For those who’ve never seen (or even heard-of) an albinistic hummingbird, here’s a chance, at least in photos - and these are real, not ‘faux', via a real Arkansas birder. Rare, but it happens. https://ebird.org/checklist/S73069115 <https://ebird.org/checklist/S73069115> -&- https://ebird.org/checklist/S73134786 <https://ebird.org/checklist/S73134786>
The excellent discovery of a Black-throated Gray Warbler at Jamaica Bay Willdlife Refuge’s West Pond trail (the part that’s within Queens County, N.Y. City) on Friday, 9/4 and observed by a small crowd is interesting for the date, as well as its occurrence in N.Y., as an uncommonly-early fall date for this vagrant in the state; more records, including within Queens County in the past, are from the months of November into December (with at least some being seen in the efforts of scouting or searching on or before Christmas Bird Counts), although the species also is a very rare April vagrant as well in N.Y. state. Thanks to Donna Schulman of Queens Co. for posting the report quickly to this list-serve on 9/4, and to the original finder[s] of course for the discovery! Rather distant from a lot of NY state, but still ‘next-door’ to some areas, a Brewer’s Sparrow, a quite-rare western-breeding vagrant, was banded at Powder Mill banding station in Rector, PA - the s.w. portion of Pennsylvania in Westmoreland Co.; and also ‘next-door’ to NY state, a less-rare but also vagrant-type migrant Western Kingbird was discovered on same day in Connecticut, both found on Friday, 9/4. Some ‘early’ reports are flitering in of Pine Siskin, mainly just single birds coming in at feeders, in some places outside of boreal-breeding areas in the eastern U.S., and it may be interesting to watch to see if any further building of that species numbers occurs (away from breeding areas) in coming weeks. — — — — — — New York County, including Manhattan, Governors Island & Randall’s Island (all in N.Y. City) - 9/1-2-3-4-5 (Tuesday thru Saturday) A Sora has been seen in Bryant Park (in midtown, one block east of Times Square) recently, unclear when it actually arrived there, and although obviously horrible habitat & surroundings for that type of bird, this is not an unprecedented occurence either for the species at that exact location, nor, more-so, for unfortunate Soras & some other rails that get plunked into urban Manhattan, sometimes requiring help to emerge from the city-streets or smallest of greenspaces. A very small variety of other migrant birds were also in Bryant Park into Saturday, 9/5. On the same day, 9/5 a Virginia Rail was found at Wall Street’s plaza (financial district, lower Manhattan; by P. Markee) as part of the 'Project Safe Flight' monitoring partnered with NYC Audubon for prevention of bird-glass collison injuries & fatalities. This of course an indication of likely additional movement by rails in the recent period; the Virginia at least perhaps having been attempting to migrate through on the night of the 4th-5th. The KENTUCKY WARBLER is (so far) the least-common warbler species found this year in southbound movement in Manhattan (& N.Y. County), first reported on Wed., 9/2. Also an excellent find (and photographed by the initial reporter) was (what was called) a GOLDEN-WINGED Warbler - one of several of the species in N.Y. City this past week or so - in Central Park on Monday, Aug. 31st - however, it’s also possible - as with some others around the city - that initially appear[ed to be of this species that it may have been a hybrid, with some evidence for a potential genetic backcross with Blue-winged Warbler, & thus potentially in the realm of what are most-often labeled as “Brewster’s” & “Lawrence’s” (named) hybrid warbler[s]. On a ‘local’ note, the few White-throated Sparrows seen and reported in places like Central Park & other city parks & green-spaces so far this month (& thru the summer, by some observers) are not “new” to the season i.e. they’re not fresh arrivals, they spent all the summer there - & those few birds have been consistently found in a lot of the same general locations for months, since the main departures of the species back in late April thru May. At least 2 N. Shovelers are again being seen in Central Park - there were 2 found almost 1 month ago there, which at the time was a slightly early arrival, although not so unusual for the species, only the location’s timing. . . . . . . . Tuesday, Sept. 1st - Migration includes of course those days when migrants mainly depart, and those moving thru the prior night mainly go on as well, rather than dropping in locally. Much of the movement locally on Monday night (8/31) took place early, and by near first-light, not all that many birds were still over Manhattan, other than local bird movements & a very few migrant ‘stragglers’. This even though a bit of foggy-drizzle had developed and potentially might have put a lot of migrants on the deck, IF many had not already pushed through in the midnight or earlier hours. And on Tuesday night, plenty of exodus occured with migrants departing the NYC area, headed south. ... Wed., Sept. 2nd - A damp day, with