Black-throated Green Warbler marks September migration in Sunset Park

Each month, I’ll be writing a little something for The Sunset Post about birds and birdwatching in Sunset Park. There will be a picture of a featured bird, and a little information on that species, but the focus will always be a little broader than that, as it would be going against my birding philosophy to focus solely on one bird, especially in such an exciting month as September! The bird in question for this month is the Black-throated Green Warbler, the delightful little migratory songbird pictured above – and I will tell you some essentials about it shortly – but first maybe first I should introduce myself…

Hi, I’m Nick. If you’ve been in Sunset Park (the park itself, not the neighborhood) of a morning, you’ve quite possibly seen me walking around intently with my binoculars. I’ve gone looking for birds in the park hundreds of times since 2021, when I started birdwatching (or “birding,” as people who are full-on proponents of this wonderful pastime call it). I’ve seen 150 species of bird in the park, and over the years have developed the belief that many places that don’t seem like they have great birds, actually do. Or rather, if you are curious and try to attune yourself to a place and understand what birds might appear there and when, you can be very pleasantly surprised. Over the years, I’ve come to understand which trees are great for birds, which bushes might have a furtive flighted friend hiding in them, and when to keep my eyes to the skies for notable birds that are passing over the park, rather than actually touching down in it. (For a birder, any bird you see from a particular location – whether the bird is on the ground, in a tree, flying directly above you … or incredibly distant, but still positively identifiable – counts just the same.)

In certain months, it can be a little tough to find more than a few species of birds in Sunset Park, but September is not one of those months. It is primetime for migration, as many birds are making their way back from their summer breeding grounds to the north, and stop off in the five boroughs to refuel before continuing southward. NYC is on the Atlantic Flyway, a major migratory route for many birds, and from August through late fall, the city’s green spaces magically fill up with hordes of interesting birds, all enjoying a pit stop on their epic journey home.

One of those birds is the Black-throated Green above. I saw this specific bird, a first-year female (likely only a month or two old), in late September 2022, on a day when there were so many warblers in the trees, it was impossible to see or identify all of them. Luckily, this individual was beyond cooperative, just hanging out on the ground, and wandering into the knotweed, as if to be even more photogenic. As a species, Black-throated Greens are not typically seen low down, usually opting for the midstory of trees. In the spring, when they are looking to pair up, the males will sing a song that has the mnemonic “zee-zee-zoo-zoo-zee,” but in fall, they are silent, so you have to know what field marks to look for. They are in fact not green, but can be identified by their bold yellow face, black throats (on the males), gray-ish cap and Zorro-like mask around the eyes, white wingbars, and black or gray streaking on their white bellies.

I hope you see a Black-throated Green in the park this month, or one of numerous other wondrous birds that will be passing through. And if you do, please stop me in the park and let me know!