Sunday, 8th of January, 2017 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A first-winter-plumaged Red-headed Woodpecker (amending the plumage details to: lacking much red in the head, but some can be seen at this stage, in decent viewing conditions or in close photos) was observed by many - and was still being seen to after 4 pm by 3 of us - active, sometimes chasing after a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker or a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the same area, but not chasing a Downy Woodpecker when that species came near as well. The Red-headed made occasional forays to as much as 50+ yards out, but came back to the vicinity of the Shagbark Hickory (with a small name-tag) and other trees in the immediate area, as on the past 3 days from Justin Potter's report of this bird on 1/6 (last Friday). Once again the area is by the path nearest to Fifth Avenue, that goes south within the park below/south of East 69th Street's park entrance - and the woodpecker often closer to the vicinity of 68th Street, as a "latitude" marker, but over the park path and nearby. Standing just north of the rustic shelter and viewing in a north-NW direction may work well - as will watching for movement and listening for the unique "churring" of the Red-headed, different to the typical vocalizations of Red-bellied WP's which are far more numerous and resident in Central; the white wing patches & bright white underparts of the Red- headed also stand out well, the more so in good light, or seen in flight.
Also present in the area was a Red-tailed Hawk, and a 2nd was not far away at times - these not the same ones as being seen in the Ramble for much of this afternoon (&coming right into the feeders there, at sunset). We 3 late observers also saw some grackle flocks (presumed all just Common Grackles) going over, & likely headed to the famed roost area very near the SE part of the park, in view of the Plaza hotel at Fifth Ave. This particular Red-headed has notable wavy- stripe dark markings within the white wing patches as seen rather well when perched; a plumage feature that will likely diminish in the coming weeks, thru the winter, as the head also gains the characteristic all-red feathering for which the species is named. The area of the park referenced above [known as The Dene in official parks parlance] is not very much birded, in general. 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. Modest ice had formed at some edges, with much more possible overnight into Monday, and definite for any other waterbodies in the park. - - - - "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/ --
