Saturday, 7th of January, 2017 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A first-winter-plumaged Red-headed Woodpecker (lacking red in the head at this stage) was reported yesterday 1/6/'17 from an area in the park near East 68 Street (just west of Fifth Ave.) and this snowy Saturday morning I found the bird, both somewhat vocal and modestly active at times, in the area as had been reported (and thanks to Justin Potter for that ebird report!) - it is well east of the park's East Drive, and a bit nearer to Fifth Ave. but along a path that runs parallel with Fifth, and south from the park entrance at East 69th Street - there is a rustic shelter perched atop a rise, & the woodpecker was about 30+ yards north of that, & often came to and around a modest- sized Shagbark Hickory tree (it is labeled as such, with a small metal marker & is rather obvious when near enough to see the unusual bark) as well as being near the very narrow path that forks off from the main walking path noted above, which would lead one to the rustic shelter on the rise (standing on these paths may provide a good vantage point to look & listen for the woodpecker) - there is a tall flagpole flying the American flag, as well as the black & white POW- MIA banner at the park entrance area, and the path you would watch from is south of that by 50 yards or so, this is a path that if taken south will ultimately pass under the Transverse & to the northern entry to the CP Zoo area, as well as the Arsenal building (at 64th Street-Fifth Ave.) David Barrett was also in the vicinity and was able to view this bird, even in the start of the freshening snow.
Photos were obtained of the Red-headed WP - and with which it may be possible to see if this just might be a bird that was being seen a bit farther west, into late autumn of last year (it may well be, or as easily not be). This area of the park referenced above -known as The Dene in official parks parlance- is not very much birded, in general. At least one drab-plumaged Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was in the vicinity, as were more-common Downy & Red-bellied Woodpeckers. A select group of birds continue at & near The Pond, in the park's southeast corner, these including drakes of Northern Pintail, Green- winged Teal, Wood Duck, as well as American Coot and songbirds such as Swamp, Song, & [Red] Fox Sparrow, plus Ruby-crowned Kinglet. In the Ramble, a Brown Thrasher, Brown Creeper, another Ruby-crowned Kinglet, more [Red] Fox Sparrows & great numbers of White-throated Sparrows, as well as many other winter-regulars were about, both at the feeders & in the other parts of that area. The CP reservoir has had many of the same species as have been for some weeks, with no "new" arrivals there of which I'm aware. Double- crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, Hooded Mergansers, American Coots, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers are among these, with some additional & typical wintering species there; it may be worth checking for a possibility of new species showing up with the quick-freeze that's expected & also as some uncommon gulls may come to sit on ice-shelves, if they form on that or other water-bodies. In the park's northern end, there have been some sightings of Belted Kingfisher, and a "white-headed" (Common) Grackle has been seen & photo'd, on several occasions, often with a substantial grackle flock of from 100-200+ birds; the white-headed grackle obviously stands out pretty well when seen, maybe the more oddly if it's seen against snow! - - - - Just to add, a few observers including myself have visited City Hall Park in recent days, & have not seen any of the rare species that had been semi-regular there into the first half of December; it was of course interesting to hear of a Western Tanager appearing in northern Queens very soon after the one in lower Manhattan was no longer being found there - I'm not suggesting it was one & the same bird, but would neither rule out the possibility that it might have been. Additionally, I've been to Van Cortlandt park in western Bronx (County) again seeking any rarer geese but have not lately, or as recently as Friday (1/6), seen a Pink-footed Goose there, although many Canada Geese (& at least one Snow Goose) were continuing to feed on the Parade Grounds & rest on the lake at Van Cortlandt. - - - - "Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” - William Shakespeare (from: 'The Tempest') -- Henry David Thoreau: "To see the world exactly as someone else sees it for a single second strikes me as the most impossible of miracles." good winter birding, 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/ --
