New York County, including Manhattan, Randall’s Island, and (now closed to the general public until spring) Governors Island (all within N.Y. City)
Overall not an extremely-busy couple of days (bird-wise!) for the county yet movement has continued and there are also a fair number of lingering birds, plus the arrivals of typically wintering species. Highlights included American Bittern, Virgina Rail, E. Bluebirds, and a variety of other migrants and other birds. ... Wed., 11/4 - Winds which had been fierce for 2 days & nights calmed down & temperature also began to moderate, with the first inkling of what may be an extended series of mild and calm-weather days for the region. Some migration occurred both in day & night, & a goodly amount of that was exodus or simply onward southbound movement. An American Bittern was photographed (C. Quinn) at the edge of Randall’s Island on 11/4; there is a chance that this was a lingering bird there. 2 Blue-headed Vireos were seen on Governors Island (now closed to the general public), on 11/4. A minimum of 4 E. Bluebirds were in Central Park again on 11/4, & it is likely these are lingering individuals, 2 were in one area, 2 more in a totally separate area, and these ‘pairs’ were also seen concurrently by multiple observers. Lincoln’s Sparrow was also present on Governors Island. There were at least ten species of American warblers in N.Y. County, with all of the species being seen on Manhattan island (& some of same as well on the outlying islands) - these included: American Redstart, Cape May Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, & Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler. While some of the warblers being seen just lately may be lingering there also seem to be new individuals 'popping up' in a variety of locations, & that sort of situation is possible even to near year’s-end in the region - that is to some extent noted with the additional effort that may be found in scouring local-patch sites in addition to the better-known sites, as C.B.C. season gets in gear. The same applies for all sorts of birds at that season. While a total of at least 18 Wood Ducks in Central Park (with at least 14 of those on the C.P. reservoir) on 11/4 is a great sight, it is not even remotely close to any all-time record for a high count of the species in that park (nor on that reservoir) nor for the county. (n.b., many such records are not in eBird.) Those numbers this week are not even a 21st-century high count, for the location. ... Thurs., 11/5 - Winds were again moderate (& out of the southwest) and temp’s. trended a bit milder than the prior day. A Virginia Rail was seen at a location on Central Park’s w. side. Several E. Bluebirds were again seen in Central Park, lingering from recent days. Among possibly-diminishing diversity of warblers, at least a few Cape May Warblers were among those still being seen and there were still at least 7 other of the lingering warbler spp. in the county, on the day. The Coot-count in (just) Central Park is up to 4 (nope, not all in one place). Some Laughing Gulls are still showing in various locations. Same for E. Phoebes. And there are still a good many finches to be seen, including (even on lower-migration days) Pine Siskins a-plenty, as well as - esp. standing-out on Thurs. - Cedar Waxwings in diurnal movement. There are also ongoing Purple Finch, American Goldfinch - and the chance for other finch species & more ‘irruptives’ as the season goes along. Some Monarch and other butterflies have continued to be seen, as well as the 2 dragonfly spp. Wandering Glider, & Autumn Meadowhawk. Many other adult insects also have been recorded. - - - - - "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 to all - and thanks to the many who also keep the birds’ best interests at heart when out in the field - and limit any possible disturbances to the birds’ requirements for food, shelter, & safety, including for the many migrants a safe passage on their often long journeys as well as birds on roost sites. 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/ --
