[nysbirds-l] CT Warbler, etc. Central Park, NYC 9/8 - Friday
Friday, 8 September, 2017 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A Connecticut Warbler, likely first of this year in the park, was found & reported by Ryan Zucker of Manhattan, late in the afternoon, at an area locally called by many birders “sparrow rock”, which is across the park’s West Drive from Summit Rock (the latter an official park designation seen on some maps); this is roughly near West 83 Street inside the park. It’s also just north & a bit east of the Winterdale Arch, which a paved ped. path & the old cindered bridle path each go beneath while the park’s West Drive runs over it; nearest park entrance to that arch is at West 81 Street. The lawn areas, & occasionally the rock outcrop, may have unleashed dogs before the 9 am hours daily. Park reg’s specify all dogs on-leash (where permitted off-leash at all) after 9 a.m. in all areas of the park. The bird of interest may have moved east a bit, after the initial sighting; RZ & two other keen (sharp-eyed) birders were on the hunt through much of the remaining hours in the day, but the skulker was not re-found by anyone later. Overall, a day with a lot of early migration movement (and in the prior night), but activity seemed a bit less than some had anticipated, esp. by around mid-day. Even so, with the Connecticut, at least 21 species of warblers were found in the park on the day, with a few other species perhaps in single or low-single-digit numbers. Of the other warblers it was again notable that more than a few Cape May Warblers were seen, in areas of the park from the SE end (at Hallett Sanctuary) to multiple locations in the Ramble area in addition to the Great Hill / n. woods. Also still in the multiple, having a fairly good fall season, are Tennesee & just now, slightly more Blackpoll Warblers, with more than 8 of each in almost as many locations. A fairly good flight of visible migrants took place early, as seen from near Belvedere Castle, at an overlook that faces north & east - species moving in the first 2 hours of daylight included many hummingbirds (all presumed our usual species), and Bobolink, as well as some orioles, all appearing to be Baltimore Oriole, and a higher flight of warblers (& some other types of passerines), with most going unidentified to species, although at least some (lower) were Common Yellowthroats. One additional species in numbers, passing in early morning - Cedar Waxwing. Much later on, despite a nice sky for watching, no notable raptor movement was seen other than some Ospreys. Wind out of the west, not NW, on Fri. is typically not the best for autumn raptor movement at Central Park, but that is subject to fluctuation according to the complexities of migration & weather. Sightings from all over the park, & at hours from early morning to about 4:30 p.m. (& later by a few…) Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Black-crowned Night-Heron Canada Goose Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Osprey (minimum of 6, fly-overs seen after 10 a.m.) Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Spotted Sandpiper Laughing Gull (at least 2, reservoir dike, afternoon) Ring-billed Gull [American] Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift (very few, even during a sky-watch) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (35+ moving, mostly early but some still going into noon-hour) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Eastern Wood-Pewee (few compared to all other recent days) Empidonax [genus] Flycatcher (comments as the above sp.) Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird (1, very early; none seen hunting in the park) Warbling Vireo (1, Hallett) Red-eyed Vireo (numbers reduced from previous days) Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow (not many, all fly-overs) Barn Swallow (fewer than above sp.) Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren (multiples - & in at least 6 locations through park) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Swainson's Thrush (few) American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing (40+ in diurnal flight in mid-morning, going SW) Tennessee Warbler (still in numbers, & in multiple locations) Nashville Warbler (1, Tupelo Meadow, p.m.) Northern Parula (few) Yellow Warbler (several) Chestnut-sided Warbler (few) Magnolia Warbler (few compared with recent days) Cape May Warbler (multiple locations including w. side of Hallett Sanctuary) Black-throated Blue Warbler (multiple, but not many) Black-throated Green Warbler (2) Blackburnian Warbler (1, Summit Rock, a.m.) Pine Warbler (several, & of those, 3 on pine trees) Prairie Warbler (1, s. end of Maintenance Meadow, after noon) Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler (small numbers but more than 6) Black-and-white Warbler (fewer than on previous recent days) American Redstart (fair numbers, still fewer than on previous days) Ovenbird (multiple) Northern Waterthrush (just 2 in s.
