Monday, 2nd of May, 2016 If I might, kudos to all the Kings Co., NY birders on that Cerulean find and other spp. in the boro' of Brooklyn ...for more-central NYS birders, Cerulean closer to the coast (i.e. in NYC) is a good find, as by the time that species is in the "neighborhood" of some of their breeding territories (at least several hundred pairs breed within 90 miles of NYC, in directions north, n./n..-e., n.-w. & west) & thus may fly straight in to many of said territories rather than make stops in our city parks, and of course the species is a rather localized breeder in any case.
The discussion of wind & flight levels on the nocturnal migrants is also great, some science rather than the non-science that can be put out at times, if only in ignorance rather than intent. It's always very interesting to compare what is seen on migration in some of the NYC parks where a fair to high no. of observers gather, and see how things both differ & can be similar on same days, but with one place closer to a shore, another perhaps at the n. edge of a land-mass (think Alley Pond park in n. Queens, which has every bit the potential for migrants as any of the others) or along the Hudson river (as in Inwood Hill park, which just had a Cerulean sighting from Nadir Sourgi, & is nicely covered in migration by a number of good eyes & ears there) and so many other places. The local variations in what is seen are quite fascinating both for what can be remarkably similar, as well for what may not be, on particular days of good migration stop-over &/or flights. Places along the immediate shores seem to illustrate some of the dramatic differences possible to a great degree, yet there are all sorts of sometimes-subtle ways in which the migrants are moving & stopping off in an area -NYC & environs- which is much more complex, even minus all the urban heights (and breadths of non-greenery), than is sometimes understood. And, going back to both what Sean & colleagues may be getting at, the Cerulean[s] in the city just lately may be here thanks to interesting local & regional winds that also can be more subtle than how we think of them, in the general "southerly spring winds good, strong northerly winds in spring bad", sort of notion on migratory movement. At times, it's almost the opposite for watching in the NYC area in spring... but really, it's complex, sort of the way actual nature is. It's still a subject for serious study. ......................... 5/2/16 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A very good & interesting day, with some species & individuals seeming "in place" from the day before, & some almost certainly new arrivals into Central. The weather cleared late in the day allowing more to be seen than on the previous day, but there was clearly some fresh arrival, & perhaps a bit of departure also. Some but certainly not all of today's birds were - Horned Grebe (1 in breeding plumage continuing on the reservoir all day to at least 5 p.m.) Double-crested Cormorant (many on reservoir, etc.) Great Egret Snowy Egret (n. end fly-bys as is typically seen from that end of the park, now thru late summer) Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Canada Goose Gadwall Mallard Ruddy Duck (at least 2 continuing at reservoir) Osprey (fly-by) Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Greater Yellowlegs (fly-by seen & heard from N. Meadow overlook area) Spotted Sandpiper (several at reservoir edges, a.m.) Laughing Gull (at least several flying over at various times) Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull (mainly reservoir as well as fly-overs) Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (several, getting slightly late now) Downy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Least Flycatcher (few, but more than 2 in Ramble & vicinity, singing as well as calling) Eastern Phoebe (2) Great Crested Flycatcher (multiple, several of them calling often in early a.m.) Eastern Kingbird (multiple, in more than 6 locations) White-eyed Vireo (possible lingering bird, or newly arrived) Blue-headed Vireo (not as many as last week, but not "rare" yet this spring) Yellow-throated Vireo (multiple) Warbling Vireo (perhaps the most common vireo thru the park entire today) Red-eyed Vireo (few, but still more than any prior day this spring) Blue Jay American Crow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1 seen, a few others were apparently seen elsewhere) Veery (multiple, not so hard to find a few in any good, quiet location) Gray-cheeked Thrush (possible-probable sighting in the north end, with 1st views by Ken Chaya) Swainson's Thrush (1 seen singing, and fascinatingly, a Gray Catbird attempting to mimic, seen as well) Hermit Thrush (still quite common & still the most numerous Catharus as of today in the park entire) Wood Thrush (multiple, some singing nicely thru much of the day) American Robin Gray Catbird (numbers increasing & still many more to arrive) Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher (a few, and those staying much longer may try to nest here) Cedar Waxwing (very small numbers, which have been occasional this past month) Blue-winged Warbler (at least several) Brewster's Warbler (1, of this "type" in n. end nearest the W. 106th St. stairs to C.P. West / Great Hill) Nashville Warbler (at least several, singing & seen) Northern Parula (multiple locations) Yellow Warbler (multiple) Chestnut-sided Warbler (very few, but vocalizing well) Cape May Warbler (a beauty in the n. woods, as well as at least 1 in Ramble area, which was hard to see) Black-throated Blue Warbler (few, singing males) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (plenty in various locations including where few birders spend much time) Black-throated Green Warbler (several, but none in area of "Triplet's bridge", or near W. 77 St. park entry) Blackburnian Warbler (several in Ramble alone, several more from n. of reservoir to n. woods areas) Pine Warbler (drab female, n. end, not esp. "rare" in early May, but often these are drabber birds here now) Prairie Warbler (several) Palm Warbler (relatively few, & a dramatic decrease from a week+ ago) Black-and-white Warbler (multiple, many of them females) American Redstart (few, and not singing as much as is typical) Worm-eating Warbler (multiple, actually an 'exceptional' number for 1 day here: in at least 5 locations) Ovenbird (many) Northern Waterthrush (many) Louisiana Waterthrush (few, & getting a bit "late" for this often very early arriver) Common Yellowthroat (modest numbers so far) Hooded Warbler (1 still at the n. end, active & sometimes singing) *** NO Swainson's Warbler seen by anyone at all, from any location, & no sightings reported by anyone) Scarlet Tanager (1 was noted by another birder, I did not hear any) Eastern Towhee (fewer but still around, a very rare breeder in Central, and thus is protected by laws...) Chipping Sparrow (multiple, in modest flocks in scattered locations) Field Sparrow (still some around) Song Sparrow (small numbers) Lincoln's Sparrow (1 in n. end, which gave brief but superb views) Swamp Sparrow (still a good many around) White-throated Sparrow (many but much-reduced numbers from a week ago) White-crowned Sparrow (multiple locations, some singing a bit in a.m. & p.m.) Dark-eyed Junco (very few, & getting "late") Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak (multiple, many just heard squeaking in high trees) Indigo Bunting 9at least several) Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole (a few in a few locations) Baltimore Oriole (plenty including a few females checking sites for nesting) Purple Finch (1 or 2 in Ramble) House Finch American Goldfinch (still a lot around, mostly feeding in trees now as they have been for weeks) House Sparrow good (no-need-to-play-recordings or playback to birds under-one's- nose, since it confuses & harasses the birds, and annoys 99% of all birders and is just very very silly!) birding to all, Tom Fiore & the 101+ other Monday birders that were out & about, 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/ --
