[nysbirds-l] "Heading home... in the opposite direction"
From: rada...@msn.com To: nysbirds-l@cornell.edu Subject: Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:04:32 -0400 After spending Tuesday night in Scarsdale helping my brother celebrate his 70th birthday, rather than getting involved in Wednesday morning's commuter traffic, I chose to head north a bit to the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch, located just over the N.Y. border at the Audubon Center in Greenwich Connecticut. It turned out to be wise choice, seeing a number of FOS birds, while either taking part in the "watch", or walking some of the center's very productive trails. N. Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Bald Eagle, Lincoln's Sparrow and Purple Finch all made for a wonderful morning! Cheers, Bob -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Merlin, Eastern Meadowlark @ EPCAL
I was at *EPCAL* from 5-6 this evening and had 1 *Merlin* fly over in addition to many *American* *Kestrels* and 1 *Northern* *Harrier*. I flushed an *Eastern* *Meadowlark* fro the south end of the runway while driving and there were many *Savannah* *Sparrows* around. Photos of some of the birds can be seen here: http://birdsoflongisland.blogspot.com/2010/10/savannah-sparrows-galore.html -- - Luke www.WildLongIsland.blogspot.com www.BirdsOfLongIsland.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] WNY Buffalo Bird Report 21 Oct 2010
- RBA * New York * Buffalo * 10/21/2010 * NYBU1010.21 - Birds mentioned --- Please submit email to dfsuggs localnet com --- RUFF WHITE-EYED VIREO BRANT Lesser Scaup White-winged Scoter Bufflehead Bald Eagle Peregrine Falcon Black-bellied Plover Greater Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Common Raven Marsh Wren Fox Sparrow - Transcript Hotline: Buffalo Bird Report at the Buffalo Museum of Science Date: 10/21/2010 Number: 716-896-1271 To Report:Same Compiler: David F. Suggs (dfsuggs localnet com) Coverage: Western New York and adjacent Ontario Website: www.BuffaloOrnithologicalSociety.org Thursday, October 21, 2010 The Buffalo Bird Report is a service provided by your Buffalo Museum of Science and the Buffalo Ornithological Society. Press (2) to leave a message, (3) for updates, meeting and field trip information and (4) for instructions on how to report sightings. To contact the Science Museum, call 896-5200. Highlights of reports received October 14 through October 21 from the Niagara Frontier Region include RUFF, WHITE-EYED VIREO and BRANT. October 18 at the Batavia Waste Water Plant, a juvenile RUFF at the first ponds by the office. This appears to be the first fall record of RUFF in the BOS archives. The bird has not been relocated. A juvenile WHITE-EYED VIREO, October 17, at Hunters Creek Park in the Erie County Town of Wales. There are less than five October records of this species in the archives. October 21, four BRANT over Grand Island. Other Grand Island Reports ? OSPREY on the West River Parkway and two FOX SPARROWS by the East River. October 17 in Fort Erie, Ontario, at the Jaeger Rocks area by Adelaide Street, 10 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS plus 2 LESSER SCAUP, 5 BUFFLEHEADS, and numbers of WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and BONAPARTE'S GULLS. The AMERICAN AVOCETS, found earlier in the month at Times Beach Nature Preserve on the Buffalo waterfront were not found this week, though 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS and 2 MARSH WRENS were at the preserve on the 17th. Other recent reports - from the Southern Tier, an unexpected COMMON RAVEN in a parking lot in the City of Olean. On Grand Island, OSPREY still on the West River and two FOX SPARROWS by the East River. In the Iroquois Refuge, BALD EAGLES may have re-built a nest at Cayuga Pool. And, a PEREGRINE FALCON over I-990 in the Town of Amherst.The Bird Report will be updated Thursday evening, October 28. Please call in your sightings by noon Thursday. You may report sightings after the tone. Thank you for calling and reporting. - End Transcript -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Linnaean Society Meeting Announcement
THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK SPEAKERS PROGRAM Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m. The American Museum of Natural History, Linder Theater Speaker: Richard Prum, William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University; Curator of Ornithology and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History Subject: The Evolution of Beauty Sexual selection by mate choice is a powerful evolutionary force which creates the form of diverse sexual advertisements including many plumage color patterns, displays, and songs in birds. It is currently popular to hypothesize that most of these sexual advertisements are indicators of mate quality, but the alternative hypothesis is that these sexual signals are arbitrary– in other words "merely beautiful." The talk will explore extraordinary avian intersexual display behaviors and songs, and discuss whether quality indication theory in sexual selection can explain the actual diversity of avian signals. Prum will propose that Darwin was precisely correct in his original characterization of mate preferences as "aesthetic sensibilities," and discuss an alternative model of sexual selection as an example of a new field of study– Evolutionary Aesthetics Richard Prum received an A.B. (1982) from Harvard University and a Ph.D. (1989) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He has published extensively in several areas including developmental biology, optical physics, molecular genetics, phylogenetics, paleontology, and behavior ecology to address central questions about bird development, evolution, and behavior. In 2009, Richard Prum received the prestigious MacArthur Fellow Foundation Award. The meeting is open to the public, without charge. Please join us for what will undoubtedly be a very exciting talk. Enter the Museum at West 77th Street. If you would like to meet Dr. Prum prior to the talk, join us at Pappardella's Restaurant, 75th Street and Columbus Avenue at 6 p.m. The reservation will be in the name of Alice. Alice Deutsch, Vice President -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] rough leg hawk
sunday morning at the hook mt hawk watch in nyack ny we had a somewhat distant dark morph rough leg hawk. it was too far away to photograph but easily identifiable with binoculars. it was my first rough leg hawk at the watch in my 10 years of being up there. then yesterday i had a light morph rough leg come right into the watch site and pass by closely on the south side of the mountain. this one i was able to photograph and i should have pictures up on my website in the next day or 2. none in 10 years and then 2 in 3 days. dont know what to make of that. steve sachs white plains, ny www.stevesachsphotography.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] updates on the Prothonotary Warbler in NYC
Thursday, 21 October, 2010 Again all, I'll add that the ebirdsnyc list-serve is getting good use from reporters giving updates on the mid-town Manhattan (NYC) Prothonotary Warbler. Check it out at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebirdsnyc/messages Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Prothonotary Warbler, midtown Manhattan NYC 10/21
Thursday, 21 October, 2010 A brightly-plumaged PROTHONOTARY Warbler has been discovered as of mid- day today next to the front facade and plantings of the main branch of the New York Public Library, at 41 Street and Fifth Avenue in mid-town Manhattan, New York City. The warbler, seemingly rather unfazed (to some extent) by all the city bustle everywhere around it, has been seen especially just to the left (if facing the library with one's back to Fifth Avenue) of the large & well-known statues of the library lions - in the shrubberies & flowers, as well as coming out on bare earth & even several times or more onto the stone with various birders and many other city-goers all around, above and amongst other birds including more than a few White-thraoted Sparrows as well as more typical city dwellers as feral introduced Rock Pigeons & House Sparrows. The Prothonotary was seen by well over a dozen birders as of 3 p.m. and more folks were continuing to arrive to look for it in that area. It does not appear to be an adult male as I had first thought on an initial look, and it would be interesting to be able to look at any photos rtaken to try & judge whether it might have any apparent visible injuries. By behavior it is feeding well but it's open to question whether bagels & scones & scraps of sandwiches are a good diet for a wood-warbler normally attracted to wooded swampy habitats... This bird was at least briefly said to have gone to or towards the 42 Street side of Fifth Ave. by the library building's plantings, but has been mainly south of the front main entrance as of 3 p.m. and before, since it was first found in mid-day. It initially was also seen very close to 40 Street & Fifth Avenue. This is all easy enough to walk & it would be best to coordinate effort with any other birders present. The bird has been habitually appearing just left of the main steps in what seems to be a slightly quieter "corner" of the shrub & flower plantings, where there is a bit more visibility for observation. A great find - the young man who discovered this is an employee of the New York Public Library there, and has seen many other species in the surrounding Bryant Park although this species is definitely a first for that list! If the bird continues to be seen through the day & especially if seen early on Friday, reports should be posted so that others might have an opportunity to view the unusual mid-town (as well as late-season) urban visitor. Good luck, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] LI Snow Bunting and Vesper Sparrow
