Participants: 18 Weather: Partly cloudy, 50’s F Bird Species: 59
On Sunday, October 14, 2018, a typical early autumn day — cool, calm, with some clouds — greeted the 18 of us who gathered for the Walk. For nearly 6 hours we meandered through the north end of Central Park — the Pool, the Great Hill, the Loch/Ravine, the Wildflower Meadow, the Meer, and the Conservatory Garden.
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Wood Duck Northern Shoveler Gadwall Mallard Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Herring Gull Black-crowned Night-Heron Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker American Kestrel Eastern Phoebe Blue-headed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper House Wren Winter Wren European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Swainson’s Thrush Hermit Thrush American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Eastern Towhee Common Grackle Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat Magnolia Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal
Butterflies Cabbage White Monarch
Odonates Wandering Glider
Herps Red-eared Slider
Mammals Eastern Gray Squirrel Eastern Chipmunk Norway Rat
Due to rain and wind, we decided to have a late start. We left Manhattan at 11:00 am, wondering if such a late arrival might have negative effects upon our sightings. We experienced the opposite. We were greeted by 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets, abundant Blackpoll, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers. We observed a Belted Kingfisher. Highlights included: 2 Indigo Buntings and several sightings of White-crowned Sparrows. Savannah Sparrows were abundant. An exciting observation was a Common Raven.
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Mallard Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Double-crested Cormorant Cooper’s Hawk Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Eastern Phoebe Blue-headed Vireo Blue Jay Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow American Goldfinch Chipping Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Eastern Towhee Brown-headed Cowbird Black-and-white Warbler Common Yellowthroat Northern Parula Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting
The day started cloudy and muggy. Initially it looked as if it would be a slow day. but birding picked up, and the weather turned from clouds to sunshine. Large flocks of migrating Blue Jays were seen. Northern Flickers also appeared to be migrating in significant numbers. One of our highlights was a Philadelphia Vireo. Birders were excited to see an Opossum, a mammal rarely seen by most of us.
Species Lists
Birds Brant Canada Goose American Wigeon Mallard Wild Turkey Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Chimney Swift Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern Royal Tern Common Loon Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Little Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Bald Eagle Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Eastern Phoebe Blue-headed Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Veery American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow American Goldfinch Chipping Sparrow Savannah Sparrow (Sharp-tailed sparrow, not identified) White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Black-and-white Warbler Common Yellowthroat (h) American Redstart Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Palm Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Northern Cardinal (h)
Butterflies Cabbage White Orange Sulphur Clouded Sulphur American Lady Common Buckeye Viceroy Monarch Sachem
Odonates Familiar Bluet Green Darner Wandering Glider Spot-winged Glider
Mammals Opossum Woodchuck White-tailed Deer Eastern Gray Squirrel
Birds Canada Goose Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Osprey Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker American Kestrel Merlin Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Phoebe Eastern Kingbird Blue Jay Tree Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch European Starling Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Northern Mockingbird American Robin House Sparrow American Goldfinch Chipping Sparrow Bobolink Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Cape May Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal
Butterflies (Lepidoptera) Cabbage White Orange Sulfur Question Mark Common Buckeye American Copper Monarch Butterfly
Odonates Green Darner Wandering Glider Spot-winged Glider Black Saddlebags
Four Linnaean birders enjoyed a day of great birding in Sandy Hook with leader Robert Machover. We heard and saw a number of lovely White-eyed Vireos. Other highlights included a beautiful Marsh Wren, 15 Royal Terns on the sandbar, a Purple Finch among the Cedar Waxwings, a close look at a perched Merlin and the ubiquitous Red-breasted Nuthatches. We also saw an Eastern Willet tucked away among the American Oystercatchers.
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Mute Swan Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove American Oystercatcher Black-bellied Plover Willet (Eastern) Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Royal Tern Black Skimmer Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Turkey Vulture Osprey Red-tailed Hawk Merlin White-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Marsh Wren Carolina Wren European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow House Finch Purple Finch American Goldfinch Song Sparrow Eastern Towhee Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Common Yellowthroat Northern Parula Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak (h)
Butterflies (Lepidoptera) Cabbage White Orange Sulfur Question Mark Common Buckeye American Copper Monarch Butterfly
Odonates Green Darner Wandering Glider Spot-winged Glider Black Saddlebags
Linnaean Society participants had an interesting and exciting day of birding. We thought our sighting of an Olive-sided Flycatcher and 8 Common Ravens flying and soaring over the park were exceptional highlights. We were constantly entertained by an assortment of warbler species, woodpeckers, Scarlet Tanagers and other passerines. Then Alan had an idea that birding The Environmental Center area might bring more variety to the trip. His hunch was correct. Alan spotted a Western Kingbird. We observed that bird through two different scopes. Eventually, we walked to an area which afforded us an excellent and definitive identification of this bird. We were a very happy group of birders.
Species List
Birds Canada Goose Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Semipalmated Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Double-crested Cormorant Great Egret Snowy Egret Osprey Cooper’s Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Western Kingbird Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Carolina Wren European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Veery Swainson’s Thrush American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow House Finch American Goldfinch Baltimore Oriole Red-winged Blackbird Northern Waterthrush Black-and-white Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal
Registrar: Lori Lam Participants: 5, cancellations due to weather Weather: Some light rain early AM, cloudy, 60’s F, slight breeze Birds Species: 45
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Mute Swan Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird American Oystercatcher Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Whimbrel Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Tern Royal Tern Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Osprey Northern Flicker American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Eastern Kingbird Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Carolina Wren (h) European Starling Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Northern Mockingbird Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow House Finch American Goldfinch Field Sparrow Song Sparrow Eastern Towhee (h) Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Cardinal
Butterflies Orange Sulfur Cabbage White
Dragonflies Common Green Darner Black Saddlebag Glider species
The Horticultural Walk originally scheduled for Saturday, August 11, 2018 was rescheduled to Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 due to a violent storm. This walk into the world of plants was most educational and fascinating. We learned about the various strategies flowering plants use for seed dispersal, including wind, animal dispersal and mechanical dispersal from touching the plant. Ferns produce spores, which are dispersed and grow into new ferns. Not all vines smother plants the way Porcelain Berry does. Poison Ivy is an important food source for migrating birds, with high levels of fatty acids they require for migration. It winds around the trunk but does not grow further into the crown of the tree. The fruit of the Poke Weed is source of carbohydrates for birds. We learned that plants can create galls around larva deposited on their leaves, and the galls are specific for each plant. Sneeze Weed was a source of “snuff.”
Plants, including trees, have interesting survival strategies. Bald Cypress form knees for support in areas that are subject to water damage, but not in drier areas. Milkweed leaves are hosts for Monarch larvae and are hosts for the eggs of the Lacewing on their stems. Mugwort is invasive and does not provide food for insects. The green covering on the Pool is Duck Weed, one of the smallest flowering plants. It does not flower every year. It can also reproduce through asexual reproduction. It shades the Pool and prevents invasive plants along with Watermeal, which is even smaller. Overgrowth can cause oxygen depletion. Ducks love these plants. Burdock is a biennial. Its seeds have hooks which stick, and this led to the discovery of Velcro.
Ferns are interesting. Christmas Fern is an evergreen most of the year. Its spores are densely packed on the back of its fronds. Sensitive Fern’s spores are on separate, thick stalks. In any case, the spores are released, and more ferns grow. The park is planting a native tree, River Birch. This tree sheds bark to prevent alien growth. The London Plane Tree also sheds bark, more than the Sycamore Tree, which has a thicker bark. Trees that reproduce quickly are the Hackberry and the Sweet Gum. The tall Tupelo Tree with its lovely flowers loses its lower branches. We saw lichen growing on the base of a tree. Lichen is a symbiotic association between algae and fungi. The fungi break down nutrients for the algae, which produces sugar for the fungi.
More fun facts: Sweet Pepperbush retains its stigmas on its raceme after the fruit is formed. Blue Lobelia reproduces on its own, but the Cardinal flower, which resembles the Blue Lobelia does not. Jewelweed is an annual, and new Jewelweed grows every year. Touch it, and it might suddenly shoot out its seeds. Wineberry is non-native, is edible, but not as tasty as Raspberry or Blackberry. It spreads easily. Multiflora Rose spreads out and is an invasive shrub. Our native rose species do not spread out and are not invasive. Virginia Knotweed is native. Japanese Knotweed is non-native, deliberately planted and invasive. Sweet Bay Magnolia is native. The following is a list of some of the plants we studied while on the walk in C. P. We explored the plant life around the Pool and the beginning of the Loch.
Species Lists
Plants White Wood Aster Woodland Sunflower Green-headed Cone Flower Sneeze Weed Smart Weed Broadleaf Plantain Poke Weed Hackberry Virginia Knotweed Japanese Knotweed Dandelion Porcelain Berry Poison Ivy Virginia Creeper Oxalis, Yellow Wood Sorrel Tulip Tree Hackberry Tree London Plane Tree Sycamore Tree American Holly River Birch Sweet Bay Magnolia Sweet Gum Tree Bald Cypress Tulip Tree Staghorn Sumac Spotted Joe-Pye Weed Wineberry Milkweed Multiflora Rose Native Rose shrub Duck Weed Watermeal Common Burdock Asiatic Day Flower Turtlehead Blue Lobelia Cardinal Flower Bone Set Late Flowering Thoroughwort Jewel Weed Pickerelweed Woodland Goldenrod Lichen
Birds Mallard Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Green Heron Blue Jay European Starling American Robin House Sparrow Northern Waterthrush Yellow Warbler Northern Cardinal
