New York County (in N.Y. City), including Manhattan -with Central Park- and Randall’s and Governors Island[s], as well as the skies above. to Thursday, April 27th -
2 Caspian Terns seen (and photographed, in-flight) from Randall’s Island on Wed., 4/26 are a reminder that the terns are now moving, and other species as well may be sought in and around the county, in particular at the sites where a bit more-likely to be encountered - N.Y. Harbor sectors, and potentially the w. edges of Long Island Sound’s waters (that’ll be Randall’s Island) and also along the Hudson river, with luck. Boat-tailed Grackle has been seen, in scant to single numbers (mainly) from / on Governors Island, for now the most-likely location in the county to try for this species - which is still rather-rare to very uncommon for N.Y. County. A minimum of 24 species of American warblers were present in the county by Thursday, including (all of those, with one probable exception) within Central Park. At least 4 Orange-crowned Warblers have been present, and (in my own opinion), the most-recently ‘discovered/uncovered’ at Inwood Hill Park, is as-likely-as-not to be one that had overwintered very locally, including perhaps in that park or within a short distance from it. Others were still around at Morningside Park, and (most-regularly seen) at Randall’s Island. A good variety of warbler species have shown in multiple parks, esp., with strong observer efforts at Fort Tryon and Inwood Hill Parks, and also at other northern-Manhattan parks or green-spaces; this also seemed to be where some species were continuing to occur in numbers (such as dozens, to even scores, of Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warblers and including some in fair-to-moderate 'morning-flight’ conditions). At Central Park, at least 6 (five) Hooded Warblers were present on Thursday, with 3 in full male-like plumage, and singing thus in fact males (some adult female Hoodeds can closely resemble males, but won’t be seen singing), with at least 3 of the Hoodeds in the Ramble area, and including also Strawberry Fields [near W. 72-74th Streets], others in s. and n. sectors of the park. This indicates a possible nearing-peak of movement for the species in the county (of a species that may nest within just ten-15 miles of parts of Manhattan). One note, applying to some (or many) warblers, colorful or not, lately in N.Y. County, with many days beginning with fog or mist, plus often-cool start-up temp’s. as well as so much available (leafed-out) foliage - which is ahead-of any average of past recent decades, the small migrants can be tough to see. Songs and calls coming from tree-tops, where many of the warblers and other insectivores (in particular) are with cooler early-a.m. temp’s are of course clues to their presence. And then, we have species such as Hooded Warbler and some others that show a preference for lower branches or staying nearer to ground-levels much of the time (on migration, and in breeding areas). The northern sections of Riverside Park, including the “forever wild” sanctuary grove, and nearby, plus other areas, were good for many neotropical-wintering migrants Thursday, mid-day and morning; some species were perhaps first-of-year to that particular area or even to all of Riverside Park. Many many other parks in addition to these noted above have had migrant birds in the last week and also some of our smaller green-spaces, both well-birded and some little-observed by birders most of the year. Almost of the below were occuring both recently and (all) as-of Thursday, 4/27. Ovenbird (multiple) Worm-eating Warbler (few so far) Louisiana Waterthrush (scarcer) Northern Waterthrush (multiple) Blue-winged Warbler (multiple) Brewster's Warbler (hybrid form - not noted as a ’species, of interest) Black-and-white Warbler (multiple) Orange-crowned Warbler (multiple, and with notes above) Nashville Warbler (multiple) Common Yellowthroat (multiple, some in *potential* breeding territory) Hooded Warbler (multiple, some further noted in-part above) American Redstart (multiple) Cape May Warbler (multiple) Northern Parula (multiple) Magnolia Warbler (few so far) Blackburnian Warbler (scarce so far) Yellow Warbler (multiple; on breeding territories in some select locations) Chestnut-sided Warbler (scarce so far) Black-throated Blue Warbler (multiple, including Central Park; also from at least 6 additional county locations by now) Palm Warbler (multiple) Pine Warbler (multiple, but, as-expected, scarcer by now) Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warbler (multiple and with some morning-flight evident in some locations; esp. along Hudson River / n.