Joan Quinlan just called to report a Vesper Sparrow this morning near the volleyball courts at Field 2 Robert Moses SP, southwestern Suffolk County. On Monday, 18 Oct, she saw the first Snow Bunting I'm aware of for LI this season, at Cedar Beach, across the inlet from RMSP. Shai Mitra Bay Shore Think green before you print this email. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Hudson-Mohawk Birdline
This is a summary of the Hudson-Mohawk Birdline reports for the week ending October 20, 2010. Report your sightings in New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region to birdl...@hmbc.net Eighty-two species were reported this week. Best birds of the week: CACKLING GOOSE: Brunswick 10/16, 10/19 (2+), 10/20 (4). BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON: Waterford 10/19. GOLDEN EAGLE: Eagle Bridge 10/14. NORTHERN GOSHAWK: Partridge Run 10/14. MERLIN: Waterford 10/19. WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER: Tomhannock 10/14, 10/17. PECTORAL SANDPIPER: Tomhannock 10/14; Rensselaerville 10/20. BONAPARTE'S GULL: Saratoga Lake 10/16. NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL: Berne 10/18. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER: Partridge Run 10/14. Other notable sightings: Greater Scaup: Loughberry Lake 10/15 (2). Black Scoter: Tomhannock 10/16 (6); Round Lake 10/16 (23). Ruffed Grouse: Middle Grove 10/14. Common Loon: Tomhannock 10/14. Great Egret: Tomhannock 10/16; Waterford 10/19. Osprey: Saratoga Lake 10/16; Collins Lake 10/18, 10/19. Bald Eagle: Cohoes Falls 10/13; Tomhannock 10/14 (2); Round Lake 10/16 (2). Northern Harrier: Tomhannock 10/14; Brunswick 10/18. Sharp-shinned Hawk: Brunswick 10/18 (4). Cooper's Hawk: Albany 10/18; Brunswick 10/18. American Kestrel: Tomhannock 10/17. American Coot: Collins Lake 10/19 (2). Wilson's Snipe: Rensselaerville 10/20 (2). Eastern Screech-Owl: New Baltimore 10/18. Chimney Swift: Albany 10/18. Carolina Wren: Scotia 10/18 (2). Eastern Bluebird: Tomhannock 10/17 (4); East Greenbush 10/18 (12+); Saratoga 10/20. Hermit Thrush: Lisha Kill 10/17 (3). American Pipit: Rensselaerville 10/17 (6). Palm Warbler: Meadowdale 10/17. Savannah Sparrow: Coxsackie Grasslands 10/17 (15). White-Crowned Sparrow: East Greenbush 10/14 (3); Brunswick 10/18 (2). Purple Finch: Brunswick 10/18 (3); East Greenbush 10/19 (2); Saratoga 10/20. Pine Siskin: East Greenbush 10/19. Thanks to Steve Abrahamsen (Saratoga, Saratoga Lake, Larry Alden (Meadowdale), Loughberry Lake, Tomhannock 10/16; Brunswick 10/16), Michael Batcher (Eagle Bridge), Gerry Colborn (Rensselaerville 10/20), Chris Connell (Middle Grove), Judy Dietz (Scotia, Collins Lake 10/18), Rich Guthrie (New Baktimore, Coxsackie Grasslands), John Hershey (Tomhannock 10/17), Bill Lee (Lisha Kill), Alan Mapes (Waterford), Curt Morgan (Cohoes Falls), Jeff Nadler (Collins Lake 10/19), Will Raup (Albany), Alan Schroeder (Brunswick 10/18, Tomhannock 10/18), Brad Walker (Brunswick 10/16, 10/18, 10/19) and T. Lloyd Williams (Rensselaerville 10/17, Partridge Run, Berne). Tomhannock 10/14 sightings by the Thursday group led by Bill Lee. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Central & Riverside Parks, NYC 10/17-20
Central Park & Riverside Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Clearly there has been a great flight ongoing so far this week with Sunday, 17 October having many birds on the move, including overnight from Saturday night into Sunday as well as a fairly good diurnal flight that encompassed much of the region, in New York City and Long Island & much of the northeast thru mid-Atlantic. Essentially this was a very broad continental cold front. By Monday night and Tuesday morning, a "blocking" weather system with rain had worked in from the west lying immediately south of Long Island and especially just south of much of New York City, which contributed to a fall-out of some proportion for Tuesday, perhaps not quite "historic" in nature but still very notable in terms of sheer numbers of a wide variety of species including many nocturnal migrants and even some that are also