Week 39 - Green-Wood Cemetery

From September 23rd to the 29th we saw quite a bit of rain. I went out on some of those days, but the conditions kept me from taking many photos. We were still seeing a lot of warblers in the area, with a increase in Palm Warbler abundance. Look for flocks of these tail bobbing birds walking through areas of open grass. Yellow-rumped Warblers, typically a late arrival and half-hardy, are starting to make their presence known around the cemetery. I noticed their soft, "pip" call for the first time this season on Tuesday. It was interesting to note a large number of warblers foraging for insects in a Wych Elm near Sylvan Water the previous Sunday. That tree continued to see many birds feeding in it through to Friday. I photographed the small, winged insects on the tree that they were eating, but can't identify them.

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

American Redstart

Cape May Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Insects in Wych Elm

Other migrant birds that caught my attention last week were several Winter Wrens, the return of White-breasted Nuthatches, a few Indigo Buntings, a pair of Merlins and a very aggressive immature Sharp-shinned Hawk. The hawk was chasing pretty much every perceived competitor in sight. A few times I witnessed three-way skirmishes between kestrels, Merlins and said sharpie.

Winter Wren

White-breasted Nuthatch

Indigo Bunting

Immature Sharp-shinned Hawk

On Friday I experience an extremely unusual occurance at Sylvan Water. Solitary Sandpipers are seen in the cemetery during migration feeding around the edges of the water bodies. As their name suggests, they are usually solo or with one other individual. On Friday, however, as I circled the lake, I spotted one, then another, then another...I tried to convince myself that I was double counting them. I shot video as I panned along the shoreline. All told, there were 17 not-so Solitary Sandpipers. There was a lonely 18th at Crescent Water. This was by far the most Solitary Sandpipers that I'd ever seen together anywhere in NYC. Pretty cool.

10 of the 17 Solitary Sandpipers

All of the various oak species are in the process of dropping their acorns, adorning the ground with their diverse size, shape and colored nuts.

Acorns

The fruit of the Wing Euonymus trees have ripened and are attracting a lot of songbirds. A favorite spot to check near Twilight Dell was loaded with hungry Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Red-eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, mockingbird and a fairly late in the season Great Crested Flycatcher.

Scarlet Tanager in Winged Euonymus

Likely triggered by all the wet weather, I noticed even more Honey mushrooms sprouting up. In addition, I found a few fresh clusters of Hen of the Woods.

Honey mushrooms

Hen of the Woods