[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 9/5-6-7
Tues.- Wed.- Thursday, 5th-6th-7th September, 2017 Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Although weather & winds conspired for less-than-ideal conditions for southbound movement the past 3 nights, there has been some, & ‘bits-&-pieces’ of evidence of the gradual changes as summer eases towards autumn. The next several days may well amplify migration, as north winds usher in cool days & cooler nights. Duckage sightings picked up ever-so-slightly, and some species typical of August movement have wound down. There were still at least 22 Warbler species around to Tuesday, but some of the species may have been just in low single-digit numbers; the exodus of warblers has been rather evident over the 3-day period. Also, after a prior period of days with pretty good no’s. of hummingbirds around, they have been more inclined to be seen zipping south (for those watching from a few lookouts where such can be seen in Central), fewer feeding in all of the patches where they’d been (although hardly all gone!) Similarly more scarce are sightings of Snowy and Great Egret, although for the latter, at least a few were continuing to 9/7 in several locations; as always the Snowy sightings are 95%+ from the north end of the park, & typically just as fly-overs going east & west in summer. In yet another potential sign of a turn of the season, a very few White-throated Sparrows showed in a couple of places by Wed. (and although very, very few may summer in Central, in some years, these ‘new’ birds seemed to have just arrived, by location & to some extent by behavior) in the north woods, as well as one area on the w. side of the park, above W. 81 Street. Tues.-Thurs., 9/5-7: Double-crested Cormorant (small no’s. on the move each day, & typical no’s. at the reservoir for the dates) Great Blue Heron (several sightings, of at least 2 different individuals in the park) Great Egret (smaller no’s. going over the north end; a few still visiting some areas in the park) Snowy Egret (fewer & farther-between sightings, for n. end fly-overs) Black-crowned Night-Heron (only a few noticed) Canada Goose (standard summer no’s.) Wood Duck (at least 2 ongoing drakes) Gadwall (up to 12 on Wed. at Meer & Reservoir) American Black Duck (10+ at Meer, Wed.) Mallard (plenty as usual) Northern Shoveler (minimum of 10 Thursday, w/8 on Reservoir, & 2 on Meer; a no. was also present by Tues.) Osprey (fly-overs Tues. & Wed.) Red-tailed Hawk (local-area usuals) American Kestrel (perhaps a few as migrants, plus local-area residents) Merlin (1 on Tues., fly-over) Peregrine Falcon (probably one of the local-area residents) Spotted Sandpiper (up to 8 on Wed., & still several to Thurs., various locations, esp. around the reservoir dike) Least Sandpiper (2, juvenile plumaged, on Wed. & not lingering at Reservoir s. end more than 5 minutes) Laughing Gull (max. of 9 counted on Wed. & at least 4 present at Reservoir to Thursday, mainly along the dike) Ring-billed Gull (plenty) [American] Herring Gull (numerous) Great Black-backed Gull (good no’s. on the reservoir) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove (many, throughout the park) Common Nighthawk (sightings on Tues. morning & eve. & Wed. a.m., not noted in abbreviated watch on Thurs.) Chimney Swift (max. count 9, Tuesday; still a few to Thurs. a.m.) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (15++ on Tuesday, fewer by Thurs.) Belted Kingfisher (1 male, Wed. at the W. 100th St. Pool & Loch) Red-bellied Woodpecker (regular, residents) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (few, to Tues.) Downy Woodpecker (regular, residents) Hairy Woodpecker (1, n. woods on Wed.) Yellow-shafted Flicker (multiples, & most common on Tuesday) Olive-sided Flycatcher (through Thursday, various locations on different days, at Strawberry Fields n. side: 9/7) Eastern Wood-Pewee (modest no’s. but reduced greatly by Thurs.) Empidonax [genus] Flycatcher (still passing thru, certainly various of the usual batch of species, but which…!?) Eastern Phoebe (a few to Tues. & still a bit early) Great Crested Flycatcher (at least 2 in Ramble to Tues.) Eastern Kingbird (3 Wed. near Turtle Pond, perhaps on the move, none noted by me for Thurs.) Warbling Vireo (far fewer than in prior week, still a few to Thurs.) Red-eyed Vireo (fairly common now, & more will be passing soon) Blue Jay (fairly common) American Crow (a few noted each day) Tree Swallow (modest no’s. mostly as rather high fly-overs; scarce over the water-bodies now) Barn Swallow (very modest no’s. in low double-digits per day seen) Black-capped Chickadee (a few, so far) Tufted Titmouse (very few so far) Red-breasted Nuthatch (1, young bird &/or female, Pinetum East on Tues.) White-breasted Nuthatch (modest no’s.) Brown Creeper (a bit early, N. end Thursday, with a R.-cr. Kinglet at the Great Hill) Carolina Wren (small no’s. & some still vocal at times) House Wren (2, into Tues.) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (several, to Wed. in n. end & Ramble area) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1 Tuesday, Ramble)
