New York County (in N.Y. City) including Manhattan, Randall’s Island, & Governors Island:
A Blue Grosbeak was found & nicely photographed (L. Beausoleil) on Saturday, Oct. 9th on Randall’s Island, part of “global big day” bird-seeking, at the Little Hell Gate saltmarsh section. - - - - Wed.-Thurs.-Friday, Oct. 13th-14th-15th- With the anticipated cold-front coming on Sat. (evening)-Sunday, hereabouts & through the region, it will be interesting to see if some of the neotropical-wintering species that were lingering at last (mostly) move on, or if yet more are uncovered - and of course, what else that front allows to pass (or linger) in our area. The Blue Grosbeak at Fort Jay (& close vicinity) on Governors Island was still present on Friday, 10/15, where I photographed it at the noon-hour; appears to be a female, although the *very slightest* tinges of blue may be visible in good light, or far-better photos than my distant (but ID-confirming) shots, on the day. (Females can show slight tinges of blue). I did not have any success with the recent Dickcissel that had been around the Fort Jay area in recent weeks, but with literally many hundreds of small passerines just in the area of Fort Jay (including scores and scores of Savannah Sparrows, as well as at least 8 additional sparrow species (Junco included), plus very high numbers of Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the weedy & grassy habitat, and also in the “Hills” area which has a lot of birds, with a good mix of plants, many of them natives), a lot of birds of interest could get past ’the radar’. There were also a few Bobolinks still in the weedy tall grasses & forbs around the western portion of Fort Jay. In total, I found 57 species of birds in my somewhat abbreviated visit to Governors Island, starting after 10 a.m. (first ferry) and finishing-up there by early afternoon. A lingering “budgie” there would make it 58 species; that native of Australia is not quite ‘established’ (as far as we know) in N.Y. City although sightings of them (Budgerigar, in full common name) are not that unusual, and in the various color-forms that folks who keep pet birds may have had. [N.B.- the below-noted Connecticut Warbler (seen again on Wed. 10/13) was not re-found, by me at least, in a look at the same small park it had lingered in, on early Friday, 10/15]. A total of 22 American Warbler species were found in N.Y. County through the report’s period, and all but one of those species was seen in Central Park over that 3-day period (Connecticut being the one species not reported again from Central in this date-period). - - - On Wed. 10/13, a (1st-fall plumaged) Connecticut Warbler was *still present* in lower Manhattan, found (again) at a very small park next to Canal Street called Albert Capsouto Park (formerly, “CaVaLa Park” for the first 2 letters of the 3 streets that border it or are next to it) - on the east side of Varick Street, the warbler in the open (at my feet, in fact) for a few seconds, then going into hiding in relatively thick (if not very substantial) shrubbery all at the west edge of that park. That small park is where the most-recent prior sighting (Oct. 9th) of the species had come in Manhattan, and this seems almost-certain to be that same individual, lingering for more at least five days there; this has also been an almost-extraordinary season for the finding (and documenting) of that species in the county, with a good number of sightings having come from mid & lower Manhattan over these recent past weeks of fall migration. Bay-breasted Warbler was seen at Battery Park to Wed., 10/13, where one (of a few, in the county) lingering N. Waterthrush also was noted (again). Over all of the county, there were still at least 20 warbler species thru 10/13, and esp. notable were the widespread sightings of Black-and-white Warbler, appearing county-wide in many small greenspaces, small parks as well as in the larger parks; not that uncommonly-“late” yet for this county-location, but the mass-movement of those over the mid-Oct. period has been interesting, even if not that unusual. Here are all of the American warblers seen in N.Y. County just on Wed., 10/13, with finds from all around the county, although slightly weighted to Manhattan island - Connecticut Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat; only the Connecticut seems to be the sole single-individual seen on that day, others being at least 2 individuals (Orange-crowned, Prairie, Bay-breasted, B.-t. Green) and all the others having been seen in higher numbers; with highest numbers of individuals (as expected now) being for Common Yellowthroat, Palm (of 2 forms) and Myrtle/Yellow-rumped; also in the multiple and not that scarce yet - Ovenbird (a species that rather regularly lingers into winter in Manhattan, in some particular locations). A White-eyed Vireo was still lingering at The Pond in the southeast quadrant of Central Park. Also still about in low no’s. now were Red-eyed Vireos, and (as expected) multiple Blue-headed Vireos. Some other species continuing in at least low numbers in N.Y. County included House Wren, & Rose-breasted Grosbeak. - - - On Thursday, 10/14, a N. Waterthrush at Battery Park in lower Manhattan was still there; one of several Orange-crowned Warblers lately was seen again (by many, on that day) at The Dene slope meadow in the southern portion of