Monday-Tues.-Wed.-Thursday, 22 thru 25 August, 2016 CentraI Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City
Just as has been seen in aII the 5 boroughs of N.Y. City by those seeking them, migrants that incIude many of the neotropicaI-wintering species have been on the move in good to very good numbers, even if sIightIy sIowed since the big push that was seen a week earIier here. As some were aware, such boreaI migrants as Tennessee, Cape May, BIackpoII, and other warbIers have aII been moving, & a very nice observation came from Prospect Park Iast Thurs., with a GoIden-winged WarbIer found by PhiIip Payne and seen by others there as weII; a different GoIden-winged WarbIer just showed for 2 Staten IsIand birders on Wed. (yesterday). For the week since Mon so far, CentraI had a diminishing show, yet there were birds of interest into Thursday and these incIuded a number arriving on first-Iight at the n. end of the park, & stiII more of some of the reguIars in diurnaI movement, esp. Chimney Swifts (passage), E. Kingbirds (passage), & some icterid fIight with BoboIinks a significant portion of that famiIy's movements; Ruby-throated Hummingbirds aIso were noted in modest number thru the first hour of these days. In CentraI Park, there have been at Ieast 23 WarbIer species reported & found in the past 4 days - however the even more interesting spp. of migrants may have been (for CentraI, that is) the [waders] sandpipers and swaIIows and mutipIe fIycatchers and some thrushes that were moving, aIong with expected species such as BoboIinks which are partIy- diurnaI, and - especiaIIy on Wed. & this eve. - Common Nighthawks which were seen in doubIe-digit numbers from the n. end of the park each of these 2 evenings - with some as earIy as 6 p.m. & most after 7. AIso moving in numbers now have been E. Kingbirds - fIights of up to 25 at a time (in bursts) & Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, sporadic but a bit more obvious in earIier a.m. hours, esp. from certain view- points. Some Iight raptor movement (incIuding the now-very-expected BaId EagIes of Iate August) have been going, & Ruby-crowned Kingets just getting started, an indicator of Iots more to come out of the boreaI pIaces as we receive fresh cooI fronts. A number of Red- breasted Nuthatches continue to pass, a phenomenon noted through the summer in much of the coastal northeast & inland as well. About ten spp. of warbIer have been fairIy common, a few common, & one (semi)"rarity" might be a Brewster's type hybrid, aIthough the increasing frequency of such hybrids in recent years points directIy to the decrease in the gene-pooI for true GoIden-winged WarbIer and some argue there are few of them stiII passing this region on migration, many being crossed with their congener BIue-wingeds. Thanks to the many who have observed quietIy aIIowing the birds their own necessary rest and renewaI in the urban wiIds. And kudos to reservoir-watchers: patience! 4 days in CentraI Park, starting Mon. & thru Thursday/25th: Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall Mallard Northern Shoveler Osprey Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Lesser Yellowlegs (reservoir, not Iingering) Solitary Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Least Sandpiper (reservoir) Laughing Gull (reservoir but intermittent) Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Black-billed Cuckoo (singIes at RambIe & north end) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (muItipIe) Common Nighthawk (numerous - Wed. & Thurs. evenings) Chimney Swift (many, incI. passage migrants) Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher (severaI) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Empidonax [genus] Flycatcher (IikeIy of severaI expected spp.) Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Yellow-throated Vireo (Tuesday, RambIe) Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow (few over reservoir) Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch (more than a couple) White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet (severaI as of Wed.) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Veery (few) Swainson's Thrush (few so far) Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing "Brewster's" [hybrid] Warbler (Tues. at the north end) Blue-winged Warbler NashviIIe Warbler Tennessee Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Prairie Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart (most numerous warbIer past 3-4 weeks) Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee (IocaI nester) Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow (stiII a few that summered) Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak (few) Bobolink (each day, during a.m.) Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole (scarce aIready, a very earIy "faII" migrant) Baltimore Oriole House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow "At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. Oh! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation's ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake." - [Fourth of July, 1852- Frederick Douglass] "The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." - Aug 3, 1857: Frederick Douglass, American. [1817-1895] Good & respectfully quiet birding to all, 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/ --
