The most common warbler, I was missing from my Central Park list was a Cape May Warbler. Luckily, there were a number of them on Saturday near Sparrow Rock (or is it Sparrow Ridge?, the area west of the Locust Grove and east of Tanner’s Spring)
In any case, this just leaves me with a Blackburnian, Cerulean, Golden-winged, Kentucky and Worm-eating missing from my list. (I’ve seen a Worm-eating Warbler about five times, but have never captured a photograph.)
A Downy Woodpecker goes after Crab Apples!
The fall migration is in full swing in Central Park and on Friday I finally got to see a Mourning Warbler. These shy birds require of lots of patience to see.
The temperature is getting a little crisper in the morning, the days are getting shorter and the Jewelweed is in full bloom in Strawberry Fields. It must be close to Labor Day.
Jewelweed consistantly attracts two birds in the park, Ruby-throated Hummingbird while the flowers are in bloom and when there are seed pods, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
Today, right on schedule a Ruby-throated Hummingbird came in to drink the nectar of the Jewelweed flowers. For the next few weeks, anyone wanting to see a Central Park Hummingbird, just needs to find the Jewelweed on the south central edge of Strawberry Field lawn and wait for a Hummingbird. They usually have a route they repeat every twenty minutes in the early evening, so with a little patience you’re bound to see one.
In under two seconds, a young Forster’s Tern gets fed out on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Friday afternoon.
Black Skimmers have been fishing Central Park’s Model Boat Pond in the evenings this week. Tonight there were two briefly, but only one worked the pond at a time. These birds are fascinating to watch as they gracefully skim the pond with their beaks, flying at a steady height and pace, as they slowly beat their long broad wings.
Since they arrive after dark, the park has usually cooled off by the time they arrive. Sure beats birdwatching in the summer sun.
