Wednesday, Dec. 30th - N.Y. County (in N.Y. City) The two lingering Western Tanagers were each still present in their respective areas on Wednesday 12/30: one at West 22nd Street just east of Tenth Ave. in the Chelsea neighborhood, feeding on fruits in trees on that street at times in early morning, and a 2nd/different W. Tanager again seen, by other (multiple) observers both in Carl Schurz Park (off East End Ave. & the vicinity of East 86th St.), as well as in trees on East End Avenue opposite the park where there are some trees bearing fruit. In each location are also (nearby) Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, which may be providing a small ‘additional’ amount of sustenance for the tanagers, & for other birds that come to the sap flows of each location made more-readily available by the sapsuckers' workings. (However it is very unlikely that sap alone in these locations would sustain the tanagers for a long (winter) stay. It’s yet to be seen what may happen in each location once all the fruits are gone on nearby trees. On days of milder temperature recently, these tanagers have appeared to be finding arthropod prey items, although one might guess that such are becoming much scarcer as winter continues.
There are at least a couple of lingering Lincoln’s Sparrows in 2 parks (and there might be others, elsewhere), at Union Square Park, and in the n. end of Central Park at the (now-well-known) composting site of that park. A number of sightings of various Bald Eagles (in various age-related plumages) have continued, with one slightly more-dramatic sighting of an adult or nearly-adult eagle perched, at least for a short while, in Central Park very recently. The species has been seen now & then over the years, to come in to the C.P. reservoir, strafing the many ducks, gulls, & other waterbirds there in cooler / colder months, but that has been a generally-scarce behavior, based on all reports over the years. Bald Eagles have been near-regular along the Hudson river this season, again with varying plumages seen, off Manhattan, particularly (but not exclusively) from the northern portions of Manhattan, and there have also been multiple sightings of fly-overs from other parts of N.Y. County (in which Manhattan island is). A few Rusty Blackbirds have been lingering, esp. in Central Park, with one in the Ramble (there) the most-often seen lately. .. A Greater White-fronted Goose (of the Greenland-breeding form) had been seen by a number of us through Monday, Dec. 28th, at Randall’s Island (which is in N.Y. County), on that island’s n.w. & sometimes n.e. fields or in the Bronx Kill, which small waterway divides that island’s north edge from the mainland, of the Bronx. However it seems no one (including myself) has come up with that [species of] goose, anywhere in the county, since Monday 12/28. It’s possible that that particular bird is still nearby, and might show again at any particular location where seen previously. Or of course, it may have moved on, not to reappear in the same areas. On Wed., 12/30, after a search for the above goose, I happened on a (long-lingering) *adult* Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, photographed skulking a bit at the n.e. edge of Little Hell Gate salt marsh, later in the day. I had to go back to Dec. 12th, 2020, to find a prior photo-documented report of this species (& most likely, this same individual) at Randall’s Island (or anywhere in the county); that prior Dec. 12th sighting was also at Little Hell Gate marsh as was the one I found 12/30. Also seen in the immediate area was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet loosely associating with a lively group of over a dozen Black-capped Chickadees. And, although there may have been over 500 Canada Geese seen on the day at Randall’s, this was a diminution of the numbers seen there on some other recent days. (There was also a very-greatly-reduced number of Canada Geese in Central Park from 12/29 to just the very next day at that same location.) There have been lingering Great Blue Herons in multiple locations in N.Y. County, including regularly at Randall’s Isalnd; also regularly at & around northern Manhattan, esp. Inwood Hill lagoon / Muscota areas, & in other locations including in Central Park, etc., and far more unexpected for winter, a recent Black-crowned Night-Heron appeared in Central as well. ... Some (many ongoing) sightings in N.Y. County this week have included at least 80 species: Snow Goose (fly-overs headed generally south), Canada Goose, [Atlantic] Brant, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye (again seen on the Hudson River off vicinity of Inwood Hill Park, which is a potential ‘regular’ but rarely-reported area for the species; also quite-distantly off of Randall’s Island, mostly off the n.e. edges, and also may be in waters of another county), Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Great Cormorant (regular off Randall’s Island in winter, and possible elsewhere, esp. on parts of the rivers), Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, [Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron both only as noted above], Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture (scant, of both vulture spp. & as fly-overs only), Bald Eagle (multiples, as fly-overs), Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk (a few seem to be persisting, although also still possible as very late-movers; some have been seen hunting & perched in at least a few parks or other areas of Manhattan), Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, [American] Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, ['feral'] Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, owls of more than one species, Belted Kingfisher (in at least 2 locations, Inwood Hill lagoon area, and on Randall’s Island, esp. at the Bronx Kill), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (mulltiple locations scattered through Manhattan), Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Blue Jay, Common Raven, American Crow, Fish Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch (scant now), White-breasted Nuthatch (far more now than the prev. species), Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren (at least several in at least several locations, in more than one park & also in a few other locations), Golden-crowned Kinglet (scant), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, House Sparrow, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, WESTERN Tanager (2, as noted above in 2 entirely separate areas of Manhattan, several miles apart), Eastern Towhee, Dark-eyed [Slate-colored] Junco, American Tree Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow (a few reports, some with at least details, or photo), [Red] Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow (as noted above), Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole (not again reported as of 12/29, but might still be lingering in any of multiple locations), House Finch, American Goldfinch, and likely at least a few additional species. … On Monday, 12/28 I found & photographed a Syrphid fly (also known by common names “hover-flies” or “flower-flies”, these are in the family Syrphidae), *probably* of the genus Platycheirus, at Morningside Park in Manhattan (with ambient air temp. below 50 F.), and some of us who have observed this group of insects fairly often believe that some adults in some genera / species in the Syrphidae are likely able to and do overwinter as adults in the area; thus the possibility that with sufficient sun, and warmth, some of these could re-emerge - perhaps only briefly. This behavior is well-known in butterflies of some species that occur in N.Y. County, such as Mourning Cloak, Eastern Comma, and much less-commonly seen (in the county), by some other species of butterflies. As an example, Mourning Cloak is one butterfly species that has, with certainty been observed within every month of the calendar year in various places in the region- given a mild enough spell of sunny weather on winter days. In some cases, and same with other insects, there may be a 'micro-climate' situation for some of these emergences: a small sub-section of any particular location where the air can be warmed enough, under the right conditions, to allow for some adult insect activities. N.B., 2 other observers had found multiple Syrphid fly species and some in numbers, in mid-December, in Central Park’s n. end, & there also were at least a few more & later finds of those in same areas. Of mammals, I and others have been seeing (& getting a few photos of) the -"early/late”?- Groundhog, not seen in Central Park, but nearby. .. Good birding to all - and thanks to the many who also keep the birds’ best interests at heart, when out in the field - and limit any possible disturbances to the birds’ requirements for food, shelter, safety, and quiet, including for some birds now trying to roost undisturbed. Thanks also to all who have been sharing results of many C.B.C.’s being tallied, and some still to come! and to all, a healthy and happy New Year 2021, 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/ --
