The following statement has been made by the American Bird Conservancy, a non-profit organization:
'On August 11, 2020, a U.S. federal court overturned a reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) that had upended decades of enforcement and let industry polluters off the hook for killing birds. Citing the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni wrote that “if the Department of the Interior has its way, many Mockingbirds and other migratory birds that delight people and support ecosystems throughout the country will be killed without legal consequence.” [A.B.C.] and our partners went to court to challenge the reinterpretation. This ruling is a much-needed win for migratory birds and the millions of Americans who cherish them. The MBTA is one of our nation’s most important environmental laws. Among other things, it has spurred industry innovation to protect birds, such as screening off toxic waste pits and marking power lines to reduce collisions. This key decision to uphold the Act's strength by blocking the injurious reinterpretation comes at a key time, as we seek to restore our nation’s declining bird populations.' - - - - - Manhattan and N.Y. County (in N.Y. City) - Thursday, Aug. 20 thru Tuesday, Aug. 25th It was interesting to see that just a few days after a Yellow-breasted Chat was observed & documented in Central Park, Manhattan, one was found at Brooklyn Bridge Park, just a few miles south & across the East River (& the Central Park Chat possibly a 1-day-bird). However, on Monday, 8/24, a Yellow-breasted Chat was reported from Central Park, but in the north woods (north of the Loch), more than a mile from the previously-seen Chat in the Ramble of the same park, but days previously. This one of few more-uncommon species to have been noted within this report’s period. ... A fairly strong nocturnal migration Wed. night 8/19 - into 8/20, Thursday… with many birds apparently passing over, onward & south of Manhattan. Nevertheless the evidence for additional new migration included a number of Cuckoos, most of them Yellow-billed, & at least 2 Black-billed, in 2 separate parks. Also a very slight uptick of Veery, and the 1st [?] of the southbound Swainson’s Thrushes this year. And the ongoing Contopus [genus] flycatchers as well as a relatively few Empidonax-genus as well. For warblers, no ‘new’ species but fair numbers of a dozen or so of the recently-regular species. .. Thursday night into Friday 8/21 brought another good nocturnal migration, and with somewhat favorable conditions, many birds took off south past even Long Island’s south shores headed for points south by southwest. A seemingly smaller component of migrants made it by the core of N.Y. City’s west edges, with just modest numbers seeming to drop in at greenspaces. Winds picked up later on Thursday out of the SW, signalling warmer & more-humid weather to come. One warbler species very clearly stood out, seen in many locations in higher numbers than most other species of warbler combined (per location) - American Redstart. For a couple of sites, including at Central & Riverside Parks at least, Scarlet Tanagers made a reappearance for the southbound stop-offs of the season. At Governors Island (a part of N.Y. County in New York Harbor), at least 6 shorebird spp. were seen including Lesser Yellowlegs, along with Solitary Sandpiper. Other sites in the county have continued to produce at least a limited selection of shorebirds as well, although as is typical not quite up to higher diversity or numbers seen at some of the city’s premiere shorebirding locations. .. Friday night featured a SW wind and a push of warmth with higher humidities. Saturday 8/22 continued that trend, as did the next 3 (or more) following days & nights. The variety of passerines at least seemed fairly similar to the day before, although a subtle increase of a few species seemed apparent, while some may have decreased just a little. The eve. brought at least several (4, possibly a 5th) Common Nighthawks down along the Hudson river, as viewed from just n. of 125 St. and Riverside Drive, in the last hour of day. Interesting if 'hyper-local’ interest: at least 8 White-throated Sparrows ongoing at Union Square Park (Sat., 8/22) in lower-mid Manhattan; these almost certainly summer-long-stayers on Manhattan & perhaps all of that time in that park, where they could continue to stay for any length of time. Very small numbers of that species have been seen all summer in a number of local (NYC) parks or greenspaces, including in some (other) Manhattan parks & other sites. .. Sunday 8/23 - Much stronger migration overnight from Sat. night; of passerines, esp. common as fresh arrivals were a refreshed slew of American Redstarts, but for many other species, there was not a great deal of evidence for drop-ins, migrants from just the night before. A number of species being seen in prior days were still around however. This again included a few