Friday, 2 May, 2014 - (mostly) Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City yes, it really is May. There is again excellent movement by migrants NOW over much of the mid-Atlantic U.S.A., some coastal areas may well benefit further on tonight's steering winds.
At first light in the northwest corner of Central Park (on & near the highest ground in the park) there was very evident migration still in progress as well as a very strong influx of fresh migrants, with a few species seeming to predominate in the first 30-45 minutes of daylight. Gray Catbird, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler, and White-throated Sparrow were numerous, with the latter 2 species likely exceeding several thousand in the north end alone. There were birds streaming through and attempting to find space to settle down, many moving on, some in a southerly or westerly direction, & certainly many in a more generally northerly direction with some diversion to east or west from true north... & there also were, for a species that is usually not found to be as numerous in this area as many of the other common Catharus-genus thrushes, an impressive number of Wood Thrush. These also seemed, like the preceding, and to some extent like most of the early a.m. rush of a mix of migrant species, to diminish in number even by just past visible sunrise, although perhaps simple dispersal into the park assisted that impression. Within about 2 hours or so, it was fairly clear that a good push of birds had moved through & that many had also settled in. Almost all areas within the park seemed to have at least some of the more common migrant species, and a few areas looked to have many. I made my way to the southmost part of the park in good time and saw a similar scene there, with Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-throated Sparrows especially numerous; there were small areas where it was possible to view several hundred of each species standing in one place, with the mix of many other less-common migrants also in the fore- or background early on... Perhaps greatly due to the sheer concentrations of observers, the Ramble & its outlying areas had a very good day for variety and obviously warblers were a big part of that, comprising as much as 1/4 of all of the species tallied by the many observers. Many specials were found (or re-found, as with the lingering Yellow- throated Warbler), & some species new to the park for the year were enjoyed by many, while a very few species may have been observed by just a few. The day's warbler spp. tally appears to be up to as many as 25 species, & just possibly, even a bit more (?) Those I am aware of were - Prothonotary Warbler (at the Point, initially) Yellow-throated Warbler (south of west 65 St. Transverse) Orange-crowned Warbler (Ramble area) Blue-winged Warbler (multiple) Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Blackburnian Warbler (more than just a few, so suddenly) Cerulean Warbler (maybe only one experienced observer?) Magnolia Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (very good numbers in a.m.) Black-throated Green Warbler Pine Warbler (few) Prairie Warbler (more than several) Palm Warbler (multiple) Black-and-white Warbler (multiple) American Redstart (several) Worm-eating Warbler Ovenbird (multiple) Northern Waterthrush (multiple, indeed many, including some away from water) Louisiana Waterthrush (running very slightly late; there are some also in May) Common Yellowthroat (more than a few) Canada Warbler Also of a sudden, were the arrival of more Veery, a few Swainson's, & the aforementioned Wood, plus a good new arrival of (more) Hermit Thrush, plus a couple of reported Gray-cheeked-type Thrush for good measure. For Vireos, there were at least the most-regular-in-spring five spp. - White-eyed, Yellow-throated, Red-eyed, Warbling, and Blue- headed in perhaps about that rising factor of individuals, respectively for each species. OF sparrows, the most common by far and a real rival to the ever-populous Yellow-rumped Warbler were White- throated Sparrow (it should be noted & noticed too, that these and many of the sparrows generally can be seen in their true numbers to greatest advantage in extremely early morning, even sometimes before first light under park lamps, with far more taking to trees as the day comes on, and more & more human & canine disturbances to any & all ground-dwelling birds)... also in the sparrow tribe, E. Towhee showed a bit of influx, as did Chipping and Swamp Sparrow, and there were also some Field, Savannah, and (still few) White-crowned Sparrows. Scarlet Tanager was seen in very modest number and there was at least a rumor of a "summer" tanager, but of that I know almost nothing & am unsure if more than one observer had mentioned; Rose-breasted Grosbeak came through and there was a sense that a fair number may have gone on, with some in the north end very early seeing to dwindle out in an hour's time (although a fair number also stayed); both Orchard & Baltimore Orioles came in further than the last day or more, and females of each species were also noted; Indigo Bunting made a fairly good appearance, often a good indicator species for a fine push of migrants when more than just one or two are present in an initial wave of new migrants. