Thursday, 7 May, 2015 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City (& elsewhere in N.Y. City as noted below)
In addition to a male Blue Grosbeak in the Ramble, which was observed by a ton (actually, my guesstimate would be closer to 5 tons, excluding optical equipment!) of birders, there were at least a few other new arrivals or discoveries this day in Central - both Black- billed & (ongoing) Yellow-billed Cuckoos were found, and there were some Empidonax [genus] flycatchers that did not fit either Least or Acadian, with at least one seeming to be a Willow (and see below on that species), this in the area just south of the 96th St. Transverse, mid-park [in e.-w. terms] & a bit north of the reservoir. At least 1 Summer Tanager persisted, & a few Purple Finch have also been continuing & still going thru. A good variety in warblers & other expected migrants, although total diversity seemed down slightly from the preceding days; still well over 20 spp. of warbler were being found, including multiple Cape May and Bay-breasted, along with lowered numbers of Palm now. The last couple of days also have featured a few spp. running late, such as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, & Dark-eyed Junco, & even Pine Warbler is now just modestly late. In sparrows, a couple of Lincoln's and a few White-crowned Sparrows have been turned up & their number will presumably swell a little as we get further arrivals. Of departures, some of the later-lingering waterfowl & raptors may have exited; for the most part, this often a good indicator also for a bigger push of neotropical-wintering migrants to come in - so long, "winter" birds, hello month-of-May. There have been some good insect hatches which were providing spectacles of some of the migrants, as well as resident birds, coming down to ground or at least far lower than typically seen, unless during bathing-drinking intervals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At Riverside Park, on Manhattan's upper west side, there have been a fair number of the same migrants as have been in Central, although admittedly often harder to see, even if heard nicely, in tall oaks esp. in the 100-120 Sts. 'latitudes' of that park. Some short stops at the "drip" in n. Riverside, which can be very good when it is really active in May, had been mostly a bit slow, with just a modest assortment of species actually coming down to drink or bathe. Most of the activity has been in the tree-tops, as well as the patches of shrubbery. I've not ventured much into the wooded section along & past the tennis courts above W. 122 St., which is thick with undergrowth now & the occasional "non-nature-enthusiast". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A relatively brief visit in Van Cortlandt Park's "northwest forest" (in the Bronx, N.Y. City) this early a.m. provided sight & sound observations of many of the typical breeding species there, and some likely just-arrived this week such as Willow Flycatcher (heard singing in a couple of waters-edge spots), as well as Indigo Buntings, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, E. Kingbirds, Wood Thrushes, Red-eyed & Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers & Common Yellowthroats, & others that had already come in. The migrant-only species were a little thin, but some of the more recently-common spp. were present such as N. Parula, Black-throated Green, & Black-and-white Warblers. Easily seen were Baltimore, and a few Orchard, Orioles. This park has had a nice native flora (wild, unplanted) display as well, with a few wildflowers such as bloodroot already mostly past, depending on the exact site. good May finds, 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/ --
