Still being seen at Deep Hollow Ranch in Suffolk County, NY was a
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, as reported via the following checklist for Sunday,
Oct. 28th (perhaps overtaken in rarity-chasing by the also-on-Long Island N.
Wheatear…) -
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49528003
- - - - - -
Manhattan and New York County -
Sunday, 28 Oct. -
Nice finds for NY County (the county which Manhattan is the largest land
portion of) by Nadir Souirgi, watching from Randall’s Island, of a small flock
of Forster’s Tern, moving just off that island’s NE shoreline; at least several
other observers made it out to see these as well.
The lingering Eastern Wood-Pewee is now quite late, seen at Governor’s Island &
photo’d by at least one of its observers; other birds of note at Governors
Island included American Woodcock, Common Raven, E. Bluebird, E. Meadowlark,
many Palm Warblers, & a good variety of sparrows including at least 2 Vesper,
and also lingering White-crowned, which continue their good showing all around
the northeast this fall.
At Central Park, a Baltimore Oriole seems to be lingering in the general
vicinity of the Pinetum, seen again on Sunday, 10/28 & also the same day there
were still at least 6 warbler species found including Nashville, N. Parula,
Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Blue, Palm & of course
Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warblers, some of these in the n. end of the park. The
sparrow variety continues, but with lowered numbers of most all migrants, in
general, many birds having managed to move on after Saturday’s storm.
A very brief & late-day search by 4 observers at City Hall Park came up with
rather few migrants, & no Chat (as had been seen 2 days prior there); we did
see Winter Wren, E. Towhee, Hermit Thrush, & Y.-b. Sapsucker along with
more-expected White-throated Sparrows, but again this was a brief, & quite late
in day look at this lower Manhattan park.
- - -
Monday, 29 Oct. -
The Yellow-breasted Chat is, sure enough still at City Hall Park, seen in both
a.m. & p.m. there. NOTE: the Chat is not solely staying in one small patch, as
it moved east into a small area, adjacent to Park Row (that’s closer to the
B’klyn Bridge entry & Pace University bldgs. across the street from this
portion of Park Row - & was seen in & mostly beneath / near a small group of 6
crabapple trees, which are more readily observed from just outside the park
(unless one has a security clearance to be in the secured zone, watching
birds!) - this in early afternoon; yhis is a short way east of where more
observers have looked, & at times, seen this Chat. Additionally & including in
particular the large elms in the NE quadrant of the park-entire, which is
more-or-less in 2 sections, a northern half & a southern, warblers there in &
under elms & nearby vegetation included at least: Black-and-white, Palm, &
Yellow-rumped (4 or 5), and Ovenbird & Common Yellowthroat; other migrants &/or
seasonal visitors were: Y.-b. Sapsuckers, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Ruby-crowned
(several) & Golden-crowned Kinglet[s], Gray Catbirds, Hermit Thrushes, E.
Towhee, & White-throated (multiple) & Swamp & Song Sparrows, as well as some
more common birds, such as Am. Robins, Blue Jays, etc., & perched nearby were
both Am. Kestrel, & far higher, Peregrine Falcon.
Just of curiosity, I also went into nearby Trinity Church cemetery, off Wall
St. & B’way, & although variety seemed very limited, there were a lot of birds:
3 dozen+ Slate-colored Juncos, 16+ White-throated Sparrows, at least several
Y.-r. Warblers, & at least 1 Y.-b. Sapsucker; I did not get to various other
lower-Manhattan sites.
Central Park featured, once again since my report of it’s being back again, an
escapee Mandarin Duck (with a leg band on right leg) that’s been much admired,
despite not being a fully wild, ‘countable’ bird for the listers; a beauty and
maybe more so with a chance to see it near the only close cousins (of same
genera) it shares in the world, the Wood Ducks which are continuing at The
Pond, this in the southeast-most part of Central. [N.B. - any Manadarin Duck
seen in the eastern U.S. and probably almost anywhere in N. America, is not a
wild creature, it’s an escaped or released kept bird, and this LEG-BANDED bird,
as well as others of its species, can & have moved about locally, as was seen
by many in Central Park decades ago when a pair of Mandarin Ducks were widely
observed at multiple locations around Central Park, over a period of many
weeks; an ability to fly does not make this or others a wild & unreleased bird,
just a possibly-temporary escape or (less likely but also possible) an
intentional release.
Some birds of note at nearby Hallett Sanctuary, & around the Pond & vicinity,
include: E. Phoebe, Carolina, House (getting a bit late), & Winter Wrens,
Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Blue-headed Vireo, Brown Thrasher, Gray
Catbird, Rusty Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Purple & House Finches &
American Goldfinches, & at least several warbler species - Blackpoll (late),
Magnolia (late), Pine, Palm (several) & Yellow-rumped Warblers, plus Common
Yellowthroats (at least 2). These, plus the N. Parula and Black-throated Blue
Warblers at the Ramble’s east side, after 4 p.m. in nicer, sunnier conditions,
made for a minimum of 9 warbler spp. just in Central, with at least 2
additional spp. in Manhattan for ten warblers still hanging in nearing the end
of Oct. & after multiple cold frontal passages. Nashville Warbler also
continued at the n. end of Central, with others reported from parks north of
Central. Other migrants also continue in the n. end of Central Park, with
numbers still high of some more-common migrants.
Overall the sense is by far of winter-type or at least late-autumn type
migrants dominating the general scene. Besides the exotic Mandarin Duck, other
waterfowl have remained rather steady in Central, with just a slight bump in
numbers of Buffleheads to more than a dozen, park-wide, while Wood Duck numbers
overall still at more than a dozen total, as they had been thru part of last
week, park-wide.
A Pied-billed Grebe also has appeared at the C.P. reservoir, perhaps first of
the season. Chimney Swifts, which are running quite late in many, many states
& areas of the northeast, have continued also over Manhattan, with a count of
17 - a rather high number so late into October! - at & over the N. Meadow, some
of the same then moving past the NW portion of the reservoir & on towards the
s-w. in late morning, at Central Park; many other reports have also been coming
for the species from multiple vantage points in Manhattan, as well as almost
all surrounding counties, a few reports also noting these modestly-larger
numbers still about, or passing through.
—— ——
In Bronx County (N.Y. City), a rather late Bay-breasted Warbler was
well-photographed & reported by K. Janik, at Van Cortlandt Park on Sunday,
10/28; the bird appeared likely to be an adult male, with a good amount of
lingering color in the flanks.
- - - -
"Have we fallen into a mesmerized state that makes us accept as inevitable that
which is inferior or detrimental, as though having lost the will or the vision
to demand that which is good?” - Rachel Carson (1907-1964; marine biologist,
conservationist, author whose books include ‘Silent Spring’. Sir David
Attenborough has remarked that that book may have had an effect on science
second only to Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”.)
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/
--