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 9/5-6-7
Tues.- Wed.- Thursday, 5th-6th-7th September, 2017 Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City Although weather & winds conspired for less-than-ideal conditions for southbound movement the past 3 nights, there has been some, & ‘bits-&-pieces’ of evidence of the gradual changes as summer eases towards autumn. The next several days may well amplify migration, as north winds usher in cool days & cooler nights. Duckage sightings picked up ever-so-slightly, and some species typical of August movement have wound down. There were still at least 22 Warbler species around to Tuesday, but some of the species may have been just in low single-digit numbers; the exodus of warblers has been rather evident over the 3-day period. Also, after a prior period of days with pretty good no’s. of hummingbirds around, they have been more inclined to be seen zipping south (for those watching from a few lookouts where such can be seen in Central), fewer feeding in all of the patches where they’d been (although hardly all gone!) Similarly more scarce are sightings of Snowy and Great Egret, although for the latter, at least a few were continuing to 9/7 in several locations; as always the Snowy sightings are 95%+ from the north end of the park, & typically just as fly-overs going east & west in summer. In yet another potential sign of a turn of the season, a very few White-throated Sparrows showed in a couple of places by Wed. (and although very, very few may summer in Central, in some years, these ‘new’ birds seemed to have just arrived, by location & to some extent by behavior) in the north woods, as well as one area on the w. side of the park, above W. 81 Street. Tues.-Thurs., 9/5-7: Double-crested Cormorant (small no’s. on the move each day, & typical no’s. at the reservoir for the dates) Great Blue Heron (several sightings, of at least 2 different individuals in the park) Great Egret (smaller no’s. going over the north end; a few still visiting some areas in the park) Snowy Egret (fewer & farther-between sightings, for n. end fly-overs) Black-crowned Night-Heron (only a few noticed) Canada Goose (standard summer no’s.) Wood Duck (at least 2 ongoing drakes) Gadwall (up to 12 on Wed. at Meer & Reservoir) American Black Duck (10+ at Meer, Wed.) Mallard (plenty as usual) Northern Shoveler (minimum of 10 Thursday, w/8 on Reservoir, & 2 on Meer; a no. was also present by Tues.) Osprey (fly-overs Tues. & Wed.) Red-tailed Hawk (local-area usuals) American Kestrel (perhaps a few as migrants, plus local-area residents) Merlin (1 on Tues., fly-over) Peregrine Falcon (probably one of the local-area residents) Spotted Sandpiper (up to 8 on Wed., & still several to Thurs., various locations, esp. around the reservoir dike) Least Sandpiper (2, juvenile plumaged, on Wed. & not lingering at Reservoir s. end more than 5 minutes) Laughing Gull (max. of 9 counted on Wed. & at least 4 present at Reservoir to Thursday, mainly along the dike) Ring-billed Gull (plenty) [American] Herring Gull (numerous) Great Black-backed Gull (good no’s. on the reservoir) ['feral'] Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove (many, throughout the park) Common Nighthawk (sightings on Tues. morning & eve. & Wed. a.m., not noted in abbreviated watch on Thurs.) Chimney Swift (max. count 9, Tuesday; still a few to Thurs. a.m.) