Date: Saturday, 13 November 2010 (10:15a-1:10p) Location: Manhattan - Swindler Cove Park & Sherman Creek Reported by: Ben Cacace
This upper Manhattan park is situated along the Harlem River at the end of Dyckman St. & 10th Avenue across the island from Fort Tryon Park. *BIRDS*: The adult male BALTIMORE ORIOLE was feeding from sapsucker drill wells. The bird was seen along the south side of Sherman Creek interacting with a Yellow-rumped Warbler looking to move the oriole along. Sightings from the now inactive NYC Bird Report<http://www.nycbirdreport.com/index.html>, developed by Mike Freeman, are still archived online. Here are the Baltimore Oriole sightings for 2003-2007<http://www.nycbirdreport.com/sites/1/birds/8/bird438.html>from Central Park, the closest match, showing the bird is nearly annual in November. Here's a map of all November sightings submitted to eBird.org<http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?cmd=decisionPage&speciesCodes=balori&getLocations=counties&counties=US-NY-005,US-NY-047,US-NY-059,US-NY-061,US-NY-081,US-NY-085,US-NY-103,US-NY-119&bYear=1900&eYear=2010&bMonth=11&eMonth=11&reportType=species&parentState=US-NY>for Baltimore Oriole for the NYC Area (8 counties). Four new park birds were added to the list: GREAT BLUE HERON (1 juv. & 1 adult), PEREGRINE FALCON, BALTIMORE ORIOLE & a male HOUSE FINCH. Raptors seen were: 3 TURKEY VULTURES, 1 local juvenile COOPER'S HAWK, 1 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, 5 local RED-TAILED HAWKS including 3 juveniles & 2 adults plus a migrating PEREGRINE FALCON. *BUTTERFLY*: An orange butterfly landed in the mud of the small freshwater pond installation. It landed with wings spread showing the tell-tale subapical dash on the forewing which is absent on the other commas. This was a "Fall" form QUESTION MARK. Glad I had the time to draw this feature as I had no clue which it was until I hit the books. >From 'Butterflies through Binoculars: The East': 2 broods. Late May/late June - mid Oct. 2nd brood overwintering as adults and flying again next spring, mainly April-May. Occasionally move northward to southern Manitoba and southern New Brunswick. Weather for 13-Nov for New York, NY (9:51a-1:51p) < http://tinyurl.com/3acgp56 >: - Conditions: Clear to Partly Cloudy - Temperature: 57.0 to 63.0 F (27.0 to 28.9 C) - Wind direction: NE - ENE - Variable - Calm - Wind speed: calm - 9 mph (no gusts reported) ** Total species - 33 ** Abundance categories from 'The New York City Audubon Society Guide to Finding Birds in the Metropolitan Area' published 2001. Abundance season is 'late Fall', mid September - November, and applies to all of New York City. 'Rare' seen a few times each season [1 spp]: - Baltimore Oriole - 1 adult male feeding on sapsucker drillings along Sherman Creek 'Scarce' seen in habitat, but not daily [2 spp]: - Killdeer - 1 heard across the Harlem River - Brown Creeper - 1 continues in the park 'Uncommon' seen in small numbers; 1-3 per day in habitat [5 spp]: - Turkey Vulture - 3 incl. 2 around noon plus 1 following the pair - Cooper's Hawk - 1 local juvenile seen several times - Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 with the 2 TVs seen at noon - Peregrine Falcon - 1 distant bird which may've been responsible for the gulls lifting N of the park - Belted Kingfisher - 1 male seen & heard along Sherman Creek 'Fairly Common' usually seen; 3-12 per day in habitat [7 spp]: - Great Blue Heron - 2 incl. 1 juvenile & 1 adult - Red-tailed Hawk - Several sightings of locals incl. 3 juveniles & 2 adults - Downy Woodpecker - 1 male - Black-capped Chickadee - 6+ seen & heard - Northern Mockingbird - 2 incl. 1 in the park & 1 along Sherman Creek - Northern Cardinal - 3 males seen & heard - American Goldfinch - 12+ 'Common' seen easily; more than 12 per day in habitat [18 spp]: - Canada Goose - 10+ - American Black Duck - 3+ - Mallard - 12+ - Double-crested Cormorant - 1 juvenile - Ring-billed Gull - 75+ - Herring Gull - 1 adult - Rock Pigeon - 36+ - Mourning Dove - 3 - Blue Jay - 4+ seen & heard - American Crow - 3 N & E of the park - American Robin - 1+ - European Starling - 100+ - Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2+ - Song Sparrow - 2+ - Swamp Sparrow - 1 - Dark-eyed Junco - 12+ - House Finch - 1 male at the freshwater pond - House Sparrow - 50+ Taxonomic order: - Canada Goose - 10+ - American Black Duck - 3+ - Mallard - 12+ - Double-crested Cormorant - 1 juvenile - Great Blue Heron - 2 incl. 1 juvenile & 1 adult - Turkey Vulture - 3 incl. 2 around noon plus 1 following the pair - Cooper's Hawk - 1 local juvenile seen several times - Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 with the 2 TVs seen at noon - Red-tailed Hawk - Several sightings of locals incl. 3 juveniles & 2 adults - Peregrine Falcon - 1 distant bird which may've been responsible for the gulls lifting N of the park - Killdeer - 1 heard across the Harlem River - Ring-billed Gull - 75+ - Herring Gull - 1 adult - Rock Pigeon - 36+ - Mourning Dove - 3 - Belted Kingfisher - 1 male seen & heard along Sherman Creek - Downy Woodpecker - 1 male - Blue Jay - 4+ seen & heard - American Crow - 3 N & E of the park - Black-capped Chickadee - 6+ seen & heard - Brown Creeper - 1 continues in the park - American Robin - 1+ - Northern Mockingbird - 2 incl. 1 in the park & 1 along Sherman Creek - European Starling - 100+ - Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2+ - Song Sparrow - 2+ - Swamp Sparrow - 1 - Dark-eyed Junco - 12+ - Northern Cardinal - 3 males seen & heard - Baltimore Oriole - 1 adult male feeding on sapsucker drillings along Sherman Creek - House Finch - 1 male at the freshwater pond - American Goldfinch - 12+ - House Sparrow - 50+ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
