Date: Tuesday, 2 November 2010 (1:20p-4:05p) Location: Manhattan - Swindler Cove Park & Sherman Creek Reported by: Ben Cacace
This upper Manhattan park is situated along the Harlem River at the end of Dyckman St. & 10th Avenue across the island from Fort Tryon Park. This is my 1st visit to this park and I was surprised how beautiful it is. The varied habitat includes a wetland area open to the river. I was there at low tide and Sherman Creek, which is just north of the park, transformed nicely into a mudflat. There were 3 *KILLDEER* on the flats. Above them a *COOPER'S HAWK* was circling scaring up the Killdeer. The shorebirds returned shortly after the hawk departed towards High Bridge Park. Most of the SWAMP SPARROW, BROWN CREEPER and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET activity was around the bat house installation at the south end of the park. Here's a simple Google Map<http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106890515809295201332.0004941c425519544c465&ll=40.85899,-73.923386&spn=0.007392,0.018346&t=h&z=17>for details on the location. Here's an online description and map of the park<http://www.nyrp.org/Parks_and_Gardens/Parks/Swindler_Cove_Park/Park_Overview> . I was looking online for the name of the manmade structures created for bats to roost in and found the following online. This park hosts a few nest boxes along with the bat house. A few of these nest box sites, including Purple Martin gourds and the Wood Duck nest box, are very close to human foot traffic and some of these are referred to as "Animal Estates" on the following site: http://www.fritzhaeg.com/garden/initiatives/animalestates/swindler.html The 5 "Animal Estates" designed for the park are for Barn Owl, Wood Duck, Purple Martin, Big Brown Bat & Northern Flying Squirrel. Google Map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=106890515809295201332.0004941c425519544c465&ll=40.85899,-73.923386&spn=0.007392,0.018346&t=h&z=17 Online map and description of Swindler Cove Park: http://www.nyrp.org/Parks_and_Gardens/Parks/Swindler_Cove_Park/Park_Overview Weather for 2-Nov for New York, NY (12:51p-3:51p) < http://tinyurl.com/28r8awe >: - Conditions: Partly Cloudy to Scattered Clouds - Temperature: 48.0 to 51.1 F (8.9 to 10.6 C) - Wind direction: NW / N / NNW / NNE - Wind speed: 3 - 10 mph (no gusts reported) ** Total species - 31 ** Abundance categories from 'The New York City Audubon Society Guide to Finding Birds in the Metropolitan Area' published 2001. Abundance season is 'late Fall', mid September - November, and applies to all of New York City. 'Scarce' seen in habitat, but not daily [2 spp]: - KILLDEER - 3 on the mudflats along Sherman Creek - Brown Creeper - 1 along the trail leading to the bat box 'Uncommon' seen in small numbers; 1-3 per day in habitat [4 spp]: - COOPER'S HAWK - 1 over Sherman Creek scaring up a Killdeer - Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 male seen & heard - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3+ incl. an adult male - Hermit Thrush - 2 along the path bordering Sherman Creek 'Fairly Common' usually seen; 3-12 per day in habitat [8 spp]: - Red-tailed Hawk - 1 heading N from Broadway Terrace & Fairview Ave. - Downy Woodpecker - 1 male - Northern Flicker - 1 seen & heard - Black-capped Chickadee - 6+ seen & heard - White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 female seen & heard - Northern Mockingbird - 2+ - Northern Cardinal - 3+ - American Goldfinch - 24+ 'Common' seen easily; more than 12 per day in habitat [17 spp]: - Canada Goose - 9+ - Mallard - 8+ on Sherman Creek - Double-crested Cormorant - 1 subadult heading up the Harlem River - Ring-billed Gull - 60+ on the mudflats along Sherman Creek - Herring Gull - 1 on the mudflats along Sherman Creek - Rock Pigeon - 2+ - Blue Jay - 6+ seen & heard - American Crow - 1 seen & heard over the Harlem River - Golden-crowned Kinglet - 12+ - Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3+ - American Robin - 4+ - European Starling - 2+ - Yellow-rumped Warbler - 24+ - Swamp Sparrow - 4+ mainly near the bat box site - White-throated Sparrow - 12+ - Dark-eyed Junco - 4+ - House Sparrow - 24+ Taxonomic order: - Canada Goose - 9+ - Mallard - 8+ on Sherman Creek - Double-crested Cormorant - 1 subadult heading up the Harlem River - COOPER'S HAWK - 1 over Sherman Creek scaring up a Killdeer - Red-tailed Hawk - 1 heading N from Broadway Terrace & Fairview Ave. - KILLDEER - 3 on the mudflats along Sherman Creek - Ring-billed Gull - 60+ on the mudflats along Sherman Creek - Herring Gull - 1 on the mudflats along Sherman Creek - Rock Pigeon - 2+ - Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 male seen & heard - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 3+ incl. an adult male - Downy Woodpecker - 1 male - Northern Flicker - 1 seen & heard - Blue Jay - 6+ seen & heard - American Crow - 1 seen & heard over the Harlem River - Black-capped Chickadee - 6+ seen & heard - White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 female seen & heard - Brown Creeper - 1 along the trail leading to the bat box - Golden-crowned Kinglet - 12+ - Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3+ - Hermit Thrush - 2 along the path bordering Sherman Creek - American Robin - 4+ - Northern Mockingbird - 2+ - European Starling - 2+ - Yellow-rumped Warbler - 24+ - Swamp Sparrow - 4+ mainly near the bat box site - White-throated Sparrow - 12+ - Dark-eyed Junco - 4+ - Northern Cardinal - 3+ - American Goldfinch - 24+ - House Sparrow - 24+ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