Central Park; several Wood Thrush were seen, & one heard (calling) before dawn in Manhattan’s West Village area; others were lingering at Central Park. Supplementing the warbler-diversity for the day was a Wilson’s Warbler (J. Gutierrez) at The Pond / Hallett Sanctuary in Central Park, and Yellow Warbler found at the N.Y. Public library front-entrance area on Fifth Ave., east of the main section of Bryant Park (G. Willow & multiple other obs.); E. Wood-Pewee was also seen at Bryant Park, as well as in at least several other locations in the county. The total number of warbler spp. on the day remained at 20, a goodly number of species for mid-Oct. A flock of at least 8 Bobolink were reported from Inwood Hill Park and Muscota Marsh section on Thursday, a tad late, esp. for that location. A Green Heron was still found & photographed (C. Quinn) on Randall’s Island on the day, and (separately) a Great Egret was still being reported (without comment, by a morning observer) there to that day, as well. — On Friday, 10/15, at least 6 Green-winged Teal appeared on the Central Park reservoir, where a Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, and modest no’s. of N. Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks and Gadwall also among the water-birds- the latter 3 species at other waterbodies as well, in Central. A small number of [Atlantic] Brant have been seen in a number of locations around the waterways of N.Y. County, many sightings being of just one or a few birds, so far. A Marsh Wren was just one of the ‘popular' birds to again be seen by many at the Loch in Central Park, on Friday - and Marsh Wren was also found on Randall’s Island the same day (M.B. Kooper). A lingering White-eyed Vireo was again present and seen by several of us (at various times) on Friday at The Pond’s Hallett Sanctuary and vicinity, in Central Park’s southeast. A quiet group with a very experienced leader (for a non-profit org. bird-walk) found at least 2 Black-throated Green Warblers at Central Park’s north end; getting modestly-late for that species as are some of the other warbler species still being found, which are at a minimum of 18 species just in Central Park, & at least 19 altogether for N.Y. County (an Orange-crowned Warbler was present on Governors Island, one of a number of that species passing thru or lingering lately with the expected peak of their fall movements now upon us; there was also at leas one B.-t. Green Warbler on Governors Island on Friday). Yellow Warbler was again seen at Randall’s Island. At least two N. Waterthrushes have continued, one at Central Park and one rather faithful to 1 part of Battery Park in lower Manhattan, where seen for some number of days. A lot of observers are finding Black-and-white Warblers still, and while on the late side, these are hardly extraordinary for mid-October in this area. There also have been some lingering, & ‘late’ Blackpoll Warblers in multiple locations, and less-commonly now, American Redstarts. We’ll soon see if most of these late-lingerers push out with the cold-front or if there is (also) some fresh arrival of after-mid-October neotropical-winterers. With Dickcissels on the move in the region (as well as those which could be lingering on) there was a sighting and heard-bird, from Manhattan’s mid-east side, by one of our keenest birders. The multiple Yellow-crowned Night-Herons continue on at Randall’s Island, rather regular in the Little Hell Gate salt-marsh edges, sometimes on their roost, sometimes down in the marsh or marsh-bed. More generally, some observers have continued to find the occasional Swainson’s Thrush, & less-reported but still passing through have been some of the Gray-cheeked type as well, in N.Y. County, and Indigo Buntings had not all departed the county yet as of Friday 10/15. . . . As autumn is in the calendar, the weather has been nearly summer-like in N.Y. City for part of this past week, and among the effects (or more observers staying out a bit longer) we have any number of Eastern Red Bat sightings from N.Y. County. There are still a good variety of insects active in recent days, but we can also see the season is waning for many, perhaps coming soon. Monarch butterflies are still about, in lesser no’s. than earlier this month; a few Cloudless Sulphurs have still been showing in Manhattan in recent days, and there were at least a dozen other butterfly species still around as of Friday, 10/15 - perhaps more as some less-common species have been found in surrounding parts of N.Y. City in the past week or less. Those other dozen spp. of butterflies in N.Y. County were: Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Red-banded Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, E. Tailed-Blue, Pearl Crescent, Eastern Comma, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral, American Lady, Sachem, and (rather late, but not nearly record-late for Manhattan) Zabulon Skipper. Again, there may have been some others still flying. (By far, the majority of what some call “Clouded” Sulphurs on-sight, *in N.Y. City*, are in fact Orange Sulphurs, which can show virtually no hints of “orange”, particularly at the limits of their flight seasons or periods.) Thanks to the great observers patiently and quietly watching, and reporting sightings from all around the county. good 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/ --
