In the late 1970's I lived in Sea Gate, the gated community at the western tip of the Coney Island peninsula. For a few days each spring, the trees there were just covered with these large green, red headed, parrot like birds. Some years later, someone showed me a photos of a Mitred Parakeet and that was the bird! We never saw the birds outside of Sea Gate. I wonder if they still show up there in the spring.
In a message dated 04/05/11 02:18:35 Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: NYSBIRDS-L Digest for Monday, April 04, 2011. 1. Re: RE: long belated Mitred Parakeet report 2. Pine Warbler back 3. osprey flyby 4. T.Y's. & Hydraulic Fracturing 5. Syracuse RBA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: RE: long belated Mitred Parakeet report From: John Askildsen <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 07:58:48 -0500 X-Message-Number: 1 some years ago, while visiting the bronx zoo, and while standing in front of an aviary in the old section of the zoo, i noticed that on the _exterior_ of an aviary filled with parrots, there were parrot nests constructed and being used. i cannot remember if i identified the "wild" parrots. this was maybe 4-6 years ago. JPA John Askildsen Millbrook, New York On 04/03/11, Seth Ausubel<[email protected]> wrote: This is an interesting report, and Iâ€ll try to address Andrewâ€s questions. Mitred Parakeets (Aratinga mitrata – known in aviculture as Mitred Conures) are a temperate zone species, naturally ranging from southern Peru and western Bolivia to northern Argentina. The species is typically found at 1000-3500 meters elevation, and has been recorded to 4000 meters. With the variety of warm microhabitats available in any urbanized area, and the relative abundance of foods such as ornamental fruits, it is not too surprising that they can survive our winters. In fact it is winter when many sightings have occurred as the birds wander widely to forage, often on extremely cold days. There is no reason to believe that Andrewâ€s birds are the same as those currently present in Queens. The origin of the local population of Mitred Parakeets is reliably established between 1979 and 1984. This coincides with the period when large numbers of birds were imported, JFK Airport being a major hub. It appears that both the total number of birds, and the range of areas from which they have been reported, have decreased over time. Historically, most reports have been from southwestern Nassau County. During the 1990s it appears the birds ranged at least as far east as Massapequa (Nassau), and as far west as Central Park. Andrewâ€s is the first report I know of from the Bronx. The most recent reports I know of from southwestern Nassau were in 2009, but there have been many recent reports from Queens. There are only 13-15 birds in the Queens flock. Assuming birds still persist in Nassau, there may be as many as 50 Mitred Parakeets around the NYC metro area. Having said all this, Iâ€ll also say that reporting is quite unreliable and there could well be some birds missed. For example, to this day, Mitred Parakeets have not been recorded on any NY Christmas Bird Count and reports from June through November are virtually unknown. So the biggest question is whether Mitred Parakeets are breeding in the NY area, and if so, where. Those interested can read my article in The Kingbird, September 2009; 59(3). By the way, the cherry trees in Hillcrest, Queens are about to blossom, and the birds should be there within a couple of days! Seth Ausubel Forest Hills, NY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *From:* [email protected][1] [mailto:[email protected][2]] *On Behalf Of *Andrew Block *Sent:* Sunday, April 03, 2011 11:56 AM *To:* NYS Birds *Subject:* [nysbirds-l] long belated Mitred Parakeet report For all you parrot people out there following the saga of the Mitred Parakeets in NYC I was going thru my notes last night and came across a sighting I had on 4/4/96 at the NY Botanical Garden. I had forgotten I had a flock of 13 Mitred Parakeets fly over the Rose Garden heading south towards the zoo. It just occured to me these must be the same flock that is being see sporadically in Queens. I really would love to know how they survive the winters here b/c they are not supposed to be hardy around here. It's one of the many mysteries of NYC I guess. Andrew **Andrew v. F. Block** __Consulting Naturalist/Wildlife Biologist__ 37 Tanglewylde Avenue Bronxville, Westchester Co., New York 10708-3131 Phone: 914-337-1229; Fax: 914-771-8036 [1] mailto:[email protected] [2] mailto:[email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Pine Warbler back From: Mickey Scilingo <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 12:07:51 -0400 X-Message-Number: 2 Yesterday afternoon and again this morning I spotted the PINE WARBLER returning to my feeder. Today he was in the feeder eating the sunflower seeds. At times it seems like he has no problem cracking some of the seed with his bill, while other times he takes the seed to a tree limb and splits it like a chickadee does. The 2 REDPOLLS