Tom makes a great point- SI birders, including myself, have spent many hours in the surrounding areas of both Great Kills Park and Wolfe's Pond Park in search of YHBL.
Over the course of the last several days, the large mixed flocks of BHCO/RWBL feeding in the Oakwood Beach Tidal Marshes (bordering Great Kills Park) have been highly scrutinized, but have thus far yielded no notable species. Similarly, observations of RWBL flocks present in the off-limit areas within Great Kills Park (model airplane field, education field station feeders) have yielded no YHBL. As mentioned in previous posts, the male YHBL found by Professor Veit on the morning of 2/28 made only a brief appearence, and originally went unreported on the state list/eBird. We have searched most of the southern tip of the Island for this and (possibly) other YHBL. Good birding, Jose On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 5:15 PM Thomas Fiore <[email protected]> wrote: It might be worth anyone who is checking out areas around Great Kills Park on Staten Island (Richmond Co., part of NYC) for possible lingering Yellow-headed Blackbirds to try at other sites in the vicinity, as the flocks the Yellow-headeds (an adult male on Tuesday 2/28 - that bird was in a cowbird-icterid flock at Wolfe's Pond Park when noticed, then the other individual in less-ostentatious color, from Thursday 3/2 which was at Great Kills - there are other sites within a short distance where icterids might be flocking, feeding or roosting; there are in fact many such potential sites in the SE portion of the island-borough-county alone, & far more sites around the entire county!) --- Of possible interest to some readers: http://wildlife.org/migratory-bird-phenology-in-a-changing-climate/ --------- Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Friday, 3 March, 2017 - A less-windy day after Thursday's 50-60mph gusts, but back to 'normal' for early March, weather-wise, at least for this day - yet, with buds, blooms and some small leaves appearing that would, in decades past, suggest a mid-April day! But for birds, it is much the expected for the date - and some of the same lingering species are still about - Red-necked Grebe (this bird, on the CP reservoir, has been present for some weeks since being released after rehabilitation with the Wild Bird Fund on Manhattan's west side - it was present today, Friday on the reservoir past mid-day, & a "report" from another water-body in the park seems odd, since this grebe has not been seen in the multiple this year - there have been Double-crested Cormorants in the lake & elsewhere, & I have seen a few folks make an initial identification error on a cormorant, wanting this grebe as the sighting; the RN Grebe was photographed by several observers at the reservoir today, in morning & afternoon hours - it continues to roam the entire reservoir, sometimes very near shore and sometimes not near.) Common Loon (on the reservoir for many days now, in non-breeding plumage, as with the above grebe; this bird has often been hard to spot as it may be in the central area of the reservoir, & can be diving or simply keeping a lower profile at times) Red-headed Woodpecker - a young bird gaining color by the week is continuing in the area of the park just west of East 68 Street, sometimes can be quite high in branches, & may or may not be that active; patience is a virtue awaiting this bird to show itself. It is sometimes rather aggressive with other nearby birds of various species. Other birds include the reported release of 2 rehabbed American Woodcock into the park's north end, on Thursday afternoon (3/2), these also coming from the Wild Bird Fund of Manhattan's west side. There have been some other & prior woodcocks in the park as well. Ongoing, or passage-migrant birds this Friday include - Pied-billed Grebe (2, still at reservoir) Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Bufflehead Hooded Merganser (few) Ruddy Duck Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon American Coot Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull [feral] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Blue Jay American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren Winter Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Eastern Towhee [red] Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird House Finch American Goldfinch Evening Grosbeak House Sparrow - - - - - - “You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that." -'Endgame' - a 1957 Samuel Beckett play. Thanks to all who are respectful of wildlife and other human beings, Good -and ethical- birding, Tom Fiore manhattan -- *NYSbirds-L List Info:* Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> *Archives:* The Mail Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> ABA <http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> *Please submit your observations to **eBird* <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>*!* -- -- Jose Research Assistant College of Staten Island -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
