A Few Choice Warblers and others at Doodletown and Sterling Forest, NY

Several members of the Brooklyn Bird Club went up to Doodletown, NY yesterday looking for for Hooded, Cerulean and Golden-winged warblers. Anyone of these would be a life birds for me. First it was hot..Oh, did I say it was hot. It was, but everyone persevered and sweated and one even lost the souls of their boots and started a new fashion trend of duck taped boots. The name Doodletown is said to be Dutch which means "dead valley", or Dood Dal. The English added the suffix town later.

Right out of the car we saw a pair of cuckoos (I think yellow billed but I might be wrong). We saw Scarlet Tanagers, Indigo Buntings and Great Crested Flycatchers soon after hitting the trail. We heard the calls of Cerulean, Hooded, Blue-winged and several others. The Cerulean Warblers were so hard to see even though we heard them calling all around us.


Cedar Waxwing

Male Indigo Bunting

Male Scarlet Tanager

We met a couple of people coming down one of the trails who said they saw a Hooded and Worm- eating warbler up there... Oh yes and a Timber Rattle Snake on the left side of the path. We never saw the rattlesnake but a ways up the trail we heard a Hooded calling persistently and close by. After a few looks we spotted him throwing his head back singing loudly. Mike set up his scope and we all got to see him close up. (Thanks Mike) What a beautiful warbler!


Male Hooded Warbler

Male Hooded Warbler preening

Nearby Peter who had been to Doodletown 2 weeks prior showed us the nest cavity that a Pileated Woodpecker had carved; very impressive. But alas no woodpeckers to be seen or heard. It remains a nemesis for me.

The trunk was at least 8-10 inches thick and the hole was so perfectly round! (They must have excelled in geometry)

When we turned around and were heading back down we heard a Cerulean calling persistently also. All eyes were on the trees and he was finally located. Again thanks to Mike's scope we had good looks at him. These pictures are not the clearest but he was pretty high in a tree.

We had close looks at some 17 year-old cicadas.

Next we headed to Sterling Forest State Park and a lunch break. We all stocked up for water and off we went to find the coveted Golden-winged Warbler. Now I said it was hot in the morning but it was nothing like the exposed, shrubbery covered, open hillside with the sun bearing down on you even with a breeze. However the quest for the Golden-winged was worth it. We heard Cerulean, Blue-winged and Prairie Warblers and saw the Prairie but no Golden-winged. We headed down the hill but a few stayed a little further up the hill. A man we had met earlier motioned us closer. The Golden-winged had been spotted. Before long we found him on a mid-level branch at the edge of the woods. It was easily spotted with the binoculars but I could not find him in my camera lens. Finally, I held my camera in the area where the warbler was and to see what would happen. So did I get him...

Six pictures later he was in three, and two were clear enough to blow up and post here. He is a pretty boy. Unfortunately a few of our group missed him. So these are for you. I know it is not the same but I hope you enjoy a look.

Thank you Tom for leading, Dennis for organizing and all the drivers; the trip it was great.