Connecticut Warbler, Central Park NYC - 10/5/2008

Images and text copyright © Phil Jeffrey 2008. All rights reserved.

Tony Lance found a moderately cooperative Connecticut Warbler in Central Park on the morning of Sunday Oct 5th 2008. The same or different Connecticut persisted nearby through the following Thursday. This bird had a fairly prominent eye-ring but did run, walk and hop which led to some temporary concern on my part. The bird was skulky but nevertheless findable in the weedier areas in the grass at the center of the Pinetum. Sometimes it popped up into the pine trees which is where I took the following photos.

The bird shows very weak signs of a gray hood, a pale yellow chin, and is generally overall a drab grayish-green. The light conditions were shady under an overcast sky, which tends to enhance this effect. The eye rings are slightly different, with one showing a break at the rear and the other one showing a break at the rear and front. This is not unprecendented for immature Connecticut. A bad shot of the bird moving confirms that it's a first fall immature by the tail feather shape (more pointed than in adults) - this was fairly obvious from the plumage anyway. Tony and Eve were of the opinion that this was a different individual than that found by Patricia Craig, Eve Levine & Jack Meyer at the nearby Sparrow Ridge the previous day. You can compare it to the early Sept 2007 bird, also found by Tony Lance. Other Connecticut Warblers were found on Long Island and in NJ the same weekend in 2008. This was my sixth Connecticut Warbler seen in Central Park, and the only one in I saw in 2008 (three in 2007).

Phil Jeffrey, Oct 2008