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (15++ on Tuesday, fewer by Thurs.) Belted Kingfisher (1 male, Wed. at the W. 100th St. Pool & Loch) Red-bellied Woodpecker (regular, residents) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (few, to Tues.) Downy Woodpecker (regular, residents) Hairy Woodpecker (1, n. woods on Wed.) Yellow-shafted Flicker (multiples, & most common on Tuesday) Olive-sided Flycatcher (through Thursday, various locations on different days, at Strawberry Fields n. side: 9/7) Eastern Wood-Pewee (modest no’s. but reduced greatly by Thurs.) Empidonax [genus] Flycatcher (still passing thru, certainly various of the usual batch of species, but which…!?) Eastern Phoebe (a few to Tues. & still a bit early) Great Crested Flycatcher (at least 2 in Ramble to Tues.) Eastern Kingbird (3 Wed. near Turtle Pond, perhaps on the move, none noted by me for Thurs.) Warbling Vireo (far fewer than in prior week, still a few to Thurs.) Red-eyed Vireo (fairly common now, & more will be passing soon) Blue Jay (fairly common) American Crow (a few noted each day) Tree Swallow (modest no’s. mostly as rather high fly-overs; scarce over the water-bodies now) Barn Swallow (very modest no’s. in low double-digits per day seen) Black-capped Chickadee (a few, so far) Tufted Titmouse (very few so far) Red-breasted Nuthatch (1, young bird &/or female, Pinetum East on Tues.) White-breasted Nuthatch (modest no’s.) Brown Creeper (a bit early, N. end Thursday, with a R.-cr. Kinglet at the Great Hill) Carolina Wren (small no’s. & some still vocal at times) House Wren (2, into Tues.) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (several, to Wed. in n. end & Ramble area) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1 Tuesday, Ramble)
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 9/5 & 6
Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City On Thursday, 5 Sept. there were a fair number of migrants yet it seemed to this observer that many had departed, with diversity lower and overall numbers at least no higher from the preceding day (Wed. 4 Sept.). Also, some of the uncommon birds of the day before seemed to have moved on with that initial push; Thursday did bring an influx of some of the more common early "fall" songbirds, & once again, the Red- eyed as well as Warbling Vireo migrants were well-represented in the flocks. Yes, the ongoing passage of a number of the hybrid crosses of Blue-wingedxGolden-winged Warbler spp. is also the sad reminder of the latter species getting scarcer & scarcer in it's former NE U.S. breeding areas - maybe better up near & in Canada; they still winter in truly discrete regions, also, so there is that separation and it's a species-pair that must have been (is) close thru these evolutionary times. - Friday, 9/6 - Another (last night, &) day of migratory movement, with as many birds (more, really) passing overnight than stopped in, and then a modest flight of raptors going by in the mid-day hours. The day started off a little busier (at least in the park's north end) & then quieted by later on, but activity was discerned, in select sites, thru the day. There were a few cuckoo sightings, seemingly both Black- and Yellow-billed being seen; a good number of flycatchers & at least some of the Empidonax recognizably Least-ish, with others in that genus likely still passing as well, & a modest movement of Eastern Kingbird, including some noted going by with the raptor flight. The more obvious migrants, by overall numbers, included at least 24 warbler species, these including (& likely not limited to): Northern Parula Blue-winged Tennessee Nashville Yellow Chestnut-sided Magnolia Cape May (Great Hill) Black-throated Blue Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Black-throated Green Blackburnian Pine Prairie (several) Bay-breasted Blackpoll Worm-eating (Gill area, in ramble, p.m.) Black-and-white American Redstart (many) Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat (multiple) Wilson's Canada and there were again some sparrow sightings, including the lingering Vesper (Great Hill, s. upper slope), as well as Field, Chipping, Song, & White-throated (few). Among these sparrows were several oddly seeming still in almost juvenile plumage, as though quite recently 'fledged and flown'. A decent number of Scarlet Tanagers and Rose- breasted Grosbeaks, as well as Baltimore Orioles, and at the reservoir, a scattering of N. Shovelers, perhaps not the first of fall, but new to me in Central this season. Thanks to others in the park today for some tips & sightings. The modest raptor flight included Bald Eagle, Osprey (5+), Northern Harrier (late in day), Cooper's Hawk (maybe a relatively local bird), American Kestrel, and a few very high and not-in-a-kettle Broad-winged Hawks (but really tough viewing in almost clear skies). Some Chimney Swifts, Barn Swallows, and a couole of unid. swallow sp. also went by, as did a few hummingbirds, all presumed to be of the Ruby-throated variety. One note, non-bird but migrant-related is that Monarch butterflies seem to be doing rather poorly in the eastern parts of N. America and it may show as their fall migration towards Mexico is getting underway - I did see one go past, & will keep an eye out for more... with expectations rather lowered for this autumn. We won't know just how they're doing on migration until a couple more months pass but signs are their numbers have plummeted this year. Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES 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://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 9/5 6
Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City On Thursday, 5 Sept. there were a fair number of migrants yet it seemed to this observer that many had departed, with diversity lower and overall numbers at least no higher from the preceding day (Wed. 4 Sept.). Also, some of the uncommon birds of the day before seemed to have moved on with that initial push; Thursday did bring an influx of some of the more common early fall songbirds, once again, the Red- eyed as well as Warbling Vireo migrants were well-represented in the flocks. Yes, the ongoing passage of a number of the hybrid crosses of Blue-wingedxGolden-winged Warbler spp. is also the sad reminder of the latter species getting scarcer scarcer in it's former NE U.S. breeding areas - maybe better up near in Canada; they still winter in truly discrete regions, also, so there is that separation and it's a species-pair that must have been (is) close thru these evolutionary times. - Friday, 9/6 - Another (last night, ) day of migratory movement, with as many birds (more, really) passing overnight than stopped in, and then a modest flight of raptors going by in the mid-day hours. The day started off a little busier (at least in the park's north end) then quieted by later on, but activity was discerned, in select sites, thru the day. There were a few cuckoo sightings, seemingly both Black- and Yellow-billed being seen; a good number of flycatchers at least some of the Empidonax recognizably Least-ish, with others in that genus likely still passing as well, a modest movement of Eastern Kingbird, including some noted going by with the raptor flight. The more obvious migrants, by overall numbers, included at least 24 warbler species, these including ( likely not limited to): Northern Parula Blue-winged Tennessee Nashville Yellow Chestnut-sided Magnolia Cape May (Great Hill) Black-throated Blue Yellow-rumped [Myrtle] Black-throated Green Blackburnian Pine Prairie (several) Bay-breasted Blackpoll Worm-eating (Gill area, in ramble, p.m.) Black-and-white American Redstart (many) Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat (multiple) Wilson's Canada and there were again some sparrow sightings, including the lingering Vesper (Great Hill, s. upper slope), as well as Field, Chipping, Song, White-throated (few). Among these sparrows were several oddly seeming still in almost juvenile plumage, as though quite recently 'fledged and flown'. A decent number of Scarlet Tanagers and Rose- breasted Grosbeaks, as well as Baltimore Orioles, and at the reservoir, a scattering of N. Shovelers, perhaps not the first of fall, but new to me in Central this season. Thanks to others in the park today for some tips sightings. The modest raptor flight included Bald Eagle, Osprey (5+), Northern Harrier (late in day), Cooper's Hawk (maybe a relatively local bird), American Kestrel, and a few very high and not-in-a-kettle Broad-winged Hawks (but really tough viewing in almost clear skies). Some Chimney Swifts, Barn Swallows, and a couole of unid. swallow sp. also went by, as did a few hummingbirds, all presumed to be of the Ruby-throated variety. One note, non-bird but migrant-related is that Monarch butterflies seem to be doing rather poorly in the eastern parts of N. America and it may show as their fall migration towards Mexico is getting underway - I did see one go past, will keep an eye out for more... with expectations rather lowered for this autumn. We won't know just how they're doing on migration until a couple more months pass but signs are their numbers have plummeted this year. Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES 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://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
