Re: [nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County, NYC 5/8-9-10-11-12-13 (many, many migrants)

2020-05-14 Thread B Inskeep
Of interest is the “orange variant” Scarlet Tanager that we saw in the Pinetum 
on 5/12, practically as brilliant orange as a Flame-colored. It was following 
an adult male Scarlet and perhaps the same pair reported today 5/14 from Cedar 
Hill Cemetery in Hartford, CT.

It was a nice 5 days shared 5/10-14, and much needed away from the new norm of 
COVID-19; also uplifting to hear the support echoing the streets at 7:00p every 
evening honoring those of us working the “frontlines.” As they say, “stay safe” 
- we all know what to do, it’s no time to put aside necessary precautions.

Brenda Inskeep
Stamford, CT

>> On May 14, 2020, at 3:55 PM, Thomas Fiore wrote:

> Manhattan (part of N.Y. County, in N.Y. City) - May 8th through May 13th:
> 
> Arrivals included LEAST SANDPIPER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, 
> GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT,  KENTUCKY WARBLER, MOURNING 
> WARBLER -  as well as many species of migrants that heretofore had been 
> rather sparingly or even just singly.  A few “gray-cheeked” type thrushes 
> were apparent by Monday, 5/11.  The single Bobolink seen by many in Central 
> Park and a ‘lifer’ for some newer birders, was one of a number passing thru 
> recently, which typically are not quite as obliging (or tired of flighting 
> high winds) as the single male seen Saturday in the Ramble. For a bit of 
> diversion, there was also a Yellow-breasted Chat very nearby to that bobolink 
> & also seen by multiple observers, eventually on Sat.
> 
> The amazing (6+ months staying) RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in Central Park stayed 
> on into the 2nd week of May, seen to at least May 13th (many many observers). 
> And there were two, with a 2nd passage-migrant Red-headed arriving for 
> Central on Wed., 5/13.
> 
> - -
> Friday, May 8 - A mix of drizzles, rain, clouds, but a start of the day with 
> 90+ minutes of sun.
> 
> Tremendous day overall for warbler-diversity, in particular. A singing male 
> Kentucky Warbler present all day at Central Park’s Loch was among the 
> highlights along with a (continuing) male Golden-winged Warbler in Riverside 
> Park, a not-so-high Cerulean Warbler at the s. end of Central Park, & a 
> minimum of a dozen Cape May Warblers in various locations around Manhattan 
> (likely many more than that, in all), with a total of at least 29 American 
> warbler species found on the day just in Manhattan alone.  More than 60 
> observers were out & about, finding migrants in many, many locations, all 
> around town.  That Riverside Park warbler was almost certainly the 
> most-visited bird of that park since the long-lingering male Evening Grosbeak 
> that had been a fixture in a prior recent winter into spring, which brought 
> hundreds & hundreds of visitors over its’ long, long stay. The Golden-winged 
> at times received up to 30-40 observers at one time, & far more in total for 
> its full stay - thanks again to A.Drogin for his reporting and his birding a 
> dedicated ‘patch’ around that very nice park.
> 
> A [Red] Fox Sparrow was photographed in Central Park (A.Simmons) & seen by 
> multiple observers; there were a couple of reports of American “tree” sparrow 
> which at such an extraordinary late date for Manhattan should be photo or 
> video documented; note: some spring Chipping Sparrows can have a hint of a 
> central breast-pin, &/or feathers out-of-place in windy conditions.
> 
> --
> Sat., May 9 - Big west winds, with temperature dipping into the 30’s (F.) & 
> not far north of N.Y. City, a bit of snow for this 2nd weekend of May.  Later 
> in the day, temp’s. moderated very slightly into the 40’s.
> 
> An American Bittern, at least the 3rd appearance in New York County this 
> spring, sat in a tree in Central Park for the first in-place showing of the 
> species there for the year.   Yellow-breasted Chat made its appearance, also 
> in Central Park - an annual, but often shy visitor to the city & to 
> Manhattan’s parks & greenspaces. Also annual, usually both spring & late 
> summer-fall, but rather rarely detected, Bobolink made a drop-in-&-stay a 
> while appearance and in the Ramble, where a lot of folks could actually view 
> (a male), in Central Park (as others made it thru and likely did not linger 
> as the one did).  Both of these were photographed, the bittern in particular 
> by dozens & seen by dozens & dozens more, including curious passersby.
> 
> Several Cliff, Bank & the 3 more-typical & commonly-seen swallow species were 
> found over the Central Park reservoir, watching from west & NW edges, 
> throughout the day, esp. afternoon.   The least common of these is actually 
> Bank, in terms of well-described sightings for the location, overall. The few 
> Tree Swallows seen may not have lingered, while Barn were by far most 
> numerous, into the many dozens at all times.   Chimney Swifts were also 
> present in fair numbers over the reservoir (& elsewhere) and on the water 
> there were at least 2 lingering Bufflehead (down 

[nysbirds-l] Confirmed breeding Common Ravens

2020-05-14 Thread Andrew Block
While at Sterling Forest S.P. in Tuxedo today on the Ironwood Dr. powerline ROW 
I had a family of five ravens on a cliff ledge.  There were three young and two 
adults.
Andrew
Andrew v. F. Block
Consulting Naturalist
20 Hancock Avenue, Apt. 3
Yonkers, Westchester Co., New York 10705-4780 
www.flickr.com/photos/conuropsis/albums
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[nysbirds-l] Sterling Forest, Thursday. Ironwood Road

2020-05-14 Thread Robert Lewis
I and at least eight other birders tried for the Brewster's and Golden-winged 
Warbler along the power line trail at Ironwood Road.  We took the trail north 
of the parking lot.  I don't know if anyone went south.

