Though it was smaller than that reported by Shai and Ken there was quite a flight of birds further inland and west of their location in central Queens this morning at Kissena Park. A visiting British birder and I had numbers of robins, Purple Finch, and Yellow-rumped Warblers overhead, and, as Shai reported, many sparrows (mostly of common species, esp. juncos) were present all over the place. Also, kinglets of both species (but especially Golden-crowned) seemed to have had an influx, as there were many of them.
Other highlights for our morning walk across Queens included 2 Vesper Sparrows (one just west of the community gardens in Kissena Corridor Park and one in Flushing Meadows Park), 2 meadowlarks in the "wildflower meadow" of Kissena Park, a Magnolia Warbler in the corridor, Purple Finches in several locations feeding in trees, and, best for the visitor, his life Carolina and Winter Wrens and Field Sparrow. eBird list below. Numbers are low estimates. Good Birding, Corey Finger http://10000birds.com Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 120 Mute Swan - Cygnus olor 2 Wood Duck - Aix sponsa 9 American Black Duck - Anas rubripes 4 Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 50 Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis 6 Ring-necked Pheasant - Phasianus colchicus 2 Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 10 Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 2 Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii 2 Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1 American Kestrel - Falco sparverius 3 Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 5 Herring Gull - Larus argentatus 2 gull sp. - Larinae sp. 10 Rock Pigeon - Columba livia 30 Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 10 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 1 Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2 Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 4 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) - Colaptes auratus [auratus Group] 4 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 5 Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 6 Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 4 Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 2 White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 2 Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 3 Winter Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 40 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 40 Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus 8 American Robin - Turdus migratorius 400 Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 2 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 100 American Pipit - Anthus rubescens 1 Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 30 Magnolia Warbler - Dendroica magnolia 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 200 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 200 Palm Warbler - Dendroica palmarum 2 Palm Warbler (Western) - Dendroica palmarum palmarum 1 Palm Warbler (Yellow) - Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea 1 Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus 2 Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 30 Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 4 Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus 2 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis 10 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 40 Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 20 White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 100 White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 8 Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 200 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 200 Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 5 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 40 Eastern Meadowlark - Sturnella magna 2 Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula 20 Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus 30 American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 30 House Sparrow - Passer domesticus 20 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --