Sunday, 25 June, 2017 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A singing male Kentucky Warbler has appeared again in the park, now in the Ramble area, & while skulking as is typical, has been followed about for much of the morning. The Kentucky was singing from as early as about 7 a.m. & was still, at least occasionally some hours later. I believe this is very possibly the same individual that was found June 8th, which I then reported a short way north of the Ramble area (a few hundred feet north of the E. 79th St. Transverse, on that date). If not chased, this warbler may be possible to see, if it keeps singing. It is possible that it may begin to sing with greater frequency again towards evening. It also is possible that it could ‘disappear’ into one section of the Ramble that is fenced-off, due to ongoing renovation-work in one section. Updates much later, if there are additional sightings / hearings of this bird.
This species has had a habit of turning up in this park, being found & then going quiet for some days/weeks, & then reappearing, usually not all that far from the earlier location. It is less-likely, though not at all inconceivable, that a ‘new’ male has moved in from some failed breeding attempt, which could also have been the situation with the appearance of 8 June (coming from a location outside NYC prior to then, presumably - & whether from a more-southern or slightly more-northern latitude than N.Y. City, is not possible to know; kentucky warbler of course being incresaingly scarce as a breeder north of this city, but there are a number of known locations in the lower Hudson valley region, some kept fairly quiet. for mostly-obvious reason.) At the same time, a very light flight of several (at least) apparent freshly-arrived & quite-early migrants (or potentialy, failed breeders) included 2 Worm-eating Warblers in the north end of the park & a Louisiana Waterthrush, being quite shy & silent, at the Loch - seen moving from w. to e. within the Loch earlier; the Worm-eatings both found north of the loch-Ravine path, on slopes. Other warblers still in the Ramble area & vicinity this morning have included American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler, & Black-and-white; while elsewhere in the park were N. Parula, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Ovenbird. Several of these have also been seen the day before, & all of these species have been seen on-&-off over the past several weeks here. Of other lingering birds that don’t appear likely to be breeding have been Yellow-billed Cuckoo, both in the n. end & Ramble areas in the park, still around thru this morning. A drake Wood Duck has continued at The Pond (in the park’s SE quadrant), & is now in ‘eclipse’, so that it might be less-able to fly. It’s been most regular immediately south of the rink, which is a sort of carnival-area during warm-weather months. There don’t seem to be many other species of great note, beyond the regulars which are breeding, including a few more-scarce breeders, as well as the usual suite of summer visitors & fly-overs such as Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, & others. More of the various breeding species have young now, and some are quite busily tending to those young. I was able to confirm a 4th Wood Thrush territory, but not yet actual breeding, in a location of the park where that species has nested in the past. - - - - - Here’s a reminder from National Audubon, on the use of playback in attempting to lure birds in - “The epitome of bad playback etiquette is the birder who walks around with a device continuously and loudly broadcasting sound, or a photographer who sets up a device on continuous playback & waits for a bird to fly in. This is ineffective, unnecessary, and the kind of practice most likely to harm birds and disturb other birders. Playback is prohibited in many parks & refuges. It is also illegal to disturb endangered or threatened species. Respect the rules. Any potential negative impacts of playback are more likely to occur in areas with a lot of birding pressure, so avoid playback entirely in those areas." - - - - - - - "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." - Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), U.S. wildlife biologist, conservationist, professor, author, best known for his book "A Sand County Almanac" (1949), which has sold more than two million copies. good -and ethical- birding, Tom Fiore Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
