N.Y. County (in N.Y. City), including Manhattan, Randall’s, and Governors Island[s]
On Sunday, Sept. 12th, a miniumum of 22 warbler species were found in the county, and of those, at least 20 were seen in Central Park (and at least 18 of those seen within the Ramble section of that park), with some good variety and numbers in lower Manhattan parks & greenspaces again - as well as on the ‘other’ islands of Governors & Randall’s. Olive-sided Flycatcher was again seen in the Ramble of Central Park on Sunday. Among the warblers seen in The Ramble in Central Park was an apparent “Brewster’s”[*] type (hybrid of) Golden-winged x Blue-winged cross, with multiple observers. (There were also a small no. of Blue-winged Warblers again in the county, with *at least* three in Central Park.) Hooded Warbler was again in Central, at least in the n. end of that park. Good no’s. of Bay-breasted, Cape May, & Tennessee Warblers were continuing to be found & again, lower Manhattan did as well if not better for those species as the larger, & more thoroughly-covered parks, on Sunday. Veery are not all-gone yet, with confirmed sightings from Central Park, & a few elsewhere. [*]Incidental to “Brewster’s” type hybrid warblers, there can be a good range of variability in those hybrids, so going solely on what is illustrated in some books / apps is not indicative of the full range of variation in plumage features. One can also choose not to call a hybrid by any particular common name, and take notes, as well as photos/video, to document the variation. While much (!) has been written about these particular hybrids, for some solid discussion in an accessible book, see pp. 140-143 in the widely-available book “A Field Guide to Warblers of North America” by Jon Dunn & Kimball Garrett, a part of the “Peterson field guide” series, first pub. in 1997, & still containing much information not easily-accessed almost anywhere else in-print. Common Nighthawks were moving over at least Manhattan, in the county Sun. evening, with a few over Riverside Park (north) and also seen from Central Park’s n. end by multiple observers. At this latitude of N.Y. City, the species is occasionally found into Oct., so watching for them can be ongoing for a few more weeks although no’s. would presumably be dwindled by next month. A few Solitary Sandpipers continued to show, including one at “the Pool” in Central Park; less-common for the county were both spp. of Yellowlegs (Lesser & Greater) seen together in the big ‘puddle pond’ at Governors Island, with multiple observers as well. Once again, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has been seen near the ferry terminals just east of The Battery in Manhattan, with photos by recent obs. C. Weiner; multiple Yellow-Cr. N.-Herons also continue on Randall’s Island as previously. At least 4 Bobolink were on Governors Island, likely the best location in the county for chances of seeing that species well (although they will be further-diminished in no’s. soon). A Dickcissel was not re-found there, but could potentially be lingering. Northern Shovelers were again on Central Park’s reservoir, with Wood Duck also ongoing at Central Park. A small no. of Laughing Gulls were seen from various points on all 3 of the county’s larger islands; N.Y. Harbor areas being as usual the most productive for that species, although also some good no’s. on Randall’s Island for 9/12, with also as many as 15 warbler spp. tallied there esp. by 2 very keen morning-visitors; Savannah Sparrow was also continuing on Randall’s, one of the early arrivals in the midst of all the recently strong migration. … Up to 25 species of butterflies were seen in N.Y. County on Sunday, with Common Checkered-Skipper among the sightings; while Governors Island continued as among the better locations for diversity of those, with keen observers elsewhere there have been sightings from multiple parks & green-spaces, of course in particular where flower plantings are lush and the more-so if native flowers & plants are present. Many, many other insects also have been observed. good birding to all, with thanks to many many watchers and reporters 'in the field' over multiple locations on Sunday. 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/ --
