2017 - Manhattan ... A ‘grail’ of manhattan birding, one might argue this (endlessly), but for a species that is fairly common in much of NY state, the Pileated Woodpecker is *rara avis* for Manhattan island in pretty much all of written-historic times, although reasonably likely was a resident species in Dutch-managed times, and prior (and just possibly since for a while, ahead of the greater development of much of the 'island-empire’).
On Saturday March 25th, a bird of this decidedly-non-extinct largest living N. American woodpecker was seen & fuzzily photographed by a single stalwart observer within the wooded heights of Inwood Hill Park, near the northern tip of Manhattan, where the species has, albeit very rarely, been observed in prior years, usually by sheer chance and luck, the luck greatly enhanced by being in the area at the right season, which tends to be about now (the very end of winter & first month or so of spring), when it’s feasible that adult pairs are courting and-or starting to work on nesting, and may push young Pileateds out of their preferred (the adults’) breeding territories. By Sunday, from when a number of local birders were made aware of the sighting, some of us put in time in that park, & (for me & possibly some others) in a few adjacent areas of northern Manhattan: and, as I’d anticipated, came up Pileated-less… while searching the nearly old-growth woods of this most-forested of Manhattan greenspaces, with its many snags and large trees, hundreds & hundreds of them appropriate to a Pileated or three… and a bit challenging to seek even such a big showy bird in. A slight possibility exists that this bird is still in that park, perhaps quietly having a look, wondering whether it is an appropriate place to hang around, or showing even in that more-quiet woods a few signs and signals that a vast metropolis is as near as can be, by the wingbeats of a bird of near-charismatic-megafauna as we might find in such a location. Thanks to that observer, and to all who put in even a few minutes, or much more of their birding energies, seeking a grail-bird… of manhattan island, that is. - - - Birds in Central Park (Manhattan, N.Y. City) on Sunday (3/26) included a Red-headed Woodpecker that is continuing (on Monday-today as well, when it was a bit more to the west of East 69th Street -or) in the area just west of East 68th Street, a Red-necked Grebe (to Sunday) which is perhaps NOT (probably not, in my opinion) the one that had been released there some many weeks ago, & had not been seen for some time prior to the current individual’s appearance, in the CP reservoir - and some but not all of the freshly-arrived migrants which were so apparent the day before, on Saturday… but still in some locations, Pine Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, & a few others, all as seen in rather greater numbers this past Saturday. Monday, 27 March, at Central Park - Northern Rough-winged Swallow is often the first of swallow species to be found in this park, ahead of Tree Swallow which of course may even overwinter successfully (some years) in the region - today’s ‘roughie' was first seen at the Meer, which is often where some of the swallows will be found ahead of appearances at & over other waterbodies in the park… other Monday birds, not new to the year in CP, included a few Pine Warblers, in scattered locations from south to north (I found 3, others saw a couple in alternative sites), as well as a spate of Dark-eyed Juncos, otherwise seeming a bit scarce today, that flock in the SE-most corner of Sheep Meadow. The only Hooded Mergansers I happened on were a pair resting at the south edge of Turtle Pond… the drake Northern Pintail was still at The Pond, as it’s been all winter into these early-spring days, and a male Wood Duck & some very-alternate (breeding type) plumages in Ruddy Ducks were among Meer sightings under the solitary swallow, with a solo Black-crowned Night-Heron trying to blend into a small tree on the island there. The reservoir, although hardly emptied of waterbirds, had a bit more of that “first-of-May” feel, and I detected no larger grebes, no loons, and no swallows in the air above there, on this Monday afternoon. Plenty of N. Shovelers continue as they do at the Lake, & Buffleheads were not scarce just yet. Still awaiting an egret landed in the park, as well as a few small tail-waggers… other than zillions-&-jillions of dogs. -------- "Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking.” - Wangari Muta Mathaii (1940-2011; activist, author, planter of trees, member of Parliament in Kenya, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the first environmentalist in the world and first African woman to receive that honor) good birding, Tom Fiore manhattan -- 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/ --
