Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City - Mon.-Tues.-Wed. - Thursday, 3rd to 6th of June, 2013
Stragglers and hangers-in continue (nothing out of the ordinary as every spring brings a modest flow of migrant land birds & others thru the city, even into early & mid-June, after the majority of migrants have passed, & many birds are on nest territories) and this week so far has been no exception. Some of the birds putting in appearances have included: Hooded Warbler (very vocal male, seen singing regularly in the first 2 - 3 hours of Tuesday, 6/4; near the Blockhouse, north woods.) Mourning Warbler (male, singing a little, at the n. side of the Loch, Wed. into mid-day & later - could be a 'new' bird, or one that lingered skulkingly from the previous week. Several others, at least, got to see & hear the Hooded & at least glimpsed the Mourning.) Other warblers ongoing or passing through: N. Parula, Ovenbird, Black-and-white, American Redstarts, Blackpolls, Canadas, Common Yellowthroats, N. Waterthrush, & Yellow Warbler. A few of these may be lingering & could be trying to breed, dependent of course on whether mates have been found (mainly the Yellowthroats and Yellow Warbler as typical NYC breeders, but rare, to say the least, in Central as breeding or even attempted breeding, species...) Thursday (a.m.) seemed quieter overall, although at least a few warblers were lingering: Canada, Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, all in the n. end of the park. Empidonax Flycatchers have continued to move thru or hang in, including certain migrants Alder & Yellow-bellied Flycathers, & also Acadian & Willow Flycatchers. E. Wood-Pewees, and a very few Great crested Flycatchers are still about, and E. Kingbirds are on territories. The Empidonax that were identified to species were those vocalizing, as well as observed. it seemed by Thursday that Acadian was the most evident (ie, vocal) Empid. still lingering in the n. end woods. A few Yellow-billed Cuckoos have continued to pass thru. The species does also breed in NYC. This morning, 'too-fast' fly-by of a Cuckoo (sp.) appeared to be Black-billed, in the n. end. It was headed upslope into the woods from the ravine, or Loch... Chipping Sparrow & White-throated Sparrow have continued (the former a rare breeder, the latter not likely to breed in Manhattan) as well as more-typically-nesting Song Sparrows, but a much more unexpected June lingerer is a Swamp Sparrow in the Loch; it appeared to be a bit scraggly and may not be in the best of health. Running 'late' were at least one Scarlet Tanager still going thru on Monday, and Indigo Buntings (male & female) also that day. The park continues to see Chimney Swift in modest numbers as well as Barn Swallows. Increasing have been Cedar Waxwings with some flocks of up to fifty+ seen, and flocks of 20+ seen daily - fruits they love are ripening, such as mulberry & a few others. Swainson's Thrush have been moving on but one or two were still around to Thursday, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush was seen on Wed. & singing a "whisper" song on Thursday. Wood Thrush are on established territories in a few areas. Although many of these sightings are from the northern parts of the park, a number of them are from the areas from near the reservoir & southward... Good birding - be respectful of nesting birds. Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- 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/ --
