A Brown PELICAN first noted on Tuesday, Dec. 10th was been seen (& photographed) just off Battery Park, again on Wed., Dec. 11th, at the southern end of Manhattan island in New York City; the brown pelican has been seen on its rounds watching from the edge of NY harbor, near the s. section of the Battery. This is in the vicinity of both the ferry to the Statue of Liberty as well as the Staten Island ferry terminal (Manhattan side). Thanks to Ruth Danella for the initial 12/10 sighting & report, & to others for reports both ‘publicly’ & privately.
The better times to watch for this bird could be in mornings, but it also may around at any hours; we will see if it persists in the same area - certainly, like other recent sightings of this species in the region, these would be best-off were they much, much further south by now. At least a few of us were in that park -& area, at various times- on Thurs., 12/12, with no new pelican sightings. In Central Park, a RED-HEADED Woopecker has been remaining at & near its regular roost holes & vicinity, on the western side of the park, between N. Meadow ballfields (No. 2 field to the east) and near the park’s bridle path, a cindered, wide trail; the nearest park entry to here is by W. 97th St. from the N.E. corner of Central Park West. This woodpecker, present for many weeks by now, is just beginning to color up, but at a glance will not show obvious red in its plumage, yet. Watch for that to change in coming weeks & months, assuming it stays all winter. Also be aware that on very cold, very cloudy or stormy days, this & most red-headed woodpeckers in general may stay in their winter-roost hole[s] (much more than on sunny or milder days). A number of migrants that normally winter in tropical regions of the Americas have lingered in the area, including in Manhattan. Among the less-“expected” of these for this far into December is WOOD Thrush, at least one of which was continuing - it appears that at least two of this species are present & continuing in mid-town Manhattan’s small urban parks. The ‘default’ Catharus [genus] thrush species in the winter months in the northeast is Hermit Thrush, of which numbers are about now in Manhattan & beyond. A recently-documented Veery may or may not have moved on from midtown Manhattan. Various warblers have lingered as well, weathering recent light snows & multiple sub-freezing nights, etc. and these include Orange-crowned & Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Warblers as well as Ovenbirds & Common Yellowthroats, but with possibly a few other species also in the area, & which just might be turned up in the bird-count to be done this Sunday ALL around Manhattan. American Woodcock have made showings in multiple locations, with some of the more-often observed being in Bryant Park in midtown, as well as in parts of Central Park (each was ongoing in several locations) & Rusty Blackbirds were still showing in at least several locations in Central Park to late Thursday, 12/12. Plenty of more ‘standard' December-birds are around the city & some additional surprises may well crop up in the coming several weeks. Good luck to all those participating in some of many upcoming CBC’s. 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/[email protected]/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/ --