rain passing (mostly) to the north of N.Y. City, and winds from the east, then south. Not too much in the way of fresh migration detected! However, the discovery of a Kentucky Warbler (detected only on this damp, gray day); may have been of a lingering bird, or not - either possibility seems to suggests itself. Little evidence of much other drop-in for the day yet that is easily a possibility, on a light-migration the prior night. On the other hand, perhaps this bird was present for any unknown amount of time here. (Further attempts to re-locate it were unfruitful.) ... Thursday, Sept. 3rd - Modest migration, at best, across N.Y. City, any of which happened early Wed. night, ahead of a fairly local storm pushing through in the midnight hours, followed by a change in wind and pressure, albeit not a sharp change. However some (not too many) migrants were able to come through in the hours after the front passing east of Manhattan. A diurnal movement / migration with a bit of Icteridae flavor made for some interest, with a small number of Bobolinks, slightly more Red-winged Blackbirds, and at least a couple of Baltimore Orioles moving through at the edge of the Hudson river off W. 145 St., not all that early, with a bit of cloud cover also, but generally clearing out. Also, there were a few raptors on the move - Bald Eagle, Osprey, in particular, but not that many. ... Friday, Sept. 4th - A small rain system passed through, and to the south of N.Y. City early Thurs. eve., however at least modest migration was flowing around, then thru the area in the early part of the night, less so later; as on so many other nights, a majority of that migration in this area made it beyond, southward past the city, perhaps far-southward. A light but persistent flow of migrants was moving south along the lower Hudson valley into the pre-dawn hours. A Lesser Yellowlegs continued to linger, along with a few other shorebirds, on Governors Island. Several Yellow-crowned Night-Herons continued on Randall’s Island. A Solitary Sandpiper also continued a lengthy stay in Central Park, in the north end (& the latter into Sat., 9/5 as well). A few Wood Ducks were also ongoing there. For freshly-observed drop-ins or diurnal migration, there was less than perhaps expected, although a very modest movement of Chimney Swifts, swallows consisting mostly of Tree (very early) & Barn Swallows, plus some E. Kingbirds, took place thru the day, & there were a small no. of Bald Eagles, Ospreys, & Turkey Vulture on the move, with 1 or 2 reports of Black Vulture (as is typical from the northern part of Manhattan). Also ongoing was some movement of Ruby-throated Hummingbird, with up to 18 seen in 4 hrs. of watching along the Hudson river near-shore mid-day & earlier, this also noted for prior days but in somewhat lower numbers. There was also a very light-seeming flow of land-birds & perhaps a very few shorebirds on Friday a.m., also some light evidence of at least replenishment of such common migrants as American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, & probably a few more later-moving Yellow Warblers, as well as a very few Blackpoll, Tennessee, Cape May, & other boreal-type species only in very scattered sites on Manhattan. Generally however, the ‘birds on the ground’ were again rather slim-pickings. — Saturday, Sept. 5th - The wind shift, from the north on Friday night (then returning to W/SW/S by late on Saturday) allowed a lot of migration overnight starting Friday evening - and a tremendous amount was to continue on southward, as has happened for many nights of the past month around N.Y. City. However, we did receive a nice influx, if not in staggering numbers “on the deck” or in the air, of a bit more in the way of diversity for the day. A minimum of 25 American Warbler species were found in Central Park (alone) on Saturday, 9/5, with 2 additional species well-reported from previous days in the past week. Migrants in at least modest, increased numbers for the day included N. Parula (most notably), Yellow Warbler, & for thrushes esp. more Veery, as well as lesser -but increased- numbers of Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, & Common Yellowthroat, plus other species - which are all noted in the list below. At least a few Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and more-scarce Black-billed Cuckoo, have been found, but may or may not be fresh arrivals, as these 2 species were already being seen, & possibly ongoing lately in some local parks. Also ongoing in modest numbers have been Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting (still minimal), & Baltimore Oriole. A very modest a.m. movement of Red-winged Blackbird did not appear to include many, if any other icterids such as orioles or brown-headed cowbirds, bobolinks, etc. as seen along the E. River from mid-Manhattan. Raptor movement was not bad for the date, yet not esp. impressive, with some Bald Eagles, Osprey (in particular), a very few Broad-winged Hawks, & also a few migrant American Kestrels (in addition to the many resident kestrels of the city), and accipiters, including at least