Least Bittern in Central Park - 30 April

After a not-particularly birdy day at Doodletown on the 29th I decided that the best way to hit my target birds for this spring (Tennessee Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, Philadelphia Vireo, Least Bittern, Virginia Rail) would be to hang around with other birders, so I headed in to Central Park.

My plan bore fruit almost immediately when a twitter alert went out that a Least Bittern was perched in a tree above The Gill. And lo, it was true! What a great bird, and one of my main targets for spring down, quite unexpectedly.

Other new birds for the season included lots of Ovenbirds, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Blackpoll Warbler. There were lots of Thrushes all over the place, including Veery, Wood Thrush, Swainson's Thrush and Hermit Thrush. The Red-headed Woodpecker put in a show at the feeders, all-in-all an excellent day.

Female Least Bittern. No-one present could recall a previous Central Park record, and ebird only has 2 for the whole of Manhattan (both by Andrew Farnsworth).

Male Scarlet Tanager

Red-headed Woodpecker

Ovenbird