Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City At least 1 additional Rusty Blackbird was omitted from my report for 4/9, a bird on the Great Lawn, amongst robins, Palm Warblers, & juncos - a seemingly unlikely place for the shy species to forage, yet I've seen Rustys out on that particular lawn a half-dozen times in previous migrations, usually not staying out of typical habitat for very long.
Wednesday, 10 April, 2013 At least one Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was still around the Blockhouse this Wed. a.m., & the north end otherwise had a fair selection of many of the species previously reported this & the last few days, albeit in slimmer numbers generally, with a few exceptions - more E. Towhees, a few "new" Brown Thrashers, and just maybe more Ruby-crowned Kinglets, with small numbers of Golden-crowneds hanging in. At least three Rusty Blackbirds continued, with one seen at the Loch in early a.m. A check of the lawns where so many migrants convened 24 hours earlier revealed far fewer today, but some Palm Warblers did continue on both Sheep Meadow and the Great Lawn. On arrival in the park at first light, pretty much my first sighting was of a brightly-plumaged Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler, the first I've noticed in full-dress uniform here this spring. I'm not aware whether a Louisiana Waterthrush was detected today: my brief tries for one were negative; more should be passing thru very soon. Chipping Sparrows seemed lower in numbers but were widely dispersed all around the park. E. Phoebe numbers are down, with likely a fresh batch after the next storm-free night. Swallows, still not, or barely, seen in Central. All 5 regular spp. can be sought at the reservoir (mainly) in the coming weeks. Duckage is down, as expected, with a few Ruddy Ducks & Buffleheads lingering on, as well as at least one female-looking Hooded Merganser, & for other waterbirds a notable increase in Double-crested Cormorants, both as fly-overs & at the reservoir, plus a few American Coot still hanging in there. The Laughing Gulls that showed up recently seem not be around in the reservoir's daily collection & that's sort of an early pattern in C.P. many years, with more possible as actual summer approaches. The blossoming of many trees and other plants and now a good soaking rain will likely provide a feast of insect & arthropod life for a lot of birds yet to arrive. One nice plant not too bothered by insects is Bloodroot, seen in bloom in a number of areas in C.P. and likely now out in other parks. On the arrival date (as mentioned in Nadir S.' post earlier) for Common Yellowthroat, it's well ahead of an "expected/average" arrival date, but not a record & not tremendously early for an early (first-of-season) date at a NYC location, with at least one earlier date of April 8, 2005 in Central Park (seen by multiple observers, including myself). Tuesday's migrant Common Loon flyover at Central meshes with expected movements of the species as well as a sighting over Brooklyn's Prospect Pk. the same day. - - - - - On strange or potentially-threatening-looking men (yes, at least 9,999 out of 1,000 such are men) lurking in wooded areas of parks, it's a sad comment on a number of issues that it is still a concern but women, alone in particular, and also older folks may want to walk with a friend or two & if not, then be especially cautious & aware of one's surroundings when in our urban wilds. The northernmost parts of Central Park (actually the woods in the NW), while increasingly visited by regular park-goers: your joggers, 'doggers', & walkers, & even some tourists, as well as occasional patrols by police, are still vastly less-populated than any other sections of that park, and are in many little areas that can hold nice birds, more than occasionally nearly deserted of other people... and with vegetation increasing as spring rolls on, so does the possibility that an unsavory or downright dangerous person is not easily detected even if close at hand. I bird that area with my "radar" up, and do not stick around if someone seems to be shadowing me or makes me uncomfortable. Most of the other people in the area will be harmless, & more often are just as concerned for their own well-being as you, but it does only take one off-balance or hostile person to cause much potential grief. Be safe, stay aware. If in doubt, move on, and (obviously) if someone actually threatens or harasses, call or find the police & report as quickly as possible. They are there to serve, protect, and help. These kinds of issues are a little less common (in daylight) in other parts of Central but sadly, incidents have happened in all areas of the park. Overall however, that park is well-patrolled and with so many people all the time around, at least from first light into evenings, it's a lot less likely someone with bad intentions will try, or get away with it. Good (& safe) birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
