Tuesday, 11 January 2011 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City

The lingering VARIED THRUSH was still to be found in its usual areas  
this Tuesday, however my observations from 7:50 thru 8:20 a.m. found  
the thrush perched at between 30 and 40 feet above ground, in one of  
the taller bare oak trees just east of the maintenance shed (the men's  
restroom on that building's east side) and more or less over the park  
path. The thrush had only just come into the oak shortly after I  
arrived, and it spent most of the half-hour simply sitting in the  
early sun, just coming up from behind buildings and some conifer trees  
in the east. It preened and occasionally looked about but seemed  
content to stay in its high perch. At one point there was a  
disturbance that Blue Jays recognized as the young male Cooper's Hawk  
that has been in the general vicinity for quite a long time as well.  
Also in the immediate vicinity were 1 Swamp, 2 "red" Fox, Song, & many  
White-throated Sparrows as well as 2 male Eastern Towhees.  There were  
some other birds coming in & around there, including a Red-bellied  
Woodpecker which may have moved in closely enough to ease the Varied  
Thrush down to the ground from its high branch, as well as Yellow- 
bellied Sapsucker & N. [Yellow-shafted] Flicker nearby. A couple of  
young male Red-winged Blackbirds also appeared rather briefly, along  
with the Common Grackles that have been somewhat regular in the  
vicinity in the last month.  At the feeders in the Ramble, a short way  
south of the 79 Street transverse road & maintenance shed - restrooms,  
mainly expected species there included Brown Creeper, both Red & White- 
breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Wren, & the other winter "regulars". The  
finch numbers, all American Goldfinch at the time (rather brief) I was  
watching were not that high in numbers.

The first-winter RED-HEADED WOODPECKER remains near the 66 Street  
Transverse Road in Central, however it has taken to visiting the trees  
on the south side of that below-grade-level crosstown road as well as  
the area immediately north of it. It is generally within not more than  
about 100 yards or so west (and either north or a bit south) of the  
carousel that is near the park road, in a lower area on the south side  
of the Transverse. It also may sometimes be hard to find as in colder  
or inclement weather it can literally be "holed-up" in the surrounding  
trees.

2 drake Wood Ducks persist at the Pond, just below the skating rink in  
the southeast part of the park. They are in a small area of open water  
along with multiple Mallards & perhaps a black, or black-mallard  
hybrid duck or two. The nearby area of Hallet Sanctaury also has a few  
birds of interest in the interior, sometimes quite difficult to see.  
Some of these birds will also cross over to the zoo grounds such as a  
Brown Thrasher & Hermit Thrush, etc. - there is usually some  
additional food available in the outdoor areas, as well access to as  
constantly open water.

Good birding,

Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
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