Tom, Thanks again for the updates.
Correction to the CACG report. The name on the checklist and the photo of the Cackling Goose are both from Cathy Weiner ... not Annie Barry: Also well worth noting is the [Richardson’s] Cackling Goose photo’d. by Annie Barry at Governors Island (which is closed to general public access for the winter & into early spring) on the previous Thursday, 2/11; the report is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S80841692 All the best. On Fri, Feb 19, 2021 at 6:54 AM Thomas Fiore <tom...@earthlink.net> wrote: > N.Y. County, including Manhattan, Randall’s & Governors Island[s], in N.Y. > City - > > Worth a look at the photo placed in the Macaulay archives by Alan Drogin > of an apparent hybrid Spotted/Eastern (the duo that used to be merged in > “Rufous-sided”) Towhee, found by Alan on Monday Presidents Day, 2/15, in > the Hudson Yards area of mid-west Manhattan, by the playground - it might > be worth reading up further on hybrids in this 'sub-clade’. > https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/308216661 > > Also well worth noting is the [Richardson’s] Cackling Goose photo’d. by > Annie Barry at Governors Island (which is closed to general public access > for the winter & into early spring) on the previous Thursday, 2/11; the > report is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S80841692 > > ….. > The female Western Tanager continues, at Carl Schurz Park; with a new > supply of suet (log), which I learned contains not just nuts but also > mealworms, the tanager had access again to a favored addition to its winter > diet at that park. It was seen by me & others in the mid-day hours & > photo’d. by me & others; the feeder array is along the inside edge of the > park above East End Ave. & south of E. 86th St. - with forays to the n. of > the feeder area also seen, as has been typical. (Also, an Orange-crowned > Warbler has been seen more recently than public reports suggest; the > tanager there at C. Shurz Park also has been seen quite regularly by local > park-goers, but is not always reported on-time. The warbler’s been mainly > by Gracie mansion edges & occasionally at the Peter Pan (statue) area, in > the n. sector of the park (the mansion grounds are fully fenced & > off-limits to the public). NO recent reports at all from Chelsea of the > first of the season in Manhattan (2) W. Tanagers: that earlier bird, first > found at West 22nd St. was a different individual and had been seen > simultaneously as well as earlier to the one continuing to be seen at Carl > Schurz Park (separated by several miles as well). It’s quite possible the > Chelsea-area tanager is still in that neighborhood somewhere, although it > also may have moved on. > > A female Long-tailed Duck was off Pier 45 on the Hudson river (first > noted, first reported, & photo’d. by T. Olson) near Christopher St., west > of the greenway, on Thursday. > > One dozen SNOW Buntings were seen on Randall’s Island on Wedneday 2/17 > before evening, next to Field 31, e. edge of the n.e. sector (D. Aronov), & > only noted at day’s end; I was out there a bit earlier, and walked all of > the island (4.5 hours), and hadn’t noticed these, so it’s possible they > stopped in for a short time (& were reported flying off, but this & some > other ‘field’ species are worth checking for in such areas, which was part > of why I also had walked the island, with snow-melt & some tundra-esque > areas occurring, and will occur again as winter winds down. I'd also > checked for a long-lingering/wintering Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at > Randall’s, but was unable to find it on this visit (last seen & photo’d. in > reports on 2/15). On my walk I did a one-by-one count of N. Shoveler > there, which were in at least 3 locations, esp. hiding/lurking on both > sides of the Bronx Kill and also lurking on the ‘inner’ edges of the Little > HellGate salt marsh cove & vicinity; the total was 161, with a count of 92 > at Bronx Kill alone (some on the Bronx side, & many not). At least 5 Hooded > Mergansers (3 of them drakes) were seen simultaneously at one point on ther > Bronx Kill; these ducks & other waterfowl were photo’d. Far out in the w. > portion of L.I. Sound were the regularly-seen Common Goldeneye, plus > Red-throated Loon. Elsewhere, in a few places, both Great & Double-crested > Cormorants were seen, each regular this winter. Fair numbers of > Red-breasted Mergansers & Buffleheads in waters around Randall’s. Worth > noting, even if in the Bronx, was an Iceland Gull on a roof & in flight > just north of the Bronx Kill (before noon) & I waited there a bit to see if > it might come to where many other gulls (of the regular 3 species, but > mostly Ring-billed) were loafing & feeding a little, in the lower-tide > mudflats at the east edge of the Kill, but the Iceland did not cooperate. > > A Rusty Blackbird continues in the Central Park Ramble. One of the Great > Blue Herons in Central Park was well tucked-in out of the sleet/snow on > Thursday n. of Hernshead; another was sheltered at Hallett Sanctuary. 