Fort Tilden - 19th Oct

On the advice of more experienced birders I ditched my plans to go to Croton Point this morning, and headed to the coast. The overnight change in weather had brought northerly winds and a sharp drop in temperatures, ideal conditions for migrant watching on south facing coastlines apparently. I headed to Fort Tilden to meet up with a small group, and it wasn't long before the advice was proved to be very good indeed. Starting at 7:00am, and continuing until at least 11:00am a constant stream of Yellow-rumped Warblers flowed past us. They weren't clumped in flocks like the Red-winged Blackbirds or Tree Swallows that were also passing, it was just a steady stream of individuals, an extraordinary sight. Mixed in were small numbers of Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Palm Warbler and Eastern Phoebe and a solitary Eastern Wood Pewee. Following these migrant passerines were the bird hunters, dozens of raptors, mainly Sharp-shinned Hawks (25+), with smaller numbers of American Kestrels (18), Merlins (10), Coopers Hawks (10), and Northern Harrier (2).

From the platform above the Battery we watched flocks of hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds pass by, as well as more Tree Swallows, and many many more Yellow-rumped Warblers. At sea several flocks of Black Scoters passed by, as well as a steady stream of Forster's Tern, and several flocks of Brants and Double-crested Cormorant.

One of the reasons I'd come was the promise of catching up with some of the migrant sparrows in this part of the world, particularly in company with people who could help identify them! The obvious ones were all present, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow and Savannah Sparrow were all quite numerous. A couple of Lincoln's Sparrow were an early treat, really standing out amongst the rest. Next up were a couple of Field Sparrow followed by several White-crowned Sparrow scattered about in different spots.

Incredible numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers today. At times there seemed to be a river of birds flowing around us. For something like 4 hours (7:00am to 11:00am) I estimate between 10 and 40 birds/ minute flew past us. That would make something like 2,400 to 9,600 birds during the morning.

I'm pretty sure this is a Cooper's Hawk, the leading edge of the wing is a little straighter than I'd expect from Sharp-shinned. Many individuals of both species flew past during the morning.

Eastern Wood Pewee, looking very smart

A few Monarchs still hanging about. This one was so exhausted it was rolling along the beach until we rescued it.