a few Sharp-shinned Hawks, plus some Turkey Vultures. Chimney Swifts and Tree & Barn Swallows were in only modest numbers here, and no strong movement of E. Kingbird detected from Manhattan, although some of the species were seen including a few on their way southward. This day seemed to feature more (Ruby-throated) Hummingbirds taking breaks and feeding, rather than on the move / in flight. There are certainly many flowers in profuse bloom in the city that can be utilized by them now. Among the species seen for the 5-day period, 9/1 thru 9/5 - in New York County, including Manhattan (in N.Y. City) - Canada Goose Wood Duck (several, continuing in Central Park) Northern Shoveler (Central Park; photographed) Gadwall (ongoing) American Black Duck Mallard Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron (at least several as flyovers, & various observers & locations) Great Egret (few) Snowy Egret (few) Green Heron (small no’s. continuing) Black-crowned Night-Heron (ongoing) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Randall’s Island) Black Vulture (few sightings, mainly from n. end of Manhattan, thru sky-watches) Turkey Vulture (very modest no’s.) Osprey (good no’s., many moving in recent days) Bald Eagle (modest no’s. / ongoing) Sharp-shinned Hawk (few so far, at least 3 for 9/5) Cooper's Hawk (few, also potentially moving more-locally for now) Broad-winged Hawk (very few, still a bit early for stronger migration of the species) Red-tailed Hawk (common, & resident around N.Y. City / N.Y. County) Virginia Rail (as noted above, Wall Street Plaza, Manhattan, Saturday 9/5) Sora (Bryant Park - & present there for at least several days into Sat., 9/5) Killdeer (few locations, and ongoing) Lesser Yellowlegs (1 had lingered at Governors Island) Solitary Sandpiper (few, 1 of them lingering for a long time thru 9/5 at Central Park) Spotted Sandpiper (modest no’s.) Semipalmated Sandpiper (few reports now) Least Sandpiper (a few in a very few sites, incl. at least 4 at Inwood Hill Park mudflats to 9/5) Laughing Gull (modest numbers, occasional at C.P. reservoir but more regularly on the lower rivers to the harbor) Ring-billed Gull (greatly increasing in recent weeks) [American] Herring Gull (common) Great Black-backed Gull (fairly common, esp. at C.P. reservoir and along the rivers) Common Tern (few, but at least 1 or 2 still prrsent at East River; and perhaps on Governors Island at times) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon (exceedingly common) Mourning Dove (common and widespread) American Kestrel (a small no. may be migrants, & also the usual multitudes of N.Y. City / County residents) Peregrine Falcon (Manhattan residents in many locations) Black-billed Cuckoo (few, & possibly continuing individuals) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (some continuing in several locations) Common Nighthawk (few sightings, but can be overlooked) Chimney Swift (still in high double-digits for highest counts) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (good no’s. on migration and also some lingering, stopping in for feeding thru 9/5) Belted Kingfisher (scarcer now, but a few ongoing at 1 location) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker (scarce) Yellow-shafted Flicker (modest numbers, not much if any recent fresh influx) Olive-sided Flycatcher (a few ongoing sightings, including to Saturday, 9/5) Eastern Wood-Pewee (fair no’s. now, with an increase in this report’s period) Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (multiple sightings, some w/ photos & a few w/ audio) [Willow/Alder Flycatcher] (multiple sightings, of which some poss. ID’d to species, but many just in this ‘pair’ at best) Least Flycatcher (multiple reports, some w/ photos & a few w/ audio) Eastern Phoebe (very few so far) Great Crested Flycatcher (far fewer sightings in this report period, but some ongoing to Sat., 9/5) Eastern Kingbird (many migrants all thru the period, mainly seen in esp. dedicated flight-watches) Yellow-throated Vireo (few this report period) Warbling Vireo (increased in this period, a prob. increase for 9/5) [Philadelphia Vireo] (very few reports, & 'almost none' with photos or really solid details) Red-eyed Vireo (increased greatly as of Sat., 9/5; & also lingering birds as well) Blue Jay (fairly common) Common Raven (a few reports in multiple locations) American Crow (fairly common) Fish Crow (few reports) Purple Martin (v. few reports of this species for the period; notable flight in some areas lately for late summer migration) Tree Swallow (modest to low no’s.) Barn Swallow (fairly regular, many are now migrating &/or moving locally) Black-capped Chickadee (scarce, worth watching for in case of autumnal movements, or the possibility of an ‘irruption') Tufted Titmouse (modest to low no’s.) Red-breasted Nuthatch (the nearly continent-wide movement continues; these are being noted even in the far southern U.S. at some locations) White-breasted Nuthatch (typical no’s., but not esp. common) Carolina Wren (good no’s. continue) House Wren (ongoing) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (diminished numbers