Manhattan & esp. Central Park, N.Y. City - 15-16-17-18-19th May, 2018 (Tuesday to Saturday)
At least 27 (of the 29 or more warbler species of the past 5 days) warbler species continued in Manhattan, with a bit of a shift by Saturday and still at least 27 species of warblers confirmed for Saturday, May 19th in just Central Park alone. I took in birding times in many areas for the past week & of note, esp. in Central Park, or as recently locally re-named for Kevin Topping’s “Kirtland’s Connection”. >From Tuesday & esp. Wed.-Thurs. of last week, & to lesser extent into >Friday-Sat., much of the southern half of Manhattan island contained a massive >number of migrant birds, mainly songbirds of a wide variety, with perhaps a >dozen species most strongly represented (E. Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, >Swainson’s Thrush, & warblers of 7 or 8 species in high numbers: Ovenbird, >Common Yellowthroat, Yellow, N. Parula, Magnolia, Blackpoll, Black-and-white, >& Yellow-rumped [Myrtle form], the latter 2 warbler spp. esp. of female sex; & >Scarlet Tanager [esp. females], but also some 2-dozen plus other migrant >species rather strongly represented, including uncommonly-seen (in these >concentrations in these locations) no’s. of warblers such as Tennessee, >Bay-breasted, Cape May, & Mourning all being notable, as well as many others, >some of the earlier-migrating species included in the mix. In northern Manhattan all this seemed to be only a little reduced - observers in locations in northern Manhattan such as Inwood Hill Park, & other adjacent areas, also recorded some very good numbers & variety for some days in a row in this same period of five days. One of the multiple mini-hot-spots in Central Park was near the West 85th St. (Spector playground etc.) area & some points east - with a few Prairies, a singular & extra-late Palm [of the more-“eastern”, or hypochrysea, subspecies-form], a superb female Cerulean & numbers of additional warbler species in 4 days, Wed.-Sat. that reached to 27+ species in an approx. 4-city-block-long, 1/2-mile wide swath. Just in sight [or nearly so] of that one Spector playground, 500+ warblers alone were found, as well as scores & scores of vireos, thrushes, & additional migrant birds. We can tip a hat to a number of folks, one of them surely Matthew Rymkiewicz who was (week-day) happy to point out -in inimicable ways- that Bay-breasted, & Cape May, & Tennessee Warblers are well worth a 2nd, third, or more looks by go-round by all migration-watchers. - - - - - - Manhattan, N.Y. City - including parks from The Battery (south tip of Manhattan) to Inwood Hill (at almost the n. end of Manhattan) & many in-between parks & green-spaces (such as Central Park, & etc.): Red-throated Loon (Inwood, northern Manhattan & elsewhere) Common Loon (modest number of rather late-moving fly-overs) Double-crested Cormorant (common fly-over & visiting many waters) Great Blue Heron (fly-overs, & possibly non-breeders still in the area) Great Egret (common fly-over esp. as seen from Central Park’s north end in east-west / west-east flights) Snowy Egret (slightly less-common fly-overs following same feeding-roosting flight path as preceding; these are birds going from w. LI Sound areas to & from the N.J. Meadowlands each day during the months of May into Aug.-Sept. - these are also noted from locations on the Hudson river & the East River edges of Manhattan, etc.) Little Blue Heron (1, fly-by past the Meer on Tuesday - uncommon for NY County but not really rare as a fly-by) Green Heron (nesting, & a few also still on the move) Black-crowned Night-Heron (common visitors in Central Park, none of which nest there) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (previously-scarce visitor in Central Park; 1 ‘long’ lingering) Glossy Ibis (several fly-bys seen from n. end of Central Park, Tues. & Wed. a.m. - high, & moving east to west) Turkey Vulture (modest numbers seen from various points in Manhattan) - Canada Goose (scattered, & some have nested, as usual) Brant (few remained, but still some in Manhattan waters into Sat. 5/19) Wood Duck (2, Central Park) Gadwall (small no’s. on both rivers & in Central Park for Tues.-Wed., rather less-common for Inwood Hill area) American Black Duck (few stragglers, on each river of Manhattan) Mallard (common, nesting etc.) Ruddy Duck (straggler on the C.P. reservoir to at least Friday/18th) - Osprey (multiple fly-bys, not clear how many individuals involved, but likely more than a single ultra-active bird) Bald Eagle (fly-over on Tues., from Hudson River near 122 Street) Cooper's Hawk (presumed very late migrant, 1st-spring plumage, Tuesday) Red-tailed Hawk (common Manhattan nesting resident) - Wild Turkey (Manhattan; location known to some, undisclosed for good of the birds) - American Coot (a possibly-unhealthy bird at C.P. Reservoir to at least Friday 5/18) Solitary Sandpiper (still moving thru at mid-week, & not noted as of Saturday 5/19) Spotted Sandpiper (in numbers on some days, & present to Saturday 5/19) Least Sandpiper (multiples moving past mid-week, fewer noted by Friday 5/18) Laughing Gull (1, last Tuesday) Ring-billed Gull (uncommon & lowered no’s. in past week) [American] Herring Gull (not as many seen in Central but still common & regular) Great Black-backed Gull (in numbers any day of past week) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove American Kestrel (not-scarce Manhattan breeding-resident) Peregrine Falcon (uncommon but regularly seen resident & breeder; some are also nesting in NJ’s Palisades on cliff edges) Monk Parakeet (one report last week was not noted again, apparently; ongoing colonies exist not at all far from Manhattan) - Black-billed Cuckoo (a few into Sat. but by then seemed mostly moved-on) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (more than preceding species by latter half of last week, still present into Sat. 5/19) - Common Nighthawk (multiple sightings of multiple birds to end of last week; some seen roosting as well as in dawn/dusk flight) Chimney Swift (extremely common this past week; high counts of 100+ were made by multiple obs. in multiple locations) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (fairly common in migratory movement on some days, also a few seen feeding on any given days) Red-headed Woodpecker (prob. a “new” passage migrant, seen Tues. a.m. only in north end of Central Park, & not re-located) Red-bellied Woodpecker (common, nests) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (several very late individuals, esp. as seen in multiple small mid- & down-town Manhattan parks, thru Sat. 5/19) Downy Woodpecker (common, nests) Hairy Woodpecker (very scarce nester in Manhattan nowadays) Yellow-shafted Flicker (uncommon nester, also a few v. late stragglers) - Olive-sided Flycatcher (daily sightings, prob. up to 8 individuals in as many locations in Manhattan, over the past week = very good no’s.) Eastern Wood-Pewee (common now, & an uncommonly-noted nester in several of Manhattan’s largest parks) Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (multiple sightings of calling birds, a few also seen singing which is much less-seen in migrants in Central Park) Acadian Flycatcher (multiple sightings of calling & some singing birds, this species is a potential nester any borough / county in N.Y. City) Alder Flycatcher (very scarcely identified to species in Manhattan; a few calling & even singing birds this past week, including video-recorded) Willow Flycatcher (more commonly identified by voice, than the preceding Empidonax-genus flycatcher; this breeds in N.Y. City, & preceding sp. does NOT) Least Flycatcher (common, & often heard calling or singing) Eastern Phoebe (very few remained; a scarce nester on Manhattan island) Great Crested Flycatcher (common & a regular-but-uncommon nester in several Manhattan parks) Eastern Kingbird (common nesting species, some seen on nests now) - White-eyed Vireo (uncommon and a potential rare nester in Manhattan) Blue-headed Vireo (very few by end of last week - some stragglers still into Sat. 5/19, which is late for this sp. here) Yellow-throated Vireo (few remained to Sat. 5/19, a very scarce nesting species in Manhattan; has nested in C.P. in modern era) Warbling Vireo (common, nests in many locations & also some straggling migrants or later-breeders going thru) Philadelphia Vireo (scarce in spring migration, several well-seen & a few heard as well, to at least Thurs. 5/17) Red-eyed Vireo (common, & some nest in various Manhattan locations) - Blue Jay (common, nests) American Crow (varyingly common to scarce, nests) Common Raven (a few noted in northern Manhattan, poss. from other areas outside of Manhattan for the date) - Tree Swallow (common migrant, very scarce nester in Manhattan, and also late or non-breeders going thru too) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (as above, has nested, numbers are diminished from previous recent decades) Bank Swallow (uncommonly-noted annual migrant, several daily for more than a week at Central Park, hundreds of obs.) Barn Swallow (extremely common migrant, numbers in the 100’s daily are not at all unusual each year for Central; Manhattan, etc.) Cliff Swallow (uncommonly-noted annual migrant, at least several daily for more than a week at Central Park, hundreds of obs. by week’s-end; photos, videos & etc.) - Black-capped Chickadee (few, & nesting) Tufted