Date: Saturday, 19 September 2009 (8:45a-5:15p) Location: Central Park - south end to the reservoir Observers: many including Dan Weaver & Irving Cantor Reported by: Ben Cacace
The list below is based on the Central Park checklist. I'm starting to pull away from the seasonal abundance checklists. They don't work well when it's near the beginning / end of a season or if the checklist is well out of date. It was a day with clear blue skies so I thought I wouldn't be looking for migrating hawks but I was drawn to the area around Belvedere Castle around 3pm. I didn't expect much. Getting a bead on a high flying raptor in clear blue skies is more difficult than in a sky with clouds that offers a bit of contrast and something to focus on. The effort paid off. Within 10 minutes I had a raptor in the binoculars only. Nothing was visible naked eye. Within seconds the unique wingbeat and dihedral exhibited by this raptor made the ID fairly easy even before the brilliant white rump became visible. It was the only Northern Harrier for the watch. Twenty minutes after this a fairly low, clearly naked eye raptor, was spotted heading west. It was very dark and large and one look through the binoculars showed it was an adult Bald Eagle. Following the eagle a short distance was an Osprey that was also obvious naked eye. I thought to point out the eagle to the crowd but I didn't think it was low enough to impress. As I followed the Osprey it drifted into a small group of circling Broad-winged Hawks. This small group grew into a larger group of 80+ Broad-winged Hawks circling directly above the castle. When I pulled the binoculars away the kettle was not obvious naked eye. When I focused on the Osprey only then did the subtle forms of the BWs come through. Small groups of BWs were seen over the next hour but no group had more than 9 individuals. Another Osprey passed through shortly after 4pm. Weather for 19-Sep in Central Park (time) < http://tinyurl.com/lsd62p >: - Conditions: Clear - Temperature: 53.1 to 69.1 F (12 to 19 C) - Wind direction: variable changing to NW between 3 and 4 o'clock - Wind speed: 3-7 mph (no gusts) ** Total species - 45 ** Abundance categories below from 'An Annotated Checklist: The Birds of Central Park'. 'Less Common' migrants [13 spp]: - Gadwall - 30+ incl. 23 on Turtle Pond & 7 on the reservoir - Pied-billed Grebe - 1 on the reservoir - Turkey Vulture - 1 flyover seen from Strawberry Fields ~10:45a - Osprey - 2 flyovers from Belvedere Castle 3:34p & 4:03p - Bald Eagle - 1 adult flyover from Belvedere Castle ~3:30p - Northern Harrier - 1 flyover seen from Belvedere Castle ~1:20p - Broad-winged Hawk - 95+ from Belvedere Castle between 3:35-4:35p - Solitary Sandpiper - 1 around the Oven in the Ramble - Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Several (8+) - Black-capped Chickadee - Several (2+) - Brown Thrasher - Several (6+) - Swamp Sparrow - 1 in the Oven in the Ramble - Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Several (3+) 'Common' migrants [18 spp]: - Double-crested Cormorant - 18 on the reservoir - Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 over Bow Bridge - Chimney Swift - 7 flyovers from Belvedere Castle - Northern Flicker - Many (20+) - Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1 over Maintenance Meadow - House Wren - 1 at the south end of the park - Swainson's Thrush - Several (2+) - American Robin - 75+ - Gray Catbird - 6+ - Northern Parula - Several (3+) - Magnolia Warbler - Several (6+) - Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1 adult male along the Gill in the Ramble - Black-and-white Warbler - Several (3+) - American Redstart - 6+ - Ovenbird - 2, Strawberry Fields and the Locust Grove - Common Yellowthroat - 12+ - White-throated Sparrow - Several (3+) - Common Grackle - 24+ Year round residents [14 spp]: - Canada Goose - 3 incl. 2 on the Lake and 1 on the reservoir - Mallard - 75+ - Red-tailed Hawk - 2 incl. 1 adult over Maintenance Meadow - Ring-billed Gull - On the reservoir - Herring Gull - On the reservoir - Great Black-backed Gull - On the reservoir - Rock Pigeon - 24+ - Mourning Dove - 24+ - Downy Woodpecker - Several heard (2+) - Blue Jay - 12+ - Northern Mockingbird - 1 at the south end of the park - European Starling - 12+ - Northern Cardinal - Several (7+) - House Sparrow - 250+ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
