As the Christmas Bird Count attests, Bryant Park had a very decent population of winter “hardies” - Catbirds, Fox Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, a Hermit Thrush, and even a Common Yellowthroat in the Grace Plaza - most staying well into January until the first blizzard hit. Still, with a few ice rink food concession stands staying in business, the numbers declined relatively slowly. The last Swamp Sparrow, which liked to huddle over the air vent grate along the northern edge of the rink finally disappeared by the second ice storm in early February. Except for the typical populations of House and White-throated Sparrows, two Catbirds remain. The only species I’ve observed every winter that tends to slowly increase in these last weeks of winter are Song Sparrows. That, and the forecasted unseasonably warmer temperatures are a sign things will only get better.
Happy City Birding, Alan Drogin -- 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/ --
