NB, for those following any of that brief excitement in Maine over a plover, photos looked at do indicate almost certainly a larger than average Semipalmated, and NOT a rare (mainly-Eurasian breeder) Common Ringed. Some but perhaps not all of any discussion was posted to Maine Birds list-serve... - - - Saturday-Wed., 7-11 August, 2010
Central, Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City For Wednesday, 11 August, 2010 - Wind shifting overnight (Tues.-Wed.) to out of the northwest brought a good number of migrants down into and thru the city. (Locally, winds became more northeasterly by day- break.) (total of eight hours in park - in all areas) Osprey (fly-over) Solitary Sandpiper (Meer, early a.m.) Spotted Sandpiper (in several places) Least Sandpiper (a few passing over) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Loch) Common Nighthawk (1, fly-by, 7:55 pm) Chimney Swift (20+) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (several sightings) Northern [Yellow-shafted] Flicker (90+ in early a.m.) Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Wildflower Meadow) Empidonax [genus] Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird (15+ - including high fly-overs) Tree Swallow (mostly high in air and in morning) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (less common) Bank Swallow (few) Barn Swallow (most common) Red-breasted Nuthatch (N. end & Shakespeare Garden) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Veery (one, north end) Blue-winged Warbler (2, seen separately) Brewster's Warbler (Great Hill, east slope) Tennessee Warbler (1st-yr., north woods) Yellow Warbler (several) Chestnut-sided Warbler (1) Blackburnian Warbler (1 male) Prairie Warbler (1 female) Black-and-white Warbler (4) American Redstart (10+) Worm-eating Warbler (1) Ovenbird (3) Northern Waterthrush (8+) Hooded Warbler (first-year, west side of The Pond) Canada Warbler (4) Indigo Bunting (1) Bobolink (12+ fly-bys) On Saturday both Waterthrush species were reported (fide Jack Meyer & friends) with a Louisiana Waterthrush in the Loch and N. Waterthrush a bit farther from water (which is not unusual for Northerns in migration). Also, seen by others over the weekend (Sat. & Sun.) were at least nine additional Warbler species - Blue-winged (and possible- probable hybrid form- which is increasingly regular on migration in this region and there are some observers & researchers who find that a very high percentage of "Blue-winged" have visible characters that present good evidence for hybridization with Golden-winged, which have greatly declined in much of their former range in our region, while Blue-winged have almost universally expanded their range, especially northward), Yellow, Blackburnian, Worm-eatiing, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Canada (several), Hooded (at least two), & Ovenbird. All of these warblers very much expected at this point of summer's southbound migration. Also noted by various observers were some E. Kingbirds potentially on the move, as well as Great Crested Flycatcher and a few "unidentified" Empidonax-genus flycatchers. Chimney Swifts and swallows of at least 4 species have been noted in modestly higher numbers than had been a week or more ago, and a few ducks continue to be seen, such as Wood Duck & N. Shoveler, the latter not present thru the spring & summer here. Also seen in the past week and through the weekend have been Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. There are some additional migrants around as well, & the next 'cold" front with decent weather should bring much more. We are now into the period when Common Nighthawk southward migration should be upon us, and these can sometimes be seen in good numbers in the city, more likely at dawn or dusk although occasionally found in numbers in daytime in certain weather conditions and by "chance". They'll also use city parks to roost in a bit before continuing south. The "fall" nighthawk migration or at least staging has begun in some northern areas. - - - - - Incidentally, in Brooklyn, Peter Dorosh reported a good passage of (6) Black-and-white Warbler into Prospect Park on Saturday, 7 Aug. as well as some other expected migrants, and there are continuing sightings in that park of Forster's Terns at Prospect Lake, plus some additional migrants reported via that birding blog, which often updates for the Brooklyn birding scene and particularly for Prospect Park & environs near it. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
