[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 8/18
Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Thursday, 18 August, 2016 After 6+ weeks of modestly-good to mediocre (or near-nonexistent) general land-bird migrations, according to varying weather & other factors, the night of August 17th into Thursday, 8/18 was by far the strongest (land-bird) migration event so far in this half of the year almost everywhere in the northeast, & certainly evident by what was seen in little old Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City. (also it can be added that birders in other boroughs who were able to seek out land- birds found good variety, and in sum the 20-species-mark for warblers was exceeded in N.Y. City, on this day alone. In addition (and not at all surprisingly) at least 3 species of Empidonax Flycatcher were noted in all of the boroughs, and well could have been all 5 of the eastern-breeding spp. of them in this large push of individuals. (Indeed if any Least Fly. were found, that would make 5 of five.) Thanks to the many polite-quiet-patient & devoted birders who gave many sightings & descriptions of finding so many mid-August migrants in Central Park on this first big day of migratory movement. It will just grow with the next good movements of coming days & weeks. The season is also ripe for Common Nighthawk migrations and indeed some are now moving through the wider region, & very likely some through Manhattan as well, now. Some species were found in numbers and the variety of species was far higher than on any previous days & nights, this summer in this location. The below are just some (a sampler of sorts) of the variety found in the park entire (110 St. & the north end, to the Ramble, & even at the Pond area in the park's southeast quadrant) by a number of observers at varying times, from first light thru later in the day. A minimum of 18 warbler species were recorded, & this while impressive is not unprecedented at all, nor especially surprising after the middle of August, and particularly on such a strong widespread movement as was over the prior night - and of course with a good effort by multiple birders as was the case. Also, as hinted at by M. Britt and his Bronx Co. Broad-winged Hawk sighting, these & other raptor species are moving - some dedicated watch sites southwest of NY state have already tallied 50+ of that species, & many sites are reporting multiples this week - and nothing unusual in that. Central Park on Thursday 8/18/2016 - Blue-winged Warbler (multiple, including a few possible hybrid forms of "Brewster's" type) Northern Parula (several) Yellow Warbler (multiple) Chestnut-sided Warbler (at least several) Magnolia Warbler (2 sightings) Black-throated Blue Warbler (adult male, & female-looking, 2 locations) Blackburnian Warbler (several in several locations) Prairie Warbler (several in several locations) Black-and-white Warbler (multiple) American Redstart (near-common, in many, many locations) Worm-eating Warbler (at least one in Ramble, near the Azalea Pond) Ovenbird (multiple) Northern Waterthrush (multiple, many locations) Louisiana Waterthrush (at least 1 in Loch area - & also reported elsewhere) Mourning Warbler (1st-yr. male, north end, possibly 2 individuals or one moving from Great Hill across to north woods) Common Yellowthroat (multiple) Hooded Warbler (male, north end, locations varied & there were at least 2 of this species found in the general 'n.' area) Canada Warbler (multiple) Other migrants included - Wood Duck Northern Shoveler (possibly first-of-season) Osprey Spotted Sandpiper Least Sandpiper (found by s. reservoir edge, unsure if lingering at all, early a.m.) Black-billed Cuckoo (n. end) Yellow-billed Cuckoo Ruby-throated Hummingbird Olive-sided Flycatcher (seen in Ramble, where the first-of-"fall" was found 2 weeks prior; multiple sightings since, in n. end & Ramble locations) Eastern Wood-Pewee (these may be local nesters still) Willow Flycatcher (Ramble - heard & seen) Acadian Flycatcher (n. woods - heard & seen) Empidonx [genus] Flycatcher (at least several locations) Great Crested Flycatcher (probably f. local nesters still) Eastern Kingbird (multiples, some on the move in a.m.) Warbling Vireo (most are likely local nest families) Red-eyed Vireo (probably still local) Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch (Pinetum; this species has been in Central Park in each month of summer so far, beginning in late June) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (may be local, may not) Wood Thrush (likely very local) Scarlet Tanager (at least several, these may represent fairly local birds, or may not) Eastern Towhee (location undisclosed!) Chipping Sparrow (nested in Central Park) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (could be "local") White-throated Sparrow (almost certainly were summering locally including the few that often do in Central) Orchard Oriole (female-like, one in Ramble area, may be a local, or possibly
