Monday, 4 May, 2015 - Manhattan parks: Central, Riverside, & a few adjacent smaller sites.
With migration heating up (pun intended, it reached over 80 F. on the day in Manhattan) there was great movement Sun. night through Monday, with many birds found in 2 of the larger Manhattan parks (and many birders out to see lots of them); movement was still discernible at some points in mid-day, and the dawn flight was very good, as well as the chorus. There were a number of areas that felt like nice hot- spots to observe from at & soon after sunrise; later in the day, birds had somewhat dispersed, and there was a palpable sense that some, esp. such spp. as Yellow-rumped Warbler & Chipping Sparrow, had moved on as the morning warmed. At a couple of locations, one could see this taking place, small passerines moving through tree-tops by the scores, even in hundreds, and onward, at least some way 'north-ish.' Later in the a.m. at Riverside Park, I was able to see what appeared to be migrants come in off the Hudson, or at least following the shore, then (some) landing in trees at the northern section of Riverside, where it narrows to a viaduct at 125 St. (a break in the expanse of now-green trees, lawns, & ground-cover). There is more green-space n. of 125 St., however the only parts that are regularly birded & reported-on (up the Hudson, and in Manhattan) are Fort Tryon & Inwood Hill parks. Highlights at least for their occurrence included 2 uncommon warblers in 2 parks: a male Cerulean heard & just glimpsed, noticed by Nadir Sourgi, in Central Park's NW-most area, and a male Kentucky in Riverside Park, actually glimpsed but mainly heard in the thickets around the wooded "sanctuary", with the nearest entry stairs at 121 St. & Riverside Drive, Tom Perlman picking up the song in late afternoon. Others were searching the 2 areas at the times these 2 individual warblers were first noticed, & the search may continue on Tues.! Also among many notable sightings, Cape May & Bay-breasted, as well as Tennessee, multiple Blackburnian, several Hooded, and other warblers, these seen as well as heard singing. A total of at least 29 Warbler spp. in all for the day between the 2 parks noted - rather remarkable for how quickly all of these came in - yet there are still a fair number of migrants still to arrive, and many yet to arrive in any real numbers here. Many other highlights included a small group of Glossy Ibis headed n. up the Hudson, along with early a.m. fly-overs of C. Loon, & later, Bald Eagle & Osprey, as well as both Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawk being seen in Central Park, a (late!) Red-breasted Merganser continuing at the reservoir, some [Atlantic] Brant along the Hudson, both Acadian & Least Flycatchers giving calls in Riverside Park, many more Great Crested Flycatchers & E. Kingbirds now, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, & getting-a-little-late Pine Warbler & Louisiana Waterthrush (many more N. Waterthrush coming thru now), and still of a 'wintry' feel but birds that are likely about to get to a more northern place, a few Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Getting modestly late also, Rusty Blackbird. The songs of Baltimore Oriole were heard even from a few small city green-spaces & is now almost common in parts of the larger parks (where they also nest). At least 3 shorebird spp., Greater Yellowlegs the less-regular (& just a calling fly-by at the meer), as well as Solitary & Spotted Sandpipers, in Central. A very few Swainson's Thrush, mixing with still-not- uncommon Hermit Thrush, as well as increasing Veery, & locally-nesting Wood Thrush. Special thanks to Karen Fung for helping to get word out on a couple of the rarer birds found in 2 parks today, and to all of the many birders who were out & about. Some of the many sightings from this day: Common Loon (fly-overs), Double-crested Cormorant, Gr. Blue Heron Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron Glossy Ibis (6, flyovers in tight formation, northbound up river in p.m.) Canada Goose, Brant, Mute Swan (2 on the Hudson) Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Mallard, Bufflehead Red-breasted Merganser (still at reservoir in Central Park, late!!) Osprey, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon Greater Yellowlegs (calling fly-over), Solitary, & Spotted Sandpipers American Woodcock (rather late - Central Park Ramble at first light) Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird (several) Hairy Woodpecker (several), Yellow-shafted Flicker Acadian Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher (each calling, Riverside Pk./a.m.) Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird (multiples of each) Blue-headed, Yellow-throated, Warbling, & Red-eyed Vireos N. Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Veery, Swainson's Thrush (few), Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing (few) Blue-winged Warbler (more than several) Tennessee Warbler (seen singing! Central Park n. end mid-day, well n. of -above- n.e. end of Loch) Nashville Warbler (more than several) Northern Parula (many) Yellow Warbler (fair no's.) Chestnut-sided Warbler (few) Magnolia Warbler (fair no's.) Cape May Warbler (several, with at least 3 in Central Park incl. Strawb. Fields, Ramble, & Gr. Hill) Black-throated Blue Warbler (more than several) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (many passing thru in a.m.; many females now appearing) Black-throated Green Warbler (multiple) Blackburnian Warbler (multiple, incl. up to 3 seen simultaneously in Central Pk.) Pine Warbler (few) Prairie Warbler (more than several) Palm Warbler (still common but not quite as many as past week) Bay-breasted Warbler (at least 2, poss. 3, in Central Park) Blackpoll Warbler (at least several, C.P. & Riverside Park) Cerulean Warbler (mainly well-heard, a.m., woods near the Blockhouse area, Central Park) Black-and-white Warbler (many, with many females now) American Redstart (still not at all common) Worm-eating Warbler (several: Ramble & n. end in C.P., & Riverside Park's northern woods) Ovenbird (multiple) Northern Waterthrush (fair no's., including some far from any water) Louisiana Waterthrush (1, Central Park) Kentucky Warbler (mainly heard-only, at Riverside Park, near 119-121 Sts., later in the day) Common Yellowthroat (multiple) Hooded Warbler (several, Central Park) Wilson's Warbler (1, Central Park) Canada Warbler (few, Central Park) Scarlet Tanager (many, including females) Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow (many on the move, thru the a.m.) Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, & White-throated Sparrows White-crowned Sparrow (no reports today?) Dark-eyed Junco (still just a few, getting late now for Manhattan) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (fair no's., males & females), Indigo Buntings Bobolink (several bubbly-calling fly-throughs, around 6 a.m.., Great Hill) Rusty Blackbird (Central Park), Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole (modest no's.), Baltimore Oriole (many, nearly "common") Purple Finch (a few moving along in a.m.), House Finch, Pine Siskin (few, mainly feeding in trees and not at feeders, Central Park), Amer. Goldfinch May birding - good and busy, at it's best - with best luck to all, 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/ --
