on Randall’s Island, in New York County (N.Y. City) - just east of Manhattan island -
The Greater White-fronted Goose (of the Greenland-breeding form, Anser albifrons flavirostris; and apparent first-county record of the [full range of the] species), continued all day Tues., Dec. 22nd, seen from very early morning onward, around (marked) Field 38 at first, later moving a bit with the flock of Canada Geese it mostly stays among but mostly on the fields within the ’30’s-numbers. This & some 100+ Canadas it’s been with are feeding through the light lingering snow-cover, on the grasses of these fields. Double-digits of observers, on the milder-weather day. N.B. it’s worth some patience, if needed, to locate this bird, & might be amongst any of the feeding or resting flocks of Canada Geese on Randall’s Island. There are of course other sources of info, for the above (including the form referred to); this entry is not bad at all: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_white-fronted_goose .. A bit extra-limital to NY, on 12/22, along coastal western Connecticut (in Fairlfield County), a female Tufted Duck has [re]appeared at a location where seen previously. And much more extra-limitally, an apparent female Smew (a merganser species which is truly rare as a genuine vagrant in the 48 contiguous U.S. states, and rare in N. America) has been reported on 12/22, by scores of observers, at Kalamazoo, Michigan. There is the chance with the latter species of an escaped ‘pet’ - or part a waterfowl-fancier’s 'mergellus-menagerie'… as with the male Mandarin Duck also now being seen outdoors in a Connecticut location. .. Some miscellaneous sightings of note from around the Manhattan sector’s C.B.C. area (part of the Lower Hudson CBC in entirety, which also includes much good habitat on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River; and indeed is under N.J. in the official count summary, not under N.Y.), on Sunday, Dec. 20th - Common Goldeneye (3), lower Hudson river, near the Battery; & Monk Parakeet at Battery Park (T. Olson); Eastern Phoebe, around Stuyvesantown / E. 20th St. (E. Goodman; photo’d.); 2 Baltimore Orioles at Fort Tryon Park, and Lincoln’s Sparrow, as well as American Tree Sparrow (usually rather uncommon in N.Y. County), both in at least several locations and seen by multiple observers in those discrete locations. Two species of warblers that have in other years been found attempting to remain in N.Y. County into calendar-winter, have been seen lately, Common Yellowthroat and Ovenbird. Perhaps a few other warbler species are still lingering and lurking in the county and may come to light, however the recent storm & freezes will have made for a rather tough go for most (primarily) insectivores. There’ve been continuing sightings of Red-shouldered Hawk around N.Y. County, including several or more good sightings on 12/22. There were at least 2 Common Goldeneye noted *well* off Randall’s Island’s east-northeast edges, on 12/22 - this latter which may be a favored location but can be challenging even for sharp eyes with strong optics. A new location for Monk Parakeet was noted in an eBird report, from lower Manhattan but in the ‘alphabet city’ neighborhood, thanks to L. Beausoleil. This species may again bear watching out for in 2021, for potential breeding in N.Y. County. (The species is a ‘countable’ bird for the listers, breeding in N.Y. City and in some other parts of the nearby region.) … Incidentally although extra-limitally to NY, as some are aware a Tundra Bean-Goose had been seen for some days at Delaware County, Pennsylvania (in the southeast part of that state) - that bird one of at least several Bean-Geese to have been discovered in N. America this season with a couple of long-lingering birds in Ontario as well as Quebec. The bean-goose coming to Pennsylvania may well have at least flown south through NY state, on its way to its PA location. .. 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, and quiet, including for some birds now trying to roost undisturbed. 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/ --
