Besides possible finches such as Pine Siskin & perhaps others, have an eye on Chickadees should any turn up where not always seen, & the more so if many Black-capped seem to be on the move; there is slight evidence already of a bit of movement - the more-northerly-breeding species is capable of at least some modest movement also, out of the typically-boreal breeding areas.
Interestingly, following on the heels of the ongoing irruption of Red-breasted Nuthatch across much of N. America, there are at least modest signs that Pine Siskin are being found even into some southern U.S. states in the past week or so. although numbers in places far-south are still small, in both actual no’s. & in relative comparison with the former species. In some northern areas, Pine Siskin have been pouring south, for example in parts of the Great Lakes region. Those with interest may check this web site, which also now hosts the “Winter Finch Forecast” that’s been very widely disseminated in recent weeks, on many birding list-serves & other forums. https://finchnetwork.org/irruption-alert-pine-siskin <https://finchnetwork.org/irruption-alert-pine-siskin> (As most know, Ron Pittaway of Ontario Canada had retired in 2019 from being the long-time editor-writer-compiler of that winter finch forecast. It carries on with some new editors, and now is part of its own non-profit organization as well.) … ... That LeConte’s Sparrow at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (in Queens County, N.Y. City) that was seen by one lucky birder, & photographed beautifully, on Sept. 24th, has had that photo placed in the archive of the Macauley library, here: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/266459881 <https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/266459881> - thanks to Fedjy Charles for that. Meanwhile at Jamaica Bay (but over at the East Pond, rather than west) on Wed., 9/30, the American Avocet first noted to this list-serve on 9/28 by Andrew Baksh was still present as previously noted in the E. Pond. ------------- New York County, including Manhattan, Randall’s Island & Governors Island (all within N.Y. City) - Friday, 9/25 through Wednesday, 9/30 - Two real rarities for the county - the first a potential 1st county-record, were SWAINSON'S HAWK, and Western Kingbird, each -separately- found & then photographed on Governors Island, both on Saturday 9/26, by separate, independent observers; the 2nd observer of the kingbird being a photographer of that. The Swainson’s Hawk, as just noted, was seen (& photographed) by Ben Cacace, while the W. Kingbird was found by Loyan Beausoleil (who’d rather-recently also found what turned out a near-basic plumaged Red Phalarope for a very rare Manhattan record, earlier this month) - the W. Kingbird on 9/26 was later photo’d. by D.B.Yolton, & shared to eBird & the Macauley photo archive. No one has re-found these 2 special birds, despite some searching on days following. Swainson’s Hawk also subject to any further study & comment by the state avian records committee in terms of full acceptance in NY state-archived records. BLUE Grosbeak, again seen (in first-year plumage, presumably) at the compost area of Central Park’s northeast quadrant; sightings on 9/28 & 9/30. Whether this is a lingering bird (hiding from observers on multiple days) or a more-recent arrival is hard to know; the species has been turning up, as somewhat expected in our current era, at other locations in the region just recently). …. (on Thurs., 9/24, an adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was photographed by M. Ryan adjacent to the S. Ferry terminal on Manhattan’s shore.) ... Friday, 9/25 - An American Bittern was found & photographed by D. Karlson at Inwood Hill Park, on Friday, 9/25. The first Pied-billed Grebe of the season (in Central Park) appeared on the reservoir on Fri., 9/25. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found on Governors Island on Fri. 9/25. The 4th Marsh Wren sighting in as many days was noted for Fri. 9/25 (& 5th for N.Y County this Sept.) At least the 3rd photographed sighting of White-crowned Sparrow in N.Y. County for the week was from Randall’s Island (G. Hong) on 9/25; previously seen in Manhattan’s Central, and Ft. Tryon Park[s]. A Connecticut Warbler was seen in Union Square Park (w. side) on Friday, 9/25 - a sort of precursor to the at-least three of the next day in Manhattan, although a number of this species had already been found in the preceding part of the month. Great Crested Flycatcher was reported at Central Park (getting slightly late; the species had also been found in multiple other locations in this & adjacent counties, in N.Y. City, in recent days). ... Sat., 9/26 - The prior night featured the remnants of tropical system “Beta” approaching the south edges of the region (south of N.Y. City & Long Island) on fairly light S. to SE wind, with some fog developing, and also increases in humidity, plus showers working in from the southwest. A great push of migrants was occuring out of New England, into the N.Y. City (& Long Island & northern New Jersey) area overnight as well. The really-rare species found for the day was a particular hawk on Governors Island, photographed by Ben Cacace, and a potential first county-record - a Swainson’s Hawk. And then not so many hours later, the discovery of a Western Kingbird, by Loyan Beausoleil, on that same island. This surely puts that special place rather firmly on the map as a location where unexpected species may appear. With those 2 birds, there were yet more very unusual happenings - at least 3 well-documented Connecticut Warblers on the same day, in 3 locations in Manhattan, and each widely separated from the others. A Common Tern was also reported for Governors Island. N.B., Connecticut Warbler has been reported, very often with accompanying photos, from a wide variety of locations all through the region over this period; even if there has been some increase in observer-effort, or watching for this very species, the numbers seem notable, at least locally, for September. -- Sun., 9/27 - A humid (prior) night & day, with very light SE wind & relatively mild temp., to around 80 F. in the afternoon. Many migrants took leave of the area, & fewer seemed to have arrived from the north. However there was some evidence of the change in migrants, & also still a rather good assortment of warblers around, along with a variety of other species. As had been on some other recent days, the most numerous warbler species, overall, was Magnolia. Yet still fair no’s. of Common Yellowthroat, N. Parula, Ovenbird, Black-and-white, as well as Blackpoll & Cape May Warblers. In some places, Amer. Redstart was still in the multiple - that is, American, as in, all-American, & a warbler -one that lives in, migrates thru, the Americas. A good many of “our” N. American-breeding warblers also winter in the Caribbean (mainly the Greater Antilles), as well as in Central and South America. Some birders were present again on Governors Island, however the 2 rarer species of the prior day went unreported, perhaps moved-on (the Swainson’s Hawk, & Western Kingbird, each independently photographed there on 9/26, the reports now in eBird). Generally, fewer species were noted, following the county-wide theme for numbers of migrants, on this Sunday. Still present at Governors Isl. were a smattering of shorebirds, including Least, Semipalmated, & Spotted Sandpiper[s]. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was also seen there by some observers (L. Beausoleil; C. Weiner, photo’d.) — Mon., 9/28 - The mild flow of southern-originating air, laden with humidity, continued. Very light rain in the region, including a bit in Manhattan /N.Y. County did not impede a flow of many migrants south out of the local region - overnight - continued, with far fewer moving in from the north… A BLUE Grosbeak seen (G.Willow) at the compost area of Central Park may or may not be the same bird that was photographed there a number of days previously; however that area does have many potential hiding areas, parts of which are not quite accessible. Also ongoing at that same area have been Indigo Buntings, with some turnover of the latter, over the month. Good numbers of Laughing Gull have been noted for many days, at the Central Park reservoir, & also ongoing in visits by many obs. to various points along the lower rivers & harbor area. As a sign of the season’s changes, a modest uptick in relative no’s. of Pine Warbler, showing now in no’s. (as compared with dimished no’s. of other American warbler species). A note from far-south: all who enjoy the spectacle of Broad-winged Hawk mass-migration, at whatever site[s] are visited, may appreciate the spectacle that watchers at Corpus Christi, Texas enjoyed at a long-established watch site there, with very nearly 80,000 of that one species of buteo moving past in just this one day (and not at all unusual for them, at least once or more in a season, at that watch-site that can see a quarter-million of just that one species, per season). That species of course now mostly enroute in Mexico, and eventually (most) to S. America for the colder parts of our year[s]. — Tues., 9/29 - Potentially interesting weather set-up, however the extremely lethargic “cold” front to the west of the local region was moving at slow pace across NY state & towards N.Y. City, & at the same time, migration out of New England seemed to be at an equally slow pace, & lowered level for the date. The high humidity and flow of air from the south continued, albeit with rather little evidence of local air movement at “ground"-levels. On the other hand, the moisture-stream of this weather-front’s ‘front’ took in real-estate from Cuba to Quebec and all points between; again, flow was from the south to north overall, as the system at last pushed in to the N.Y. City area by mid-day, and full-on in the evening. The rain has actually been needed, there’s been a recent deficit in the wider region (just not at J. Bay’s East Pond, in Queens NYC). There were again successful bird-walks held with leaders for The Linnaean Society of New York, and also the NYC Audubon, both of which are non-profit org’s. contributing to the public good. Although migrants were again a bit less in total numbers, as the day before, the diversity is still quite good as may be expected for this time of the year. — Wed., 9/30 - A moderately-heavy rain at last arrived over the prior night, and there was very little large-scale nocturnal migratory movement within the local area. A number of us were spread about & around the county seeking what we could, but the diversity remained nearly as it had in prior recent days- fairly good, as is expected in late Sept. & early Oct., although with overall numbers of birds not that great. There were still at least 18 species of warblers seen in the county, and nearly that number in Central Park alone. In diurnal migration, along with Blue Jays, Chimney Swifts, & small no’s. of Y.-s. Flicker, were a few Osprey and Bald Eagles appearing to migrate as well as some American Kestrels on the move. A BLUE Grosbeak was again reported at the 'now-world-famous’ Central Park compost area in that park’s n. end; this seems likely to be a lingering bird, which is not at all constantly in view for all who visit that area seeking birds… any number of the sightings of this individual, which may be a female or a young male, have come late in the day. Also, as previously there have also been ongoing / lingering Indigo Bunting[s] in that area & elsewhere. And as previous visitors there will have noted, there is a surplus of tall weedy-type vegetation, tricky terrain, & fenced-off areas that add to the fun of searches in that area - as well as the occasional machinery, trucks, etc. since this is a working compost area, for the park. Use reasonable caution & care there. At least 3 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were still being seen at Randall’s Island, which has been the most-reliable site in the county for that species this year. Wed. eve. & night, a change for the better in terms of migratory movement, & many birds were on the move, regionally. However it is again a night when a good many birds are taking their opportunities & working on southwards, beyond the local area. And the far southern U.S., esp. along the Gulf of Mexico, has been having exceptional migration, some of it remarked on by locals in those Gulf states. Meanwhile, Ocotober is a month when more-unexpected species may show; take a 2nd-look at any migrants that ‘don’t quite seem to fit’ with what is expected. ... Monarch butterflies had been slowed as the weather’s been unfavorable to their ongoing migrations, & so there’d been a good many lingering around many patches of available nectaring flowers, all around. Very informally, many hundreds (at least!) have been in N.Y. County over recent days, & that’s actually not even including all of the outlying islands, where plantings are very numerous and where many Monarchs, and other butterflies visit, & at times, congregate. Those Monarchs got started up again as of the last day of Sept., & this is now a potential peak time for their movement, in our area, which may be seen to best advantage at the immediate outer shore, & in a flow of good north or northwesterly wind - - - - - "This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” - Teddy Roosevelt (26th president of the U.S.A.) "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglass (1818-1895; U.S. statesman, orator, writer) good October birding to all, & thanks to many for their observations - & good ethics - out in the field, Tom Fiore, manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
