Day 135: May 14th – Rockefeller State Park

Overcast with sprinkles, 68 degrees, calm winds

       Once again, we are faced with the threat of rain and while the most we have been subjected to was a few periods of very light drizzle, it still makes for difficult digital photography.  I shot most of the day at between 800 and 1250 ISO which for non-photographers means the threat of fuzzy grainy pictures.  Any slower than those sensor speeds and it simply was too dark to capture any image.

       At any rate, we travelled about 40 minutes south of our home in Highland Falls down to Rockefeller State Park in Pleasantville.  The park is predominantly hardwood forest with some nice higher elevation meadows all surrounding a placid lake.  Last week, a “fall out” brought numerous warbler species to the park.  Today, we were either a couple of days late or a day early.  The storm for which today’s light sprinkles are a prelude may again cause the warblers to stop over at the park for a day or two before continuing on their northward journey.

American redstart 

       American redstarts were once again the most prolific warbler species by a long shot.  You could hear their high pitched “chip-chip-churee” almost anywhere you stopped along the trails.  Even with the dim lighting of the overcast skies, photographing these little beauties was not all that difficult.

View from Overlook Trail, Rockefeller State Park

       As I ascended the park’s Overlook Trail, I heard and saw Northern flickers, Red-bellied woodpeckers, plenty of American robins, several Tree swallows, one solitary Bluebird, and finally at the higher elevations several Eastern towhees.  Theirs is a song that is hard to misidentify.  The lyrical “Drink your teeeeeeee” and the call that states their own name, “towheeeeee”, was being sung with great bravado.  Apparently, they did not take to my intrusion too cordially as there was quite a chorus going on as I approached.

        When I returned to the lower elevation of the lake, more species such as the Warbling vireo, Gray catbird and Yellow warbler were heard.  It seems that no matter where we bird during this month, the Yellow can be heard in good numbers. The other creature which was abundant throughout the park was the Chipmunk. Apparently, the mild winter was kind to his species and the numbers of these little rodents seem to be abnormally high in each and every location we visit.

       Eventually, the rain became steadier and heavier, forcing us back to the car and onto the highway heading home.  Still, I am grateful for the several hours we had to explore this Westchester park.