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 8/18
Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Thursday, 18 August, 2016 After 6+ weeks of modestly-good to mediocre (or near-nonexistent) general land-bird migrations, according to varying weather & other factors, the night of August 17th into Thursday, 8/18 was by far the strongest (land-bird) migration event so far in this half of the year almost everywhere in the northeast, & certainly evident by what was seen in little old Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City. (also it can be added that birders in other boroughs who were able to seek out land- birds found good variety, and in sum the 20-species-mark for warblers was exceeded in N.Y. City, on this day alone. In addition (and not at all surprisingly) at least 3 species of Empidonax Flycatcher were noted in all of the boroughs, and well could have been all 5 of the eastern-breeding spp. of them in this large push of individuals. (Indeed if any Least Fly. were found, that would make 5 of five.) Thanks to the many polite-quiet-patient & devoted birders who gave many sightings & descriptions of finding so many mid-August migrants in Central Park on this first big day of migratory movement. It will just grow with the next good movements of coming days & weeks. The season is also ripe for Common Nighthawk migrations and indeed some are now moving through the wider region, & very likely some through Manhattan as well, now. Some species were found in numbers and the variety of species was far higher than on any previous days & nights, this summer in this location. The below are just some (a sampler of sorts) of the variety found in the park entire (110 St. & the north end, to the Ramble, & even at the Pond area in the park's southeast quadrant) by a number of observers at varying times, from first light thru later in the day. A minimum of 18 warbler species were recorded, & this while impressive is not unprecedented at all, nor especially surprising after the middle of August, and particularly on such a strong widespread movement as was over the prior night - and of course with a good effort by multiple birders as was the case. Also, as hinted at by M. Britt and his Bronx Co. Broad-winged Hawk sighting, these & other raptor species are moving - some dedicated watch sites southwest of NY state have already tallied 50+ of that species, & many sites are reporting multiples this week - and nothing unusual in that. Central Park on Thursday 8/18/2016 - Blue-winged Warbler (multiple, including a few possible hybrid forms of "Brewster's" type) Northern Parula (several) Yellow Warbler (multiple) Chestnut-sided Warbler (at least several) Magnolia Warbler (2 sightings) Black-throated Blue Warbler (adult male, & female-looking, 2 locations) Blackburnian Warbler (several in several locations) Prairie Warbler (several in several locations) Black-and-white Warbler (multiple) American Redstart (near-common, in many, many locations) Worm-eating Warbler (at least one in Ramble, near the Azalea Pond) Ovenbird (multiple) Northern Waterthrush (multiple, many locations) Louisiana Waterthrush (at least 1 in Loch area - & also reported elsewhere) Mourning Warbler (1st-yr. male, north end, possibly 2 individuals or one moving from Great Hill across to north woods) Common Yellowthroat (multiple) Hooded Warbler (male, north end, locations varied & there were at least 2 of this species found in the general 'n.' area) Canada Warbler (multiple) Other migrants included - Wood Duck Northern Shoveler (possibly first-of-season) Osprey Spotted Sandpiper Least Sandpiper (found by s. reservoir edge, unsure if lingering at all, early a.m.) Black-billed Cuckoo (n. end) Yellow-billed Cuckoo Ruby-throated Hummingbird Olive-sided Flycatcher (seen in Ramble, where the first-of-"fall" was found 2 weeks prior; multiple sightings since, in n. end & Ramble locations) Eastern Wood-Pewee (these may be local nesters still) Willow Flycatcher (Ramble - heard & seen) Acadian Flycatcher (n. woods - heard & seen) Empidonx [genus] Flycatcher (at least several locations) Great Crested Flycatcher (probably f. local nesters still) Eastern Kingbird (multiples, some on the move in a.m.) Warbling Vireo (most are likely local nest families) Red-eyed Vireo (probably still local) Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch (Pinetum; this species has been in Central Park in each month of summer so far, beginning in late June) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (may be local, may not) Wood Thrush (likely very local) Scarlet Tanager (at least several, these may represent fairly local birds, or may not) Eastern Towhee (location undisclosed!) Chipping Sparrow (nested in Central Park) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (could be "local") White-throated Sparrow (almost certainly were summering locally including the few that often do in Central) Orchard Oriole (female-like, one in Ramble area, may be a local, or possibly
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 8/18-19
