Prospect Park, Brooklyn - 5th Oct

It has been frustrating reading the long lists of warblers found in the parks of New York over the past month, while I have been served with much poorer fare up here in Westchester, with apparently much more good habitat. For this reason I decided to spend the morning with the Brooklyn Bird Club on their monthly walk through Prospect Park. We met at 8:00 at The Boathouse, by which time I had already racked up 2 Palm Warblers, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Northern Parula and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Whilst waiting for the group to coalesce we enjoyed fabulous views of Red-tailed Hawks, as well as a pair of Green-winged Teal on the nearby lake.

The walk was very enjoyable, with a nice mix of birders of differing ages, experience and nationalities. Quite a few warblers were located, with the star birds being the 4 Black-throated Blue Warblers scattered through the park. Other warblers were: 2 Black-and-white, 2 Black-throated Green, 1 Pine, 1 Magnolia, many Yellow-rumped, another Northern Parula, 1 female American Redstart and several Common Yellowthroats. Other birds include several Indigo Buntings, a Red-eyed Vireo, both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a Red-breasted Nuthatch

On one of the lakes was a Pied-billed Grebe, and flying overhead were several Chimney Swifts.

Male Black-throated Blue Warbler. A bird that has eluded me until today, quite a bobby dazzler too...

Palm Warbler. Much paler than the birds at Croton Point last week, I believe this might be the western race D. p. palmarum

 Male Black-throated Green Warbler

Pine Warbler. Very dull at this time of year, the ones I saw in spring were much smarter than this.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Indigo Bunting.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I love the fact that I live in a country with hummingbirds. The very definition of exotic as far as I'm concerned...

Red-breasted Nuthatch. My first of this species was in Holkham Meals, in Norfolk. British birders of a certain generation will all know the bird I mean.

Pied-billed Grebe.