Empidonax [genus] & Contopus [genus] flycatchers, although for E. Wood-Pewee, at least, some may be lingering breeding birds of Manhattan, while any Olive-sided Flycatchers would of course be migrants on their way, eventually very far-south. (In some summers, by about this date, a higher number and variety of boreal-breeding migrants would have appeared, but we may see that influx in the coming week, while August is ending & Sept. starts up. There was at least some evidence for later-broods & perhaps some 2nd-brood attempts by various migrant breeding birds in the boreal north of eastern N. America this summer, perhaps successfully by some of the songbirds; if so, that could add to later-than-average peak movements by some species, but we shall see if that is even detected in migration, & well-reported, or perhaps neither, as the effects if any could be minimal and within a range of normal/annual variation. Anyhow, the strongest & visible migration of any species, on Sunday were the many Eastern Kingbirds moving along the Hudson river, and no doubt in other ‘pathways’ also. A minimum of 300 went by in the first 2 & a half hours of Sunday, seen from Manhattan near W. 135th St. with a wide view of the sky there. (And the flight of that species was far larger as observed in N.Y. state - and N.Y. City’s - southernmost point, and county, Richmond Co. also known as Staten Island, where R.Veit noted more than 1,000 E. Kingbirds - plus a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher with the same massive flight seen from that location.) There was also a more-modest migration of Chimney Swift on Sunday, but from Manhattan, perhaps not more than 150 in the first 2 hours of daylight, and all seen going south-SW along the Hudson. These flights apparently not noted, or not much, from elsewhere east of these areas of Manhattan or farther west in N.Y. City. ... Monday 8/24 - Yet another night (Sunday) with fairly good migration - and a lot of that appearing via radar-watch to have gone on, past N.Y. City, to the south overnight. However, there were at least a few boreal-breeding type migrants of the land-birds found, including another Olive-sided Flycatcher, with multiple observers at the n. end of Central Park, several Tennessee Warblers, and at least 2 Bay-breasted Warblers, in both Central and also Riverside Parks northern sector. Still, for this report’s period, only 18 species of American warblers were noted to Monday, and that is not any more than prior periods for the same number of days this month, in N.Y. County, & may in fact be a bit less. At least a modest number of E. Kingbirds were again seen from along the Hudson river, in diurnal migration, but far fewer than on Sunday/a.m. ... Tuesday 8/25 - After a warm & humid night in N.Y. City, a very warm day with some storms around on an approaching ‘cold’ front. Of diurnal movements, there was at least a modest surge of Baltimore Orioles, with a dozen males seen in the first 2 hours of daylight, all moving south, from near the Hudson river, at Riverbank State Park (Manhattan); also noted were more of same in several parks, up to 7 in one small area of Central Park, although a mix of plumages. There were also some B.-h. Cowbirds moving, & Tree & Barn (at least) among swallows. The E. Kingbird flight seemed lower to me, & perhaps was, however at least 30[+] went through at Central Park’s n. end early on, and a nearly-similar number were tallied by 2 keen observers also out early in Central and watching a.m. flight. The day also brought several Olive-sided Flycatchers, a minimum of 3 in Central Park, and 1 at Riverside Park/north - 2 of these also heard singing & calling. Also present in both of those parks were Empidonax [genus] flycatchers, & some of these in the last week have been given names: Yellow-bellied, Least, & “Traill’s” types, which may Willow or Alder; there also have been some possible Acadian Flycatchers not heard vocalizing, which has been so of most of the genus in later August (most of the time). Additional movement of Flickers (Yellow-shafted), although light, was a sign of the uptick in visible morning flight. Also noticed were a fair number of Chimney Swifts, in the 150+ range in the first 3 hours of daylight (starting at about 5:40 a.m.) Thrushes in the genus Hylocichla (Wood) or Catharus were still of just 3 species, Wood, Veery, and Swainson’s, with the first 2 the more-numerous but still in very modest numbers. For American warblers on Tuesday, again some boreal-breeding species noted, including (probably 1st-of-fall in N.Y. County) Cape May (several), Bay-breasted (1 or 2), & Tennessee (3 or more), as well as Wilson’s, & a few other species whose ranges extend well into boreal habitat, such as N. Waterthrush, Magnolia, & Yellow. Some warblers & (at least) a few other migrants were also noted in mid & downtown Manhattan, smaller parks & greenspaces on Tuesday. However, as in other recent days this month, the diversity and