Titmouse (rather few, & nesting) White-breasted Nuthatch (not too scarce, but very quiet when now nesting) Carolina Wren (relatively few, some nesting) House Wren (nests, the common summer wren in Manhattan) Golden-crowned Kinglet (a few almost extraordinarily-late individuals, nests within 30 miles or much less from Manhattan) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (a few, seeming all females in past week, not unprecedently late yet) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (uncommon nester, some on nests now) - Veery (good numbers into early last week, then rather fewer passing) Gray-cheeked Thrush (fair numbers, some singing or more calling as well as on-sight presumptive ID’s made) Bicknell's Thrush (one definite, seen singing; likely at least a few others in multiple locations, over past week) Swainson's Thrush (extremely common and still passing in numbers, though fewer by end of week, Sat. 5/19) Hermit Thrush (getting very late now, & needs to be ID’d with care at this late date for Manhattan; nests within 30 miles in proper habitat) Wood Thrush (nests, some on nests now, also some likely stragglers or late/non breeders still passing; less-common by Sat. 5/19) American Robin (common & known as a prolific nester in sometimes unlikely settings in all of N.Y. City) - Gray Catbird (common nester, & perhaps still a number of later-moving migrants passing) Northern Mockingbird (nests) Brown Thrasher (scarce nester, locations should NOT be disclosed so as to protect breeders from disruptive activities) European Starling (extraordinarily common in Manhattan) Cedar Waxwing (common & expected late-migrants, and uncommon-to-scarce nester, in various Manhattan locations) - Blue-winged Warbler (few still thru Sat. 5/19) Tennessee Warbler (modest numbers thru Sat. 5/19, many obs. of several at eye-level & even ground-feeding: a rare sight for spring migrants in Manhattan) Nashville Warbler (modest numbers, & more females by Sat. 5/19) Northern Parula (common & expected numbers, seen in many smaller parks & green-spaces as well as usual larger parks) Yellow Warbler (good numbers throughout, nests very sparsely in Manhattan) Chestnut-sided Warbler (good numbers throughout, more females appearing) Magnolia Warbler (high numbers, as expected for the dates, many locations) Cape May Warbler (excellent numbers, males still passing as well as many females; one of the better passages in some years; thanks in part to spruce-budworm in Canada!! as well as lesserly in Maine & elsewhere near the Canadian border in the U.S.) Black-throated Blue Warbler (numbers continue with far more females by end of last week) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (near-normal numbers for the date, w/ many females lately) Black-throated Green Warbler (good numbers continuing) Blackburnian Warbler (excellent numbers for this species; both sexes still being found in many locations) Yellow-throated Warbler (several, including one taken in for rehab. at a Manhattan location; others were less-rep’ted. presumably due to increased sightings in 2018) Pine Warbler (1 photographed last week, a rather unusual late date in Manhattan; nests in N.Y. City but most are moved on well-beyond for breeding locations by now) Prairie Warbler (modest numbers, esp. of females, & into Sat. 5/19) Palm Warbler (very late individual, Sat. 5/19, the “eastern” form; at the hatchings & very birdy area of w. side of Central Park, several obs.) Bay-breasted Warbler (near-common this past week+, with still multiple males & also females in many locations; counts of 12+ in a day are not uncommon this spring) Blackpoll Warbler (fairly common to common, more & more females & in all sorts of locations in past week, to Sat. 5/19) Cerulean Warbler (female in the area where more birders were working the flocks in Central; this is how & why birders w/skills find such fairly-scarce birds on migration) Black-and-white Warbler (still passing in numbers, some of these are poss. more-northern breeders, & also some non-breeders may be moving; this sp. regularly shows up in Central Park after the migration is finished, in June-July, yet has not been found to nest there) American Redstart (common & has nested in Manhattan, but very scarcely as far as is documented) Prothonotary Warbler (present to at least mid-week in several locations, & seen in Madison Square Park by a few obs.; apparently not found by Sat. 5/19 anywhere) Worm-eating Warbler (uncommon & now a bit late; this species nests very near to N.Y. City, also known to have increased it’s breeding range northeastward a bit) Ovenbird (common to very common, multiples in many small or even miniscule patches of greenery in Manhattan yet still mostly in well-wooded parts of larger parks) Northern Waterthrush (fairly common & seen regularly away from water in migration) Louisiana Waterthrush (a few reports for the past week, but photos would be ideal to document this species in Manhattan, though has occurred even to very late May) Kentucky Warbler (several, reports included Central & other parks, some by very experienced obs., generally reported as non-singing & very skulking; to Thurs. 