Friday, 28 April, 2017 Today I put in about 8+ hours in Central Park, starting at first-light, and also about 2+ hours in Riverside Park’s northern sections, especially around that park’s sanctuary area, and “the drip” as well as a look in the northern patch of sloping woods.
Highlghts, from Central Park included: Clapper Rail (a ‘rehabbed’ / released bird, & not sure it ought to have been placed in Central, where there is no truly appropriate habitat, but at least, this rail is feeding & clearly fending for itself, and there were some good views late in the day, at the Loch, which was the place of its initial release some days prior…), Wild Turkey (a female, wild & free, not a release! again at the SW part of the park), the multiple Solitary Sandpipers (& several Spotteds), Yellow-billed Cuckoo (seen by a number of birders at the Loch & vicinity), the still-there Red-headed Woodpecker (a first-year bird in very bright plumage, a bit west of East 68-69th Streets, & often high in branches, requiring some patience to view), Great Crested & Least Flycatchers, and Eastern Kingbirds, 5 Vireo species (only “missing” Philly), Marsh Wren (& the 3 other regular wren species), at least 4 Catharus [genus] Thrush species (I photographed Swainson’s Thrush in the north woods later in the day, the others seen in the multiple were Veery, Wood, & esp. in numbers, Hermit Thrush), at least 22 species of Warbler, including Yellow-throated, Orange-crowned, Worm-eating, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Blackpoll (I quote Chris Cooper, “YES, Blackpoll” - but there were in fact several or more of these seen in Manhattan today, & that is not as unusual as was once thought at the end of April), & Louisiana Waterthrush (which is a bit uncommon here, by end of April; see notes below), Scarlet Tanager, both of the Oriole species (Orchard & Baltimore, the latter in fair numbers), PINE SISKIN (a bit late in the season for here, but not that unusual a date - 1 visiting the Ramble feeders and vicinity), & nine Sparrow species plus E. Towhee, with a most unexpected-in-spring CLAY-COLORED Sparrow, which was seen earlier in the day by the Meer, & then re-found (thanks, Karen Fung, & David Barrett, for trying so late in the day), a good bird for a few of us to finish out a long & productive day. The Clay-colored was photographed at day’s end. And thanks to the original finder of that sparrow* At Riverside Park’s northern section, a good many migrants, with Myrtle [a.k.a. Yellow-rumped] Warbler by far the most evident & most numerous migrant seen, but with at least some variety as well, with a bit of effort - one dozen warbler spp. - the “best” of them probably a Worm-eating near the south end of the sanctuary area (roughly near West 116 St.) & with a bit of thrush variety - Veery, Wood, & Hermit in low-ish numbers. A somewhat annotated day-list, 4/28, just for Central Park: Red-necked Grebe (lingering at the reservoir, high color & is feeding, but can it really fly - far??_ Double-crested Cormorant (hundreds of fly-overs going mostly north, all day, & many in park) Great Egret (common fly-overs seen from north end of park, & some in park) Snowy Egret (uncommon fly-overs seen from north end of park; 4 noted this morning) Green Heron (several, one of them seemed to be still-migrating - north - at first light) Black-crowned Night-Heron Canada Goose Brant (modest numbers noted, all fly-overs) Wood Duck (drake, reservoir) Gadwall (several pairs) American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler (a few, reservoir) Bufflehead (7 or 8, reservoir) Ruddy Duck (few remain, reservoir) Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Wild Turkey (as noted above in the highlights) Clapper Rail (a released bird, present now for some days) Solitary Sandpiper (multiple, probably 6+ in park) Spotted Sandpiper (multiple) Least Sandpiper (uncommonly noted, but annual in park) Wilson's Snipe (2 low fly-overs, flushed by other humans) Laughing Gull (several, reservoir, mid-day) Ring-billed Gull (very few today) [American] Herring Gull (reservoir & fly-overs) Great Black-backed Gull (reservoir especially) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Loch, multiple observers) Chimney Swift (some pushing thru early, plus a modest no. lingering overhead) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (one noted by me, around the Conserv. Garden) Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker (in same area as for many months, as noted above) Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (I saw just one) Downy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker (not that many today) Least Flycatcher (“che-bek” calls & seen fairly well, north woods - also noted for Ramble area, mult. obs.) Eastern Phoebe (2, a bit late, as they don’t nest in Central Park) Great Crested Flycatcher (several, & sometimes vocal too) Eastern Kingbird (12+, including 8 in one small group working north & out of park, early) White-eyed Vireo (several, one