diurnal migrators. The city parks were alive with tens of thousands of birds, many feeding low or on the ground, on Tuesday and that continued well into the day if not through the entire day in a busy, heavily-used, bustling place as Central Park in Manhattan. The spectacle was notable and was noticed to at least a small extent even by non-birders out & about. There was also a significant fall-out in the most urban areas of city streets and avenues, as seen in street trees and small patches of shrubbery around buildings. This could have been the largest such movement this autumn of this kind in the city of New York but only time will tell. Also I can't speak to the flights that occurred in the 3 weeks up to this Sunday, as I only know what was to be found in the central Amazonian regions of Brazil at that time: a whole lot of birds and much more! Monday, 18 October 2010 - An Orange-crowned Warbler (Riverside Park perimeter wall area near W. 109 Street) was the highlight for semi-rarity but there were many, many other birds in Riverside Park as well. At Central Park another good morning movement which included a great flight of Purple Finch, hundreds of which poured through mostly continuing on in the first 90 minutes of daylight. There also were ongoing movements of such typical mid-fall movers as Wood Duck, raptors including Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawk, Red- shouldered Hawk (2) and a few "extra" Red-tailed hawks (beyond the ones which have likely been around the area thru the months or years), and such land-birds as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, N. [Yellow- shafted] Flicker, Eastern Phoebe (in reduced numbers), Blue Jay (many), Blue-headed Vireo (also reduced), Tree Swallow (high overhead as seems typical viewed from here in fall), Black-capped Chickadee (migrants), Brown Creeper (substantial movement), Ruby-crowned (many) and Golden-crowned (fewer) Kinglets, Winter Wren (many), Hermit Thrush (abundant), Swainson's Thrush (2), Wood Thrush (one seen well, not all that late but uncommon by now), American Robin (many migrants), Eastern Bluebird (several fly-bys at Central Park), Gray Catbird (much reduced), Brown Thrasher (also reduced), American Pipit (small numbers & not easy to spot amongst all the other species except when low & calling typically), Cedar Waxwing (many), and at least these warblers: Cape May (5, 4 of these in the area of the Pinetum (west & east) with elms and other deciduous trees (and not really visiting the pine trees, as has been the case with previous sightings), Northern Parula, Black-throated Green (3+), Black-thraoted Blue (2 males & 2 or more females), Palm (mainly "Eastern/Yellow") & Pine (few) Warblers, Myrtle [Yellow-rumped] Warbler (many, but probably less of a flight than in days before), Common Yellowthroat (2), Nashville Warbler (1 in Central Park's wildflower meadow), Wilson's Warbler (bright individual & perhaps the western-breeding form which is more likely as the season progresses to winter, this one in the area at the perimeter wall of the park between W. 100 & 103 Streets, which is west of The Pool), & Northern Waterthrush (along the small steam sometimes dubbed with the name of a wooden bridge from which the water flows, the "triplets" bridge near & northeast of West 77 Street's park entry ramp, and a fairly good place to check for late-season lingerers at the turn of the seasons, and - Sparrows of at least 9 species including an (first of season for me) "Eastern" / 'Red' Fox Sparrow (at Riverside Park), & Eastern Towhee, Savannah, Song, Swamp, Chipping, Field, Lincoln's (1), White-throated (thousands throughout the 2 parks & beyond), & White-crowned (several noted) Sparrows, along with Slate-colored Juncos in numbers, Rusty Blackbird (several in the Loch, as well as a few seen foraging for a while in grassy areas, where more often not seen), Indigo Bunting (3), and as noted at top of this paragraph set, at least 150, likely many more, Purple Finch moving through in the
[nysbirds-l] Central Riverside Parks, NYC 10/17-20
