Could there be / have been some fall-out of migrants on the rains that fell (hard, in some places) around NYC-to-Long Island overnight, as migrants were pushing in fast from the south & SW? I’m looking at you, shores of Richmond, Kings, Queens, Nassau, maybe also Suffolk Counties, in s.e. NY. Let us know if anything uncommon happens on the Tuesday-watch.
.. ... N.Y. County (in N.Y. City) with Manhattan, Randall’s & Governors Islands plus the skies & waters surrounding - Sunday, May 2nd, and Monday, May 3rd: Evening Grosbeaks were still present in Manhattan to Monday, May 3rd, and some within Central Park, including in the C.P. Ramble where a minimum of three were present, additonally there were at least 4 more Eve’-'beaks at other sections of that park - & being seen at same time as those elsewhere… & still more (or at least one) in another park in Manhattan. As an addendum, Evening Grosbeaks were being found in some of the other counties / boros of N.Y. City, in far-flung locations - & many including some of those in Central Park were nicely photographed on 5/3. Eve. Grosbeaks & some other irruptive finches have been in nice numbers on Long Island as well. A female-plumaged Blue Grosbeak had lingered in the Ramble into Sunday, 5/2. There were new arrivals as of Monday, 5/3, while clearly some, indeed many migrants also continued on from the past day or more. At least 27 warbler species were found in Manhattan over the 2 days of this report, and all of those (species) were seen as well in Central Park alone, & for Monday, May 3rd, at least 25 warbler species were present, with every species being seen by many observers, for the most part in many locations. On Saturday, May 1st, at least one Tennessee Warbler was reported from Central Park, & that species had been seen elsewhere in the region by then, albeit in low numbers. Of the multiple singing male Cerulean Warblers found in Manhattan on Sunday, 5/2, the first found by song & sight was that near the weather station area in the Ramble (Christian Cooper, finder) of Central Park, which was enjoyed by many later on. Another male Cerulean found near Fifth Ave. just inside Central Park turned out to be the one which by far most observers (hundreds, in all) were able to catch up with, most getting great views all thru the a.m. & later too, with some patience; thus the suggestions to try for *that* latter individual, and many did so. At least 2 additional singing male Ceruleans were also present, one of those seen by several and another (unsurprisngly) not, in a less-birded park, ‘beyond' most birders’ interest. Thanks to K. Kleinpeter (who was with 2 others for a May 3rd Cerulean at Ridge, Long Island NY!) for the Fifth Ave. in Central Park Cerulean find, and as always, to song-seeker Chris. Cooper! By far on the Sunday, the “Fifth Ave./Met.museum Cerulean was seen & heard singing by more folks, and for many of them a ‘life’ bird, and for many also a ‘county’ or NYC first. [ N.B., at least one male Cerulean was reported at least heard within the Ramble on 5/3, by Dr. Roger Pasquier, one of our most experienced ‘by-ear-birders’.] -- An analysis of some photos taken by R. Zucker on 4/30 in Central Park have shown that a caprimulgid seen (all too quickly, which took off & stayed hidden thereafter) that early morning seems to have been a Chuck-will’s-widow, rather than the initially reported Whip-poor-will. The former is the rarer of the 2 species on passage here (or in the state, of course) but that former species has increased in known range-limits in modern times and a few reach at least to Maine nowadays in the breeding season. Thanks to Ryan for the update! — On Sunday, May 2nd, an intrepid younger quartet of birders made what turned out to be a solid push to get to 100 species in Central Park alone; chances are that they actually did have that number, but their reporting indicates just a few less, with some species left as very distant fly-overs or otherwise 'let go of'. This group of 4 also managed to reach about 1/4 of their total species tally on the day with warblers. A photographed find by this group of four young observers was a fly-by Purple Martin in Central Park, which although probably annual, is so scarcely seen in / over N.Y. County; that may be changing slightly, as P. Martins have been making some progress increasing in the region, with breeding successes, as well as possible further range extensions. The Pileated Woodpecker of Fort Tryon Park for the 1st of May is a confirmed record for Manhattan in May. And there’s a Turkey of the Wild type in Manhattan, again, too. The northern parts of Manhattan have certainly been receiving many migrants, even