N.Y. County, including Randall’s Island & Manhattan Friday April 9th thru Monday April 12th -
The female Western Tanager at Carl Schurz Park continued, as has the Orange-crowned Warbler both of which overwintered there. Either bird can require some patience to see at various times; the tanager may come in just briefly by the main feeder array, near East End Ave., just n.w. of the Catbird playground & south of E. 86th St., but also spends time in other areas around the park & possibly just out of it as well, while the Orange-crowned Warbler has been most regular closer to Gracie mansion, at the n. end of the park. (There are also a few Palm Warblers & had been Pine Warbler in Carl Schurz as well.) Other highlights of the 4-day period included: Pileated Woodpecker, Laughing Gull, Horned Grebe, Blue-headed Vireo, E. Meadowlark, and at least 5 warbler species as previously reported - Pine, Palm, [Myrtle] Yellow-rumped, (2) Orange-crowned Warblers, and Louisiana Waterthrush. (2 very early N. Parulas seem to have moved out of Central Park, as of this report's period, & an E. Meadowlark there was not reported by 4/12.) … Friday, April 9th - A Pileated Woodpecker continued at Inwood Hill Park, northern Manhattan. An Eastern Meadowlark continued in Central Park’s n. end. Light increases of some anticipated species such as Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, E. Towhee, and Chipping Sparrow. Louisiana Waterthrush continued at Central Park as well as Pine, Palm, [Myrtle] Yellow-rumped Warblers. After many sightings of an early N. Parula into Thurs., 4/8, there were no reports of one in N.Y. County for Fri. 4/9. An Orange-crowned Warbler was again seen at The Pool in the n. end of Central Park. Higher numbers of Egrets, mostly Great, but some Snowys as well, have been flying over the central area of Manhattan in the usual east-west & west-east flyway, in particular increasingly noted over the n. end of Central Park. ... Saturday, 4/10 - A Horned Grebe was reported off Randall’s Island (L. Rohde) and seen from there, although unclear if it was in N.Y. County waters. Up to 3 Black Vultures were seen from Inwood Hill Park; that species is definitely a lot more regular now than even 1 year prior. Louisiana Waterthrush continued on at Central Park, with many observers. The first (so far reported) Blue-headed Vireo of the year was seen at Central Park’s farthest n.w. corner, a bit early and coinciding with some others already arriving much farther north. An E. Meadowlark was ongoing at Central Park. ... Sunday, 4/11 - The E. Meadowlark continued at Central Park for the 7th day in a row, again seen on the N. Meadow ballfields - an unusually long stay for that species anywhere in Manhattan. There was a modest movement of at least a limited no. of species; ardeids came in in greater no’s. with in particular Great Egret & Black-crowned Night-Heron increasing in the county. Also showing in more locations in the county were such species as Y.-s. Flicker, Chipping Sparrow, Palm Warbler, & (slight increases) Field Sparrow, & Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler. A very few Savannah Sparrows also showed in at least 2 locations, those also part of a broader movement on the day. Some waterbirds were moving, with Double-crested Cormorants among them. A drake Green-winged Teal showed in the center of the Central Park reservoir, while at least one Hooded Merganser was lingering there (and 2 more were seen from Randall’s Island); also still lingering were some American Coot, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, & Red-breasted Mergansers, with N. Shovelers in fair numbers at Central Park. As noted previously, a very small (so far) number of Purple Finch have been moving thru, with scattered sightings on this & prior days. Not many seem to have noted it, but the numbers of American Robins in N.Y. County increased overnight into Sunday. There were substantial numbers of [Atlantic] Brant at Randall’s Island late Sunday, into 4-digit numbers. ... Monday, 4/12 - Despite the ‘contrary’ weather locally (northerly wind, some rain & drizzles), some birds have been arriving. Three Chimney Swifts were seen (L. Beausoleil) at a known roost site for them in Manhattan’s E. Village. A few Laughing Gulls were along the East River, seen from lower Manhattan, and a far greater number of Palm Warblers were evident through much of the county this day (and reported in the wider region as well), & various other species have increased in the county a bit as well, including Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Warbler, & Chipping Sparrow. A Lincoln’s Sparrow that overwintered was continuing at Central Park, in the compost area. A couple of Rusty Blackbirds also were continuing at Central Park, in close to alternate (spring breeding) plumage, & also giving song at times. The same 5 warbler species as found in prior days in the county were ongoing, that including at least the one Orange-crowned Warbler at Carl Schurz Park, where the female W. Tanager was also again seen. Incidentally, the arrival of some more Chimney Swifts Monday (after the possibly record-early few in NYC 2 full weeks ago Monday) is also a good indicator that there are some additional migrants coming, as might be expected. Monday actually brought numbers of Palm Warbler & Chipping Sparrow in under cover of fog-drizzle, low cloud cover, to a multitude of locations around mid & lower Manhattan, and to some extent into the larger parks as well. … More & more trees and other plants are showing buds, if not blooms, and the local parks are increasingly colorful and greening-up further day by day. good 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/ --
