[nysbirds-l] Connetquot S.P.: YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER; Hooded Warbler--YES, Acadian Flycatcher--NO
This morning, between 9:15 and 11:45, I birded Connetquot River State Park in search of the Acadian Flycatcher and Hooded Warbler reported yesterday by Ken Fuestel. The latter was heard singing exactly where Ken described, but never sounded much closer than ~100 ft. from Brook Road, and often moved even deeper into the woods. Eventually giving up on getting a look at the HOWA, I proceeded north on Brook Road/Red Trail toward the fish hatchery. As I approached it I began listening carefully for the Acadian. But I never caught sight or sound of the flycatcher during a slow walk along the eastern side of the hatchery, all the way up to Deep Water Pond. Crossing the bridge there, I headed for the hatchery parking lot feeling a bit disappointed, but that quickly turned to excitement upon hearing the distinctive song of a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER coming from the south end of the lot. I found it fairly quickly, high in a large Scarlet Oak adjacent to one of the large White Pines growing there. It spent most of the next half hour within this fairly small area, singing frequently, making just two short forays away to the north and east, the longer being no more than ~200 ft. The whole time the bird stayed 20-30 ft. up in the canopy, never offering any decent photo ops. Then, just after 10:30 the YTWA departed from a White Pine, flying fairly high to the west between the park ranger's/caretaker's house and the rest rooms. I hoped it was another species, but I never heard the bird's song again afterward, so where the bird might be now is unknown. Despite what has seemed to be a record number of YTWAs reported during this migration season, I'd been unsuccessful at finding any, even the couple of reported birds I'd gone after (including one at Connetquot 3 weeks ago--same bird?). I thought I would have no further chance at finding one, so my good fortune today was certainly much appreciated. Returning the way I came, I again heard the HOWA, still singing well back in the woods. Other breeding species found during my visit, mostly heard only, included Yellow-billed Cuckoo (1-2), E. Wood Pewee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Blue-winged Warbler. Notable for their absence, perhaps owing to the fairly narrow swath of the park I covered, were Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, or a woodpecker of any species. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Connetquot S.P.: YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER; Hooded Warbler--YES, Acadian Flycatcher--NO
This morning, between 9:15 and 11:45, I birded Connetquot River State Park in search of the Acadian Flycatcher and Hooded Warbler reported yesterday by Ken Fuestel. The latter was heard singing exactly where Ken described, but never sounded much closer than ~100 ft. from Brook Road, and often moved even deeper into the woods. Eventually giving up on getting a look at the HOWA, I proceeded north on Brook Road/Red Trail toward the fish hatchery. As I approached it I began listening carefully for the Acadian. But I never caught sight or sound of the flycatcher during a slow walk along the eastern side of the hatchery, all the way up to Deep Water Pond. Crossing the bridge there, I headed for the hatchery parking lot feeling a bit disappointed, but that quickly turned to excitement upon hearing the distinctive song of a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER coming from the south end of the lot. I found it fairly quickly, high in a large Scarlet Oak adjacent to one of the large White Pines growing there. It spent most of the next half hour within this fairly small area, singing frequently, making just two short forays away to the north and east, the longer being no more than ~200 ft. The whole time the bird stayed 20-30 ft. up in the canopy, never offering any decent photo ops. Then, just after 10:30 the YTWA departed from a White Pine, flying fairly high to the west between the park ranger's/caretaker's house and the rest rooms. I hoped it was another species, but I never heard the bird's song again afterward, so where the bird might be now is unknown. Despite what has seemed to be a record number of YTWAs reported during this migration season, I'd been unsuccessful at finding any, even the couple of reported birds I'd gone after (including one at Connetquot 3 weeks ago--same bird?). I thought I would have no further chance at finding one, so my good fortune today was certainly much appreciated. Returning the way I came, I again heard the HOWA, still singing well back in the woods. Other breeding species found during my visit, mostly heard only, included Yellow-billed Cuckoo (1-2), E. Wood Pewee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Blue-winged Warbler. Notable for their absence, perhaps owing to the fairly narrow swath of the park I covered, were Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, or a woodpecker of any species. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