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck still being seen in western NY: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/GENE.html#1282254854 (with apologies if this rarity was already posted today to this list) A male Summer Tanager was reported at Staten Island, N.Y. City on Sunday, 15 Aug., 2010, via the SINaturaList, a publicly accessible yahoo-groups list-serve. It's always a notable bird. - - - Western Kingbird has been reported a bit south, at Cape May, N.J. today (8/19); also far to the northeast in Nova Scotia Canada, these following several recent reports in easterly areas. - - - Back on Mon. 8/16, a Black-throated Green Warbler was among the (relatively few) migrant warbler species being noted at Prospect Park in Brookyln (N.Y. City) by birders there, posted via Peter Dorosh's "Brooklyn birds" blog. They've continued to see Forster's Terns on Prospect Lake which are pretty neat for "inland" B'klyn & have been ongoing for many weeks there. - I neglected to note that on Tuesday 8/17, at Jamaica Bay Refuge (Queens Co.) a Cooper's Hawk made a low pass over the south end of the East Pond, going east with a Ring-billed Gull that almost seemed to be chasing it. I was a bit too slow to interrupt a chat with a keen birder at the time, and only spoke up as the raptor was passing low into or over the tree-line. This was likely the same bird a few others had seen earlier at the refuge. A fair number of raptors have been noted from the Refuge in this past week, of up to a half-dozen diurnal species. - - - Wed.-Thursday, 18-19 August, 2010 Central Park, Manhattan - N.Y. City - On Wednesday morning there was a bit of fog &/or low cloud, making early a.m. viewing of some smaller birds more difficult at Central. Some activity, as often happens in such weather, was at treetop levels. In any case, a number of freshly-arrived migrants were about & included a few species I'd not seen in the city since spring: Black- throated Blue Warbler and Magnolia Warbler, one of each in the north woods. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was also in the north, and an Eastern Phoebe, which gave a few somewhat muted calls as if to fully confirm that it was just what it appeared - also about were Eastern Wood-Pewee and a couple of Empidonax [genus] Flycatchers that may have been of the "Traill's" type (ie, either Willow or Alder). In all, I found 9 warbler species with the others being Blue-winged (1), Yellow (1), Black-and-white (4), American Redstart (7), Ovenbird (1), Common Yellowthroat (2), and Northern Waterthrush (6). I'd not be surprised at all to learn of additional species and numbers. In addition there were multiple swallows and swifts up fairly high, the swallows seemingly mostly Barn with some N. Rough-winged and Tree Swallows as well. One Solitary, and a few Spotted Sandpiper[s] at the north end, including the Loch. Ducks included lingering Wood and a few American Black (migrants) as well as the Gadwall which are more regular at many seasons. Green Heron still around (not seen as a migrant yet), with numerous Black-crowned Night-Herons still visiting regularly. Another species which was rather conspicuous - American Crows were in several flocks totaling 54 birds, some harassing a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. - - - Thursday, 8/19, a fairly good migration again indicated on radar loops throughout the northeast, especially through SE NY & coastal areas - and a bit of that was evident in early morning, viewed from the north end of Central... among the indicators of the flight of land birds were the 14 Eastern Kingbirds passing over in 30 minutes at sunrise, plus 18 Baltimore Orioles also moving, of which six were adult males. Of the kingbirds it appears that many (or most) moved on southward, while at least some orioles may have stopped off, with a good number seen in the park - although there may well be a good number of this summer's breeders and offspring still around. A modest selection of other migrants in the north end included a perched Common Nighthawk being mildly bothered by upset robins and some other birds, a Yellow- billed Cuckoo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling & Red-eyed Vireos (both species that breed in Central so not definite migrants yet), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 4 Veery, Wood Thrush (which also breeds), and these Warblers: Blue-winged (2), N. Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Black- and-white (5+), American Redstart (12+), Northern Waterthrush (5+), Canada (8+), & a 1st-of-fall Mourning Warbler eventually giving a view at the wildflower meadow among very high vegetation. This one bird took over 30 minutes to give decent views, but eventually my patience was rewarded, this in late morning. Incidentally this now is quite the expected date period for all of these warblers to be moving. This brought a warbler tally for these 2 days to over a dozen species - and I would guess that other observers out
