[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 4/28
Thursday, 28 April, 2016 - Central Park, Manhattan... While enjoying the rarity of the day in the area of Strawberry Fields in Central Park, I had a very cordial conversation with a member of the N.Y.P.D., who is also a veteran of the force in N.Y.C. and will be following up on some complaints that a very few individuals may have stepped into and overstepped their rights and gone a bit too far in where they went in seeking to get close to the rare bird. In more general terms there may also be some checking into the activities of individuals who might be doing things they ought not to be in a public space. The vast majority of birders of course were being model citizens, and happily talking up the rare bird to curious passersby including many tourists from all around the world, some quite interested in the details of the bird we all were working to observe. It was also great to see so many birders who came in from elsewhere out of the borough or out of the city to enjoy part of a day in Central Park, and with a great bird to add to the experience. As far as I could see, most who stayed in the area for a half-hour or more got decent views, some working quite hard to and some also obtaining fine photos and/or videos without "pushing" the bird or acting in any way 'pushy' themselves. Most walk-leaders also respectfully took their groups on to other areas soon after the group had enjoyed the rarity and were well-behaved. And there was no one who behaved badly by reprimanding a very few who stepped into the area where the rare bird was feeding & foraging. Incidentally, that officer of the peace (in uniform) got down on the ground with other birders to have a close look at the Swainson's Warbler too as many of us were doing, so as to have good line of sight and not block many others views. (Indeed this was how many obtained very good views.) This was also done literally by those from 8 to 80. That uniformed member of the N.Y.P.D.? He came up smiling, and maybe we will see him with a pair of compact bino's added on to his equipment belt! As for birds found in Central Park, many of those seen over the past 3 days were still to be found, and many dozens & dozens of observers were finding them. Like many hundreds of other birders, I spent a considerable amount of time with the SWAINSON'S Warbler, and thanks to Katie Kleinpeter of Long Island NY for finding this bird and to Andrew Rubenfeld, and Alice Deutsch of Manhattan for giving it a name and then putting word out rather quickly. (Thanks also to Donna Schulman of Queens Co. for getting the info. on the original finders & identifiers, for this rarity in NY County's Central Park.Many will recall fondly the Swainson's Warbler that showed so well for days in Forest Park in Queens Co. and which was joined there by a less-rare but always-enjoyed Prothonotary Warbler, each of them record-early for the state in addition to being so relatively visible in a rather barren early-spring season, some years back.) Incidentally there have been other reports of this species in Central Park including much more recently than some are aware, however it is many many years since one had been seen by so many, & it may be safe to say that in just today's sightings there may have been more observers than in any previous single day of watching this particular usually-skulking species in this park. The normal breeding range of Swainson's Warbler is (barely) into Maryland, & mostly from the VA- NC border area south & southwest just into Texas. It is also one of the least-observed of the regularly-breeding warblers of eastern N. America (north of Mexico), in great part due to its very retiring nature - although the song can often be heard with far less difficulty in the season & breeding areas. A minimum of 21 species of Warblers were seen in Central Park on Thursday, with the Swainson's the obvious top highlight of all - it was a lifer for many of those coming in to see, and certainly for many in the younger (under-50) crowd - and incidentally it was wonderful to see so many very young birders alongside those of us with grey or white hair (or little to none left), and to see the enthusiasm, knowledge, courtesy, and good energy that all these birders generated in watching the southern visitor as well as so many other spring migrants. Other interesting finds in the park included 5 species of Vireo: Red- eyed (still quite uncommon), White-eyed (1), Warbling (few so far), & Yellow-throated (which had a good showing these past several days), and by far the most numerous still, as expected, Blue-headed. In addition, some birders are reporting as many as 4 spp. of Catharus thrush, although caution is advised as these are not as straightforward an ID as one may at first believe. Most of the thrushes are still Hermit at this point, with just a few
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 4/28
Tuesday, 28 April, 2015 - Central Park (Manhattan, N.Y. City) The (rehabilitated, & released yesterday) Prothonotary Warbler was making the rounds thru the day today, with appearances at & near Turtle Pond, followed by movement thru the Ramble at it's NE corner and subsequently on to The Point & vicinity, as well as sightings from next to &/or in the Shakespeare Garden. It is still visibly less- than-100%, but seems to be feeding well, and obviously moving around a lot. It can be assumed there is just the one, unless & until any photos (or observation of more than one in same view) prove otherwise. Thanks to David Speiser for his note to this list regarding the release of this bird, on Monday. It has now been observed by at least several hundred birders! The Ramble & Turtle Pond, & the southern half of the park generally, were again the somewhat more active than the n. end, although nice activity is also to be found in the north end as well. At least a couple of additional sightings, probably new for the year were reported and observed by many, including a Yellow-throated Vireo which I first learned of from Brenda Inskeep, and a number of observers also saw Magnolia Warbler, and Black-throated Blue Warbler, along with at least a few Black-throated Green Warblers still in the Ramble, and a couple of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks moving through in the a.m. Some sightings were made mainly in the first 3 hours of the day, but good activity was & is possible in some areas all day long. In all, the variety may have been about the same in total species numbers, and for total individuals it was hard to say, as some species might be fewer but some others increased a bit. Interesting for being a little on the late side, a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, & Dark-eyed Juncos were all still to be found, the last of these actually in somewhat higher numbers (park-wide) than in the preceding few days. On days with fairly steady NW/W winds in mid-spring, raptor flight can sometimes be observed from Manhattan, and today showed that to be so, with sightings of Bald Eagle, & Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, Red-shouldered, & Broad-winged Hawk along with Ospreys, and (local) American Kestrel & Peregrine Falcon. The reservoir as of 2 days ago held a very late Lesser Scaup (drake) and still today had a few N. Shovelers and Buffleheads, while at least 4 Wood Ducks remain in the park. Over at Riverside Park on Manhattan's upper west side, the activity seems less, yet migrants are also showing there, with a number of the most common species found today later in the day, esp. in the sections n. of 106 St., thru the sanctuary area. Also of note, an Indigo Bunting in the far north section beyond the 122 St. tennis courts. good birding, Tom Fiore Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
