Date: Friday, 10 June 2011 (1:55p-6:20p) Location: Manhattan - Swindler Cove Park & Sherman Creek Reported by: Ben Cacace
This five acre upper Manhattan park is situated along the Harlem River at the end of Dyckman St. & 10th Avenue across the island from Fort Tryon Park. The WARBLING VIREO flew to its nest just west of the Yellow Warbler nest on the other side of the entrance to the overlook to Sherman Creek. The female YELLOW WARBLER was on nest with the male singing when not attending to the female. I watched the female warbler feeding very low in the bushes just off the woodchip path. The AMERICAN KESTREL was seen diving on a RED-TAILED HAWK near the southern end of the Dyckman Houses. The falcon is probably nesting in the area. I've seen this area as a terminal point for the male kestrel on several occasions. The pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS were seen circling over the Harlem River. Both ended up leaving the area, heading west. I had a very brief glimpse at a bird that was probably an empidonax flycatcher seen on the south side of Sherman Creek. ** Total species - 34 ** May-June checklists [5]: - # of birds seen on the last 5 trips were 36, 35, 35, 32 & 34 respectively for a combined total of 45. - Additional birds seen [1]: PEREGRINE FALCON - Birds missed [11]: American Black Duck, Red-throated Loon, Osprey, Spotted Sandpiper, Hairy Woodpecker, Alder/Willow Flycatcher, Tree Swallow, Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Brown-headed Cowbird & Baltimore Oriole Weather for 10-Jun for New York, NY (1:51p-6:51p) < http://tinyurl.com/3frg2la >: - Conditions: Partly Cloudy - Mostly Cloudy - Clear - Temperature: 87.1 to 79.0 F - Wind direction: Variable - SSE - Wind speed: 4 - 8 mph (no gusts reported) Abundance categories from 'The New York City Audubon Society Guide to Finding Birds in the Metropolitan Area' published 2001. Abundance season is 'Summer', June - mid July, and applies to all of New York City. 'Scarce' seen in habitat, but not daily [2 spp]: - American Kestrel - 1 attacking Red-tailed Hawk near Dyckman Houses - Peregrine Falcon - Pair circling above Harlem R. both then headed W 'Uncommon' seen in small numbers; 1-3 per day in habitat [2 spp]: - Red-tailed Hawk - 1 adult above Dyckman Houses attacked by AK - Warbling Vireo - 1 singing & on nest 'Fairly Common' usually seen; 3-12 per day in habitat [8 spp]: - Downy Woodpecker - 1 seen & heard - Northern Flicker - Pair mating on S shore of Sherman Creek - Eastern Kingbird - 1 heard & seen - Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1 over Harlem River - Northern Mockingbird - 2 incl. Sherman Creek & Swindler Cove Park - Cedar Waxwing - Heard around freshwater feature - Yellow Warbler - Pair on nest - American Goldfinch - Pair (m/f) feeding on purple flowers 'Common' seen easily; more than 12 per day in habitat [22 spp]: - Canada Goose - 20+ incl. 4 goslings in 2 families - Mallard - 30+ incl. 17 ducklings in 3 families - Double-crested Cormorant - 2 incl. a subadult - Great Egret - 2 - Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1 adult - Ring-billed Gull - 5+ - Herring Gull - 2+ - Great Black-backed Gull - 1 adult - Rock Pigeon - 6+ - Mourning Dove - 4+ - Chimney Swift - 5+ - Blue Jay - 3+ - American Crow - 1 seen multiple times - Barn Swallow - 3+ - American Robin - 24+ - Gray Catbird - 6+ - European Starling - 24+ - Song Sparrow - 2+ - Red-winged Blackbird - 2 incl. nesting pair along S side of Sherman Creek - Common Grackle - 24+ incl. 3+ fledglings - House Finch - 4+ incl. 1 male - House Sparrow - 24+ Taxonomic order: - Canada Goose - 20+ incl. 4 goslings in 2 families - Mallard - 30+ incl. 17 ducklings in 3 families - Double-crested Cormorant - 2 incl. a subadult - Great Egret - 2 - Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1 adult - Red-tailed Hawk - 1 adult above Dyckman Houses attacked by AK - American Kestrel - 1 attacking Red-tailed Hawk near Dyckman Houses - Peregrine Falcon - Pair circling above Harlem R. both then headed W - Ring-billed Gull - 5+ - Herring Gull - 2+ - Great Black-backed Gull - 1 adult - Rock Pigeon - 6+ - Mourning Dove - 4+ - Chimney Swift - 5+ - Downy Woodpecker - 1 seen & heard - Northern Flicker - Pair mating on S shore of Sherman Creek - Eastern Kingbird - 1 heard & seen - Warbling Vireo - 1 singing & on nest - Blue Jay - 3+ - American Crow - 1 seen multiple times - Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 1 over Harlem River - Barn Swallow - 3+ - American Robin - 24+ - Gray Catbird - 6+ - Northern Mockingbird - 2 incl. Sherman Creek & Swindler Cove Park - European Starling - 24+ - Cedar Waxwing - Heard around freshwater feature - Yellow Warbler - Pair on nest - Song Sparrow - 2+ - Red-winged Blackbird - 2 incl. nesting pair along S side of Sherman Creek - Common Grackle - 24+ incl. 3+ fledglings - House Finch - 4+ incl. 1 male - American Goldfinch - Pair (m/f) feeding on purple flowers - House Sparrow - 24+ -- 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/ --
