New York County -in N.Y. City- including Manhattan, Governors Island, Randalls Island, and Roosevelt Island. thru Tuesday, April 30th -
A Kentucky Warbler was found and then re-found at end-of-day on Monday, April 29th at Tompkins Square Park in lower-east Manhattan, which has a good many regular watchers at all seasons, esp. for migrations. This individual, seen and photographed in low light, was noted in eBird and thus the photos stored in the Macaulay Library archives, for that date. There is a chance that this bird was present for unknown days prior, as some of this species had arrived into the region on earlier days as well. Thanks to Loyan Beausoleil for the re-find and follow-up attempts, made with others on the 30th with no further re-find. Also seen -and photographed- by a number of observers on Monday, 4-29 was a bright Prothonotary Warbler, at The Pool in Central Park, Manhattan - this may or may-not have been the same individual that vastly more observers came to view on a prior day, at a different location within that same park. There was apparently no re-find of a Prothonotary on April 30th in the county. A singing male Yellow-throated Warbler was still in Central Park into Monday, 4-29 although by that day, many birders were on to still-more-arriving migrant species-to-see, after many many hundreds of watchers had observed that individual Yellow-throated Warbler in prior days in that park. Thus, on just 1 day, April 29th, there were as many as 31 species of migratory American warblers on Manhattan island, and with at least 30 of those species having been found in Central Park alone. A lot of other sites in all of the county had remarkable migrant diversity - all of this notable for coming in the month of April, even if just-barely. Here are all of those warbler species again, seen in Manhattan NYC for the one day, 4-29 - Blue-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Myrtle -a.k.a. Yellow-rumped- Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Canada Warbler. It seems plausible that a Pileated Woodpecker which was recently found on Governors Island in N.Y. County, which island is just west of western Kings County-Brooklyn, is the same individual Pileated that showed - after this bird was no longer seen on Governors - at Fort Greene Park in northwest Brooklyn - a very rare sighting for that county. If photos - which were obtained from Governors Island, and then from Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, on same date, match up as to plumage characters, this seems all the more plausible as to where the huge woodpecker went next... and then - ? The dates referred to were -last- on April 28th. Common Terns have - expectedly - started returning to Governors Island as of at least the last few days in April, and more may be anticipated. Close watching from that island or elsewhere in N.Y. County could reveal other tern species, but Common is the known breeding species at that site. In a sort of odds-and-ends category, there are a good many Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers still around - a very few of that species just may even linger into summer in this county, although NOT breeding here. There are also recent sightings of Golden-crowned Kinglet, likely all-gone from the county soon, and similarly some Slate-colored Juncos have lingered here into end of April, at least. Many observers took note of the huge passage of White-throated Sparrow on recent days, in some locations this species was one of the most-numerous passerine migrant birds in the air and on the ground for some hours and for some sites. Well into the hundreds-of-thousands passed in some recent nights, and very high numbers could be found in almost all areas for a few days. Other sparrow species also were moving in nice numbers, which includes some about all cleared-out by now. As a reminder any presumed Fox Sparrow ought to be photographed or videod if possible, if seen here in May. Most will have moved off northwards by now, but we have had this form - indeed, we have had western forms show, in May, in this region, albeit rarely. We will very soon be finding the diversity of flycatchers to increase, with Empidonax as usual giving a bit more challenge on migration. Thus far the one species of Empidonax -genus- definitively passing thru have been Least Flycatcher, in rather modest numbers in this county. Every park including pocket-parks, greenspace, many gardens, churchyards, empty lots, street trees, waterside areas whether park-space or not, rooftops, all sorts of viewing locations, have been providing watchers with a near-cornucopia of migrant birds in the last few days in this area. Many less-known, less-regularly-visited greenspaces will have had tremendous migration, good to excellent species-diversity, in the peak days of migrations and will continue to in high-density migration passages in this month. More to report on in coming days. Thanks to all of many keen and quiet observers all around the county and beyond, 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/ --