[nysbirds-l] CT Warbler, etc. Central Park, NYC 9/8 - Friday
Friday, 8 September, 2017 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A Connecticut Warbler, likely first of this year in the park, was found & reported by Ryan Zucker of Manhattan, late in the afternoon, at an area locally called by many birders “sparrow rock”, which is across the park’s West Drive from Summit Rock (the latter an official park designation seen on some maps); this is roughly near West 83 Street inside the park. It’s also just north & a bit east of the Winterdale Arch, which a paved ped. path & the old cindered bridle path each go beneath while the park’s West Drive runs over it; nearest park entrance to that arch is at West 81 Street. The lawn areas, & occasionally the rock outcrop, may have unleashed dogs before the 9 am hours daily. Park reg’s specify all dogs on-leash (where permitted off-leash at all) after 9 a.m. in all areas of the park. The bird of interest may have moved east a bit, after the initial sighting; RZ & two other keen (sharp-eyed) birders were on the hunt through much of the remaining hours in the day, but the skulker was not re-found by anyone later. Overall, a day with a lot of early migration movement (and in the prior night), but activity seemed a bit less than some had anticipated, esp. by around mid-day. Even so, with the Connecticut, at least 21 species of warblers were found in the park on the day, with a few other species perhaps in single or low-single-digit numbers. Of the other warblers it was again notable that more than a few Cape May Warblers were seen, in areas of the park from the SE end (at Hallett Sanctuary) to multiple locations in the Ramble area in addition to the Great Hill / n. woods. Also still in the multiple, having a fairly good fall season, are Tennesee & just now, slightly more Blackpoll Warblers, with more than 8 of each in almost as many locations. A fairly good flight of visible migrants took place early, as seen from near Belvedere Castle, at an overlook that faces north & east - species moving in the first 2 hours of daylight included many hummingbirds (all presumed our usual species), and Bobolink, as well as some orioles, all appearing to be Baltimore Oriole, and a higher flight of warblers (& some other types of passerines), with most going unidentified to species, although at least some (lower) were Common Yellowthroats. One additional species in numbers, passing in early morning - Cedar Waxwing. Much later on, despite a nice sky for watching, no notable raptor movement was seen other than some Ospreys. Wind out of the west, not NW, on Fri. is typically not the best for autumn raptor movement at Central Park, but that is subject to fluctuation according to the complexities of migration & weather. Sightings from all over the park, & at hours from early morning to about 4:30 p.m. (& later by a few…) Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Black-crowned Night-Heron Canada Goose Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Osprey (minimum of 6, fly-overs seen after 10 a.m.) Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Spotted Sandpiper Laughing Gull (at least 2, reservoir dike, afternoon) Ring-billed Gull [American] Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift (very few, even during a sky-watch) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (35+ moving, mostly early but some still going into noon-hour) Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Eastern Wood-Pewee (few compared to all other recent days) Empidonax [genus] Flycatcher (comments as the above sp.) Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird (1, very early; none seen hunting in the park) Warbling Vireo (1, Hallett) Red-eyed Vireo (numbers reduced from previous days) Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow (not many, all fly-overs) Barn Swallow (fewer than above sp.) Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren (multiples - & in at least 6 locations through park) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Swainson's Thrush (few) American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing (40+ in diurnal flight in mid-morning, going SW) Tennessee Warbler (still in numbers, & in multiple locations) Nashville Warbler (1, Tupelo Meadow, p.m.) Northern Parula (few) Yellow Warbler (several) Chestnut-sided Warbler (few) Magnolia Warbler (few compared with recent days) Cape May Warbler (multiple locations including w. side of Hallett Sanctuary) Black-throated Blue Warbler (multiple, but not many) Black-throated Green Warbler (2) Blackburnian Warbler (1, Summit Rock, a.m.) Pine Warbler (several, & of those, 3 on pine trees) Prairie Warbler (1, s. end of Maintenance Meadow, after noon) Bay-breasted Warbler Blackpoll Warbler (small numbers but more than 6) Black-and-white Warbler (fewer than on previous recent days) American Redstart (fair numbers, still fewer than on previous days) Ovenbird (multiple) Northern Waterthrush (just 2 in s.
