On Saturday, July 20th, a Swallow-tailed Kite was seen and extensively photographed -with a phone- in Schenectady County, eastern NY state - the eBird report and its photos are also now archived in the Macaulay Library.
- - - New York County -in N.Y. City- including Manhattan, Randalls, Governors, and Roosevelt Islands, and the skies above, and some adjacent waters. Some additional shorebirds were moving thru with a modest number also stopping in within the county, those including some Semipalmated and Least and Spotted Sandpipers - there were far more shorebirds which seem not to have put down within the county, and simply flew past, and may have comprised a number of other species, including some of the larger regular and expected passage migrants such as yellowlegs, as well as some other types of shorebirds. The Killdeer in the county, including some nesting, have continued in the few sites where very-regular. Some relatively scant appearances have come from such migratory species as E. Phoebe, and possibly by other migrating flycatcher species including some which are annual breeders in the county - E. Kingbird being among the latter species - and also by such species as Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and by a few of the sparrow species that can, and do summer - White-throated Sparrows which are not breeding, but regularly summer thru in small numbers in N.Y. City including this county, and Chipping Sparrows which do breed in N.Y. County, including scantly in Central Park, and also elsewhere in the county. There are some swallows starting to move a bit more, as well as many which are still lingering in the areas where theyve nested or close-by - many of the latter being Barn Swallows. A number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been appearing in multiple locations, and at this point in summer, some may well be early-returnees making their way south. It is also - and will continue to be for all of the year - a time to have a closer look at any hummingbird with the ongoing possibility of some less-expected species in the east. Laughing Gulls have been noted in some locations in the county in slightly to more-than slightly higher numbers this summer, compared with other recent summers, some of the sightings also involving fairly good flights, presumed just relatively local in nature, in the countys airspace. A Forsters Tern was reported from the Hudson River this week, and by-far more typically-seen are ongoing Common Terns in this county, the latter especially out in N.Y. Harbor or nearby, and at the countys modest breeding colony out on Governors Island. The likeliest site in the county to encounter Yellow-crowned Night Heron is still at Randalls Island, although a few reports come from elsewhere within the county this month. At least one Hooded Merganser, of three originally at an extremely early July date, has lingered on at the reservoir of Central Park, and is still much earlier than more-typical early-arrival dates for the 2nd half of a year. Warblers which have been appearing in the past week or less in the county have included - Tennessee, Myrtle -also known as Yellow-rumped-, Northern Parula, Canada, Blue-winged, Worm-eating, Ovenbird, Black-and-white, Northern Waterthrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow Warblers - the latter in fairly good numbers as migrators in addition to those found successfully having nested in the county. It is fairly likely that more than just those dozen among American warbler species were on the move thru the county and local region, in this past week. Some sites have been getting both waterthrush species in close proximity to each other at times, recently. Still staying-on at Bryant Park was at least one male Mourning Warbler, that individual there since at least late May, and certainly not in any way attempting to breed, even if it was singing at times. A few other warblers may also have been summering in that small mid-Manhattan park, and for a few species that is not unprecedented at that site, such as for Ovenbird, or Common Yellowthroat, as 2 examples. At least some of the migrant stop-ins by warblers have come on Governors as well as Randalls Islands, and with more observers, still more might start to be noted from those islands in N.Y. County. Many of recent warbler sightings in the county were from Central Park, and also from multiple other parks and greenspaces in Manhattan. More migrants, of a variety of species, are fairly-likely in coming days as well. The usual early movements, far-earlier than the main migrations, of Red-winged Blackbirds has been ongoing thru the region, and also starting to filter they are some more Bobolinks. A hen Wild Turkey was ongoing in the past week on Roosevelt Island, with multiple observers still watching this very-very-long-lingering individual, in such a rather surprising location. Thanks to many keen observers and photographers, who were finding a lot of the birds in the past week or more. Another update on more migration is likely again soon. Good birding to all, Tom Fiore manhattan -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") NYSbirds-L List Info: NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsRULES_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm ARCHIVES: 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/nysbirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) birding_DOT_aba_DOT_org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ --
