Notes from (all over the northeast): looks like some major flights
were recorded in some areas including (or especially) just to our
south. Connecticut Warblers were reported from multiple locations in
many states and interestingly, so were Mourning Warblers (which
generally have peak southbound movement in our area before the more
scarce species of Oporornis). Some excellent raptor flights also were
noted, mainly Sat., 9/19.
Some musings on hawk migration as observed at Hook Mountain near
Nyack, Rockland County below the Central Park sightings. (btw, Kyle
at Hook on Sunday 9/20: you recalled correctly -& better than I- that
back on Sept. 1st there had been an excellent passerine/land-bird
migration 'wave' in the wooded ridges at Hook Mt., with 17 spp. of
warblers on that day (9/1) & on a day that was not too busy for
migrant raptors there at Hook.
Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City - Sat./Sun./Mon., 19-20-21
September, 2009
Interesting movements, with what no one characterized as really "big"
numbers, although some very common migrants have been just that:
common, in these last 3 days. The most traditionally well-known area
of the park for bird-watching, "The Ramble" has not been the best
place to observe all the migration happenings lately (& it may not be
at any time, although with no doubt gets a very good variety of
species, and often very intensive birder coverage at the peak times in
spring & fall), while outlying areas of the park can produce a lot of
interesting sightings. There have been early a.m. flyover migration (a
sort of "morning flight", with the urban "sea" of concrete, glass &
such taking the place of the actual sea as a barrier or
"discouragement" to birds moving on) as well as migrants simply
looking for better or less-populated foraging areas. The flights were
observed by me on each morning with additional sightings from others
(especially Sunday when I was early to Hook Mt.); a component of each
flight included some icterids & American Robins also began to make an
appearance in more noticeable numbers. Chimney Swifts continued to
pass by (also noted in numbers at Hook Mt. Sunday) as have some
passerines, some also appearing to be in more sustained flight at
elevation into the first hour of light including at least some past
the visible sunrise. In the woods at the north end, the thrush
numbers & variety have increased with a "first" sighting (for me) of
several Hermit Thrush arriving Mon. morning, while Gray-cheeked type
(and probably actual Gray-cheeked), Wood, & Swainson's Thrushes were
more regular. I have seen only a few Veery, as many have moved on in
recent weeks, but not all are gone. A sure sign of fast approaching
autumn (officially arriving Tuesday) was a single Golden-crowned
Kinglet that was working a patch of lawn in the n. woods section some
call the "high meadow", south of the Blockhouse. In general, it seemed
Monday was slightly less active overall than Saturday or early Sunday
but there were good pockets & flocks working some shrubby areas as
well as moving thru some canopy in the early morning. A rather brief
visit to Riverside Park's north end (110 Street & thru 120 St.) gave a
hint of migrants there on Monday, both a.m. & late p.m., but I did not
see any really uncommon species such as a Connecticut there again.
Fairly good numbers of many common species are passing through
including Red-eyed & Warbling Vireo, now-increasing Blue-headed
Vireos, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole & of
course, many warbler species, with a fair number of Palm & slowly
increasing Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warblers. A new wave of sparrows &
other more typical fall species is due in the coming week or so with
the next cool-down.
- - -
Hook Mountain enjoyed a very good raptor migration over the weekend,
Sat.-Sunday, 19-20 Sept. - with many enthusiastic & helpful hawk-
watching visitors & "regulars" each day. The good flight of Broad-
winged Hawks was somewhat anticipated on Saturday and did not
disappoint, as over 2,000 were counted by D. Gustafson, with
assistance from other watchers. Saturday's good results at Hook were
echoed by many other watch sites in the region the same day. What was
a bit more surprising on Sunday was not that more Broad-wings
continued, with again over 2,000 counted (by me, with plenty of help
from other hawk-watchers), but that in so far as I've found, a lot of
the other watch sites in the region recorded far lower numbers that
day, indeed some had only a tenth or perhaps a fifth of the Broad-
winged Hawk numbers as did Hook. (on each day the coverage in hours
was similar, with over 8 hours in the official watch, & at least a few
observers also keeping informal watch at earlier & later times just to
see what would be moving at those times of day - not much.) About the
only other watches so far reporting with similar numbers of B.-w.
hawks in the region look to be in PA (Buckingham) & far south near
Baltimore in MD (Cromwell Valley Park) - and what was also interesting
is that those two watch sites recorded the bulk of their Broad-winged
numbers early on, even before noon, whereas at Hook Mt. on Sunday, the
flight was rather consistently good after 11, thru about 4 p.m. with a
massive "kettle" of Broad-wings seen in just 5 minutes, around 3:40 -
3:45, totaling over 500 in that short time, by far the biggest number
at one interval on the day, and quite possibly of the season (at
Hook)! That mass of Broad-wings was notable for its relative
compactness and it was possible to put the binoculars on it to observe
virtually all of the birds in one viewing. (I also got the scope on
the mass & a number of people had a close look at the kettle - for a
few observers this was their first experience of such a spectacle...
perhaps a few new hawk enthusiasts will be added!) Anyhow, while many
experienced observers know well how fickle, or alternatively rewarding
the Broad-winged Hawk migration can be to try to see in our area this
day stands out as a bit of a puzzle to me... I also noted that a
nearby watch (farther east), Quaker Ridge - which sits very near the
NY (Westchester Co.) line, inside Connecticut (near Greenwich) -
reported an easterly wind in the morning thru about 2 p.m., which Hook
did not have at all - contrary to some weather forecasts there was a
light wind out of the north at Hook, later switching to light SW wind,
not a gust from the east. (All this is just arcane to non-hawk-nuts,
but to those who do like to think about how the hawk migration works
each season, perhaps of some interest.) Quaker had a very good day for
Broad-wings & other raptors on Saturday but relatively few on Sunday,
& their reported results for Sunday were somewhat echoed by other
watch sites in the region on Sunday.
We (myself & the 25 or so other hawk observers) also noted that a good
percentage (perhaps one-quarter or more) of the hawks seen, including
Broad-winged Hawks, were at low elevation (from 100 feet or less above
the summit, with a fair percentage at or below summit level as they
passed by us), even into the afternoon hours. We had sun all day, so
there were certainly thermal air currents for the hawks, and there
were of course many birds that did take advantage. At Hook, the
Hudson River may play a significant role (?) as most, indeed virtually
all, of the raptors seen there (at any time) are crossing the river as
they work southwest, and it is possible that in making the wide river
crossing, some raptors (especially the thermal-dependent Broad-wings)
lose a lot of elevation and glide (or in some cases, use powered
flight &/or favorable wind) to cross to the prominences of Hook & it's
associated ridge-line, there regaining a lot of height on days with
good thermal development - as was so this weekend past... it can be
just a very nice place to see these "hawk dynamics".
Another question not completely answered yet is, have the Broad-wings
now made their "big" move through the New England-eastern NY region
yet this fall? Or will there be significant numbers yet to come...
only the coming week or so will fully answer that. For those wishing
to see more hawk-watch site reports, check: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdhawk.html
- along with http://hawkcount.org/index.php (nice!) & know that
some sites don't post all their latest results immediately, & some may
delay for a week or more. You can also use: http://birdingonthe.net/birdmail.html
(Jack Siler's website) & just scroll down to "World & Elsewhere",
which includes recent "Birdhawk" postings.
good birding,
Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
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