5/17) Mourning Warbler (excellent movements after the initial few that few saw on May 6th in Central Park, dozen+ in past week in as many locations, poss. 8+ in a day in Central Park alone; photos from multiple smaller parks, most were males; also heard singing in any number of locations - this is NOT a rare bird in N.Y. City, simply a generally less-observed species that passes many years with rather little notice, even by some active observers; knowing its song is hugely helpful as with most song birds, or calls for non-songbirds!) Common Yellowthroat (common, nests with difficulty in Manhattan, many of each sex in all sorts of urban locations on passage in this past week) Hooded Warbler (male-plumaged, singing, at west side of Central Park, w. multi. obs. into late-day Sat. 5/19, and various others many days in multiple locations) Wilson's Warbler (many, slightly more this spring than in some years, in multiple locations as well, including some smaller parks) Canada Warbler (near-common this past week, incl, many in smaller parks on some days) - Summer Tanager (ongoing to Sat. 5/19 in Central Park, multiple obs. of a continuing female bird) Scarlet Tanager (still present including some males still in small parks in lower Manhattan & etc.) - Eastern Towhee (scarce now, a rare nester in Central Park, which should be totally unmolested!) Chipping Sparrow (uncommon nester in Manhattan including in Central Park where now nesting) Field Sparrow (few still passing thru Sat. 5/19) Savannah Sparrow (modest no’s. into Sat. 5/19, in Manhattan locations incl. some smaller parks) Song Sparrow (nests, fairly common in some areas of Manhattan) Lincoln's Sparrow (still passing thru, to Sat. 5/19, in reduced no’s. from past weeks) Swamp Sparrow (few, getting late now, but regular in late May, & even found sparsely into June) White-throated Sparrow (few, but has summered in busy Central Park, with zero evidence of any breeding even attempted there) White-crowned Sparrow (few now, still present in a few locations to Sat. 5/19) - Northern Cardinal (common resident) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (many thru last week, a bit less so by Friday, 5/18) Blue Grosbeak (modest no’s. - a great spring for this species in Manhattan, up to 6 definitely different individuals, & poss. more!) Indigo Bunting (common, many females towards the end of last week as well as males; has nested v. sparingly in Manhattan in modern era) - Bobolink (1 female as found by Janet Wooten, Sat. 5/19 is getting v. slightly late; an annual but often-missed passage migrant in Central Park & rest of Manhattan) Red-winged Blackbird (nests & some can be rather late-moving as well, but mostly has moved-on if not nesting in Manhattan) Common Grackle (nests & some can be rather late-moving as well, but mostly has moved-on if not nesting in Manhattan; also lilely some non-breeders will linger)e Brown-headed Cowbird (far more common in spring than many obs. will take note of; travels on with or just ahead of the migrants whose nests it solely parasitizes!) Orchard Oriole (uncommon nester in Manhattan, a few nests already done & occupied; this is a little more regularly-seen outside Central Park as a breeding species) Baltimore Oriole (common & widespread nester; modest no’s. also may be “helpers” or simply non-breeders each summer here) - House Finch (common resident, & poss.-sparse passage migrant) American Goldfinch (common, & widely overlooked after about May 1st - why? - migrant warblers, etc., that’s why… also has nested in Manhattan, rather sparsely) House Sparrow (ubiquitous & pestilential usurper of native birds at nesting times, and in general, an overly well-fed pest bird of NYC) Thanks to all the quiet, patient, and caring birders who found so many birds of the past week[s], in a ‘classic’ & memorable period of spring migration herebouts. --- "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." - Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), U.S. wildlife biologist, conservationist, professor, author, best known for his book "A Sand County Almanac" (1949), which has sold more than two million copies. - quiet birding (birds provide soundscapes) to all, Tom Fiore manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
