Many NYS birders may be readers of, or aware of the ABA blog; there’s a brief write-up in one of the latest entries that offers some thoughts on the influx of Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills to the north of their breeding ranges, and sometimes, as the blog piece points out, very far north of the typical breeding ranges. It’s an easy read, and might deserve further discussion, especially from those who study these species. See: https://www.aba.org/roseate-spoonbills-and-wood-storks-wander-to-the-north/ -if interested.
…… New York County, including Manhattan, Randall’s & Governors Island[s], and adjacent waters & sky. Sat. Aug. 14th, thru Wed., Aug. 18th - At least one Prothonotary Warbler continued into Wed., 8/18 in the Central Park Ramble - 8th day in a row; I’m of the opinion 1 bird is ranging around from The Lake’s edges, into Ramble. This always-popular species was on Wednesday (18th) again showing regularly in the area of the Azalea Pond, which is formed by the widest section of the Gill (a stream) into a small pond. [N.B. - I have yet to see any photos showing 2 Prothonotarys at same time, for any days since 8/11; yet some are suggesting 2 have continued in Central. Many observers report one bird now.] 28 of the passage-migrant spp. were the many warbler species that came, in particular on the night of the 14th-15th, seen most widely on 8/15, with many lingering also to 8/16, and some afterwards. Also impressive were the 8 or more spp. of flycatcher recorded for the period, and for this county, the full complement of all the annually-seen hirundine species. Many species of recent migrants were the first-of-fall arrivals, although there were some precursors, such as the early Tennessee Warbler[s] in July, & a few other such hints that a big ‘push’ could turn up in this area this ‘early’ into August… (for many of the migrants, the early-ness was just a week or so ahead of more-typical 1st-arrivals in the southbound season). And it never hurts that a good many observers came out for a weekend of a lot of migration! Unless noted otherwise, all of the species had multiple observers, and many, including uncommon species were photographed as well. Again, I’ll add that many of the ‘early-seeming’ species found in this period were mainly found in small numbers; it’s an interesting event, esp. the arrivals of 8/15, yet not quite exceptional simply because while this looks to be a widespread passage (some of these ‘early’ moving migrant species were also detected in other counties of N.Y. City and adacent or nearby counties of the tri-state region hereabouts, but also, for some, in locatons a good ways south of N.Y. City) but not an extremely dense movement - possibly more notable in its relative diversity (of the Parulidae in particular), rather than for exceptionally high numbers moving en-masse. At the same time, and as is usual, far more birds passed on thru in the night, than stopped or dropped in to local areas. It is reasonable to assume that (at least) a few additional species were moving in the great push of migrants esp. over last weekend, 8/14-15… this list is a result of the observations by literally hundreds of observers in thousands of hours of individual observing-times and from many locations. Some of the migrants were detected in smaller less-visited locations, but as can be expected, many many observations came from a lot of watchers in the most-visited parks and areas, some very well-known. From Inwood Hill Park, to The Battery, and Governors Island, and from Randall’s Island, to Riverside Park & the Hudson river, watchers found a whole lot in the report-period. So thanks, to all! Canada Goose (typical summering birds and some breeders) Mute Swan (now-uncommon to scarce in the county, multiple sightings along E. River areas) Wood Duck (slight inceease for August, generally) Gadwall (small uptick in sightings and in numbers) American Black Duck (more beginning to show up) Mallard (near ubiquitous, many breeding as well as summering) Northern Shoveler (minimum of 4 at Central Park, Sunday, 8/15) (n.b. - a single Hooded Merganser, earlier in Aug. for the county) Osprey (good no’s. and some are migrating now) Bald Eagle (small no’s. with some of the earliest migrators on the move as well) Northern Harrier (a bit early for this country but in line with general movements) Sharp-shinned Hawk (early for the county, and in line with first early-migrators) Cooper's Hawk (several sightings around the county - a possibilty that some summered) Broad-winged Hawk (a few sightings, not unexpected for August migration on n-w winds) Red-tailed Hawk (common N.Y. City residents & breeders, good no’s. around the county, esp. on Manhattan) Double-crested Cormorant (common & very widespread, including fly-overs, in summer) Great Blue Heron (regular now at some locations) Great Egret (regular all summer) Snowy Egret (regular all summer - mostly seen as fly-bys from various locations) Green Heron (regular all summer, but an uptick in sightings, as Aug. goes along) Black-crowned Night-Heron (regular all summer) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (most esp. from the sites around Randall’s Island with up to 3 on some occasions) Black Vulture (few but regular from viewpoints in n. Manhattan, & less so elsewhere) Turkey Vulture (small uptick in no’s. in August) Wild Turkey (recent resident) Killdeer (ongoing in several locations) Greater Yellowlegs (scarce; several at least to 8/16, n. Manhattan) Lesser Yellowlegs (scarce; latest report from Governors Island, 8/18: photo’d., C. Weiner) Solitary Sandpiper (rather scarce but regular at several locations, including Central Park, & Governors Island) Spotted Sandpiper (regular in August) Semipalmated Sandpiper (occasionally in no’s. in Aug.) Least Sandpiper (as for previous species) Laughing Gull (regular, including some at