Tuesday, 17 March, 2015 Central Park (Manhattan, N.Y. City)
Nice batches of just-before-spring arrivals, and reinforcements of a few wintering species; with a bit of diurnal movement too.
An Eastern PHOEBE showed up in Central Park's north end, 1st found by Tom Perlman & present at the "ridge', an elevated area w. of the Meer. (Despite all the chill & wind, a flycatcher's preferred food - insect life - is in fact available as a modest number of hatches began in the past week or so, with the days when it reached the upper 50's.)
The morning was mild & slightly drizzled, the afternoon brought on the wind & a little fresh chill, but that mid-March type, where (we hope) it just won't last, not too long, anyhow. Quite a lot of birds were singing in early morning - among them: Brown Thrasher (which overwintered), N. Mockingbird, Carolina Wrens (in several locations), American Robins, Song Sparrows (with a fresh strong influx: 150+ new arrivals in the park overall), "red" Fox Sparrows (also an influx, incl. 10+ in the n. end & thanks to Tom P.), & many other more-common &/or resident species... even a male Rusty Blackbird (singing the rusty-gate song, not just calling), amongst some Euro. Starlings at a lawn n. of the reservoir, where I also found my first Yellow-shafted Flicker of the year (in the park). Red-winged Blackbirds have been in song from most areas in the park, esp. if one is out & about early and listening.
At least 4 Purple Finches were feeding on crabapples next to the Alexander Hamilton statue, e. of the Great Lawn, in the a.m.; American Woodcock sightings were in the Ramble, & also at the wildflower meadow area; there were discrete flocks of freshly-arrived Dark-eyed Juncos & (esp.) Song Sparrows, plus some other sparrows adding to the overall feel - including at least one Field, & one Swamp, and a reinforcement to White-throated Sparrows. One small lawn alone held more than 50 Song Sparrows in less than 500 square feet, & another similarly-sized lawn held more than 75 juncos, at times in the a.m., with many others in a variety of locations. Also still present are an overwintering Chipping Sparrow, often by the Ramble feeders, & some American Tree Sparrows, which could soon be headed north.
A 90-minute watch of the sky at mid-day provided not that much, but at least 2 Tree Swallows went by headed north, & several Turkey Vultures, migrant Red-tailed Hawks (along with the multiples of the latter that were wintering or are resident), and a modestly-surprising Common Raven (& in pursuit of one of said Red-tails) as well as some other seasonal migrants, all seen from the n. end of the park. And the surprise of a raven in Manhattan now being only "modest" simply due to the rather recent change in status of the species in the urban environment!
As the reservoir's ice slowly opens & some fresh migration occurs, up to 8 spp. of ducks have been present, with a drake Green-winged Teal showing up Monday, and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers still lingering as well, plus Wood Ducks, Gadwall, Buffleheads, American Black Duck, N. Shovelers, 2 Hooded Mergansers (& some Common Mergansers as flyovers), & also a few flyover Double-crested Cormorants, & multiple Great Blue Herons (those seen apparently moving on rather than dropping in, perhaps due to the still-extensiive ice cover on all waterbodies - the reservoir is still 80%+ iced-over, with cracks & leads opening all around, but it will take some more warm- enough days.) At the southern-most waterbody, the "Pond", a lot of ice could persist a very long time, due to the shadows cast by so many buildings nearby, all times of year. A drake wood duck & 1 coot continue on there, among the motley Mallards. All the waterbodies now are starting to receive some ducks, as they begin to thaw out, even if just Mallards.
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/ --
