Wednesday, 14 September, 2016 (& some prior days) Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City
While migrant diversity dropped off considerably in the past several days, there have been some ongoing nice birds around; some highlights both current & slightly belated: An adult Red-headed Woodpecker, first found on Monday 9/12 in the Ramble by Steven Chang, & seen soon afterwards that day by David Barrett with S.C. [personal comm. w/both observers] - & seen subsequently by additional observers, has lingered thru at least Wed., 9/14 - & was again being seen in the same areas in the heart of the Ramble, including some forays by the Red-headed into a for-now-closed- to-public (Ramble) work area, where it may be spending some of its visit to the park; this bird can sometimes be quite high in the trees, & has been vocal at times - easy to listen for & birders will want to confirm it visually in this park. A Marsh Wren was a nice (annual in Central, but easy to miss) find on Friday (9/9) when a Virginia Rail was first being observed by the lake/ edge of Ramble, with at least several observers. An apparent Orchard Oriole (closely-observed by several birders) was found in the Ramble Saturday (9/10) and is getting quite late for this species, often on its way south even in late July (& in August) from our region, with fewer reports after this time of the season. - - - - - A slew of new arrivals for these next several days will prompt many fresh reports! And if anyone is not aware, the great Broad-winged Hawk migration is underway in the region with watch sites in central New England now finding more than 500 Broad-wings per day at some sites, the peak flights for them will be somewhere in the next 7-10 days around southern NY & adjacent areas. (get thee to a ridge or other site to see some of this while it is possible!) In a fewer number of (other, various) locations, some within 100 miles or so of Manhattan, there have been both Red & White-winged Crossbills (mostly Red) and Evening Grosbeak, & there are some Purple Finches showing in the NYC parks here & there just lately, while the Red- breasted Nuthatches continue to pour through in near-unprecedented numbers at some locations (morning-flight surveys by experienced observers at the famous dike-watch in Cape May, N.J. have had single- day (a.m.) flights of this nuthatch species in the 70+(numbers) range on some days, & it is near-impossible now to count accurately within most (non-shore) city parks unless there is a (large) team present to make the count simultaneously as these visitors can be very mobile seeking food now; in any event, the species continues to be nearly- abundant in some areas in Central Park as in some other city parks- and they may still be coming on. - - - - - "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." - Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), U.S. wildlife biologist, conservationist, professor, author, best known for his book "A Sand County Almanac" (1949), which has sold more than two million copies. good -and quiet- observations to all, & thanks to the many who observe with courtesy & respect to all the birds & their fellow birders, 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/ --