Central Park reservoir at times - most regular around N.Y. harbor & the rivers) Ring-billed Gull (increased a bit and now regular) [American] Herring Gull (regular all summer) Great Black-backed Gull (regular all summer) Common Tern (still being seen at typical locations, esp. near NY Harbor and on & near Governors Island) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon (ubiquitous) American Kestrel (commonly seen, many locations - many which nested in the county) Peregrine Falcon (as above but slightly less-common; w/ sightings in many locations) Mourning Dove (common, & also some little-noted movement in summer) Black-billed Cuckoo (small no’s., continuing into the period of this report) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (a slight increase into period of this report) E. Screech-owl (county resident) Common Nighthawk (first known county sightings of the season by 8/18, and seen from n. Manhattan) Chimney Swift (increased w/ some movements of 100+ at a time, w/ some southward movement seen) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (increasing, adding to the few starting in July in the county; now more-frequent as southbound diurnal movers, too) Belted Kingfisher (increased, some were present thru the summer, but now found in many more locations as of this report's-period) Red-bellied Woodpecker (good no’s. nest in the county) Downy Woodpecker (f. common resident) Hairy Woodpecker(uncommon as a resident) Yellow-shafted Flicker (very modest increase, or simply more activity by successful family groups in recent days) Olive-sided Flycatcher (small no’s., as now expected) Eastern Wood-Pewee (small increase since the flights of past weekend, & with more than just the local breeders) Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (few, which were ID’d with details &/or photos) Acadian Flycatcher (some giving calls, and a few photo’d at least suggesting this species) Willow Flycatcher (a few definitively ID’d by calls, also a number of reports w/ few details) Alder/Willow Flycatcher (some sightings of this species-pair, which was once called “Traill’s Flycatcher” before the taxonomic split) Least Flycatcher (multiple sightings, some based on calls and good photos or descriptions) Eastern Phoebe (very few, a potential breeder in the county, and also poss. a few had been moving about by now) Great Crested Flycatcher (uptick in no’s., from the relatively few that breed in the county) Eastern Kingbird (very good movements in the past week, many on the move now all thru the region in addition to lingering-locals) Yellow-throated Vireo (uncommon but not esp. early by now; at least 2 seen on the big past weekend’s migration) Warbling Vireo (an uptick in no’s., beyond the many that breed in the county) Red-eyed Vireo (a modest uptick, with only a few being known local breeders; still on the early side for migrators) Blue Jay (fairly widespread, some apparent movement over mid-summer, & poss. more than just local movement) Common Raven (regular reports, and from a variety of locations, these are a fixture now in the county) American Crow (regular all year) Fish Crow (many have been seen at some prime locations, esp. passing by Randall’s Island dawn and dusk periods) Purple Martin (few reports, but is an inceeased species regionally, some passage as is expected for August: watch swallow flocks!) Tree Swallow (some movement, and at least a few seen regularly from a few locations) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (small no’s. recently, with poss. diminised no’s. in recent days) Bank Swallow (small no’s. reported, but is an expected passage migrant now, & some have been documnted w/ details & photos) Barn Swallow (regular all summer, with a good increase on passage lately - worth checking thru for the following or other species!) Cliff Swallow (additional to few seen mid-summer on Randall’s Isalnd, small no’s. passing in migration, can often be in flocks w/other hirundines, but also poss. as singles or small groups) Black-capped Chickadee (small no’s. as had been all summer) Tufted Titmouse (modest no’s. as had been all summer) White-breasted Nuthatch (typical no’s., w/ local breeders) Carolina Wren (typical breeder in the county) House Wren (regular breeder in N.Y. County) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (first sightings - in low single-digits, came on Sun. Aug. 15th, just slightly-early) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (many on passage, & should normally be expected for many more weeks on passage) Veery (several seem & at least one photo’d, for 8/15; not early in overall expected migration-time) Swainson's Thrush (several or more by 8/15 w/ documentation, slightly early for the county but in line w/ passage noted regionally) Wood Thrush (recent uptick in no’s. and seemingly more than would be solely from good sucesses in local breeding no’s.) American Robin (common and hard to miss them) Gray Catbird (breeds in the county, f. good no’s. in some locations) Northern Mockingbird (fairly common to common breeder, and so more fledgelings lately) Brown Thrasher (scarce N.Y. County breeder, a very few w/ success this summer) European Starling (ubiquitous) House Sparrow (ubiquitous) Cedar Waxwing (regular; also an uncommon to not-uncommon breeder in the county; also a bit of area movement detected recently) Scarlet Tanager (small no’s. in this report’s period, on the early side - this species is a likely / definite breeder in a few areas in N.Y. City) Eastern Towhee (scarce local breeder in N.Y. County, and a few pairs quietly held on) Chipping Sparrow (breeds in the county in small no’s. and probably not on the move yet, but a very slight uptick in no’s. recently) Field Sparrow (very scarce and local in summer - not known to breed in the county, but…?) Song Sparrow (regular breeder and some successes, thus more are around by