if that sector of the county is not getting quite the attention of some other areas. It’s a fantastic & special place to bird in for a city-space, with the one true urban old-growth forest area in Manhattan - at Inwood Hill Park, and there is a lot more to see all through that entire area. N.B., the first Orange-crowned Warbler[s] of this year and this spring, in N.Y. County, were photographed at Carl Schurz Park, and in Central Park’s north end, respectively, & those photo-records are in part in the Macauley library archive. Those were separate individuals. Just some of the many migrants for May 2nd & May 3rd in N.Y. County - Canada Goose (bit scarcer this month) [Atlantic] Brant (still in the double-digits, at least in select locations) Wood Duck (modest no’s. on the move) Gadwall (can be found in summer) American Black Duck (small no’s.) Mallard (v. common) Northern Shoveler (still a few lingering, getting late) Bufflehead (at least to May 2 - rather late for them) Ruddy Duck (getting lonely but still at 2 locations) Red-throated Loon (small no’s. moving and also a few here & there lingering in the waters around Manhattan) Common Loon (excellent 2 days of migration of this species, with more than 100 on the move over May 2 & 3) Double-crested Cormorant (many moving, plus some locals also) Great Blue Heron (scarcer) Great Egret (plenty) Snowy Egret (plenty) Green Heron (multiple) Black-crowned Night-Heron (multiple) Black Vulture (Sunday, May 2, northern Manhattan sky-watching) Turkey Vulture (at least on Sun., May 2) Osprey (small no’s. passing) Bald Eagle (Sunday May 2) Sharp-shinned Hawk (some passage migrants for Sunday May 2) Cooper's Hawk (scarce now) Broad-winged Hawk (at least 1, Sun. May 2) Red-tailed Hawk (many nesting, and some playing at nest activities) Wild Turkey (yes, the wild one) American Coot (still on the C.P. reservoir) Killdeer (small numbers in select locations) Solitary Sandpiper (multiple, but best seen where they can linger & also not be harassed by too much activity) Spotted Sandpiper (multiple now, a very nice count of these from Governors Island on Mon. 5/3) Laughing Gull (more regular now) Ring-billed Gull (getting a bit scarcer, but not ‘rare’ so far) [American] Herring Gull (common) Great Black-backed Gull (fairly common some locations) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove (plenty) American Kestrel (regular; city-nesting birds continuing) Merlin (reported) Peregrine Falcon (ongoing city-nesting birds) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (rather few; more will be anticipated) [multiple owl species] Chimney Swift (many in migration, and be sure to watch for those that linger & could nest or attempt to!) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (still passing through) Belted Kingfisher (several still around in the county) Red-bellied Woodpecker (regulars) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (a fair number are still in Manhattan in particular, late to move on…) Downy Woodpecker (regulars) Hairy Woodpecker (scarce) Yellow-shafted Flicker (ongoing, but now fewer than 1 week earlier) Least Flycatcher (multiple, with some 'che-bek’-ing or calling their identity, some not so much) Eastern Phoebe (scarce now but a few lingering & certainly can nest in parts of the city) Great Crested Flycatcher (modest no’s.) Eastern Kingbird (modest numbers so far) White-eyed Vireo (a few have stayed on) Blue-headed Vireo (still passing through) Yellow-throated Vireo (still at least a few coming through) Warbling Vireo (increased) Red-eyed Vireo (increasing) Blue Jay (many) Common Raven (multiple locations, ongoing for this once-rare-in-NYC largest passerine bird) American Crow (plenty) Fish Crow (multiple, & some are nesting in the county) Purple Martin (one photographed & seen well by 4 keen observers, Central Park on May 2nd, it’s also v. poss. that more can be passing in May) Tree Swallow (very common in some locations of N.Y. County, i.e., the 'outer islands') Northern Rough-winged Swallow (f. common still) Barn Swallow (many migants and some stayers; same comment as for Tree Swallow) [Swallow sp. - there can be those that are a bit too distant as migrants and high-fliers.] Black-capped Chickadee (scanter again as most of this winter’s have moved on - but not all) Tufted Titmouse (here & there - & no longer very common, as had been this past winter) Red-breasted Nuthatch (good numbers still passing through) White-breasted Nuthatch (regular now) Brown Creeper (1, quite late, Riverside Park, at least to May 2) Carolina Wren (ongoing) House Wren (plenty) Marsh Wren (several sightings in the county from Sunday May 2) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (numbers thinning, but not too scarce) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (still around here & there) Veery (in modest no’s.) Swainson's Thrush (uncommon - for now) Hermit Thrush (still very common right thru Monday May 3rd) Wood Thrush (fairly good no’s.) American Robin (v. common nesters) Gray Catbird (many - very many!) Northern Mockingbird (rather common) Brown Thrasher (uncommon, and shy) European Starling (ubiquitous) House Sparrow (over-abundant) Scarlet Tanager (fair no’s., including some females) Eastern Towhee (modest no’s., even as some were moving on) Chipping Sparrow (still common; and some will be breeding in the county again) Field Sparrow (few) Savannah Sparrow (still passing in good numbers at some N.Y. County locations) Song Sparrow (the local-nesters, mostly) Lincoln's Sparrow (have begun to show as migrants, with the very few that had wintered) Swamp Sparrow (still in some numbers) White-throated Sparrow (many) White-crowned Sparrow (including an apparent Gambel’s type in Central Park) Northern Cardinal (regulars) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (many passing now; a potential v. rare breeder, too!) Blue Grosbeak (female-plumaged again at Central Park, Sunday May 2) Indigo Bunting (many passing now and once-upon-a-time bred in N.Y. County) - — there have been some heard-only warblers that some thought could be G.-w., but visuals **are essential** to determine) Blue-winged Warbler (increased a bit) Orange-crowned Warbler (reported for May 2nd, Central Park; & then reported again for May 3rd.) Nashville Warbler (much increased) Northern Parula (near common) Yellow Warbler (fairly common) Chestnut-sided Warbler (increased) Magnolia Warbler (much increase) Cape May Warbler (very good no’s. in many locations, including some smaller greenspaces - almost ‘overlooked’ by some with all the Cerulean-anity) Black-throated Blue Warbler (increased and some females also started to show) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (many many many - a lot of them passing in a.m. early ongoing flight) Black-throated Green Warbler (good numbers, & now some additional females) Blackburnian Warbler (in fairly good no’s. and at least a few females) Pine Warbler (still to be found, some in odd smaller greenspaces too) Prairie Warbler (also still to be found, including some quieter females) Palm Warbler (still passing, less readily found now) Blackpoll Warbler (small no’s. but far more than just ones or twos now) Cerulean Warbler (minimum of 4 males, two of those seen by many obs., particularly one near Fifth Ave., Manhattan) Black-and-white Warbler (many, both sexes) American Redstart (still very modest no’s., & this should become one of the commonest migrant warblers in our area) Worm-eating Warbler (nice numbers, & some are lingering a little) Ovenbird (many many many- teacher-teacher-teacher, + females) Northern Waterthrush (many, and can be seen away from water in the migration peaks) Louisiana Waterthrush (few, and rather late here for this species) Common Yellowthroat (many & more of females too) Hooded Warbler (good no’s. have dropped in here) Wilson's Warbler (few, but already 'non-rare' for the first days of May) Canada Warbler (relatively few so far but more will be coming along) - Bobolink (few, May 2) Red-winged Blackbird Rusty Blackbird (at least 2 into May 3rd) Common Grackle (regulars - & nesters) Brown-headed Cowbird (plenty passing) Orchard Oriole (multiple) Baltimore Oriole (greatly increased now) Purple Finch (ongoing passage, slight increase in recent days) House Finch (plenty) Pine Siskin (small no’s. have continued to pass thru, or linger in Manhattan) American Goldfinch (numbers have increased somewhat recently) Evening Grosbeak (minimum of seven individuals on May 3) … and very likely, some others not noted above! [Thank you to the many who responded with tributes to and warm remembrances of the wit and wisdom of the late Starr Saphir, for whom a walk watching for birds was again held in Central Park on May 1st. Clearly, she inspired many.] And thanks to so many observers over the first weekend of May. ... Some butterflies on the less-rainy days; possibly first of the season were Silver-spotted Skipper & the not-at-all-common Common Sootywing noted from the Central Park Conservatory Garden, along with other more regularly seen recent species, as well as many other insects in dozens of families. One species also to make a note of - Painted Skimmers (dragonflies) seen on May 2nd. good and song-listening 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/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
