Keeping up its rep. for rare & all sorts of birds, expected or not, Cape May Point (at the southern tip of New Jersey) on Thursday (5/23) produced a Yellow-green Vireo, a species that is mostly found in Mexico & Central & South America, & is uncommon at best in some parts of the U.S.-Mexico border areas with rather scant records to the north of there.
--- Thursday, 22 May, 2019 - Manhattan, N.Y. City - A minimum of 5 male Mourning Warblers were present on Manhattan on Thursday; of these, 2 were seen by a number of observers, one of the 2 found & reported quite early in the day by Tom Perlman, at the n. end of Central Park. A bit later, it was realized that 2 male Mournings were in the same area on the western edge of the Great Hill. Yet another male in Central Park was on Summit Rock, a mile or so south of those. Much later in the day & both before & after a late-day brief downpour, I found a male Mourning just inside Riverside Park, near W. 118th St. - not too far south of ‘goatpenn’, an experimental fenced area of invasive-plant-removal by semi-professional goats - this story has been in the local news… & had been done before in N.Y. City, in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for the same purpose. A 5th Mourning Warbler was found at a somewhat obscure park, barely-visited by birders, along Edgecomb Ave. in northern Manhattan. It is likely that some additional Mournings were present on the day, in Manhattan. A number of this species were also detected in other areas of the region for the day & still more are sure to pass through in the coming days. (This is not a very rare, or even rare warbler, it is simply a usually shy and skulking species but is even moderately common when at the peak times of the species’ migrations.) There were at least 20 species of warblers in Manhattan on Thursday, with just a few in good numbers, including Blackpoll, American Redstart, Magnolia, Canada, & Yellow, as well as Common Yellowthroat. However, a fair number of other species were also found into at least low double-digits, including Bay-breasted, Tennessee, and Ovenbird. One species might have been represented by just a single individual - a female-plumaged Hooded Warbler was in the area north of Strawberry Fields in Central Park, near the west perimeter wall of the park. Both Cuckoo species were seen, in fairly modest numbers, with Yellow-billed the more-common. A good diversity of the genus Empidonax were also seen & some heard singing or (more often) calling, including Least, Willow, Yellow-bellied, & Acadian Flycatchers. There were also a number of “traill’s” type (being either Alder or Willow, but totally silent). Many E. Kingbirds were seen, including at least some on the move very early in the day (before a morning shower). Catharus [genus] thrushes still had a bit of variety with a few Veery lingering, as well as Wood Thrush (which attempt nesting in some locations in Manhattan) and greater numbers of Swainson’s & Gray-cheeked (type) Thrushes, with some of the latter also singing typical Gray-cheeked songs both early & very late in the day. Multiple Indigo Buntings were seen (of both sexes) and the same was so for Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and both Orchard & (much more common) Baltimore Orioles. Vireos were mostly either Warbling or Red-eyed, but a somewhat late Blue-headed was reported as was Yellow-throated Vireo, the latter a scarce nester in Manhattan both historically & in modern times. Sparrows included Lincoln’s, White-throated (still in numbers in a few places, but much reduced overall), Song & Chipping (each of which nest in Manhattan). At least a few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were still around, even in the larger parks. A few Common Nighthawks were seen from several locations in Central Park, & also from near the western edge of the Hudson river, north of 125th Street, after late-day showers passed. —— Some recent bird-news from the birdiest nation on the planet: https://www.audubon.org/news/a-miraculous-discovery-near-medellin-yields-insight-mysterious-songbird <https://www.audubon.org/news/a-miraculous-discovery-near-medellin-yields-insight-mysterious-songbird> --- "Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.” - Terry Tempest Williams (contemporary activist, and author of many books) good -& safe- Memorial-Day-weekend birding to all, 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/ --