esp. numbers of drop-in migrants has not been that impressive, & many are flying on to points-south. At least 22 warbler species had been found in the 6 days of this report’s period, in N.Y. County. ... Some of the species noted from 8/20 thru 8/25 in N.Y. County - Canada Goose Wood Duck (several lingering now at Central Park) Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret (esp. fly-overs, as still expected for now on the established flyway that crosses Manhattan east-west & west-east) Green Heron (multiples and some young ones showing) Black-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (especially at Randall’s Island) Turkey Vulture (scant lately) Osprey (regular and will be increasing!) Bald Eagle (few, but could increase a lot in migration shortly) Cooper's Hawk (few sightings, and mostly from Central Park) Broad-winged Hawk (a very few reports, but not many details; peak migration of these here is possibly a few weeks away still) Red-tailed Hawk Semipalmated Plover (a few reports) Killdeer (regular in a few discrete locations) Greater Yellowlegs (a few sightings lately) Lesser Yellowlegs (esp. one photo’d, with multiple observers - Governors Island) Solitary Sandpiper (several, incl. on Governors Island on 8/21) Spotted Sandpiper (multiple) Semipalmated Sandpiper (few reports, some with photos) Least Sandpiper (very few) Laughing Gull (at least occasional on Central Park reservoir lately, up to 3 there to 8/25; & more regular at harbor & lower rivers) Ring-billed Gull [American] Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Tern (report for Central Park reservoir, where less expected, 8/22 - a single; also a very few on the lower parts of rivers) American Kestrel (regular, incl. NYC resident-breeders) Merlin (2 reports) Peregrine Falcon (NYC residents-breeders) Mourning Dove Black-billed Cuckoo (fewer reports than of Yellow-b.) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (multiple sightings, also photos) Common Nighthawk (v. modest numbers; should be more regular from now into Sept.) Chimney Swift (high numbers in some a.m. flights, also in various areas during days in mostly-lower numbers so far this summer) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (multiple; some very modest flight on some days) Belted Kingfisher (regular in several locations recently) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker (scarce) Yellow-shafted Flicker (very slight uptick in numbers, by end of this report’s period) Olive-sided Flycatcher (several recent reports & observers esp. from Central Park) Eastern Wood-Pewee (multiple, a slight increase - as reported) Empidonax [genus] (multiple sightings, & some not assigned to definitive species) Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (some reports, with a few photo’d.) [Acadian Flycatcher] (casually mentioned) [Willow/Alder Flycatcher] (what are often termed “Traill’s” type Empidonax, this species-pair is not often identified to species away from nesting or wintering areas, if not vocalizing) Least Flycatcher (some reports of this species, a few with photos) Eastern Phoebe (1 or 2 lingering birds, two locations) Great Crested Flycatcher (multiple locations) Eastern Kingbird (big diurnal flight early 8/23; and also noted for other days) Yellow-throated Vireo (one, 8/25, Riverside Park - almost certainly migrant, there) Warbling Vireo (usual reports / locations, as seen where many nest in the county) [Philadelphia Vireo] (1 report so far with some details noted, Riverside Park, 8/24) Red-eyed Vireo (not much evidence of a lot of these migrating, thru 8/25) Blue Jay (fairly common, resident breeders) American Crow (fairly regular) Fish Crow (at a few locations) Common Raven (scant now at least from reports) Tree Swallow (relatively few) Barn Swallow (fairly common, some modest flight in some locations noted) Black-capped Chickadee (v. scarce) Tufted Titmouse (occasional but not at all common) Red-breasted Nuthatch (variously reported from singles up to more than 20 per day, becoming more regular through much of northeast & beyond) White-breasted Nuthatch (regular, not as common now as the other nuthtach species, which are irrupting in large numbers in eastern U.S. states) Carolina Wren (regular & a typical breeding species in N.Y.C.) House Wren (ongoing, if much quieter lately) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (one or two reports with not much detail) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (many locations) Veery (small numbers, so far) Swainson's Thrush (modest numbers, but a slight uptick already) Wood Thrush (local N.Y.C. breeder, with some migrants also likely coming thru lately) American Robin Gray Catbird (common breeder in N.Y. City & in Manhattan) Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher (uncommon & scarcely reported in summer here) House Sparrow European Starling Cedar Waxwing (not uncommon, many sightings, perhaps a bit of local or light movement) Yellow-breasted