Park here:  41.234766, -74.237734.

To get to the trail going north you have to walk out the south end of the 
parking lot, then loop around to the west and north.  Cross the stream.  When 
you leave the woods and head north you will cross over two small hills.  The 
first one is quite steep, the second not.  Start looking after the second hill 
and before you get to the third hill, which is really tall.  I've been told you 
can keep on going past that.

I encountered the Brewster's between the second and third hills.  However, I 
didn't get a very satisfying look and no good photo.  This was around 8:00 or 
8:30.  Another birder and I saw the Golden-winged in about the same spot thirty 
minutes later.

Both birds were elusive and frustrating.  I don't think anyone saw either bird 
after that.  I left about 10:30 and don't know what happened after that. 

 Prairie Warblers are abundant.

Bob Lewis
Sleepy Hollow NY








On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 9:13:27 AM EDT, CobyNomi Klein  
wrote: 





Sterling Forest was eerily quiet yesterday. I've never seen the place that 
empty, of birds and people. I still ended up seeing 55 species, including 14 
warbler species ,(I've never been so disappointed with such a high count). 
There was one golden-wing at the base of the hill, heading north on the power 
line trail at the end of Ironwood Dr. Further north, up the hill was a 
Brewster's warbler singing his little heart out. In fact, I saw more Brewster's 
warblers yesterday than I did golden-wings, one on the power line trail and one 
on the rifle range trail on the east side of Long Meadow Rd. And what's really 
amazing is that I'm fairly certain those are the exact same Brewster's I saw, 
in those exact same spots, singing the same unusual songs,  the last time I was 
there, 2 YEARS AGO! 

The other thing that struck me was that the golden-wings are going to be in 
trouble there and for once the culprits aren't humans. It's the beavers. 
They've dammed up the stream that runs through the swamp at the bottom of the 
hill on the east side of the power line trail (as you head north), creating an 
enormous pond and inundating a large tract of golden-wing nesting habitat. 
Beaver ponds that drowned warbler habitat at the rifle range and Blue Lake have 
been recently drained and the tussock sedge that the warblers nest in has 
regrown, but the beavers cut down so many trees and drowned so many others. The 
golden-wings (in Sterling Forest at least) like their nests to be in swamp 
forest not open swamp so I don't know if they are going to be able to move back 
in. It's hard times for everyone these days. 

C. Klein

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[nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County, NYC 5/8-9-10-11-12-13 (many, many migrants)

2020-05-14 Thread Thomas Fiore
Manhattan (part of N.Y. County, in N.Y. City) - May 8th through May 13th:

Arrivals included LEAST SANDPIPER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, 
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT,  KENTUCKY WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER 
-  as well as many species of migrants that heretofore had been rather 
sparingly or even just singly.  A few “gray-cheeked” type thrushes were 
apparent by Monday, 5/11.  The single Bobolink seen by many in Central Park and 
a ‘lifer’ for some newer birders, was one of a number passing thru recently, 
which typically are not quite as obliging (or tired of flighting high winds) as 
the single male seen Saturday in the Ramble. For a bit of diversion, there was 
also a Yellow-breasted Chat very nearby to that bobolink & also seen by 
multiple observers, eventually on Sat.

The amazing (6+ months staying) RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in Central Park stayed on 
into the 2nd week of May, seen to at least May 13th (many many observers). And 
there were two, with a 2nd passage-migrant Red-headed arriving for Central on 
Wed., 5/13.

- -
Friday, May 8 - A mix of drizzles, rain, clouds, but a start of the day with 
90+ minutes of sun.

Tremendous day overall for warbler-diversity, in particular. A singing male 
Kentucky Warbler present all day at Central Park’s Loch was among the 
highlights along with a (continuing) male Golden-winged Warbler in Riverside 
Park, a not-so-high Cerulean Warbler at the s. end of Central Park, & a minimum 
of a dozen Cape May Warblers in various locations around Manhattan (likely many 
more than that, in all), with a total of at least 29 American warbler species 
found on the day just in Manhattan alone.  More than 60 observers were out & 
about, finding migrants in many, many locations, all around town.  That 
Riverside Park warbler was almost certainly the most-visited bird of that park 
since the long-lingering male Evening Grosbeak that had been a fixture in a 
prior recent winter into spring, which brought hundreds & hundreds of visitors 
over its’ long, long stay. The Golden-winged at times received up to 30-40 
observers at one time, & far more in total for its full stay - thanks again to 
A.Drogin for his reporting and his birding a dedicated ‘patch’ around that very 
nice park.