Central Park Riverside Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Clearly there has been a great flight ongoing so far this week with Sunday, 17 October having many birds on the move, including overnight from Saturday night into Sunday as well as a fairly good diurnal flight that encompassed much of the region, in New York City and Long Island much of the northeast thru mid-Atlantic. Essentially this was a very broad continental cold front. By Monday night and Tuesday morning, a blocking weather system with rain had worked in from the west lying immediately south of Long Island and especially just south of much of New York City, which contributed to a fall-out of some proportion for Tuesday, perhaps not quite historic in nature but still very notable in terms of sheer numbers of a wide variety of species including many nocturnal migrants and even some that are also diurnal migrators. The city parks were alive with tens of thousands of birds, many feeding low or on the ground, on Tuesday and that continued well into the day if not through the entire day in a busy, heavily-used, bustling place as Central Park in Manhattan. The spectacle was notable and was noticed to at least a small extent even by non-birders out about. There was also a significant fall-out in the most urban areas of city streets and avenues, as seen in street trees and small patches of shrubbery around buildings. This could have been the largest such movement this autumn of this kind in the city of New York but only time will tell. Also I can't speak to the flights that occurred in the 3 weeks up to this Sunday, as I only know what was to be found in the central Amazonian regions of Brazil at that time: a whole lot of birds and much more! Monday, 18 October 2010 - An Orange-crowned Warbler (Riverside Park perimeter wall area near W. 109 Street) was the highlight for semi-rarity but there were many, many other birds in Riverside Park as well. At Central Park another good morning movement which included a great flight of Purple Finch, hundreds of which poured through mostly continuing on in the first 90 minutes of daylight. There also were ongoing movements of such typical mid-fall movers as Wood Duck, raptors including Sharp-shinned Cooper's Hawk, Red- shouldered Hawk (2) and a few extra Red-tailed hawks (beyond the ones which have likely been around the area thru the months or years), and such land-birds as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, N. [Yellow- shafted] Flicker, Eastern Phoebe (in reduced numbers), Blue Jay (many), Blue-headed Vireo (also reduced), Tree Swallow (high overhead as seems typical viewed from here in fall), Black-capped Chickadee (migrants), Brown Creeper (substantial movement), Ruby-crowned (many) and Golden-crowned (fewer) Kinglets, Winter Wren (many), Hermit Thrush (abundant), Swainson's Thrush (2), Wood Thrush (one seen well, not all that late but uncommon by now), American Robin (many migrants), Eastern Bluebird (several fly-bys at Central Park), Gray Catbird (much reduced), Brown Thrasher (also reduced), American Pipit (small numbers not easy to spot amongst all the other species except when low calling typically), Cedar Waxwing (many), and at least these warblers: Cape May (5, 4 of these in the area of the Pinetum (west east) with elms and other deciduous trees (and not really visiting the pine trees, as has been the case with previous sightings), Northern Parula, Black-throated Green (3+), Black-thraoted Blue (2 males 2 or more females), Palm (mainly Eastern/Yellow) Pine (few) Warblers, Myrtle [Yellow-rumped] Warbler (many, but probably less of a flight than in days before), Common Yellowthroat (2), Nashville Warbler (1 in Central Park's wildflower meadow), Wilson's Warbler (bright individual perhaps the western-breeding form which is more likely as the season progresses to winter, this one in the area at the perimeter wall of the park between W. 100 103 Streets, which is west of The Pool), Northern Waterthrush (along the small steam sometimes dubbed with the name of a wooden bridge from which the water flows, the triplets bridge near northeast of West 77 Street's park entry ramp, and a fairly good place to check for late-season lingerers at the turn of the seasons, and - Sparrows of at least 9 species including an (first of season for me) Eastern / 'Red' Fox Sparrow (at Riverside Park), Eastern Towhee, Savannah, Song, Swamp, Chipping, Field, Lincoln's (1), White-throated (thousands throughout the 2 parks beyond), White-crowned (several noted) Sparrows, along with Slate-colored Juncos in numbers, Rusty Blackbird (several in the Loch, as well as a few seen foraging for a while in grassy areas, where more often not seen), Indigo Bunting (3), and as noted at top of this paragraph set, at least 150, likely many more, Purple Finch moving through in the first 90+ minutes of light,
[nysbirds-l] Hudson-Mohawk Birdline
