While cycling on Governor's Island yesterday I made an interesting
discovery. On the East side of the island (Buttermilk Channel) there
is an active pier called "Yankee Pier". A section of it is in
disrepair and closed off to the public. There is usually a fair number
of Common Terns nesting on that section. I had walked out to scan the
terns and, as I was returning to the main roadway, I spotted a
Northern Rough-winged Swallow flying into a small hole in the seawall.
Once back on the island I watched that spot for about 10 minutes
during which the swallow returned to the hole several times. I've been
making periodic trips to Governor's Island since it opened to the
public and have observed NRWS there throughout the summer months.
Yesterday was the first time, however, that I'd seen signs of
breeding. I'm not sure what the most recent breeding bird atlas has
determined, but Bull's Birds of New York State says that Northern
Rough-winged Swallow does not breed in NYC. I guess they do now.
If you are interested in checking it out there is free ferry service
to the island from both Brooklyn and Manhattan. Once on the island,
walk along the roadway on the East side of the island to Yankee Pier.
Walk a short distance onto the pier and look for an orange life
preserver attached to the fence above the seawall, just south of the
pier. The nest cavity is below and to the right of the life preserver.
Good birding,
Rob
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
