Lawrence's Warbler in Central Park

A hybrid bird, with genes from both Golden-winged Warbler 
and Blue-winged warbler. Photographed at the North End 
of Central Park, New York, NY on May 8, 2016.

Annie Di Gennaro, John Di Gennaro, and I were birding by the Loch in the North End of Central Park in New York, NY, at about 3:45PM. I heard a song that sounded like Blue-winged Warbler, but with only the second part of the Bee-Buzz song (just the Buzz). We looked for what we thought might be a Blue-winged for about fifteen minutes without turning one up. Then we spotted a warbler-sized bird we did not immediately recognize in an oak tree. The bird’s wings were grayish-blue with two clear white wing bars. Its underside was entirely yellow except the vent and under tail which were both white. We noted the bird’s head and face were also yellow, but it had a black throat patch and black eye mask. There were several birds in the same tree for close comparisons including Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Due to its similarities to both Blue-winged and Golden-winged, and given the buzz vocalization, the idea that it may be a hybrid came to mind. As Annie and John kept eyes on the bird, I checked a reference I found online (an article in Birding from May/June 2005). We verified the field marks and decided that we were seeing something worth sharing. We managed to get about ten birders on the bird. I borrowed a camera from a pair of birders that were present and took some pictures; they were kind enough to let me use the camera and then send me the pictures.

A hybrid bird, with genes from both Golden-winged Warbler 

and Blue-winged warbler. Photographed at the North End 

of Central Park, New York, NY on May 8, 2016.

After about 15 minutes we lost the bird, but a couple more birders showed up. We heard the bird only occasionally sing, and with effort, we were able to track it down, eventually finding it in the same oak tree. The bird was now higher up, but we still had clear views. Other birders showed up but as of 5:15PM the light was becoming less favorable at this spot, and we did not re-find the bird. I am not sure if it was found again after this time.

If anyone goes to try to look for it tomorrow, we had the bird just above the Loch walking path, where on the one side is an overlook of the “stream” and on the other side a wood chip path that leads to the wildflower meadow. While the bird was pretty much directly above the walking path, the best viewing seemed to be just up the path toward the wildflower meadow. It is not far from the rustic bridges, if that helps.

A hybrid bird, with genes from both Golden-winged Warbler 

and Blue-winged warbler. Photographed at the North End 

of Central Park, New York, NY on May 8, 2016.

Big thanks to the birders that allowed me to take the pictures! Such a fun day to be birding in Central Park!

This text was also shared on the NYSBirds-L list serve: http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=message;id=1183486.

A year in Central Park

December 15, 2013: View from the Great Hill on the 2013 Christmas Bird Count
in Central Park, looking south over the park toward lower Manhattan

I noticed a bird and quietly announced to a couple friends, the closest birders to me in the group, “There’s a titmouse.” This is not a particularly odd phrase, as Tufted Titmice are common North American birds, even in some urban parks. It didn’t even strike us as odd at the time, but it was the first individual titmouse of the day. We did think it a little strange that it was the only one we noted over a few hours at the end of our route. It became much more peculiar when all groups reporting at the round-up of the 114th annual Christmas Bird Count noted that it was in fact the only tufted titmouse that had been spotted or even heard during the event where over 100 people were scouring the park to document every bird species present.

The southern three-fourths of Central Park. The Lake is the water body
in the center of picture, with the Ramble just above it in the picture,
filling in the 90 degree angle. The Reservoir is the much larger water body
in the far left and it extends to around 97th St.

Lark Sparrow in Central Park!

For readers from the Midwest or Western USA, a Lark Sparrow is no big deal. But for New York, and especially Manhattan, a Lark Sparrow is a pretty unusual bird. Lark Sparrows don't breed in New York, as evidenced by NYS Breeding Bird Surveys of 1980-1985 and 2000-2005 (they don't breed along the East Coast at all!). Ebird only has one record of a Lark Sparrow in Manhattan, from 2011 (granted Ebird is a newer resource, but it has been pretty heavily used over the last several years).

As such, one should always make notes on such an unusual bird. These notes are on the Lark Sparrow, from 10-10-2013, 10:20 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. at the Great Hill in Central Park, just east of the 103rd St and Central Park West entrance, looking down from a paved path over the grassy area (the pool was directly south as the crow flies):

Seen well by both myself and Tomas Lundquist. We saw it fly off and come back twice, noticing the white on the outer tail feathers and very tips of the other tail feathers. This bird was larger than the Chipping Sparrows it was among on the ground, as close as fifteen feet from us. It had a dark central spot on an otherwise plain breast. The black marks on its throat were very clear. Above those black throat marks, there were bright white patches, and above a light chestnut brown cheek patch; a black line seemed to touch the throat marks, encircle the white and cheek patch, touch the back of the head and go back through the eye. Its head stripes were also this light chestnut brown, divided by a white line directly over the top of the head. We last saw the bird around 11:20 a.m. I was at the site for another 1.5 hours and joined by another birder, but did not refind the bird.

For my full checklist from the morning, visit http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15369461.

I read that a few people later relocated a Lark Sparrow on the Great Hill, presumably the same bird. Fun stuff!!

Works Consulted:
New York State Breeding Bird Atlas 2000 [Internet]. 2000 - 2005. Release 1.0. Albany (New York): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. [updated 2007 Jun 11; cited 2013 Oct 10]. Available from: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7312.html.

New York State Breeding Bird Atlas [Internet]. 1980 - 1985. Release 1.0. Albany (New York): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. [updated 2007 Jun 6; cited 2013 Oct 10]. Available from: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7312.html.