Chat (reported again in Central Park but for a different location than prior) Scarlet Tanager (few, so far) Eastern Towhee (scarce but may have bred in a very few sites locally, and also quiet lately) Chipping Sparrow (few, but an uncommon county breeder) Song Sparrow (regular nester) White-throated Sparrow (very modest numbers, prob. all just summering birds still around) Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v. few so far; this species is a potential rare nester in Manhattan) Indigo Bunting (very few, mainly early a.m. flights - as also earlier this month) Bobolink (very few noted, also in early a.m. flights as is the usual for this in migration here) Red-winged Blackbird (modest numbers, including a very few on the move at least locally) Common Grackle (some local breeders continue; no obvious flights) Brown-headed Cowbird (some light flights of these, mostly early a.m.) Orchard Oriole (a few reports, a species which may be mostly far-south by this date every August) Baltimore Oriole (fairly good flights, and also some still lingering in nest areas & nearby locations) - Blue-winged Warbler (still not very common this August) Tennessee Warbler (few, in at least 2 parks) Northern Parula (very few) Yellow Warbler (flights; and still in some areas where the species may have attempted breeding) Chestnut-sided Warbler (rather scant, so far) Magnolia Warbler (very few so far) Cape May Warbler (several, by 8/25, Central Park) Black-throated Blue Warbler (scant to low numbers so far) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (1 or 2 reports, still quite early for this as a migrant here) Black-throated Green Warbler (few) Blackburnian Warbler (very few so far but this species can be moving south even in July) Pine Warbler (Central Park, 8/24, with 4 real Bronx birders observing) Prairie Warbler (very few) Bay-breasted Warbler (several were still just slightly early) Black-and-white Warbler (fair numbers, and in some non-parks locations as well this past week) American Redstart (moderate numbers, on some days a small early flight observed) Worm-eating Warbler (a few reports in the larger parks) Ovenbird (still not at all common, a few also likely spent the summer in a few location on Manhattan) Northern Waterthrush (fairly common, many locations) Louisiana Waterthrush (few, with some photo’d. A typically very early southbound-passage-migrant) Common Yellowthroat (still uncommon, just very slight increase this past week) Hooded Warbler (one or two sightings, 2 parks) Wilson's Warbler (still relatively few sightings) Canada Warbler (increased a bit in past week) - House Finch (residents) American Goldfinch (local breeders or casual summering birds, not uncommon) .. Butterflies in the recent period in N.Y. County have included Pipevine Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Summer Azure, American Snout, Variegated Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Question Mark, American Lady, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Common Buckeye, Red-spotted Purple, Monarch, Silver-spotted Skipper, Horace's Duskywing, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Common Checkered-Skipper, Common Sootywing, Least Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Peck's Skipper, Sachem, Zabulon Skipper, Dun Skipper - at least 33 species in the latter half of August, so far - and there may well be some others, including rarer ‘strays’ from the south, which could still be found in this end-of-summer period here. In addition, well over 30 species of wasps & many, many kinds of other hymenoptera have been documented even in Central Park alone this summer, with many continuing and some 1st-records for N.Y. state also found, at least according to popular websites for insect-ID such as BugGuide, which is very good on receiving expert identification assessment, needed for a lot of the small & highly-diverse creatures. Many hundreds of other insects have been identified in N.Y. County, by those who study and learn them well, in just this month alone. An apparent new wasp species for N.Y., or at least for Manhattan, was found & documented by Mike Freeman of Manhattan, this past Saturday in Central Park’s north end; this was also observed by at least 4 other observers and further photographed - it’s a species not native to N. America, which has started to appear in this country as well as in eastern Canada, native to the western Himalayas region & now naturalized in much of eastern Europe, Sceliphron curvatum. (It’s also possible someone has recorded and documented this in NY state, in the literature. From the popular website ‘BugGuide', this is a first state record. - - - - - "This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” - Teddy Roosevelt (26th president of the U.S.A.) "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglass (1818-1895; U.S. statesman, orater, writer) good 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/ --
