Wednesday, 12 January 2011 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City The lingering VARIED THRUSH was in view early this morning, but not exactly in the area where most seekers look, rather it joined a sizable flock of more common wintering birds on the north side of the East 79 / West 81 Streets Transverse Road & a bit farther west than they more often have been congregating, as viewed from the path along the south side of (frozen) Turtle Pond and a bit towards Belvedere Castle (farther west away from the park's E. Drive roadway) - this area may have been in use by this flock due to heavier snow cover elsewhere, or possibly again to the presence of a lingering male Cooper's Hawk, which was also making its regular rounds thru the feeders in the Ramble again. Just before the Cooper's came through, 2 PINE SISKINS joined about 50+ American Goldfinches swarming the feeders, along with over 130 additional birds near or at the feeders, the majority White-throated Sparrows, but also including at least 2 "red" Fox Sparrows and a Swamp Sparrow. Later, at the very frozen (80%) reservoir, I found at least one additional Swamp Sparrow among many White-throateds, on the sunny west edge in amongst the phragmites.
The lingering RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (1st-winter) was on the south side of the 66 Street Transverse Road, a bit west of the carousel early this a.m. & I didn't stay long to observe any movements. 2 drake Wood Ducks continued at the Pond at about E. 64 Street (today in the minimal open water at Gapstow Arch), and yet another Swamp Sparrow was in the area, with a Brown Thrasher in the zoo. I was allowed in the outer zoo grounds briefly, in the early a.m. There were at least 250 Common Grackles in a roost coming out of the area near the park's SE corner & flying in to the park. A few birds of interest at Cedar Hill (in the conifers) included at least 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches. Hermit Thrush and some more commonly seen wintering species. The park's total numbers of American Robins seem to have increased just lately, with more than 200 found this a.m., particularly along the upper west side, perimeter areas, and various trees with good leftover fruits. I found (only) 4 Cedar Waxwings at one such tree. There were also roving flocks of American Goldfinch about. On the reservoir's icy expanses, an adult Greater Black-backed Gull made an attack on a Ring-billed Gull: I watched the large predatory gull quickly attack, kill, & gut the Ring-billed, which got almost all the many other gulls up and into a bit of a frenzy, many leaving the reservoir on that incident. With almost no waterfowl or coots or grebe lingering at the reservoir, the park is in true "winter mode" as far as overall bird diversity is concerned. A lot of the park's ducks may have simply moved over to areas of the East River including a few somewhat sheltered coves. At the Conservatory Garden and nearby (behind the west fence) a Chipping Sparrow has continued on - not expected now, but a few have occasionally turned up before in Central even in mid-winter, though perhaps more often by a feeder. Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- 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/ --
