cooper's hawk.   There were no flycatchers even though several species have been observed elsewhere, including Great crested and Least FC. 



Vociferous flicker


Juvenile Cooper's hawk in deep shade with bright backdrop


One of very, very, very many WT sparrows


Male Eastern towhee