I saw yesterday morning have not returned. Guess they were just passing through. Mickey Scilingo Constantia Oswego County, NY [email protected] 315-679-6299 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: osprey flyby From: Brien Hindman <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 12:37:37 -0400 X-Message-Number: 3 I just had an osprey fly by my office window just off of 684 near Armonk. -- "The test of us as a society is not necessarily how we treat the best among us but how we treat the most questionable." - Ben Loeterman ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: T.Y's. & Hydraulic Fracturing From: ROBERT ADAMO <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 15:56:55 -0400 X-Message-Number: 4 This morning, while driving in downtown Riverhead, Suffolk Co., I observed 3 T.V's. circling overhead, as they drifted toward the east. This afternoon, I drove to the Quogue Wildlife Refuge in Quogue, in order to set up & check out the "dvd" we were going to show tonight at our monthly Audubon meeting. It's title is GASLAND, and it's about obtaining natural gas from shale deposits in the ground. It tells of the history of this process, how it works, and goes on to explain the consequences of this type of extraction, called Hydronic Fracturing. As I watched and listened to this alarming documentary unfold (with my eyes picking up the movements of birds in, and over Ice Pond, through an entire wall, approx,30x15, made up of floor to ceiling windows) I saw a pair of stunning Wood Ducks land. Already in the pond were Mallards, Canadas, and Herring Gulls. Overhead Redwings, Robins and Blue Jays flew about. All of a sudden I realized what I was watching on the screen, was a threat to what i was marveling at outside...the comparison was unsettling ! While there, I also witnessed a behavior in 1 of the 4 Canada Geese in the water, that I've never seen before. They were all "taking baths", 3 of them doing the usual head dunking ,wing splashing, etc., but the 1, besides doing a little of the that, also did what has to be called a "summer-sault" . After putting it's head in the water, it continued going under "front to back" until it had reversed itself with belly showing, whereupon it went first to it's side, and then righted itself completely...and it did this 3 more times in about 10 minutes ! Cheers, Bob ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2011 15:27:24 -0700 X-Message-Number: 5 RBA * New York * Syracuse * April 4, 2011 * NYSY 0404.11 Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): March 28, 2010 - April 4, 2011 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison & Cortland compiled:April 4 AT 6:00 p.m. (EST) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org #250 -Monday April 4, 2011 Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of March 21 , 2010 Highlights: ----------- CACKLING GOOSE EURASIAN WIGEON COMMON (EURASIAN) TEAL PEREGRINE FALCON SANDHILL CRANE IGLAUCOUS GULL LESSER YELLOWLEGS LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL PURPLE MARTIN PINE WARBLER EVENING GROSBEAK HOARY REDPOLL Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------ 3/29: The COMMON TEAL was seen at the Visitorâ€s Center Pool. It has remained through 4/3. No reports on it today yet. 2 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at the Visitorâ€s Center. 3/31: An adult plumage LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was spotted in Tschache Pool. 4/2: A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was seen at the Montezuma Audubon Center. It was relocated the next day also. Derby Hill ------------ This was a better week for hawks and 3,213 raptors were counted. No new species were seen. Except for rarities only Peregrine Falcon and Broad-winged Hawk have yet to be seen. Other highlights were 2 CACKLING GEESE on 3/30 and an immature GLAUCOUS GULL on 4/2. Madison County ------------ 3/30: A HOARY REDPOLL was seen at a feedr in Erieville. 4/2: At Ditchbank Road a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS were seen. At the Great Swamp Conservancy a PEREGRINE FALCON was spotted. 4/3: 15 EVENING GROSBEAKS were at a feeder in Erieville. Oswego County ------------ 4/3: A FOS PURPLE MARTIN was seen at the Golf Course on Toad Harbor Road. A PINE WARBLER, possibly an overwintering bird, was back at a feeder in Constantia. The first day of Bill Purcellâ€s Lakewatch at Phillipâ€s Point (Oneida Lake) yielded 7 species of waterfowl and 23 COMMON LOONS. Onondaga County ------------ 4/2: A HOARY REDPOLL continues with a large number of Commons at Beaver Lake Nature Center. 4/4: A drake EURASIAN WIGEON was found in the pond at the Eagleâ€s nest on 60 Road at Three Rivers WMA. New Arrivals ------------ 3/28: AMERICAN PIPIT 3/29 - PIED-BILLED GREBE - Onondaga Lake 4/2 - DUNLIN - Montezuma 4/3 - PURPLE MARTIN - West Monroe 4/4 - BARN SWALLOW - Montezuma --end transcript -- Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A. --- END OF DIGEST -- 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 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