This is a summary of the Hudson-Mohawk Birdline reports for the week ending October 20, 2010. Report your sightings in New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region to birdl...@hmbc.net Eighty-two species were reported this week. Best birds of the week: CACKLING GOOSE: Brunswick 10/16, 10/19 (2+), 10/20 (4). BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON: Waterford 10/19. GOLDEN EAGLE: Eagle Bridge 10/14. NORTHERN GOSHAWK: Partridge Run 10/14. MERLIN: Waterford 10/19. WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER: Tomhannock 10/14, 10/17. PECTORAL SANDPIPER: Tomhannock 10/14; Rensselaerville 10/20. BONAPARTE'S GULL: Saratoga Lake 10/16. NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL: Berne 10/18. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER: Partridge Run 10/14. Other notable sightings: Greater Scaup: Loughberry Lake 10/15 (2). Black Scoter: Tomhannock 10/16 (6); Round Lake 10/16 (23). Ruffed Grouse: Middle Grove 10/14. Common Loon: Tomhannock 10/14. Great Egret: Tomhannock 10/16; Waterford 10/19. Osprey: Saratoga Lake 10/16; Collins Lake 10/18, 10/19. Bald Eagle: Cohoes Falls 10/13; Tomhannock 10/14 (2); Round Lake 10/16 (2). Northern Harrier: Tomhannock 10/14; Brunswick 10/18. Sharp-shinned Hawk: Brunswick 10/18 (4). Cooper's Hawk: Albany 10/18; Brunswick 10/18. American Kestrel: Tomhannock 10/17. American Coot: Collins Lake 10/19 (2). Wilson's Snipe: Rensselaerville 10/20 (2). Eastern Screech-Owl: New Baltimore 10/18. Chimney Swift: Albany 10/18. Carolina Wren: Scotia 10/18 (2). Eastern Bluebird: Tomhannock 10/17 (4); East Greenbush 10/18 (12+); Saratoga 10/20. Hermit Thrush: Lisha Kill 10/17 (3). American Pipit: Rensselaerville 10/17 (6). Palm Warbler: Meadowdale 10/17. Savannah Sparrow: Coxsackie Grasslands 10/17 (15). White-Crowned Sparrow: East Greenbush 10/14 (3); Brunswick 10/18 (2). Purple Finch: Brunswick 10/18 (3); East Greenbush 10/19 (2); Saratoga 10/20. Pine Siskin: East Greenbush 10/19. Thanks to Steve Abrahamsen (Saratoga, Saratoga Lake, Larry Alden (Meadowdale), Loughberry Lake, Tomhannock 10/16; Brunswick 10/16), Michael Batcher (Eagle Bridge), Gerry Colborn (Rensselaerville 10/20), Chris Connell (Middle Grove), Judy Dietz (Scotia, Collins Lake 10/18), Rich Guthrie (New Baktimore, Coxsackie Grasslands), John Hershey (Tomhannock 10/17), Bill Lee (Lisha Kill), Alan Mapes (Waterford), Curt Morgan (Cohoes Falls), Jeff Nadler (Collins Lake 10/19), Will Raup (Albany), Alan Schroeder (Brunswick 10/18, Tomhannock 10/18), Brad Walker (Brunswick 10/16, 10/18, 10/19) and T. Lloyd Williams (Rensselaerville 10/17, Partridge Run, Berne). Tomhannock 10/14 sightings by the Thursday group led by Bill Lee. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] LI Snow Bunting and Vesper Sparrow
Joan Quinlan just called to report a Vesper Sparrow this morning near the volleyball courts at Field 2 Robert Moses SP, southwestern Suffolk County. On Monday, 18 Oct, she saw the first Snow Bunting I'm aware of for LI this season, at Cedar Beach, across the inlet from RMSP. Shai Mitra Bay Shore Think green before you print this email. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Prothonotary Warbler, midtown Manhattan NYC 10/21
Thursday, 21 October, 2010 A brightly-plumaged PROTHONOTARY Warbler has been discovered as of mid- day today next to the front facade and plantings of the main branch of the New York Public Library, at 41 Street and Fifth Avenue in mid-town Manhattan, New York City. The warbler, seemingly rather unfazed (to some extent) by all the city bustle everywhere around it, has been seen especially just to the left (if facing the library with one's back to Fifth Avenue) of the large well-known statues of the library lions - in the shrubberies flowers, as well as coming out on bare earth even several times or more onto the stone with various birders and many other city-goers all around, above and amongst other birds including more than a few White-thraoted Sparrows as well as more typical city dwellers as feral introduced Rock Pigeons House Sparrows. The Prothonotary was seen by well over a dozen birders as of 3 p.m. and more folks were continuing to arrive to look for it in that area. It does not appear to be an adult male as I had first thought on an initial look, and it would be interesting to be able to look at any photos rtaken to try judge whether it might have any apparent visible injuries. By behavior it is feeding well but it's open to question whether bagels scones scraps of sandwiches are a good diet for a wood-warbler normally attracted to wooded swampy habitats... This bird was at least briefly said to have gone to or towards the 42 Street side of Fifth Ave. by the library building's plantings, but has been mainly south of the front main entrance as of 3 p.m. and before, since it was first found in mid-day. It initially was also seen very close to 40 Street Fifth Avenue. This is all easy enough to walk it would be best to coordinate effort with any other birders present. The bird has been habitually appearing just left of the main steps in what seems to be a slightly quieter corner of the shrub flower plantings, where there is a bit more visibility for observation. A great find - the young man who discovered this is an employee of the New York Public Library there, and has seen many other species in the surrounding Bryant Park although this species is definitely a first for that list! If the bird continues to be seen through the day especially if seen early on Friday, reports should be posted so that others might have an opportunity to view the unusual mid-town (as well as late-season) urban visitor. Good luck, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] updates on the Prothonotary Warbler in NYC
