Our group of 17 met Peter Rossi at Grand Central Station at the Kiosk at 8:30am. We took the bus to the E. 79th St. entrance to Central Park, met Dick Gershon and started looking for birds. One of our first birds was a beautiful Blackburnian Warbler, followed by Yellow-rumps, Warbling Vireo, Northern Parula and Magnolia Warbler. A great start to our morning. Barbara Michelin heard and saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch. We walked towards Turtle Pond to Belvedere Castle, which led us to the north end of the Ramble. We entered the Ramble at the weather station. We found Cardinals, Robins, Blue Jays, Red-wings, Tufted Titmice, Yellow-throated, Red-eyed & Blue-headed Vireos, Kingbirds, Phoebe, Catbirds, Great Crested Flycatcher, Baltimore Orioles, Goldfinches, Chipping Sparrows, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Flickers and Grackles. At the Lake we found a Spotted Sandpiper, Tree, Barn and Rough-winged Swallows, Great Egret, Double-crested Cormorants, Mallards and Canada Geese. Our bird of the day was a female Summer Tanager.

Other warblers we found were: 3 Northern Waterthrushes, 3 Canada, Worm-eating, Black-and-whites, Nashville, Ovenbirds, Black-throated Blues and Greens, Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, Chestnut-sided, a Wilson and Blackpolls. It was nice to see so many warblers moving through the trees. Other birds in the Ramble were: Veery, Wood Thrush, a Towhee (heard), House Wren, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, 3 Swainson’s Thrushes, a Field and a few White-throated Sparrows, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Downy Woodpeckers. Overhead were Chimney Swifts, Red-tails and a Cooper’s Hawk that flew by.

After lunch at the Boat House we continued birding in the Ramble towards Bow Bridge to Strawberry Fields. Eleanor Marr saw a Bay-breasted Warbler before she and husband Bill, joined the group, but alas the bird kept eluding us. Maury Lacher joined the group after his Doctor's appointment. Dick took us to the Green Heron’s nest like we had seen last year at the north end of the Lake.

Dick had seen a Solitary Sandpiper before we arrived. Dick and Peter saw a Black-billed Cuckoo briefly but others in the group missed it.

At the end of the afternoon, we walked out of the park at E 72st. Along our way we stopped at the Sailboat pond to see Pale Male's nest. A fantastic camera was setup for us to see the nest. Three of the group left to return to Grand Central Station for the return trip home. The Marrs and Lachers helped us find a bus that took the rest of the group close to the restaurant and we walked the rest of the way. We ate at an Indian Restaurant, Baluchi's, for dinner located on E 53rd between 2nd and 3rd Ave. After an enjoyable meal we walked to the train station to return home. Next year maybe we should try the Oyster Bar located in Grand Central Station for dinner?

A special thanks from the club goes to Barbara Mansell for organizing the trip. Also thanks go to Peter Rossi and Dick Gershon for leading our group through the park. We had 71 species by day's end. A great day with good birds was enjoyed by all.