Manhattan, N.Y. City - So far in this new year, as of Friday, 4th January, 2019; a rather diverse selection of species, many of them lingerers thru the end of autumn and on into the start of winter-season.
A male Evening Grosbeak has continued (thru 1/4), but can be difficult to find at times; it has been mainly in the area of Riverside Park from near about 117th to near 121 Streets, & at the north end of this range, in particular, are a very steep slope & just enough tangles & brambles to allow this bird to be hidden from easy view, but it also may be traveling to some farther areas that almost no one is visiting (for example, there is wooded habitat in a steeply-sloped area along an exit ramp of the W. Side Highway past W. 121 St. & continuing nearly 1/4 mile north, this is rarely looked-at by anyone, even in mild weather). There are some bird feeders in this park, a short way into the s. edge of the ‘sanctuary’ area, near about W. 117 St., slightly downhill from the closest park entrance to there. It could be worth looking there, & starting any seeking in that vicinity of this park. However, by at least 1 p.m. or before on Friday, the E. Grosbeak had moved to near about 119th & 120th St. within the park, not far up-slope from the entry area of the tennis courts that are below at that point. Many obs. were present for the afternoon viewing or attempts at; thanks to Karen Fung for some of the updates on-line, & of course to all reporting sightings including to this list. One further note, to access the Eve. Grosbeak area one is recommended to start out from Riverside Drive & enter the park; access from the Hudson river-path is a long, much-detoured route from north or south to the grosbeak area. At Morningside Park, also in the same very general area but a bit east of Riverside, there are at least 1 E. Phoebe continuing by a small pond (only pond of this size in that park) near about W. 113 St. & at the lower / eastern part of the park, & an Orange-crowned Warbler also lingering, the latter most often seen in an area near a large flat rock outcrop, near W. 120 St. & also in the eastern portion of the park, not too far from Morningside Ave. which borders the e. edges of all of this park. The latter warbler is occasionally seen up on a tree with sapsucker drill-wells, & a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is also present but moves about as does this warbler; check all of the nearby brushy areas, as well. (E. Phoebe is usually favoring the noted small pond, but at times may go up-slope, & possibly wanders farther at times; check esp. the rear of the pond area, & be patient, as it can sit still for long periods, in addition to being active). Various other species in Morningside Park have included Gray Catbird, which also have been seen in Riverside Park into the new year. Union Square Park, at E. 14-17th Streets in lower mid-Manhattan, is continuing to host at least the same 3 species of warblers as have been there for some weeks - Cape May (1st-fall plumage), Common Yellowthroat (male), & Ovenbird; also seen there have been lingering Yellow-bellied Sapsucker & Swamp Sparrow, along with more-usual in winter White-throated Sparrows. Finding the warblers here may at times be easy enough, but at times they can take a while top ‘show’ - perhaps easier in sun, which is more likely by mid-morning due to many surrounding high buildings, & on less-windy days, the Cape May at least may be a bit more inclined to show well. N.B. - this Cape May lingering into January is not a first for Manhattan, in the modern era, but is of course rather unusual & notable. The other known lingering warbler species in Manhattan this new year have all been seen in multiple other years to partly or fully overwinter there, although still of course rather notable for the season. An E. Bluebird (male) has been seen & photographed at the n. end of Central Park for the new year; it’s unclear if this could have been a lingering bird, as there were a very good showing of that species in the city, including esp. around Manhattan, in late autumn and some of these could reasonably have stayed on, esp. where appropriate habitat or good feeding was available, as parts of Central Park have had, & where other omnivorous frugivores such as American Robins have been rather regular. A White-crowned Sparrow (first-fall plumage) has continued on into the new year around the east side of Central Park, nearest to the E. 90th St. park entrance area, which is east of the C.P. reservoir; this bird may at times associate with house sparrows, and also some White-throated Sparrows, & seems to be wandering a bit, as the other sparrows also have; it may be that it also leaves the park, using habitat just to the east along & near Fifth Ave.; it is uncommon but not unprecedented to have an overwintering White-crowned Sparrow in Manhattan, Central Park has had this happen several times in the modern era. Chipping & Field Sparrows also have lingered on this new year, & a few American Tree Sparrows have been around, as have more usual wintering [Red] Fox Sparrows. A Baltimore Oriole has been ongoing at Fort Tryon Park, & it is possible that more than 1 individual are in that park, with sightings mostly in the s. half of the park proper, including near a restaurant that is a short way into the park from the s. entrance. This park had also hosted overwintering orioles of that species in the recent past. At least 2 Canvasbacks have been regular at the Harlem Piers along the Hudson river, a small park space north of W. 125th St., & it may be necessary to scan all the way north to as far as the edges of Riverbank State Park as well as the chance that these ducks will be hidden from view at times; this area has proven to be among the likelier places of occurence for Canvasback, a once-very-numerous species in the Central Park reservoir, mainly 20th-century, and scarce to rare there in more recent years. The species can & does also occur along the shore of Manhattan island, potentially at any site, with some areas on the Hudson (elsewhere from near 125th Street) also sometimes worth checking. Multiple species (& individuals) of owls have been seen around Manhattan, & more have been found-out by various observers checking in sites sometimes not regularly birded by that many people. While many observers have been respectful and aware that owls require rest & room to sleep in the day, & to hunt & be given some space at all times, this is a good time to remind all that it is against the law to play any amplified sounds at any time whatsoever in Central Park - this applies to all locations, at all times of both day & night, unless one has specific written permission from the appropriate NYC agency; a violation of this law is an offense that allows for both fines & jail, in the applicable city codes. Please exercise common sense around owls and all wildlife. Other species also include the following on, adjacent to, & over Manhattan island in the new year, thus far: Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Turkey Vulture (fly-by obs.) Canada Goose Brant Wood Duck Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Northern Shoveler Canvasback (Harlem piers area) Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Red-breasted Merganser (rivers) Ruddy Duck Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Coot Ring-billed Gull [American] Herring Gull Iceland Gull (*reported*) Great Black-backed Gull ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Barred Owl Great Horned Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Eastern Screech-owl Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Yellow-shafted Flicker Eastern Phoebe (Morningside Park, thru 1/4) Blue Jay American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird (New Year’s Day, poss. afterwards) Hermit Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing Eastern Towhee American Tree Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow [Red] Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow (Central Park near E. 90th) Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Baltimore Oriole (Fort Tryon Park, multiple sightings) Orange-crowned Warbler (Morningside Park, nr. 120th St.) Cape May Warbler (Union Square Park, a lingering bird) Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warbler (northern Manhattan] Ovenbird (several sightings in several parks & green-spaces) Common Yellowthroat (Union Square Park) House Sparrow Purple Finch House Finch American Goldfinch Evening Grosbeak (male, many observers, Riverside Park in areas from 116th-120th Sts.) & likely at least a few additional species, not including spp. poss. seen on outlying islands that are politically part of New York County, which includes (in part), Manhattan. - - - "Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.” - Henry David Thoreau (American writer, philosopher, naturalist, 1817-62) good 2019 birding 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/ --
