A White-faced Storm-Petrel photographed by Tom Johnson *well off the coast of Rhode Island*, during a NOAA-ship pelagic voyage on Oct. 16th is notable in part for lateness, at least as far as knowledge of that species goes for the region’s oceanic waters. A Fork-tailed Flycatcher seen & photographed, by vast no’s. of birders, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, on Oct. 16th is a reminder that we could potentially see yet more of vagrant flycatchers which are rare for the region (and having had several of them appear in NY state’s southeast sector in recent weeks!)
. . . . New York County (in N.Y. City) including Manhattan, Randall’s, and Governors Island[s] Saturday, Oct. 16th - On Governors Island, while the Blue Grosbeak photographed the day before was NOT reported again Saturday, a Dickcissel was (10/16) and with multiple observers able to see the latter, and was also photographed by at least one observer there. It’s very possible the same bird has been lingering in the area of Fort Jay, while also possible with the numbers of Dickcissels in the region that this is a more-recent newer arrival; also, there may be more than just one individual, as suggested in one later-p.m. report. A brightly plumaged E. Meadowlark was also among the many species seen just in the vicinity of Fort Jay on Saturday (also by multiple observers, & also photographed), and also seen by many was a single Monk Parakeet, a species that has been found on Governors Island before (& that island is not really far at all from well-known breeding sites for Monks, in neighboring Brooklyn; also, unlike Budgeerigar in the region, Monk Parakeet is a ‘countable’ species for those making particular lists, as it’s an established breeding species). In some parts of the contiguous 48 United States, there are parrot species established long-enough that may be breeding regularly (and many parrot species are long-lived, some potentially very long-lived) so that for example, parts of Florida and s. California, just to single out two “hot-spots” can have quite a number of non-native but increasingly established local-breeding populations. Monk Parakeet is well-known as a very cold-hardy species, as it tolerates sub-freezing weather and snow even in the original-native range in southern S. America, and Monks are of course known to have bred in Chicago, spending all the year there, as well as along New England’s southern-shore regions to at least Massachusetts. A Solitary Sandpiper was photographed (G. Hong) at the Meer in Central Park’s n. end, a fairly late date for the species here although a few others have been noted around the state this past week. The photo of the Central Park Solitary can be viewed in the Macaulay Library archive - https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/380085841 <https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/380085841> - it’s possible that bird may be lingering in that park, somewhere, including possibly still in the park’s north end, although the current cold-frontal passages may have sent / will send that, & other species southward, as can be expected. On Randall’s Island, several Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were continuing Saturday as was at least one Spotted Sandpiper, and among the warblers, still a couple of Blackpoll Warblers, along with various many other species of birds. Throughout N.Y. County overall, *at least* 15 warbler species were found on Saturday, with all of those species being seen in Central Park and a fair number in many other parks and greenspaces; however again the dominant species overall are down mainly to three: Palm (of 2 forms), Myrtle/Yellow-rumped, and Common Yellowthroat. Native sparrows have become ascendant in numbers, as is expected, although we still (within the county) are seeking some expected-species as arrivals and potential wintering birds (Red Fox Sparrow being one; that species had arrived in the region a bit early, but represented by a very few ‘early-birds', so far). It may be later this week that more new arrivals are revelaed, as succesive cold-front passage takes place, on winds from a northerly direction. We’ll be keeping eyes out for possible arrivals of waterfowl and many other later-autumn arrivals as this week progresses. … A Variegated Fritillary was nicely-photographed by the Meer in Central Park on Sat. 10/16; that species is irregular at best in Central, but seems to have increased at least a bit in recent years in N.Y. County (and can be more-regular, very occasionally almost-common at, in particular, Governors Island in summer & early fall). There are some other (now quickly turning into late-season) insects going-on at patches of native flowers (in particular) where those patches are still in good bloom. Monarchs are still around, albeit certainly fewer than at their peak this fall, which by many accounts was a rather good migration locally-regionally for the species; the counts which will be attempted in the Monarchs’ principal wintering areas in the mtns. of central Mexico, over the winter months, will tell a tale with further data in how the species migratory 'east-central' population are doing there (and surveys will also be done for the species different, western-U.S. wintering migratory population, which is at least threatened if not near-endangered, in s. California in particular, at over-wintering sites). Thanks again to all for so many excellent sightings and reports, as well as some gorgeous photos. good cold-front birding to all, esp. on Monday-Tuesday, for those able to get out at all then. 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/ --