A [Red] Fox Sparrow was photographed in Central Park (A.Simmons) & seen by 
multiple observers; there were a couple of reports of American “tree” sparrow 
which at such an extraordinary late date for Manhattan should be photo or video 
documented; note: some spring Chipping Sparrows can have a hint of a central 
breast-pin, &/or feathers out-of-place in windy conditions.

--
Sat., May 9 - Big west winds, with temperature dipping into the 30’s (F.) & not 
far north of N.Y. City, a bit of snow for this 2nd weekend of May.  Later in 
the day, temp’s. moderated very slightly into the 40’s.

An American Bittern, at least the 3rd appearance in New York County this 
spring, sat in a tree in Central Park for the first in-place showing of the 
species there for the year.   Yellow-breasted Chat made its appearance, also in 
Central Park - an annual, but often shy visitor to the city & to Manhattan’s 
parks & greenspaces. Also annual, usually both spring & late summer-fall, but 
rather rarely detected, Bobolink made a drop-in-&-stay a while appearance and 
in the Ramble, where a lot of folks could actually view (a male), in Central 
Park (as others made it thru and likely did not linger as the one did).  Both 
of these were photographed, the bittern in particular by dozens & seen by 
dozens & dozens more, including curious passersby.

Several Cliff, Bank & the 3 more-typical & commonly-seen swallow species were 
found over the Central Park reservoir, watching from west & NW edges, 
throughout the day, esp. afternoon.   The least common of these is actually 
Bank, in terms of well-described sightings for the location, overall. The few 
Tree Swallows seen may not have lingered, while Barn were by far most numerous, 
into the many dozens at all times.   Chimney Swifts were also present in fair 
numbers over the reservoir (& elsewhere) and on the water there were at least 2 
lingering Bufflehead (down from the minimum of 7 of that small diving-duck, 
from 5/5 at same location, as seen then also by many obs.) The 2 seen on 5/9 
were female & male, & together. (It is not at all rare to find various duck 
species mate or at least act-out mating ritual, well before reaching a 
breeding-area, even when they may be very far from such an area; this is indeed 
fairly common, in many duck spp. in our region as winter gives way to spring 
and duckage is closely-observed.)

Once again, at least 29 American warbler species were found in Manhattan, plus 
a Y.-br. Chat which is an unusual species not quite placed in a category with 
warbler, icterid, nor tanager. (birds with the common English epithet of ‘chat’ 
are many in the world, and this one, the Yellow-breasted, is unrelated to 
pretty much most of t

Re: [nysbirds-l] Sterling Forest, Tuesday

2020-05-14 Thread Gus Keri
"In fact, I saw more Brewster's warblers yesterday than I did golden-wings"
Could this hybridization contribute to the threat facing the already rare 
Golden-winged? 


Sent using Zoho Mail


  On Wed, 13 May 2020 08:35:26 -0400 CobyNomi Klein  
wrote 
 > Sterling Forest was eerily quiet yesterday. I've never seen the place that 
 > empty, of birds and people. I still ended up seeing 55 species, including 14 
 > warbler species ,(I've never been so disappointed with such a high count). 
 > There was one golden-wing at the base of the hill, heading north on the 
 > power line trail at the end of Ironwood Dr. Further north, up the hill was a 
 > Brewster's warbler singing his little heart out. In fact, I saw more 
 > Brewster's warblers yesterday than I did golden-wings, one on the power line 
 > trail and one on the rifle range trail on the east side of Long Meadow Rd. 
 > And what's really amazing is that I'm fairly certain those are the exact 
 > same Brewster's I saw, in those exact same spots, singing the same unusual 
 > songs,  the last time I was there, 2 YEARS AGO! 
 > The other thing that struck me was that the golden-wings are going to be in 
 > trouble there and for once the culprits aren't humans. It's the beavers. 
 > They've dammed up the stream that runs through the swamp at the bottom of 
 > the hill on the east side of the power line trail (as you head north), 
 > creating an enormous pond and inundating a large tract of golden-wing 
 > nesting habitat. Beaver ponds that drowned warbler habitat at the rifle 
 > range and Blue Lake have been recently drained and the tussock sedge that 
 > the warblers nest in has regrown, but the beavers cut down so many trees and 
 > drowned so many others. The golden-wings (in Sterling Forest at least) like 
 > their nests to be in swamp forest not open swamp so I don't know if they are 
 > going to be able to move back in. It's hard times for everyone these days. 
 > C. Klein --  
 > NYSbirds-L List Info:   Welcome and Basics   
 >Rules and Information 
 >   Subscribe, Configuration and Leave 
 >  Archives:   The Mail Archive
 > Surfbirds
 >ABA Please submit your 
 > observations to eBird!   --

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