For many, really for all New Yorkers & many others in the NYC region, these were sad, hard days. R.I.P., for those we lost in the passage of this storm. The clearing weather of later (after sunrise, in N.Y. City) on Sept. 2nd was welcome as clean-up and recovery were ongoing in the aftermath. _ _
N.Y. County (in N.Y. City) including Manhattan, Randall’s, and Governors Island[s] - [as a note to any who may wish to visit Governors Island NYC, to board a ferry one must wear a face-mask, per standard Covid-19 safety-protocol. To enter buildings on the island, it’s being stated that one must have proof of anti-Covid vaccination for all over the age of 12, and all children under 12 must be accompanied by a vaccinated adult. This will be in line with a wider NYC policy, to begin (with enforcement) in the coming weeks.] 2 Monk Parakeets were confirmed in eBird as fly-bys at Central Park’s n. end on Tuesday, 8/31, and they could possibly be spending time in the general area (including the neighborhood) but I and others did not find them on Wed. 9/1, or on 9/2. ... Wednesday, Sept. 1st - For Central Park, the most-noticeable increase was in N. Shoveler numbers, up to 22 in all, in a few modest flocks on 3 water-bodies, the majority at the reservoir by later in the day, along with at least 2 lingering G.-w. Teal and Pied-billed Grebe. Solitary & Spotted Sandpipers each continued as well in Central Park. A Palm Warbler was continuing at the s.e. corner of Central Park. There also seemed to be a more-general slight increase of Black-and-white Warbler, which were seen in the multiple in many parks and smaller green-spaces on the day. A minimum of 16 warbler spp. were present in Central, but many species were in rather low numbers, with the exception as noted and as previously, with a goodly no. of American Redstarts still around (but fewer now). Randall’s Island held at least 31 Killdeer on several of the n.-w. fields in the early morning of 9/1, and there were 4 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons (3 in adult plumage) around the salt marsh at Little Hell Gate, with some Black-crowneds also, as well as Great Blue Herons, & a few Great Egrets. ... Thursday, Sept. 2nd - A new record was established for rainfall in both a one-hour period and also in a 24-hour period, from the weather-station in Central Park, N.Y. City - similar records occurred in other parts of the NYC region, for high and rapid rainfall. The potential damages were still being assessed as the day went on & more will be sure to have been reported. Strong winds & even a possible tornado pushed through the region (including through n. Manhattan and eastward) on Wed. night, while by daybreak, winds were from the north, & while gusty, had lessened to generally well below warning-levels. Some trees had come down, but thankfully not more, and many limbs and esp. smaller branches were commonly strewn all around the city, as daybreak came Thursday. Low-lying areas had in some places extreme flooding; that varied, and higher ground was in some places less or little affected. One of the birds always rather hoped-for each season, & sadly tougher to come by each year in migration, a Golden-winged Warbler (male) was seen at the west edges of Belvedere Castle pavillion in Central Park (i.e. just east of the Shakespeare Garden, as the sun was out, early on Thursday, 9/2; found by one of our keenest long-time observers, Dr. R. Pasquier) & may well be in that vicinity, or to the south somewhere; there was however likely a good migration including departure, as well as fresh arrival overnight Thurs. into Friday. Most likely this was among the various species already in the area from days prior. (G.-w. Warblers have been on the move lately as is expected in the wider region.) With that species, the no. of warbler spp. on the day in (just) Central Park was at least 17, with perhaps a few more around - that’s in keeping with what had been seen in same park the day before. 14+ observers (at least) were Hudson-river-watching as the day began & some a bit later; I chose to watch from Riverbank State Park near W. 145 St. as there are areas where one is sort-of ‘suspended’ one-quarter way out into the river, with views to well-beyond the G.W. bridge looking north, & far south to some extent - views being best to the west (N.J.) side thanks to the irregular shore of the river along Manhattan’s upper & esp. lower west (piers, buildings, other structures, etc. etc.); also - it can *smell bad* there, as was so this time until positioned with wind in the right place! Some Caspian Terns were moving on the strong northerly winds which had already been blowing well before first-light, all headed south down-river. My own count was 5, with all being farther from the Manhattan side, 2 being much higher over the river than the other 3, & all moving along with no hesitation as viewed from near W. 145 St. Various other watchers were taking counts of this species varying from one to three, & all apparently in morning hours. Some sightings also took place farther north along the Hudson river, same day (north of N.Y. City). Largest group of observers (probably) were situated at the western end of Dyckman St. in morning hours & saw at least 2 Caspian Terns as well as a “sterna species” Tern, perhaps Common, but indeterminate for now. Some saw 1 additional Caspian as well. (Note, Common Tern is not common at all north of lower Manhattan, at any date, and other Sterna-species terns are decidely rare for N.Y. County in this era; in addition, Commons are by now a lot less regular even where they had been for much of the summer season, such as the harbor areas and Governors Island.) Two Caspian Terns were seen & photo’d. (J. Keane) as well from Randall’s Island and moved off the northeast end there, likely *not* (my opinion) the same birds involved in the Hudson River sightings - and Randall’s did produce some warblers that may or may not have been present there in the prior days, including *Cape May*, Canada, B.-thr. Blue and others, many in the central “urban farm” section & freshwater marsh sections, all on Thursday a.m., with a nice concentration of Great Egrets, & at least one Snowy also continuing, plus 2 Yellow-crowned N.-Herons, Green Heron, & other birds at Randall’s. Laughing Gulls continue to be seen from various areas, and most are expected in & around the county, with no very unusual numbers for the 2 storm-days, from most reports, although some E. River observers did see numbers into the low-dozens. Well before civil daylight or first-light, I’d gone to the Central Park reservoir to see if any obvious unusual bird massing or movement was evident - NONE. And I don’t think any was observed later, either. (Even the occurrence of a number of Caspian Terns moving down the Hudson on Sept. 2nd, may not be fully-related to the pasage of “Ida"-remnants… the more so as more is learned of annual-seasonal passage-migration from the N.Y. County -manhattan, etc.- perspective, by keen watchers; then again, it can be tough ‘proving a negative’. So for now, I will also call them ‘storm-moved’ birds - and certainly we don’t get ‘regular’ sightings of Caspians in *N.Y. County*!) In my opinion and observation, *almost all non-diurnal* migrant species that were being seen as of Thursday were *already in the area* from the days preceding, & very few were newly-arrived. The obvious exceptions, those species which were moving at first-light and since, on 9/2. And this reference - which is an opinion - is for Manhattan in particular, not regarding all of NYC. (in some reports, sightings of migrants almost-exactly matched such seen in same location 1 or 2 days prior to 9/2, for Manhattan island). Large no’s. of Great Blue Heron are showing at Inwood Hill Park, yet these have been in high no’s. over some days. Ongoing, also at the Central Park n. end was a Solitary Sandpiper. It seemed that a lot of the previous day’s N. Shovelers had moved on, or at least dispersed. A number of the smaller parks in Manhattan had same / similar birds on Thursday as seen in same parks on prior days. Even an Osprey has continued to enjoy being at Central Park’s n. end & around, as in many recent days. Some Empidonax flycatchers were ongoing, with a number of Yellow-bellied being found again, in various parts of Manhattan, several or more in Central Park - and other species also seen. There are still some E. Kingbirds on the move but that species is getting a bit more scarce, as is expected as we move on thru September. In addition to fairly-frequent Veery sightings, there have been a few solid sightings of Swainson’s Thrush, & of course some Wood Thrush, the latter an uncommon Manhattan-nester as well as a regular migrant. Cape May, Nashville, Tenneseee, and the 1 report of G.-w. Warbler were among sightings for warbler species in Central Park. A few Chipping Sparrows have been seen lately in several of the larger parks; it’s possible some represent migrators, not just local-breeders. Black Vulture was seen from n. Manhattan, early Thursday (that species is often best-sought from that area of the county, for N.Y. County seekers). Also seen, & more generally, were numbers of Ospreys, & at least several migrating Bald Eagles, on the good n. wind that developed for the day. Much more migration is certain for the coming days, weeks, & onward. good birding to all - thanks to many observers & reporters of migrants! 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/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/ --
