Monday - Friday, 11-15 March, 2019 Manhattan, N.Y. City (including Central Park and multiple other sites)
Perhaps the most uncommon sighting of the past week in New York County, although just off of Manhattan on Randall’s Island (which is a short way to the east in the East River estuary) was Wednesday’s (3/13) GLAUCOUS Gull found by Ben Sadock, reported to eBird with a fine photo - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53806832 <https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53806832> Arrivals from at least Thursday (3/14) include a nice bright male PINE Warbler, at the Loch in Central Park’s north end; this seen by a small number of folks both in the morning & afternoon, up the slope and on the north side of the Loch / Ravine, & perhaps still in that area. Friday (3/15) brought at least a couple of Eastern PHOEBES, up fairly high in trees when first seen, by the lake, and near the Conservatory Water (sailboat pond) both in Central Park. A few Great Blue Herons have flown over in the last several days, even as at least one has stayed on, an overwinterer that was in various parts of Central Park; the species was also seen elsewhere in N.Y. County thru the winter. It seems plausible that the very long-staying (just shy of 3 full months) Evening Grosbeak of Manhattan’s Riverside Park may have moved on, with no confirmed sightings of that one solo male in the vicinity of its’ long stay in the ‘sanctuary’ part of that park (near 116-122 Streets) since Tues., 3/12. We will see if there any new sightings there. In the meantime, there’s some finch-y excitement over the appearances of Common Redpolls in the area including one at Brooklyn’s historic Greenwood cemetery (a great place to visit at most any season), & some others in the nearby counties very recently as well. It bears continuing watching out for those & other irruptive species which may be on the move in many areas. American Woodcock are in town, with a big increase in just a few days, & some sightings in parts of the city where they would not, or did not, fare as well as they could; some have been picked up and brought in to local rehabilitators. There also have been more than a few in Central Park this week, & as reported from not only Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan, and likely in a number of the other larger parks, and also in a number of other greenspaces & small parks. Yet more may come thru, even as some are already on territories in the region & starting their display flights. Regionally, it was a fairly big week for northbound migration of larger (& some smaller) waterfowl. For Manhattan, perhaps not all that evident, unless one were watching the skies for some time, esp. Wed. & Thurs. and also listening-watching at night. Mute Swans appeared along the Hudson, where they have at times in the past, but it had been a while. Plenty of Canada Geese were on the move over the Hudson at times, esp. in pre-dawn hours, some in the daytime as well. Yet some of the more ‘feral’ Canada Geese of the Central Park reservoir seemed less interested in joining up with their more-migratory kin; nevertheless, their numbers at the C.P. reservoir have diminished by over half in the past week. Other waterbirds have been ongoing, with Buffleheads still in good no’s., & at least 1 Hooded Merganser lingering, plus American Coots, Pied-billed Grebe, N. Shovelers, Wood Ducks & some other overwintering ducks. A few Double-crested Cormorants have been noted as well, on the move or at least locally moving in to feed from Central Park’s waters. Numbers of blackbirds, including mostly Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds, but also at least a few Rusty Blackbirds & a few Brown-headed Cowbirds have all been around and of the first 2 species, some moving thru in early mornings, these in various sites, including from / in Central Park. Numbers of some of the sparrow ‘tribe’ increased as of Thursday, with [Red] Fox Sparrows in much greater numbers in several parks, and the sometimes-ignored Song Sparrows even more so, plus Slate-colored Juncos scattered about, in many more areas than even the day prior. A nice number of these and a lot of other birds are singing much more now (and some have been doing so for even a few weeks already). Also in the sparrow tribe, both Chipping & Field Sparrows that had overwintered were still in Central Park this week. Various species that have continued to successfully winter in Manhattan include Winter Wrens, both nuthatch species, Gray Catbirds, Hermit Thrushes, E. Towhees, & in lower numbers, Brown Thrasher. The male Common Yellowthroat that held on in Union Square Park was continuing there. Several species of owls reappeared in Manhattan in the past week, these were likely migrants moving thru, but it’s also possible some were those that wintered in the county and had been moving around. Long-eared, N. Saw-whet, and Barred were amongst the species found. It’s good to know of 4 SNOW Buntings found on Friday, 3/8 at Governor’s Island (off the south tip of Manhattan in N.Y. harbor, & politically also within New York County), those birds along with many others including a KILLDEER, noted by A. Barry, a NYC Audobon naturalist who works there. Very possible a number of additional species may turn up any day with the change of season upon us. A modest number of other migrants are expected, & some have been seen in adjacent counties just recently. good nearly-spring 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/ --