now in the county) Swamp Sparrow (very small no’s. may summer in the county; no known breeding-attempts; there were a few all this summer on Manhattan) White-throated Sparrow (small no’s. summer every year in the county, in a few locations, may even be found in double-digit no’s. in summer) Northern Cardinal (widespread resident) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (very few so far, and slightly early; this is also a poss. / potential breeder in the county) Indigo Bunting (modest no’s. moving, not esp. early for the start of the species migrations) House Finch (typical no’s., a regular breeding species) American Goldfinch (regular in summer, and some that have bred in the county) Bobolink (modest no’s. continued; this species starts to move in July, and is possible as a migrant for many many weeks thru the summer) Red-winged Blackbird (good movement on some days and also prior to this report; far more will be expected later into the calendar-autumn) Common Grackle (small amount of movement, some perhaps more than just local staging or wandering; most migrants come much later on) Brown-headed Cowbird (passage has continued - and will pick up again later into the calendar-fall) Orchard Oriole (expected as migrants in July to Aug. and most are south of N.Y. City by September - this is also a local / N.Y. County breeder) Baltimore Oriole (many breed in N.Y. County; the southbound passage was also already starting - as some local birds are still in family groups) - (note: of the warblers, the 2 species that are potential/actual breeders in the county were also occuring as migrants within this report’s period) Blue-winged Warbler (regular; and also, “Brewster’s” -hybrid Warbler) Tennessee Warbler (small no’s., and a few with many many observers) Nashville Warbler (early but in-line w/ some of the other fairly-early arrivals, 8/15 & 8/16, Riverside Park) Northern Parula (some may have summered, an uncommon event in the county, w/ a small increase by 8/15) Yellow Warbler (ongoing, and actually diminished in no’’s. as the earliest-movers have long passed thru to the south) Chestnut-sided Warbler (uptick in no’s., still not v. common) Magnolia Warbler (small no’s. & slightly early for 1st arriving ‘fall' migrants) Cape May Warbler (early - one nicely photo-documented at Randall’s Island, on 8/15) Black-throated Blue Warbler (small no’s. & just v. slightly early for first arriving ‘fall’ migrants) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (very early, but not too surprising amid a push of other diverse migrants, incl. boreal-breeders. This species breeds within less than 100 miles of N.Y. City) Black-throated Green Warbler (slightly early, but not much for first-arrival of ‘fall’ migrants) Blackburnian Warbler (fully-expected in Aug. - still in modest no’s.; these had already first begun to show in July) Pine Warbler (slightly early for perceived-peak, which comes a lot later than the initial first ‘fall’ movements of the species - and of many warblers in general) Prairie Warbler (fully-expected now, small no’s. so far) Bay-breasted Warbler (somewhat early, very few, and with multiple observers in at least 3 or more locations in Manhattan - Central (esp.) & Riverside Parks, Aug. 15) Blackpoll Warbler (8/15: on early side, but not very, and in-line w/ push of other boreal-breeders; additionally, this species breeds more southerly as well, including in i.e. Catskill Mtns. of N.Y.) Black-and-white Warbler (very widespread & near-common now) American Redstart (increased, as expected now - this species is an uncommon NYC breeder, & was seen in July in the county) Prothonotary Warbler (rare-regular each year in the county; 2 initially reported 8/11, but mainly one individual seen at a time by many hundreds of observers, over an 8-day visit, Central Park) Worm-eating Warbler (expected early July thru summer in the county as migrants; this species is increasing gradually at the northern edges of its known breeding range- into n. New England) Ovenbird (expected by now as migrants; still in small no’s. as compared with later expected ongoing passage here) Northern Waterthrush (ongoing southbound migration, which started as usual in July) Louisiana Waterthrush (still some pushing thru - this is among the earliest-moving-southward of our migrant warblers) Mourning Warbler (nice showing, not esp. early, of this often-skulking species - several discoveries, Central Park, 8/15) Common Yellowthroat (common they are, although not as a breeder in N.Y. County; now starting to show as migrants) Hooded Warbler (few, and often overlooked as not likely to be singing; this species can be seen from Aug.-Oct. some years in N.Y. City) Wilson's Warbler (early, & still fairly uncommon, this seemed almost an ‘indicator’ of a poss. early push of more boreal-breeding warblers & others to come, and that they did, around the region) Canada Warbler (expected and started to show in good no’s. for this report’s period) ...At least 16 species of warblers remained in Central Park to Wednesday, 8/18. Clearly many, with other migrants, also moved on from the past weekend’s + Monday’s greater numbers. … Plenty of nice insect observations also in the period, and just some butterflies of interest have included Pipevine Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreaks, American Snouts, Variegated Fritillaries, Common Buckeyes, Common Checkered-Skippers, Wild Indigo Duskywings, certainly many Monarchs, and various many others. One of the prime areas in the county for some of these species has been Governors Island, but all of these species may be - and have been - seen in other sites in the county, esp. where larger & diverse flower-plantings are found. Good observations to all, Tom Fiore N.Y. City & beyond -- 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/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
