New York County, including Governors Island, Randall’s Island, and Manhattan island, along with skies-above and nearby visible-waters. recently, thru Sunday, April 30th:
>From Governors Island, some sightings included American Oystercatcher and >Purple Sandpiper (several of the latter) for Sunday, 4/30; while Forster’s >Terns were seen from there, on-passage on 4/28 (and far less-regular there -or >in the county in general- as compared with Common Terns which are the 'usual >species’ of tern seen at Governors Island in season). A nice mix of other >migrants also have been found on and from Governors Island in recent days - >with some strong effort (hours) being put in there, in addition to regular >efforts made for Randall’s Island which has also had many species in fresh >residency or on-passage. 2 Boat-tailed Grackles were seen and photographed on >Governors Island on 4/30, where that species has also shown to others on some >recent days. Also seen by multiple keen observers from Governors Island were >such species as Purple Martin (photographed), Bonaparte’s Gull, Foster’s Terns >(few), Yellow-throated Vireo, Veery, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole, and (from >all observers combined), more than 1-dozen warbler species there on the >sometimes-wet Sunday, 4/30. Over 90 species in all were recorded from >Governors Island for all of 4/30/’23. From various sites in the morning hours >of 4/30, some Eastern Kingbirds were in the air actively migrating, as well as >sightings of modest no’s. multiples arriving to some locations, including in >breeding-sites such as in Central Park, and in many other county locations. Reviewing some of the shorebirds having passed thru this (rather 'shorebird-impoverished', generally) county so far - American Oystercatcher, Killdeer, Purple Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Calidris-sp. (perhaps just more Least SP), American Woodcock, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, and Lesser Yellowlegs (the latter two also heard while passing through), and of course others possibly having moved on - as many species have been elsewhere in and around the city and region. Warblers, including some migrators, were in the good mix of species seen for Randall’s Island on 4/30. A White-crowned Sparrow there was somehat likely still the individual that overwintered there, as noted multiple times to this list and often photo’d. during that long stay there. One of the same species had been re-sighted in recent days in Central Park even as a few more were pushing thru, not having all overwintered as did one in Central as well as on Randall’s. A small assortment of some shorebirds in the puddles, etc. at Randall’s Island included multiple Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, and perhaps others passing thru in some of the day’s rapidly moving and shifting rains and lulls-in-rains on cool easterly winds. Manhattan has continued to feature a number of the same species (as some had lingered on) of migrants, with at least 18 spp. of warblers present even in the damp-dreary (rainy, windy, sometimes just drizzly-foggy) days of the weekend, and also modest numbers of many other migrant songbirds. Central Park featured Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers and there also were 5 vireo species (again) noted there, by Sunday, the 5 being: Red-eyed, White-eyed, Yellow-throated, Warbling, and Blue-headed Vireos. Thrush species seen included Wood and Hermit Thrushes and Veery, as well as American Robins. Sparrows have included White-crowned, Lincoln’s, and Savannah both in low no’s. however. Chipping Sparrow continued tp push through, while White-throated Sparrows (which don't breed in N.Y. County) and E. Towhee have also been wonderfully vocal in their numbers still around now. For vocals (in song) some Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have been, while Baltimore and Orchard Orioles seem (to this listener) to have been giving calls as much or more than full songs, so far. Of songsters, it’s been great to hear (and see many) of the Purple Finches coming through sing, and to be able to compare those finch-y songs with that of Warbling Vireos which latter have been singing and setting up on their multiple nest-territories in the county. American Goldfinches (and House Finches) have been quite vocal recently. As have all three mimid species, with Brown Thrashers sometimes nicely hidden, sometimes not, giving full-throated song and of course N. Mockingbirds singing from almost any hours and locations, some a bit unexpected; Gray Catbirds are still yet to have their larger, obvious arrivals thru here, which ’should’ be any day now. Decent warbler variety, with only a couple of species in any larger numbers - Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird, N. Parula, Black-and-white Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and certainly Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warbler amongst those; there also were multiple (and some ongoing) Hooded Warblers still, and Blue-winged, and Yellow, as well as low-multiple Worm-eating Warblers, Nashville and American Redstart, plus Louisiana Waterthrush, Pine Warbler, and Black-throated Blue and (few) of Chestnut-sided and Magnolia Warblers. At least 18 warbler spp. on the 3-days of rainy weather, some of that w/ easterly winds locally. The overwintered Orange-crowned Warblers of recent weeks (and also many months) were perhaps not noted, and may have moved-on at last, in a phenology that would be rather expected. Even Sunday, 4/30 produced a minimum of 17 of the above-noted warbler spexies, and all of those 17 were found (park-wide) within Central Park on that day - mainly in-between and before bouts of heavy downpours. A LOT of various migrant species - and birds besides only warblers - have pushed thru and around to points-north (of N.Y. City) to reach or get closer to breeding territories by now, even as more are waiting to come on north. One-dozen species of warblers were seen and photographed by / with members of the Linnaean Society of N.Y. not-for-profit bird walk in Central Park on Sunday, 4/30. A minimum of 11 warbler species were seen in Riverside Park (some also singing) on Sunday, and warblers also featured in parks such as (the) Battery (with at least 9 species of warblers there in all of Sunday), Inwood Hill, and various many other parks and green-space in-between those two just on Manhattan island. Least Flycatchers have, as is typical, been the first of Empidonax [genus] flycatcher species to show, and have not been vocal, or not-much, where encountered. The Great Crested Flycatchers (which can breed in N.Y. County) have had a little more to say, at times, while the relatively-few E. Kingbirds so far arriving-passing have also seemed rather quiet. Many of the earlier E. Phoebes have moved on. Common Ravens have continued to be regular around the county, and Fish Crows somewhat increasingly-detected along with the typical many American Crows. Blue Jays were still around in good numbers, after a good many strong diurnal migratory movement-days - more so when weather was less wet! Red-breasted Nuthatches were continuing to be seen in the county, as are Purple Finches. An American Pipit was a nice addition to birds seen at Randall’s Island on April 30th. For Mute Swan ‘followers’, that species showed (x2) on the Harlem Meer in Central Park’s n-e sector on Sunday. Wood Ducks were found in a few locations, incuding more than one (drake) in Central Park on Sunday, as well as on prior days. And the same species was also seen again Sunday by Randall’s Island, as had been so many times in recent months. Thanks to the many, many observers out in even almost-all weathers lately, in many locations all thru the county, finding and reporting so much in bird-life. The leaf-out of shrubs and trees, and progression of plants coming into leaf, bud, bloom and even seed / fruit, seems nearly-unprecedented (or maybe is so) in its’ earliness compared with so many spring seasons of prior years. And, many of the massive numbers of migrant birds moving thru are responding in part by over-flying when they are able, which has been regularly, to areas well-beyond the county in search of the places / habitats they will choose to breed in. There is (some) leaf-out, bud and bloom - and insect / arthropod life for food - in many, many counties of NY state by now, as well as in New England, and into some of Canada as well. Good birding to all, and Happy MAY! 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/ --