by 9/4; a large flight at points south) Veery (much increased overnight for Saturday, 9/5) Swainson's Thrush (small & ‘fresh' arrival, Sat. 9/5) Wood Thrush (few, but a likely small uptick in no’s. for Sat., 9/5) American Robin (extremely common resident and possibly a bit of recent migratory or local movement) Gray Catbird (a very modest increase over the period) Northern Mockingbird (still common) Brown Thrasher (few, & extremely secretive still, even for end of summer) European Starling (ubiquitous) House Sparrow (overly ubiquitous) Cedar Waxwing (multiple, but not in great numbers) Scarlet Tanager (very slight increases thru the report period) Eastern Towhee (one sighting, a location as in prior weeks) Chipping Sparrow (modest no’s. of this scarce-breeder for N.Y. County, w/some successes of the species here) Song Sparrow (ongoing breeding-birds with their offspring) Swamp Sparrow (1, very early or, as likely a bird that summered in one location) White-throated Sparrow (no migration of this species; the ones in Manhattan recently have all summered there, even if highly-local movement happened i.e. within a park) White-crowned Sparrow (1 report so far from Central Park, very early & rather anomalous, if accurate) Northern Cardinal (common resident) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (very modest uptick, as of 9/4 & 9/5) Indigo Bunting (still small no’s. so far) - Blue-winged Warbler (decreased thru the report period) [Golden-winged Warbler] - (one report w/photo from 8/31, Central Park; unclear if not at least some hybrid genes) Tennessee Warbler (not much increase, but a few continued to be found into 9/5) Nashville Warbler (few, in just a few locations) Northern Parula (many, and the most-notable new arrival in warblers for Sat., 9/5) Yellow Warbler (increased, as of 9/5) Chestnut-sided Warbler (still some but a slight decrease by 9/5) Magnolia Warbler (some increase, by 9/5) Cape May Warbler (very subtle increase, 9/5 - multiple locations) Black-throated Blue Warbler (modest increase by 9/5) Black-throated Green Warbler (increased, 9/5) Blackburnian Warbler (still some but some are lingering for all of the report period) Pine Warbler (few, & as expected so far) Prairie Warbler (v. modest no’s., no real increases for the period) [Eastern] Palm Warbler (1, E. River Park, 9/5, not ultra-early but far ahead of peak) Bay-breasted Warbler (multiple, but not that many, multiple locations, & thru period) Blackpoll Warbler (relatively few, a very slight uptick at least by 9/4 and 9/5) Black-and-white Warbler (ongoing, but fewer than prior week) American Redstart (ongoing and still common, but fewer for 9/5 than previous week) Worm-eating Warbler (several & esp. well-noted in Central Park) Ovenbird (multiple but no big increase nor decrease this period) Northern Waterthrush (multiple, but not that many ongoing) KENTUCKY Warbler (as noted at top, 9/2 - at a small greenspace by residential apt. building on East 49th Street; not re-found on succeeding attempts) Mourning Warbler (2, into Saturday, 9/5, Central Park - n. end) Common Yellowthroat (many continuing & in multiple locations) Hooded Warbler (multiple, but not many, including adult-male-like plumages seen in Central Park lingering into Sat., 9/5) Wilson's Warbler (relatively few lingering) Canada Warbler (multiple, but not very many lingering; those that were included some in smaller greenspaces in Manhattan) - Bobolink (relatively few) Red-winged Blackbird (modest or no a.m. flights on various days) Common Grackle (regulars continue) Brown-headed Cowbird (small no’s.) Baltimore Oriole (modest no’s. with some light a.m. flight on some days, now fewer adult males) Purple Finch (very scant, but a few have either continued in a few locations, or just as likely are passing thru in very low no’s. so far) House Finch (widespread) American Goldfinch (fairly common and widespread) .. Butterflies of at least 25 species have been found in N.Y. County in the report period; less-common are Giant Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Variegated Fritillary, Common Buckeye, Ocola Skipper (the latter on 9/5 - in Central Park’s Conservatory Garden), Fiery Skipper, and other species. (Sachems are near-common in much of N.Y. City at this time of year and have been for several decades, in most late summers). Good numbers of dragonflies have been showing well, some of them likely mostly migrants, including Black Saddlebags & others. Hundreds of other arthropod species have been noted in N.Y. County, by some observers who study them closely. This includes more than 35 species of wasp in the north end of Central Park alone that have been photographed & many posted to insect-photo websites, including but not limited to BugGuide [.net], which is a non-profit; the site is hosted in part by Iowa State University, & has a strong component of northeastern amateur contributors, with identifications confirmed by many experts in particular families & orders of insects. - - - - - "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, orator, 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/ --
