Birding in New York

No, not New York City.  While Central Park is a renowned birding hotspot during spring migration, the focus of our recent June visit to the East Coast was on breeding birds of New York and New England's forests, woodlands, wetlands and coast.  

And we found lots!!

Join us as we make our way north, birding through New England:


As always when we travel, time was limited.  After an evening arrival in New York, we got out of the city as fast as possible, making our way northwest into the impossibly green, rolling, forest-covered hills of New York State.  Our sights were set on a few key birding spots that are well-known for a couple of very special species of warblers that breed there, species that I have been wanting to see since the first time I clapped eyes on them in a field guide!  The holy grail bird, for this first leg of our trip, was the Cerulean Warbler.  Other targets included Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Prairie and Worm-eating Warbler, along with Louisiana Waterthrush (also a warbler, albeit a ground-dwelling, brownish skulking one).  

We spent two days (which, by the way, was not nearly enough time...) birding in Sterling Forest State Park, Bear Mountain State Park, and the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area.  And the birds certainly did not disappoint!  

Prairie Warbler


Nearly as soon as I stepped out of the car, I began hearing new birds singing all around me: Scarlet Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting.  And then, the buzzy, exasperated sigh I had been studying for months in preparation for this very moment: a Blue-winged Warbler!

Blue-winged Warbler


A short distance up the trail, my heart pitter-pattered at the song of my number-one priority bird: Cerulean Warbler!  With a little effort, I finally found a gorgeous male, singing from the very top of a leafy tree.  What a beautiful bird!  Unfortunately since these guys tend to stay hidden high in the canopy, I wasn't able to get a photo... so here is a colored pencil drawing I did of the bird instead!

Cerulean Warbler (colored pencil)

In an open, shrubby area (ideal Golden-winged Warbler habitat), I found Prairie Warblers and Field Sparrows, both singing enthusiastically.  But no Golden-wings.  

Prairie Warbler


On the way back to the car, past a quiet stream, I heard two target birds singing at once: a Louisiana Waterthrush down along the edge of the water, and a Worm-eating Warbler up above!  Making a split-second decision, I searched until I found the Worm-eating Warbler, leaving the waterthrush to skulk quietly off into the underbrush.

Field Sparrow


A few Yellow-throated Vireos were singing at each of our stops, and this one obliged me with a photo.

Yellow-throated Vireo



Indigo Buntings were common singers in shrubby, second-growth habitats and forest edges.  I just can't get over how incredibly blue the males are!!

Indigo Bunting


Common and abundant everywhere we went in New England, we met Gray Catbirds, with their jumbled mewing song, for the first time in New York.  While they are certain to be heard, seeing one well can be a little less of a guarantee, as they often sing incessantly from deep within tangled thickets of shrubby vegetation.

Gray Catbird


Does this bird look familiar?  For years, the Eastern Towhee, pictured below, and California's familiar Spotted Towhee were considered one species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. 

Eastern Towhee

Eastern Towhee


After two days in New York, we headed east into Connecticut, where more birds awaited!

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