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---------- Extralimital to NY, but not by all that much, is a kingbird found in Lancaster Co., PA on Wednesday 11/16, and being identified -by voice- on Thursday 11/17 as a (potential-2nd PA state-record) Tropical Kingbird (rather than Western as was first presumed, or Couch's as similar in some visual aspects) - a reminder that, and as known in NYS, up to 5 species of Kingbird are potential strays to the area, in addition to our regular breeding species: Eastern) - in future, it is even remotely possible there could be some further kingbird species as a migrant-stray. (To get a bit more particular, while hardly "expected" even casually, the loggerhead kingbird has been recorded as far north as the state of Maryland, if just once. The most-common 'non-Eastern' "vagrant" Kingbird in the northeast (& east) has been and still is: Western. It might be argued that this is not a true "vagrant" in some of the east such as in the southeast.) - Updates for any NY birders interested in this bird may find them at: http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=one_list;id=127 and also at: http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=one_list;id=156 ---------- Sunday-Thursday, 13 thru 17 November, 2016 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Thursday (11/17), some movement seemed apparent, with a change-over in some sorts of migrant & winter-visitor species; a few later-moving (for Central, where they rarely linger for weeks, at this time of the year) Myrtle Warblers (not noted otherwise in any recent days here) going past & stopping off in the north end (at the Great HiII & by the Meer, in earIy hours); & a further uptick in "Red" Fox Sparrows, and some of the other migrant sparrows having thinned, or moved-on; it seemed some of the reservoir-birds of the other (rainy) day may have moved on, even if species-mix was about the same; at the eastern edge of the Ramble, an Ovenbird was in view, & farther east on parts of Cedar Hill, there were both species of Kinglet, and in a few places in the southern half of the park, additional "Red" Fox Sparrows. Winter Wrens were also found in a few areas, maybe just continuing birds or fresh-moving migrants (the latter species is surprisingly uncommon- rare in winter in Central, despite being quite cold-hardy). ---------------- On Tuesday 11/15, rainy-day duckage & such included ten American Coots photographed in a group on the reservoir's NW edge, a minimum of 9 Hooded Mergansers (7 at reservoir, 2 at Turtle Pond), a minimum of 22 Buffleheads (16 at the reservoir, 4 at Meer, 2 at The Pool), at least 5 Wood Ducks (drake & hen at The Meer, same at The Pond, & at least 1 drake on The Lake), as well as 80+ Northern Shovelers distributed on 4 water-bodies, 200+ Ruddy Ducks on at least 2 water-bodies (nearly 90% of them on reservoir), Gadwall numbering past 40 in all, American Black Ducks on 5 water-bodies, usual many Mallards (& mallard-ish) ducks, as well as the lingering Indian Runner Duck at the Meer, present on-&-off there since much earlier in the year; Canada Geese in modest (fewer than 60) numbers; motley (& usual) gulls of 3 most- typical species, & a few Double-crested Cormorants in the wetter- morning hours. There may have been other ducks much farther-out on the reservoir. ------------------- A Pine Warbler was on the hill (in pine trees) east of the Central Park landmark Bethesda fountain on Sunday, 11/13; at least six species of warbler were still present in Central Park, a few species represented by more than single individuals; they were: the preceding plus Palm, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, Blackpoll, and Orange- crowned. Each species was seen by multiple observers, myself included. This is not an unprecedented variety of warbler species for the date period in this park, especially given recent weather (we have had as many or more species of warbler into December, in some milder autumns here). I made a later-Sunday foray thru the southern third of Manhattan (specifically staying away from the 2 small parks where [not-all-just- flash'n'dash] mob-bers have been "chatting", & continue to be; Iook to a 100-day-run of the biggest warbler in the world, or one might even daresay: huge! Of course it is great when a desired bird is there to be seen for such a stretch of days, and by so many who come view- seeking) - and, I stopped in at several of the mid- & down- town parks, including one on the East River, & 3 areas on the Hudson river side of lower Manhattan, particular time spent in Battery Park proper, as well as at the park just north of the Chelsea piers area (north of West 23rd by the Hudson) - with a few finds that were not too surprising, & are almost typical in this time of year, if one searches in this area of Manhattan - Ovenbird (2), & Common Yellowthroat (3); and with 1 "western"-form Palm Warbler in the outermost part of Chelsea piers park - no (additional) chats turned up but there are plenty of bits & pieces of habitat, and I certainly did not thoroughly cover even near a tenth of all of that area in the time I was out, in mid to late-day on Sunday. I spent a bit of extra time in any areas where I happened on frugivores such as American Robin, etc. - & had a brief & not-very-productive look in Madison Square & Union Square parks, each of which have & typically do feature "late" and sometimes unexpected migrant-visitors (as well as does Bryant Park which I did not visit on this circuit of some bits of Manhattan). ---------------- As far back as June, 1976, this wise advice was given by writer Dave DeSante, writing in "American Birds" in the section, "The Changing Seasons" - this advice is even much more applicable today, in 2016 and ongoing, with so vastly more birders and photographers, and the very widespread availability of technology that can affect the birds in the ways noted: "A word about the use of tape recorders, especially during the breeding season, is perhaps apropos. Anyone who has watched the intense excitement and energy expenditure of a terrestrial male bird dashing from one tape recorder to another as a swarm of birders attempt to lure it out for observational or photographic purposes, cannot help but wonder how much the individual's reproductive effort and success may be diminished by this practice. (-NB, emphasis in original) Much sought-after specialties, such as trogons, maybe be particularly susceptibtle to such disturbance. It will be a sad day when the bird on the list becomes more important than the bird in the wild. We, as responsible birders, must keep the well-being of the bird foremost in our hearts, even to the sacrifice of our own listing pleasures. [See also Glinski, p. 655]" ----------------- "They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds." - DeRay Mckesson, American activist & writer. -------------------------------------------- "Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." - Abraham Lincoln, February 27, 1860 - at the Great Hall of Cooper Union, New York City. Speech given as the candidate-to-be of the Republican Party, soon to be the 16th president of the United States of America. ---------------- good birding, Tom Fiore manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
