New York County (in N.Y. City), including Manhattan, Randall’s Island and Governors Island
Two W. Tanagers continued on in their respective areas of east-side and west-side of Manhattan, in the snow and then the cold and wind over the weekend. The Western Tanager staying in & around Carl Schurz Park remains the somewhat more readily-seen individual, and the one around West 47th-48th Sts. and the east side of Tenth Ave., including in the Clinton Community Garden as well as Hell’s Kitchen Park, and that vicinity, can be tough to locate at times. It’s also been on buildings, rooftops, etc. and can be elusive. (Either bird may take some patience!) - The update for Monday, Jan. 31st is that both birds did make it on through to that slightly milder day, both being seen (at least) in the bright sunny p.m. hours; the Clinton area tanager not so easy but in the trees on W. 48th, a bit east of Tenth Ave., whereas the Carl Schurz Park bird had multiple admirers in the area of & at the ‘usual’ feeder array (w. of the n.w. gate to Catbird Playground in the park). Also a Monday update, a Lesser Black-backed Gull was again sighted (w/ thanks to R. Zucker) at the reservoir in Central Park, as was at least 1 Iceland Gull. An Iceland Gull was seen (at least in-flight) from Governors Island on Sunday as well as Northern Harrier and other sightings there included Savannah Sparrows, & at least 2 American Pipits; Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warblers also continued there, in their typical habitat area. One Iceland Gull also visited the Central Park reservoir on Sunday (and was photo'd while in-flight there), & was among a somewhat limited number of the usual 3 gull species there. American Coots appeared in a couple of places over the weekend where not so regularly found (along the Hudson river off upper Manhattan), although the bulk were at the reservoir in Central Park, their most-reliable N.Y. County location. Several observers on Randall’s Island in the morning and afternoon on Saturday found at least several Horned Larks (down to perhaps 1 later in the day) and a flock of Snow Buntings (also perhaps somewhat fewer, under ten, by later in the day) there, with up to 3 Snow Geese also seen, two at a typical area. Later in the day, at least 3 Canvasback (all non-breeding or female plumaged) were lurking in the area south of the W. 70th St. pier, on the Hudson river, and some of the other spots where a higher no. had been the day before were not all checked, on Saturday. Also seen, with 100+ Mallards and a couple of American Black Ducks was the long-visiting drake N. Pintail, by the W. 79th St. boat-basin, along the Hudson. At least 4 Common Goldeneyes were found on N.Y. County waters, one still around the n. end of Manhattan, out in the channel beyond Muscota marsh at Inwood Hill Park’s extreme n.e. corner, and another in the channel off the s. side of Randall’s Island, one of the latter in female plumage. Sunday on Randall’s Island featured 3 Snow Geese, and an obvious increase of some waterfowl, esp. [Atlantic] Brant, but also some of the duckage. At least one Common Goldeneye was present off Randall’s Island and not too far-out: on Sunday, this was a drake. Another drake Common Goldeneye was out in the Hudson River south of Dyckman St. on Sunday, this may be a lingerng bird as well. Many waterfowl have been moving and some duck spp. were showing in areas where not so regularly found, including in the lower reaches of both E. & Hudson Rivers, and next to and in the N.Y. Harbor; these have included 3 species of merganser, Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Duck, and both of our Scaup spp., all in modest to minimal no’s. however. A Monday 1/31 update was that there were at least a half-dozen Common Goldeneyes scattered about the county’s waters, with at least 3 east of Manhattan (Randall’s Island & vicinity) and 3 more on the n. and west of Manhattan (Hudson River & the Spuyten Dyvil creek area), but certainly there may be more of the species around. I again checked some (but not all) of areas where Canvasbacks had shown just recently, and came up with zero for Mon., but there could be some in the area now, and waterfowl may continue to shuffle around the region in coming weeks. The ‘popular’ Am. Tree Sparrow in the Central Park Ramble also continued, while others of that species were in that park and elsewhere, albeit in minimal no’s., & a fairly high no. (for mid-winter) of Chipping Sparrows were noted at C.P.’s north end (with other locations scattered around the northeast also having multiples of Chipping Sparrows in the past week or longer). A female-plumaged Long-tailed Duck was continuing at least to Sunday, in the Ruddy Duck flock at Central Park’s reservoir, where varied other waterfowl lingering includes Wood Duck. With further incursions by more than one Bald Eagle, this winter has certainly (already) seen more visits by that raptor species to that reservoir than any other in past memory. Some Common Ravens were again noted in at least several locations around the county. Rusty Blackbirds are being found, most of the sightings from Central Park (several areas, including the Ramble area) with perhaps up to 3 or more in that park; also a few sightings elsewhere; there are also a modest no. of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles in scattered locations. (Although quite rare in NY state, it’s worth keeping in mind that Brewer’s Blackbird does occur in the east, and there is always the potential for that western species to show; it has been documented in Manhattan -in Central Park- more than once in the past - careful ID required, and nowadays, a photo or video is a good addition). The American Tree Sparrow that showed at the Central Park Ramble feeder area is one that got noticed, as in other winters, that individual might stay in that area for a bit; others of the species liking areas that can be less-watched. Fairly good no’s. of [Red] Fox Sparrow have also continued, especially as seen at Central Park, but with others elsewhere. Chipping & (1) Field Sparrow were lingering at Central Park’s n. end, where a lot of observers have been but focusing mostly in just one or two small areas. Modest no’s. of American Robins have been ongoing at a number of areas around Manhattan, with some at least at times on the outlying islands of the county as well. Very few Cedar Waxwings seem to have lingered, however. A further influx or shuffling-up of frugivore songbirds is still very possible as winter goes along into February. Happy New Year to those celebrating now, good birding to all, Tom Fiore New York -- 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/ --