-w. parts of the county) Prairie Warbler (multiple) Black-throated Green Warbler (multiple) Canada Warbler (scarce so far, and still v. slightly-early as compared to prior years' ‘averages’) Some of the wide variety of warblers in Central Park have been in locations from the southern end (including the Pond, Hallett Sanctuary, the areas near the ‘rink’, and in and around the C.P. zoo grounds) as well as in and around the Mall, where many grand American elms host migrant songbirds each spring, esp. in the early phases of neotropical-wintering arrivals of migrants. Also as always, places near the C.P. reservoir and north all the way to the northern fringes of the park have had migrants in recent days, in some places and mornings or end-of-day observations, many migrants. The entire perimeter area of Central Park (which is almost wholly bounded by stone-wall, and certainly with many many large trees of a mix of species) has been somewhat productive at certain hours. Various other birds now being found include: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chimney Swift (many more lately, including birds roosting in locations of the county as well as many more fly-over migrants), Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Least Sandpiper, and Calidris “sp.”, American Woodcock, Killdeer (in select sites), Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull Common Tern Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant (many migrating fly-overs, and also many further arrivals dropping in), Green Heron (ongoing, with more as well), Black-crowned Night-Heron (many in last few days, seen esp. early-late and in / from select locations), Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Black Vulture (ongoing sightings, esp. from n. Manhattan locations), Turkey Vulture, Osprey (increased), Sharp-shinned Hawk, Bald Eagle (in numbers from some sites in the county), multiple owl sp. i(ncluding Great Horned, and also the ongoing escaped/non-native Eurasian Eagle-owl that (seemingly) one-million visitors and regulars of Central Park have watched constantly for weeks by now), Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-shafted Flickers, Merlin, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo (at least several), Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Warbling Vireo (increased), Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay (good migratory movements in last several days, some seen in street trees as they move along), American Crow, Fish Crow (the latter in select sites, and increased), Common Raven (seen from multiple locations, including Central Park), Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse (in reduced numbers in some areas, such as in Central Park, compared with the entire fall-winter-start of spring period), Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow (select locations only, so far), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet (the latter quite scarce now), Red-breasted Nuthatch (increased a bit, with some fresh movements), White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper (scarcer now), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren (common and already house-keeping), Winter Wren (a few ongoing to now), Marsh Wren, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird (further increase of migrants), Brown Thrasher, Veery, Swainson's Thrush (still in small no’s. and still a bit “early”!), Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush (increased), Cedar Waxwings, Purple Finch (excellent April for the latter species, some sightings of up to 6-8+ at one time, and commonly, 2 or 3 at once in recent days/weeks), American Goldfinch (increases), Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, [Red] Fox Sparrow (not all-gone yet, but scarce at least in Central Park by Thursday), Slate-colored Junco (reduced no’s.), White-crowned Sparrow (the overwintered bird had continued at same location in Central Park, south of the West 72nd St. cross-drive, w/ multiple observers recently, and there are a few more: new arrivals now), White-throated Sparrow (common and w/ recent movements, still ongoing), Saltmarsh Sparrow (at least one, but likely more, in typical areas), Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Eastern Towhee (widespread in recent days), Eastern Meadowlark, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Rusty Blackbird (some still around), Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle (as noted in first paragraph at top of this report), Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak (has not been re-found / reported again, however the individual seen in Central Park’s Ramble may still be around, either there or elsewhere in the same park), Indigo Bunting (including females as well as males), and a variety of other resident and migrant or visitant species. Multiple Spotted Sandpipers were seen in at least 5 separate locations in Manhattan alone (parks, including Central Park, Inwood Hill Park, Sherman Creek Park, Riverside Park-south, Ft. Washington Park, and very possibly some others, as well as on Randall’s Island’s wetland-shore sectors) on Tuesday, 4/25, by multiple observers in all of those sites on the day = this corresponded with a widespread arrival of that species on the same day in multiple counties of (at least) southeastern N.Y. state along the Hudson River and vicinity (if not seen earlier). 