Wednesday, 11 May, 2011 - Riverside Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City -
Afternoon hours at the "drip" area of the park were nicely active, with a total tally of 18 Warbler species in the immediate vicinity, and at least 16 of those actually coming in to bathe or drink, with some species repeating a number of times, especially in the early to mid-afternoon. A male Cape May made only a 5+ second appearance at around 2:20 p.m., while a male Blackburnian was seen at least 4 separate times in the "drip" and many more times in nearby trees, for a total of up to 20-30 minutes, and some bathing-preening at eye level for many minutes. The only 2 spp. from the list below which may not have been seen in the "drip" were Nashville and Chestnut-sided, although both sang quite a bit from above. Many of the other warblers were also singing and that continued on to some extent into mid- afternoon. Nashville Warbler (1 male, heard - & glimpsed in trees) Northern Parula (several seen, males very often heard) Yellow Warbler (several seen) Chestnut-sided Warbler (1 male, heard very near drip) Magnolia Warbler (male seen & heard) Cape May Warbler (1 male, 2:20 p.m.) Black-throated Blue Warbler (male seen & heard) Myrtle [Yellow-rumped] Warbler (male & female) Black-throated Green Warbler (2 males, seen & heard) Blackburnian Warbler (bright male - long brilliant views) Blackpoll Warbler (male, mostly seen & often returning) Black-and-white Warbler (male seen & heard & female) American Redstart (male seen & heard) Ovenbird (males, singing up a storm & eventually seen) Northern Waterthrush (male, seen & heard singing) Common Yellowthroat (male & female) Wilson's Warbler (male, "dripping") Canada Warbler (male, heard a lot, seen a bit at "drip") Additional migrant songbirds seen included male Scarlet Tanager[s], bright male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, several Baltimore Orioles, several male Indigo Buntings (fairly regular in the "drip" in past week), as well as a very "friendly" Eastern Kingbird occasionally dipping near the "drip" and often within a few yards away. The last winged creature noticed at the very end of the day (sunset) was a Little Red Bat flying around the sun-lit tallest tree-tops. This has been seen several days in a row at and near the "drip", and occasionally in mid- afternoon, as well. Jeff Nulle was at the "drip" for much of the afternoon to see at least 15 of the warbler spp. and most everything else, and at least a dozen other birders stopped in at one time or another. I was there from about 1-3:30pm and again very late in the day. (The "drip" area is located within Riverside Park, just north of tennis courts near W. 119 Street, just west of Riverside Drive.) - - - - - Central Park, Manhattan - On Tuesday, 10 May a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was seen in the Loch (in Central's north end) by Jack Meyer & friends. Wednesday, 11 May - The Loch featured a male-plumaged Hooded Warbler watched by a number of observers into the afternoon hours. (Why "male- plumaged" rather than simply "male" - because Hooded Warbler females can resemble males in adult plumage and it is nearly impossible to visually determine the sex with certainty unless the bird is singing (or copulating) - thus, a Hooded not seen singing is not provably a male unless it is heard, or otherwise made obvious.) A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER remains near the south side of Sheep Meadow, and slightly north of the 66 Street transverse road - I photographed this brightly- plumaged bird at just after sunrise this morning, on one of its favored Black Locust trees. This individual has been present in that general area of the park for at least 5 and 1/2 months, and it is getting very near a time when it would be expected to move on. It is a first-spring bird, having only gained bright adult plumage beginning over the winter. In going "south" (to find that woodpecker), I also birded the very south end of Central, and among the findings were a minimum of 4 separate singing male Scarlet Tanagers, from south of 72 Street to the perimeter of the park at Central Park South (the south path of the Pond), and at the Pond shores, a minimum of 4, and seemingly up to six Northern Waterthrushes, with several in view simultaneously a few times there. This is at least modestly suggestive of some fresh influx of migrants Tuesday night into Wed. morning, despite the 'relative' (seeming) lack of any big numbers or very high diversity having re-invigorated the best-known birding areas of the Park (Ramble & vicinity, and the north woods & vicinity). In any case, there were at least 18 species of warblers found in Central, with some reports including Cape May, Worm-eating, and the aforementioned Hooded, as well as other typical mid-season species... and a mix of mainly 'expected' other May migrants - in modest or low numbers, given the date and the expectations of "more yet to come thru". It's sort of amusing that these N.Y. City parks can have 18 (or more) species of wood-warblers, and folks still call that a "quiet" day. So - yeah... we expect a lot around here, in mid-May! (I'm anticipating a bunch of migration, perhaps as soon as right now - that is, more arrivals overnight. One way to find out if that holds.... If not tonight, then quite soon - one caveat for NYC and points east are the "dreaded" easterly winds... which, if potent enough, will make a somewhat strange spring migration hereabouts just a little bit stranger yet... but then nice to seek some Sooty Shearwaters, terns, and such: more in-shore.) Incidentally, if anyone has photos or notes from this month of May in Central Park that include the female Varied Thrush that was at the area along the E. 79 Street transverse road, please share that information. It seems the last definite sightings of that rare-in-the- east species was on May the first in Central Park. If you saw or photographed it after that date, please say so... thanks! (if you wish to contact me privately, that's fine, or share the sighting with this list.) Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES 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://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