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are being seen. Also noted by many were more Flycatchers, of at least 4 species: Least, vocal at times, Great Crested, also vocal, E. Kingbird, and E. Phoebe. Of waterbirds, there were a fair variety, but one that always is highly-desired and not-often seen in Central, American Bittern, seemed to be a two-minute wonder - one of these was noticed at the Meer's south shore area, perching in the top of a bare tree, only to be immediately set on by a slightly demented male Red-winged Blackbird; with a squwark or two after a minute of that abuse, the bittern took flight again and went, low but steadily, on a westerly course; I followed in pursuit to the Loch but did not relocate this, nor am I certain that it stopped in that location at all. (Just about ten minutes before this, at the compost area a little south of the east arm of the Meer, I heard and then saw a singing male Bobolink, not a very common sight in Central, although very likely annual in spring, but a species that also is unlikely to cooperate by staying put & very visible in such a busy place; the bobolink went north after some machinery started up at the compost area, and I lost track of it as I approached the Meer, the bittern sighting momentarily taking away all though of bobolink-finding. (I did not re-find that, either, but the bittern became the greater bird of interest of a sudden.) In more usual sorts of waterbirds, there are still a very few Ruddy Ducks, a Wood Duck or two, some N. Shovelers and a few Buffleheads, along with usual-in-late spring Gadwalls... and, Great & Snowy (the latter as fly-bys seen from the n. end which is a near-daily occurrence now thru Aug.) Egrets, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron[s], and Black-crowned Night-Herons. Double-crested Cormorants rule the reservoir recently, and as fly-overs some Loons were moving; those I noticed (3) being Common, but there can be Red-throated as fly-overs now also. An American Woodcock was seen as well as Spotted Sandpiper, and a few sharp-eyed observers said they'd seen "larger shorebirds" at times as flyovers (but see a not at bottom - not that species...) Swallows seen were of the 3 most-regular spp., led by Barn, with N. Rough-winged and Tree far behind in numbers; while for Chimney Swifts, numbers are picking up a bit now. Also noted were Belted Kingfisher & Fish Crow (as well as American Crow). And not to forget that among "late" migrants were at least a Golden-crowned Kinglet or two (with great numbers of Ruby-crowneds, as expected); and Dark-eyed Junco, still a few around this day. Plus Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Brown Thrashers, House & even a couple of Winter Wrens (& more-or-less resident Carolina Wrens), plus a few other species of migrants - Yellow-shafted Flickers, & some others... Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay... A rather quick peek at Morningside Park (Manhattan just north & west of Central) did not reveal quite the variety that another observer found in what was clearly a closer look there; & a later-day check of some usually-decent birding habitat in Riverside Park showed that the most common migrants were around, but not so many of the uncommon species, as found in Central. (but the time & number of obs. at Riv. Park is so much less, it's not a fully fair comparison one to the other...) At the "drip" area, in Riverside's northern portion, despite water being on in recent weeks, there is not a lot of "need" by any birds to go to that water-source, with puddles & run-off still from the recent deluges, and small additional rains we had received. *a few close readers might have seen 1 species I listed in error (working from a standard full bird checklist), an E. Meadowlark, which decidedly was NOT seen either May 1, nor, on any days in recent weeks in Central Park. Chances are I've left out more than a few species, and some that I am unaware of; likely none will come near to matching the super sighting of Black-necked Stilt from Prospect Park, by Keir Randall of Brooklyn, which is a fantastic record, even a bit more so as a (photographed) fly-over... a reminder to keep an eye to the sky as well as in all other directions, when out afield... (and as many even if not in Brooklyn will know, that borough & that park & surroundings more than keep pace with migratory doings in Manhattan, as do sites in all 5 boroughs- which are well-watched in this month...) Thanks to many, many observers in Central (& other parks) who gave reports through many means... 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/ --