2 Mute Swans appeared on the Central Park reservoir, and were continuing into Thurs., 4/27. That species was, at one time, a resident-breeder in Central Park, and there have been ongoing, regular-recent sightings of them in the county, esp. from and near Randall’s Island, but also from other county locations in recent years - and into this week. At least 4 M. Swans were still around Randall’s Island (at same time as the two continued on Central Park’s reservoir, of hyperlocal interest). Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have shown in multiple locations, including (again) at Central Park and also in several other parks as well as on both Randall’s and Governors Island[s] in modest no’s. so far. Within just a few days of each other, we have had 3 genera of “grosbeaks” in the county, with Evening, Rose-breasted, and latest of the three seen, the Blue Grosbeak (each are in different genera; the latter is what is usually called in the ’new world’ a bunting, which is a very generalized term. (The majority of ‘buntings’ as originally termed, are in Europe, Asia, Africa, some islands [Socotra Bunting is among the endangered species of the world], and elsewhere across the Atlantic and Pacific from N. America, and are especially in the Emberizidae, a very large group of species…) - - - Incidentally, since the last day of March 2023, we have noted more than 175 species of birds in N.Y. County (on that March 31 day, the observation of a few Northern Gannets ([L. Brock] diving far south seen from Governors Island got that little tally working. Of course, the rarest by far was -in this period- the Smith’s Longspur (as found by M.B. Kooper on 4/14, with a happy assist in a fast-photo-assessment of the species first spotted by M.B.K., by T. Healy, who then quickly got word out; a rather rare species for any part of the northeastern states or provinces of Canada! The list below is NOT complete but has many of the sightings of this day and recent days to Thursday, 4/27, for New York County - and from hundreds of observers’ sightings / photos, etc. [Atlantic] Brant (ongoing in numbers at appropriate sites around the county) Canada Goose Mute Swan (as noted, for Central Park, plus the more-recent-regulars by Randall’s Island etc.) Wood Duck (multiple, includes some fly-overs on the move along with 'the-usual' Central Park sightings) Northern Shoveler Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard American Black Duck Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove * Eastern Whip-poor-will (*last week, in Central Park) Chimney Swift (multiple) Ruby-throated Hummingbird American Coot American Oystercatcher (prior sightings, as already reported to this list, and as priorly-confirmed in eBird) Killdeer Purple Sandpiper (prior sighting from Governors Island, as already reported to this list, as priorly-confirmed in eBird) Least Sandpiper (multiple) American Woodcock Spotted Sandpiper (multiple) Greater Yellowlegs (from Governors Island) Bonaparte's Gull (recent days, from Governors Island / N.Y. Harbor) Laughing Gull (still increasing) Ring-billed Gull [American] Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern (2 from Randall’s Island, as noted at top of this report) Common Tern (Governors Island / N.Y. Harbor) Common Loon (multiple, as fly-overs moving north) Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (s. tip of Manhattan island) Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey (multiple) Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Bald Eagle Broad-winged Hawk Red-tailed Hawk multiple owl species. Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (multiple, but diminished in numbers for county) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird (multiple) White-eyed Vireo (multiple, by Wed., 4/26) Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo (multiple) Warbling Vireo (multiple and some on probable breeding territories in the county) Red-eyed Vireo (multiple, but still uncommon to Thursday) Blue Jay (many in recent days; esp. migration movements) American Crow Fish Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Northern Rough-winged Swallow (multiple) Tree Swallow (multiple) Barn Swallow (multiple) Cliff Swallow (still-scarce, so far) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (multiple) Golden-crowned Kinglet Red-breasted Nuthatch (multiple) White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (multiple) House Wren (multiple) Winter Wren Marsh Wren Carolina Wren (multiple) European Starling Gray Catbird (have increased a bit) Brown Thrasher (multiple) Northern Mockingbird Veery (increased a bit) Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush (many) Wood Thrush (modest increase) American Robin (some on nests) Cedar Waxwing (multiple) House Sparrow House Finch (multiple) Purple Finch (many sightings, some in groups / flocks of 4+++) American Goldfinch (increasing) Chipping Sparrow (many) Field Sparrow [Red] Fox Sparrow Slate-colored Junco (still moving through) White-crowned Sparrow (as noted above) White-throated Sparrow (exceedingly numerous and many are singing in full voice lately) Saltmarsh Sparrow (in expected areas) Savannah Sparrow (in some less-expected areas, and in numbers in a few select sites) Song Sparrow (many) Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow (many) Eastern Towhee (very numerous on migration, plus a few that could linger and try to nest) Eastern Meadowlark (Governors Island) Orchard Oriole (multiple) Baltimore Oriole (multiple, increased and a few looking into nest-sites of years past; p.s., there are also Baltimores in Boston, yes that oriole in that Massachusetts big-beantown, right now.) Red-winged Blackbird (multiple) Brown-headed Cowbird (multiple) Rusty Blackbird (ongoing, and/or some newly arrived passage-migrants) Common Grackle (many) Boat-tailed Grackle (as noted above for mainly 1 location only) - Ovenbird (multiple) Worm-eating Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Northern Waterthrush (multiple) Blue-winged Warbler (multiple) Brewster's Warbler (hybrid) Black-and-white Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler (multiple, as noted in-part above) Nashville Warbler (multiple) Common Yellowthroat (multiple) Hooded Warbler (multiple; and this includes singing males) American Redstart (multiple) Cape May Warbler (multiple) Northern Parula (multiple) Magnolia Warbler (still slightly-early for this species here) Blackburnian Warbler (still scant for now) Yellow Warbler (multiple) Chestnut-sided Warbler (slightly-early, and scarce) Black-throated Blue Warbler (multiple - in various parks, and now in all 3 well-birded islands of the county by now) Palm Warbler (multiple) Pine Warbler (some still passing through) Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warbler (many) Prairie Warbler (multiple) Black-throated Green Warbler (multiple) Canada Warbler (still scarce for now) - Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak (multiple) Blue Grosbeak (so far, reported one-day-only, in Central Park’s Ramble; photo’d. by finder M.B. Kooper) Indigo Bunting (multiple) **The recent Central Park Painted Bunting has *NOT* been reported from there since April 23rd. Even so, it is still possible that that individual is lingering in the area, or within the county. (and of slightly out-of-county rarities, that (American) ANHINGA of Prospect Park’s Lake - thank you, Radka Osickova [and Bobbi Manian, who was part of the initial wonderment of a first Kings County record, and 2nd-ever accepted N.Y. City record ] of the great B.B.C. (Brookyn / Kings County, in N.Y. City) which was still present into mid-day (and after that time) into 4/27 - and there’d been at least 3 of that species seen flying north from Cape May, New Jersey, on 4/26; those showing that that species was (or is) still on the move northward from their typically more-southern realms of the Western Hemisphere, as well as the ‘crazy’ numbers seen and documented in central NY state (as reported to this list-server, and in eBird, etc.) One loves any bird that’s so nice they named it the same twice (Anhinga anhinga, in scientific Latin parlance…) - the escaped owl in Central Park is Bubo bubo, for example. There are at least 80 other such tautonym-species of birds in the world. Many of us see or hear some (or one or two) every day, if outdoors or listening in spring. Next time you’re watching, or hearing, the E. Kingbird, give its’ scientific name a thought; or your local Cardinal. Thanks to many hundreds of observers out and about with the birds recently, in all areas of the county (and beyond). - - All sorts of trees and shrubs are leafed-out to greater and (some) lesser extent, as well as hundreds of kinds of native / introduced-naturalized and (especially) planted (horticultural) flowers blooming in what is certainly one of the botanically-‘earliest’ spring seasons of any time in memory, and early as compared even with other rather-early spring plant seasons, for all recent decades. In concert with all of those plants coming into green and bloom are many insects and other arthropods, which so many arriving (and some nesting or soon-to-try) birds make use of, and will also feed to the young, hatchlings and fledgelings. Fruits (of various sorts) are developing in some of the earlier-to-have-bloomed plants, locally. Recent soaking rain-fall was much welcomed in alleviating some recent dry-soil conditions and a risk of fire in many areas around the region. 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/ --
