THE standout individual bird in terms of the genuinely-rare continuance of its stay far into the winter, in New York County, part of which contains all of the island of Manhattan, is a VEERY, still being seen & photographed by multiple observers at Bryant Park, in “midtown” or to be a bit more specific, between West 40th and West 42nd Streets, just east of Sixth Avenue, Manhattan. This Veery has been present for more than 2 months and may have been in that park or area for even longer, as virtually all others of its species would have departed the United States (all of them) well before the above-noted time span, likeliest departing for South America as of September or at latest October (in any year).
Another unusual-for-date bird in New York county of late has been a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, at Randall’s Island, a species that is not typically found in winter months in the region; this single bird also being seen & photographed by multiple observers. Eleven BLACK Vultures were seen, and most also photographed, flying over Inwood Hill Park in northern Manhattan, by N. O’Reilly on Sunday, 19 January, a high number of that species for the county, as well as a fairly good number for a midwinter day in this region. A female-like Boat-tailed Grackle has continued to be seen & photographed in Central Park, thru at least Sunday, 19 January, by multiple observers, this likely the least common species for that park thru this winter so far, despite the presence of the following bird in the same park. A first year plumaged RED-HEADED Woodpecker has been continuing, seen by many hundreds of observers this winter, still just west of the N. Meadow ball fields in Central Park, Manhattan - and east of the nearest park entry at Central Park West & W. 100th Street. This woodpecker continues its slow, typical molt and changeover to adult color, all of which might be seen by mid spring. It may be seen (and found) to best advantage on brighter days, esp. those with some sun. Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan, in addition to hosting the lingering Veery as noted above, has had a long lingering American Woodcock, as well as at least one Common Yellowthroat, through the recent ups & downs in wintry weather here. Two Common Ravens were seen by 2 keen observers, M. Adams & J. Ward, at Roosevelt Island, just east of Manhattan, on Sunday, 19 January. This species has been increasingly noted in the region as well as in N.Y. City in the last decade. Among the at least 8 species of sparrows lingering in New York County this winter have been VESPER, & Chipping, the latter sparrow species in the multiple, heretofore unheard of for midwinter in such numbers this far into winter, but in keeping with very high numbers of Chipping Sparrow recorded region-wide this winter to January. We also have less-unusual winterers such as Field, Savannah, [Red] Fox, Swamp, & commonly wintering Song & White-throated Sparrows, plus Slate-colored Junco and E. Towhee in the multiple. A full list of wintering species for Manhattan and New York County may be compiled and reported here by February. Thanks to the many avid, ethically minded observers who watch without disturbing our birds, all year round, which is the obvious way to go on observing in this new millennium. Ask all others to please observe, at a minimum, the guidelines of the American Birding Association for ethical birding, which are easily available on-line to all. They are scientifically accepted - and are also plain commonsense for all of us. Good winter 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/ --
