On Wed., March 3rd, I made the trek & hike up to partially snow-covered Hook Mtn. in Rockland County, NY & there, serendipitously met Dr. A. Antony, prepared for the opening day of that site’s spring-season hawk-watch. And what a season-opener it was, with the count kept by Dr. Antony: 49 Red-shouldered Hawks passing, from around the 10 am thru the 4 pm hour, mostly as singles or occasionally two or three at once, & with not much in the way of any ‘lulls’. Also seen were more than a dozen Bald Eagles on their way north (in many plumages), & a small no. of Red-tailed Hawks, with a few Cooper’s & Sharp-shinned Hawks, plus Merlin. Not deemed to be a migrant was a later-in-the day Peregrine. And then there were the many vultures, with a majority of them being Black Vulture, yet a fair number also of Turkey Vulture, the majority of both seen moving north-northeast on the winds initially from the SW, then becoming more west/NW. Also seen were a number of Common Raven, some of which are likely the locals that are regular around Hook Mtn., but also at least one group of 6, which seemed to be on the move. For a majority of the Red-shouldered Hawks the age was adult, not 1st-year, & a small number were of undertermined age due to distance & lighting. Oddly on such a bright, sunny day with a modest wind about all day, there was a haze throught the 360 degrees of view from the summit being of course leafless. It’s possible some of that haze was simply from snow ‘sublimating' to water vapor as the day went along. We also watched a fair no. of blackbirds, both Red-winged Blackbird & Common Grackle, in northbound flights that diminished as the day went along, plus some Canada Goose movement - true Canadian breeders headed to the far north, as well as having stop-ins on the summit of a group of Cedar Waxwings which fed a short while on some lingering berries, and a bright pair of E. Bluebirds that lingered a while.
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In N.Y. County, some of the ongoing highlights, to March 4th include: Iceland Gull (again on Randall’s Island, in an area that a non-adult has been seen intermittently there, along the Bronx Kill; the other site there being nearby at the NW side of that kill & by the shore-flats of the adjacent Harlem River), ongoing adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at Randall’s Island (Little Hell Gate salt marsh), Red-throated Loons on rivers & the N.Y. harbor, & one lately on Central Park’s reservoir (the latter also having Double-crested Cormorants of late), at least the Carl Schurz Park female Western Tanager (which is continuing to be an intermittent sighting for the most-local birders, some finding it on occasion, some not; this wintering bird was still present on Wed., 3/4 but in my time there, the tanager did not linger by the feeder-array for long; it can take time to gain a sighting).
Lincoln’s Sparrow (once again turning up at Bryant Park, noted by E. Goodman, & then photo’d on 3/4 by G. Stankovic, and having wintered there it would seem, along with Swamp & White-throated & likely Song Sparrow[s], as well as some Gray Catbirds); the recent influx of American Woodcocks to multiple sites in Manhattan have included Bryant as well as Central and other parks. American Tree Sparrows were seen to at least 3/3 in Central, as well as Union Square Parks, and could very much be on the move as their season for doing so starts earlier than many other sparrows; we have also had some Field Sparrows seemingly increased ever-so-slightly as March got underway. A Horned Grebe was seen by many to at least 3/3 on the Harlem river near E. 107th St., just north of its’ confluence onto the East River and across from part of Randall’s Island. Killdeer continue to be seen from various locations, & this is also a potential breeding species for the county (& even at Manhattan, although rare as a breeder there now).
Incidentally, some recent blackbird movement with Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles seen in triple-digit no’s. had been observed moving north out of Manhattan at least as early as Feb. 25th, yet not that much in the way of stop-overs, so far. It is also the early part of raptor & vulture migration, and for some species ought to be in the thick of that soon; for nocturally active birds of prey, we may have had some departure recently as well. The not-at-all secret of Central Park had been what turned out to be at least 34 days & nights of the extended stay of a Snowy Owl, which managed to elude being seen much in daylight hours and thus may have had a lot of needed rest, along with all the rodent prey it consumed while on it’s big-city-center visit. We all hope it’s on its way to a good summer in the Arctic. Rusty Blackbirds have continued to winter, with at least one ongoing in the Central Park Ramble, & a few others that may have been around or possibly have more-recently moved into the area. Fair no’s. of other passerines that have wintered are continuing on in the county. We’ll see some fresh migration & movement in the coming week as the weather shifts back to a milder flow, region-wide.
Thanks to many observers for sightings & additional reports.
good birding to all,
Tom Fiore
manhattan
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