Connetquot River State Park and Central Park Field Trips By John Gluth

Connetquot

A turnout just short of double digits at Connetquot River State Park on April 19th enjoyed pleasant weather and a smattering of Spring migrants.

Our usual loop up to and back from the fish hatchery via the yellow and red trails produced a trip list of 43 bird species, highlighted by Wild Turkey, Blue-headed Vireo, a pair of Black-capped Chickadees preparing a tree cavity for nesting, Purple Martins (nesting in the gourds provided by park staff), a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a singing Purple Finch, and Pine Warblers in expected numbers.

This annual trip, no matter how productive, whets the appetite for the peak of Spring migration just a couple weeks away. Hope to see familiar and new faces next April.

Central Park

This yearly trip is timed to catch the earliest waves of Spring migration. Timing and weather determine how productive it turns out to be.

This year’s trip list of 51 species was sub par by the standards of the past, but a total of 16 warbler species was an about average total, highlighted by single Blackburnian, Canada and Cape May warblers. The most abundant species were Ovenbird, Northern Parula, Blackpoll and Yellow-rumped warblers. Five species of thrush (in three genera) were also encountered, as were Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting.

Please join us on next year’s trip. Hopefully we’ll have equally nice weather and the birds will be a bit more abundant.