[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 5/17
Tuesday, 17 May, 2016 Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A very good new arrival of migrants, with a much richer variety of flycatchers, as well as additional thrushes, vireos, warblers, tanagers and more, all coming in from Monday night to Tuesday. One bird I saw which was by far the greatest surprise, as it's so rare to see any in or over Central,: a tern species, which by overall size & "giss" may have been a Forter's (non-vocal and a very quick fly-thru, at about 5:45 a.m. seen from the upper s. side of the Great Hill; the tern was not extremely high but was moving quickly to the north & could potentially have come from or passed the reservoir of the park earlier. At the reservoir much later, a lingering male Bufflehead was noted by many. A relatively quick scan did not reveal the other late-lingering ducks which had been there (N. Shoveler, Ruddy) in recent days but either could still be present if sought carefully. The shorebird species noted was the most typical - Spotted Sandpiper, which was seen in multiple locations, including at small streams as well as around the reservoir. This was a day to remember for many observers, some of whom were able to tally 20 or even more species of warblers on the day. There were multiple instances of a dozen or even more species of warblers in a single tree, and also not just one or two but many instances of species such as Bay-breasted, Cape May, & lots of other warblers being seen in 3, 4, even 5 at a time, even all in one field of view at times. Just among many, many excellent sightings was that of Tennessee Warbler, a species which was seen by many in the area near Belvedere Castle, & one of which (singing regularly) showed just west of the weather instrument station, such that eye-level views were obtained from as little as 7-10 feet away; videos & photos were obtained by some of the multiple obs., & big thanks to Roy Tsao who alerted a number of late-morning birders in the immediate area. This species was also nicely seen in the n. end, and many groups led by a number of leaders in the Ramble area enjoyed nice views also. These groups were led by among others those representing non-profit organizations & institutions such as the AMNH (American Museum of Natural History), and the Linnaean Society of New York: walks in Central Park scheduled by the latter are free of charge; membership in the society is suggested for those joining walks on a regular basis. Also offering bird/nature walks & trips around NYC & beyond are the (non-profit) NYC Audubon & many others. Warblers of at least 25 species in all were noted from the park, with at least 24 of these in the vicinity of the Ramble alone. Always much- sought in migration here, Mourning Warbler sightings were from the north end of the park on Tuesday, with perhaps as many as 4 present and sightings from the Loch / Ravine area as well as the north woods, & likely the last-of-day sighting by Gabriel Willow, a leader of many NYC Audubon walks around the city and beyond, that late-day sighting at the SW edge of the Pool, very near the W. 100th St. entrance to the park. Also at least heard well, fairly late in the day was a Mourning just north of the Loch, noticed by Brenda Inskeep, whom I walked with in the latter half of the day. Other individuals of the species also were singing a bit in the early hours at the n. end of the park. It is close to the (potential) peak period of this species movements, locally. Flycatcher diversity has been climbing and about all the expected species have now been reported in the park, with some of the Empidonax [genus] just lately arriving. I was very lucky to have a superb view of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Tues. at the Great Hill; a few others of this species have now been seen, and of some of the others, and importantly, also heard. There should be more of most of these in the coming week & beyond. Olive-sided Flycatcher is possibly at peak about now, sightings (and some seen singing or calling) have been in multiple locations; I managed to photo' 2 individuals on Tues., one in the n. end and another in the Ramble; others were found by multiple observers. The only typical-migrant flycatcher now very tough to come by in Central is E. Phoebe, as virtually all have moved on as expected here. Thrushes are still featuring some Hermit, while Wood & especially Swainson's Thrushes are now fairly common: the n. woods alone had many, & the Ramble & vicinity featured dozens or more of the latter. Veery also are still not uncommon, and some Gray-cheeked are being identified while the oft-sought Bicknell's, a definite migrant through these parts, has to be heard to be positively identified on sight. There are still some Blue-headed Vireos moving thru, but the most- common of the vireos here now are Red-eyed & Warbling, the latter in
