New York County (in N.Y. City) including Manhattan, Randall’s and Governors Island[s] Sunday, Feb. 6th:
Both Western Tanagers continued on in their respective areas, one at Carl Schurz Park, the other in the (just east of) Tenth Ave. & W. 47th-48th St. area with Clinton Community Garden again providing a brief Sunday p.m. view, but that latter bird is quite mobile within it’s seeming territory and is not exactly a ’sure thing’ without some patience, plus -usually- a bit of luck. An adult/winter Black-headed Gull was again found at Randall’s Island, often in company of a modest number of Ring-billed Gulls there. A long-lingering Yellow-crowned Night-Heron that has overwintered at least 2 winters now was again seen, and there also have been Black-crowned Night- and Great Blue Herons at that site recently (& for the latter, also elsewhere in the county). Sparrow species on Randall’s Island also continued to include Savannah, and American Tree - as noted in a paragraph below. The multiple Chipping, & Field Sparrow[s] are ongoing at Central Park, as found both days of the weekend, by multiple observers there - they’ve been lingering at the park’s n. end for some days. There have also been an uptick in ducks, and some gulls (as I’ve noted previously) on Central Park’s northern-most waterbody, the Meer, which has had varying bits of water and ice. All of the waters will be opening, in coming days with the thaw, which may or may not draw in more duckage or gulls - although both types of birds will of course be shifting & moving all thru the next months, right on into spring. The several Rusty Blackbirds continued at Central Park, including at least one in the Ramble which has been around for some time, as seen by many over weeks and weeks, with 2 others also in other parts of that park. American Robins also continue in a variety of locations, some in street trees & a very few giving tuning-up type singing, while their fellow robins may have seemed to look askance, as if “hey, it’s not quite spring yet.”. There are also modest no's. of Cedar Waxwings around the county, particularly in n. Manhattan. With American Tree Sparrows having been found in at least 7 locations in N.Y.County (including on Governors and Randall’s Islands in more than 1 site each, and on Manhattan in at least 3, and likely more sites over the weekend, it is a possibility that a few other scrub / weedy patch loving small passerine species also are in the area, and should be watched -and listened!- for on any birding rounds. Among the sites having had Am. Tree Sparrow are near the south end of the island and also in a couple of sites along the Hudson river greenway which extends nearly the length of Manhattan, & has ‘patches' of good habitat. Towards the north, some of those patches are fairly extensive & can include areas just along the Amtrak R.R. tracks corridor, which is viewable from the fence-line in a number of areas. (of course, the majority of passerines seen along that will be… Passer domesticus - House Sparrow, the commonest of all the smaller such birds in much of the city, particularly so in Manhattan’s cookie / chips / bagels / etc. crumbs-left regions… In a ‘town’ where some of us have watched *early-spring-arrival* Ovenbird go for an entire bologna sandwhich (with mustard!) - or at least, tug on the meatier portion thereof, it’s all about the available foods for birds. But that can also include seeds on unmowed grasses & so forth, in what appear as 'weedy spots’, as rare as they are in relative terms with the canyons of tall buildings ever nearby. At least a couple of Common Goldeneyes were ongoing in places they had been, off Governors Island, and off Randall’s Island on Sunday. Central Park continues to have its 1 hen Green-winged Teal, as well as several Wood Ducks on various waters, and some of the other recent ducks continuing. 2 Snow Geese were still lingering at Randall’s Island with the many Brant (all deemed to be ‘Atlantic’ Brant, the most usual form of this region) and there are Canada Geese scattered all around the county, still quite numerous in various places. The semi-regular drake N. Pintail was again at the W. 79th St. boat-basin (marina) on the Hudson, off Riverside Park. Fair no’s. of gulls also have continued to show there. Bald Eagles have been seen in the multiple & from a number of places in the county; the most regular sightings can be from along the Hudson river & off upper Manhattan. Also seen have been Merlin and a very few Turkey Vultures, while Common Raven sightings have been ongoing and from a variety of locations in the county. Good birding to all, 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/ --