3 > Brown Thrashers that have been wintering were still in the same areas, one > of those by The Pond next to Hallett Sanctuary. At least 8 [Red] Fox > Sparrows were seen from the park’s s. through n. ends, including several in > the Ramble. American Tree Sparrows were also seen in the multiple, & these > have been continuing elsewhere in the county. 2 Field Sparrows plus > American Tree Sparrows were seen in the snow on Thursday, continuing at > Highbridge Park. Several E. Towhees continue in the several locations > they’ve been in at Central Park for snowy-Thursday. The highest counts of > Am. Tree Sparrow have continued to be from Randall’s Island, within N.Y. > County, and that is likely the usual best site for them in the county that > has access. > > Continung to winter have been Winter Wrens in several parks including > Inwood Hill & Central Park; Red-breasted Nuthatch, including one at > Riverside Park near the northern Sanctuary & ongoing at Central Park; Brown > Creepers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Gray Catbird (in Central Park, & > multiple other sites), & even a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets in multiple > parks, at least into the early part of the week and likely able to survive > the recent snows. > > Back on Presidents Day Monday/15th, a solo drake Common Merganser was > photo’d. (M. Ross) at Swindler Cove/Sherman Creek Park in upper Manhattan > (Harlem river), that the most-recent report of the species from N.Y. County > after a small spate of other sightings this month. Also on Presidents Day, > I checked for the 2 drake Greater Scaup in the Hudson south of West 12th > St., which have been meandering there for some days, & was able to photo. > them that day. A Mute Swan has been continuing on the reservoir in Central > Park, with hundreds of observers (many birders & others). There’ve been NO > new sightings of a Greater White-fronted Goose from the county, although > it’s possible that one is still lurking (or in plain view) somewhere, > likely with a flock of Canada Geese. Some other species that had been > reported in January in Central Park have been ongoing there. > > Additional species also seen in N.Y. County this week - [Atlantic] Brant > (many), Wood Duck (drake, lately at the Pool in Central Park’s n.w. > sector), Gadwall, American Black Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck (a few have been > found on the E. River, various locations), Common Loon, Black Vulture, > Turkey Vulture (from n. Manhattan), Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed > Hawk (Red-shouldered Hawk may still be present in n. Manhattan), American > Coot (multiple, Central Park reservoir, even with all the ice forming > there), Ring-billed Gull, [American] Herring Gull, Iceland Gull (most > recently off Randall’s Island, although the bird was -barely- in the Bronx > when seen), Great Black-backed Gull, ['feral'] Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, > American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, owl species & no’s. of sites, > Belted Kingfisher (at Randall’s Island most recently), Red-bellied > Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-shafted Flicker (the > latter 2 spp. now uncommon), Blue Jay, Common Raven (ongoing sightings in > multiple areas, some groups of up to 3 at a time, just as often, solo > individuals noted), American Crow, Fish Crow (small no’s., including > recently at Governors Island and The Battery & vicinity), Black-capped > Chickadee (many), Tufted Titmouse (many), White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina > Wren (many locations), Golden-crowned Kinglet (this is actually > less-regular than Ruby-crowned in many winters in the county; recent > sightings in several locations, even at the Hudson river greenway off lower > Manhattan), Hermit Thrush (multiple locations), American Robin (fair > numbers, scattered), Northern Mockingbird, House Sparrow, European > Starling, Slate-colored Junco (seemingly small no’s. now), Chipping Sparrow > (at least 2 seem to be wintering in Central Park & may be in some other > sites in Manhattan), [Red] Fox Sparrow (as noted in report above), Song > Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow (multiple locations), White-throated Sparrow (still > common & widespread, as expected in winter here), Northern Cardinal, > Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, > American Goldfinch, & certainly at least a few additional species for the > county. > > Good winter birding, > > Tom Fiore > manhattan > -- > *NYSbirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > ABA <http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> > *Please submit your observations to **eBird* > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>*!* > -- > -- Ben Cacace Manhattan, NYC -- 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/ --
