This morning I arrived in Prospect Park 545 am. Yes, a crazy hour but the anticipation after the long wait was real. I wanted to get the birds. However in the first hour or so, nothing moved. Again the frustration began to set in. Then this dormancy began to slowly turned. After watching two raccoons duke it out on a oak limb,screeching crazily, it turned out later this giant red oak had the YELLOW THROATED VIREO and BLACK THROATED GREEN WARBLER, thanks to Rob Jett and Heydi Lopes giving me note. I had excellent low views. Before that sighting,I watched a flock of 8 female PURPLE FINCHES feed in a oak tree canopy, then followed by a cooperative GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER above Butterfly Meadow were my best sightings at that point.
But my spring icons are the warblers. Though as I mentioned before numbers were not great today, the quality came through.Thanks to help from bird song maestro Paul Keim, sharp eyed Rafael Campos and friends we saw the following quality or new warblers: BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER Butterfly meadow oak; CHESTNUT-SIDED,PRAIRIE & HOODED along Quaker Hill south slope; WORM EATING west Midwood horse trail thanks to Chris Elliot; NASHVILLE & TENNESSEE south of Tunnel Arch stairs thanks to Paul Keim' s incredible hearing; another HOODED heard by Paul , in north Payne Hill section. In all ,I counted 13 warblers personally, 16 by birders overall in Prospect Park. BLUEWINGED also was spotted by Chris at Tunnel Arch Stairs, the best pocket of birding today.
There were reported PINE SISKINS on Butterfly Meadow sweetgum trees ( RJett,HLopes).My group had later two ORCHARD ORIOLES at the Vale Cashmere with a BALTIMORE; the ORCHARDS were an adult female and a first year male.
There's a master list for warblers based in what I saw and heard from second parties in a previous post below on my blog.
A good day,better than nothing; let's hope May birding floodgates opened a bit and nature be generous with birds to come.
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23203281