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 5/17
Tuesday, 17 May, 2016 Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City A very good new arrival of migrants, with a much richer variety of flycatchers, as well as additional thrushes, vireos, warblers, tanagers and more, all coming in from Monday night to Tuesday. One bird I saw which was by far the greatest surprise, as it's so rare to see any in or over Central,: a tern species, which by overall size & "giss" may have been a Forter's (non-vocal and a very quick fly-thru, at about 5:45 a.m. seen from the upper s. side of the Great Hill; the tern was not extremely high but was moving quickly to the north & could potentially have come from or passed the reservoir of the park earlier. At the reservoir much later, a lingering male Bufflehead was noted by many. A relatively quick scan did not reveal the other late-lingering ducks which had been there (N. Shoveler, Ruddy) in recent days but either could still be present if sought carefully. The shorebird species noted was the most typical - Spotted Sandpiper, which was seen in multiple locations, including at small streams as well as around the reservoir. This was a day to remember for many observers, some of whom were able to tally 20 or even more species of warblers on the day. There were multiple instances of a dozen or even more species of warblers in a single tree, and also not just one or two but many instances of species such as Bay-breasted, Cape May, & lots of other warblers being seen in 3, 4, even 5 at a time, even all in one field of view at times. Just among many, many excellent sightings was that of Tennessee Warbler, a species which was seen by many in the area near Belvedere Castle, & one of which (singing regularly) showed just west of the weather instrument station, such that eye-level views were obtained from as little as 7-10 feet away; videos & photos were obtained by some of the multiple obs., & big thanks to Roy Tsao who alerted a number of late-morning birders in the immediate area. This species was also nicely seen in the n. end, and many groups led by a number of leaders in the Ramble area enjoyed nice views also. These groups were led by among others those representing non-profit organizations & institutions such as the AMNH (American Museum of Natural History), and the Linnaean Society of New York: walks in Central Park scheduled by the latter are free of charge; membership in the society is suggested for those joining walks on a regular basis. Also offering bird/nature walks & trips around NYC & beyond are the (non-profit) NYC Audubon & many others. Warblers of at least 25 species in all were noted from the park, with at least 24 of these in the vicinity of the Ramble alone. Always much- sought in migration here, Mourning Warbler sightings were from the north end of the park on Tuesday, with perhaps as many as 4 present and sightings from the Loch / Ravine area as well as the north woods, & likely the last-of-day sighting by Gabriel Willow, a leader of many NYC Audubon walks around the city and beyond, that late-day sighting at the SW edge of the Pool, very near the W. 100th St. entrance to the park. Also at least heard well, fairly late in the day was a Mourning just north of the Loch, noticed by Brenda Inskeep, whom I walked with in the latter half of the day. Other individuals of the species also were singing a bit in the early hours at the n. end of the park. It is close to the (potential) peak period of this species movements, locally. Flycatcher diversity has been climbing and about all the expected species have now been reported in the park, with some of the Empidonax [genus] just lately arriving. I was very lucky to have a superb view of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Tues. at the Great Hill; a few others of this species have now been seen, and of some of the others, and importantly, also heard. There should be more of most of these in the coming week & beyond. Olive-sided Flycatcher is possibly at peak about now, sightings (and some seen singing or calling) have been in multiple locations; I managed to photo' 2 individuals on Tues., one in the n. end and another in the Ramble; others were found by multiple observers. The only typical-migrant flycatcher now very tough to come by in Central is E. Phoebe, as virtually all have moved on as expected here. Thrushes are still featuring some Hermit, while Wood & especially Swainson's Thrushes are now fairly common: the n. woods alone had many, & the Ramble & vicinity featured dozens or more of the latter. Veery also are still not uncommon, and some Gray-cheeked are being identified while the oft-sought Bicknell's, a definite migrant through these parts, has to be heard to be positively identified on sight. There are still some Blue-headed Vireos moving thru, but the most- common of the vireos here now are Red-eyed & Warbling, the latter in