in north end very vocal & seen & heard by many birders) Blue-headed Vireo (multiple) Yellow-throated Vireo (several) Warbling Vireo (multiple, and some already in territory areas where they may try to nest) Red-eyed Vireo (at least several) Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow (few) Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee (scarce) Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch (several, including spring migrants that are moving with warblers) White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren (more have arrived) Winter Wren (1, north woods, a.m.) Marsh Wren (1 seen by many, south edge of the lake, western section) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (not that many) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (not that many) Veery (multiple, but not that many) Swainson's Thrush (photographed, & N.B. also photographed today at Garret Mtn. Reservation, in northern N.J.; poss. several noted by others as well in Central today, very-modestly early) Hermit Thrush (fair numbers, thru park) Wood Thrush (modest numbers) American Robin Gray Catbird (300+++ thru all of park) Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher (still pushing through) European Starling Cedar Waxwing (a few small flocks) - Blue-winged Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler (continuing, near n.w. part of Lake / Ramble edge) Nashville Warbler (multiple, but not many) Northern Parula (multiple, but not that many) Yellow Warbler (multiple, but not many) Chestnut-sided Warbler (several, north end & Ramble areas) Magnolia Warbler (one in north woods, very-modestly early) Black-throated Blue Warbler (perhaps 8+ thru all of the park) Myrtle [a.k.a. Yellow-rumped] Warbler (more than 1,000 - including a dawn flight of many, many hundreds seen exiting the park near 110 St. at the north park edge, & very few returning in the hour after that) Black-throated Green Warbler (multiple, but not many) Blackburnian Warbler (north end, &…?) Yellow-throated Warbler (Ramble, this was again in the areas near the Point, the so-called “oven” and to the west, with many observers) Prairie Warbler (few) Palm Warbler (not as many, but still not scarce at all; more females arrived) Blackpoll Warbler (1 or 2 in Central - but also seen in at least 2 other Manhattan parks today by multiple observers) Black-and-white Warbler (many, but rather fewer than previous day) American Redstart (8+ in various areas, most seen were adult male) Worm-eating Warbler (several, Ramble & n. woods) Ovenbird (still not too common) Northern Waterthrush (multiple) Louisiana Waterthrush (1, Loch - there were also a few Northerns in the Loch at times of the morning; the Louisiana gave a song as well) Common Yellowthroat (multiple, but not many) - Scarlet Tanager (few) Eastern Towhee (not scarce yet - females & males; also at Riverside Park) Chipping Sparrow (many still around, often feeding high in oaks & other trees) Clay-colored Sparrow (excellent views at the area south of the Meer, between “Nutter’s Battery” and Fort Clinton, or roughly across from the Dana Discovery Center, when re-found by K.F. at around 6:45 p.m. or so, and seen by at least 3 add’l. obs. after that; good photos also obtained) Field Sparrow (few) Savannah Sparrow (modest numbers) Song Sparrow (modest numbers) Lincoln's Sparrow (I found one in the Summit Rock area, later a.m.) Swamp Sparrow (modest numbers) White-throated Sparrow (hundreds & hundreds, partly a fresh batch of passage-migrants stopping in) White-crowned Sparrow (several, one adult nicely contrasting with the above Clay-colored, which of course it towered-over) Dark-eyed Junco (2, bit late, in n. woods, a.m.) Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting (several, incl. some not in bright color, &/or female) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (multiple, but not many) Red-winged Blackbird (many, incl. a lot of females feeding in oaks & other trees) Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole (several, mostly detected by voice) Baltimore Oriole (many males, all thru Central, & a modest no. in Riverside today) Purple Finch (very modest number, compared with the previous day) House Finch Pine Siskin (uncommon-rare late visitor at feeders & vicinity, Ramble) American Goldfinch (fair numbers all thru park, both seen & heard) House Sparrow - - - - "Have we fallen into a mesmerized state that makes us accept as inevitable that which is inferior or detrimental, as though having lost the will or the vision to demand that which is good?" - Rachel Carson (1907-1964; marine biologist, conservationist, author whose books include ‘Silent Spring’. Sir David Attenborough has remarked that that book may have had an effect on science second only to Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”.) *thanks to Robert DeCandido PhD for the initlal report of Clay-colored Sparrow today. Good -and ethical- 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/ --