Thursday, 21 October, 2010 Again all, I'll add that the ebirdsnyc list-serve is getting good use from reporters giving updates on the mid-town Manhattan (NYC) Prothonotary Warbler. Check it out at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebirdsnyc/messages Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] rough leg hawk
sunday morning at the hook mt hawk watch in nyack ny we had a somewhat distant dark morph rough leg hawk. it was too far away to photograph but easily identifiable with binoculars. it was my first rough leg hawk at the watch in my 10 years of being up there. then yesterday i had a light morph rough leg come right into the watch site and pass by closely on the south side of the mountain. this one i was able to photograph and i should have pictures up on my website in the next day or 2. none in 10 years and then 2 in 3 days. dont know what to make of that. steve sachs white plains, ny www.stevesachsphotography.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Linnaean Society Meeting Announcement
THE LINNAEAN SOCIETY OF NEW YORK SPEAKERS PROGRAM Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m. The American Museum of Natural History, Linder Theater Speaker: Richard Prum, William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University; Curator of Ornithology and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History Subject: The Evolution of Beauty Sexual selection by mate choice is a powerful evolutionary force which creates the form of diverse sexual advertisements including many plumage color patterns, displays, and songs in birds. It is currently popular to hypothesize that most of these sexual advertisements are indicators of mate quality, but the alternative hypothesis is that these sexual signals are arbitrary– in other words merely beautiful. The talk will explore extraordinary avian intersexual display behaviors and songs, and discuss whether quality indication theory in sexual selection can explain the actual diversity of avian signals. Prum will propose that Darwin was precisely correct in his original characterization of mate preferences as aesthetic sensibilities, and discuss an alternative model of sexual selection as an example of a new field of study– Evolutionary Aesthetics Richard Prum received an A.B. (1982) from Harvard University and a Ph.D. (1989) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He has published extensively in several areas including developmental biology, optical physics, molecular genetics, phylogenetics, paleontology, and behavior ecology to address central questions about bird development, evolution, and behavior. In 2009, Richard Prum received the prestigious MacArthur Fellow Foundation Award. The meeting is open to the public, without charge. Please join us for what will undoubtedly be a very exciting talk. Enter the Museum at West 77th Street. If you would like to meet Dr. Prum prior to the talk, join us at Pappardella's Restaurant, 75th Street and Columbus Avenue at 6 p.m. The reservation will be in the name of Alice. Alice Deutsch, Vice President -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Heading home... in the opposite direction
From: rada...@msn.com To: nysbirds-l@cornell.edu Subject: Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:04:32 -0400 After spending Tuesday night in Scarsdale helping my brother celebrate his 70th birthday, rather than getting involved in Wednesday morning's commuter traffic, I chose to head north a bit to the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch, located just over the N.Y. border at the Audubon Center in Greenwich Connecticut. It turned out to be wise choice, seeing a number of FOS birds, while either taking part in the watch, or walking some of the center's very productive trails. N. Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Bald Eagle, Lincoln's Sparrow and Purple Finch all made for a wonderful morning! Cheers, Bob -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
