Re: most recent posting.
In my posting for 2 May, I mentioned Riverside Park's "sanctuary" and
"the drip" areas. These are adjacent areas within that park which lie
within the park, to the west of Riverside Drive on Manhattan's upper
west side, in the area of West 115 to 118 Streets. The park entrance
I prefer - with few or no steps - is located at West 116 Street and
one takes a ramped path in, to the right, then immediately left and
along an iron fence delineating the sanctuary grove of trees, with a
wood-chipped path running parallel to Riverside Drive within the
sanctuary. The area can be birded a bit from paths below & above as
well as from the wide promenade along Riverside Drive itself. The
"drip" area is a small pool of water which is allowed to run from a
city water source in the bottom section of the sanctuary and near the
tennis courts, located on the lower (interior) path within the park,
the closest (but may steps) park entrance being near W. 119 Street to
the tennis courts. From the tennis courts, look east towards the trees
and at their base, a small fence-enclosed area with grass and bare
earth, & visibly wet even when on a sunny dry day - this is the "drip"
- it can easily be missed by those not familiar with the location
within 50 feet of the tennis courts entry. The path is very narrow
there, the area frequented by park users on most days, & particularly
by tennis players. There is no seating available from which to wait &
watch at "the drip". As for birding, it is generally most productive
at the wet area well after rain, as when there are rain puddles
available to birds elsewhere they may not concentrate as much there.
It is also a rather unpredictable spot, sometimes very "birdy", but
often not except for the most common species in the city... and feral
birds such as starlings & house sparrows are always present to compete
with the migrants & native breeders for the bathing & drinking space.
The woods to the north, while potentially productive, is also home to
poison ivy and bramble thickets, and in the past has sheltered various
non-birding people who birders might not wish to encounter. The rest
of Riverside Park is generally a very safe place to visit however,
including the "drip" & sanctuary grove.
Wilson's Warbler (in my previous posting) listed dates, which were
selected as the likeliest periods that particular migrant may be
expected in Central Park in annual migration, for spring & fall.
Those dates were arrived at by a few of the park's experienced regular
birders & were lifted from the still functioning but "static" website, nycbirdreport.com
, which Mike Freeman of Manhattan created and continues to maintain.
It can be very useful still in determining expected dates & for a
"snapshot" of some NYC birding hot=spots in recent years. Going to
the home page, one may click on any birding destination listed & find
any species noted, clickable for a full calendar of dates of actual
observations in recent years, from a large number of the city's active
birders in that time period. The full "year" lists can also be
checked for a sense of what species may be seen in the varied
locations, and by which dates. And, as was seen, the Wilson's Warbler
is just slightly ahead of its more expected date of arrival in Central
Park... as has been so for a number of species this spring.
Hoping that's of use to those who inquired...
Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
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