[nysbirds-l] Central Park, NYC 3/20
Thursday, 20 March, 2014 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City The transitioning-plumaged RED-NECKED GREBE continued at the reservoir, seen 7:45 a.m. & 8:15 a.m. on the western side; it seemed to be slowly working a bit to the south at the latter time. Also present there again were a drake Ring-necked Duck (se) and at least 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (2 hen or young males, & a drake), at least 5 Wood Ducks, modest no's. of N. Shovelers, Gadwall, and Buffleheads, & a great many Canada Geese. Gulls (which as most park regulars know, come & go in & out of the reservoir on an hourly-daily basis, the number & potential variety changing almost constantly even as some individuals may habitually return for weeks or months in a row) were coming in, & settling on lingering ice - the east half of the reservoir was still essentially ice-covered, although this should change in the next few days - & I checked for any uncommon gull sp. but did not note; it's worth scanning through flocks at any time. Also lingering at the reservoir were just 2 Ruddy Ducks, & at least 4 Hooded Mergansers. (No sign of a Pied-billed Grebe which had appeared there over a week ago, & seems to have moved on quickly.) At the feeders in the Ramble, the bright male Baltimore Oriole was already present & feeding on one of the many fresh orange halves regularly placed out this winter; the drab-plumaged PINE WARBLER also made a brief appearance, coming to investigate one of the coconut- shell feeders; also present in the area were multiple "red" Fox Sparrows, and a Rusty Blackbird. In a number of other parts of the park, "red" Fox Sparrows were not so hard to find; I counted 22 in all from s. end thru n. end, with at least 8 in the Ramble area alone. At the west side of "the Point" on the lake, an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron was sitting low by the water, & at "the Pond" in the park's south end, a breeding (with partial plumes) Great Blue Heron was standing by ice at the south side, closer to the sw corner. Additional single drake Wood Ducks were noted at: Pond, Lake, & Meer. The Meer also had a pair of Hooded Mergansers & a few Buffleheads, as well as Gadwall & other usuals. Song Sparrows are about in slightly higher number than those which overwintered. A few half-hardy species did overwinter successfully, including a couple of Brown Thrashers, at least 1 Gray Catbird, and a few E. Towhees. (I'm not aware of other half-hardy or more uncommon overwinterers but there may have been.) A modest number of adult male Yellow-bellied Sapasuckers, and a very few Yellow-shafted Flickers, were again found, these few perhaps arrived in the last week or more. Red-winged Blackbirds are singing in a few places, most in evidence at the Meer from my a.m. wandering. welcome - the vernal equinox in just a few hours from now. 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 3/20
Thursday, 20 March, 2014 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City The transitioning-plumaged RED-NECKED GREBE continued at the reservoir, seen 7:45 a.m. 8:15 a.m. on the western side; it seemed to be slowly working a bit to the south at the latter time. Also present there again were a drake Ring-necked Duck (se) and at least 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (2 hen or young males, a drake), at least 5 Wood Ducks, modest no's. of N. Shovelers, Gadwall, and Buffleheads, a great many Canada Geese. Gulls (which as most park regulars know, come go in out of the reservoir on an hourly-daily basis, the number potential variety changing almost constantly even as some individuals may habitually return for weeks or months in a row) were coming in, settling on lingering ice - the east half of the reservoir was still essentially ice-covered, although this should change in the next few days - I checked for any uncommon gull sp. but did not note; it's worth scanning through flocks at any time. Also lingering at the reservoir were just 2 Ruddy Ducks, at least 4 Hooded Mergansers. (No sign of a Pied-billed Grebe which had appeared there over a week ago, seems to have moved on quickly.) At the feeders in the Ramble, the bright male Baltimore Oriole was already present feeding on one of the many fresh orange halves regularly placed out this winter; the drab-plumaged PINE WARBLER also made a brief appearance, coming to investigate one of the coconut- shell feeders; also present in the area were multiple red Fox Sparrows, and a Rusty Blackbird. In a number of other parts of the park, red Fox Sparrows were not so hard to find; I counted 22 in all from s. end thru n. end, with at least 8 in the Ramble area alone. At the west side of the Point on the lake, an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron was sitting low by the water, at the Pond in the park's south end, a breeding (with partial plumes) Great Blue Heron was standing by ice at the south side, closer to the sw corner. Additional single drake Wood Ducks were noted at: Pond, Lake, Meer. The Meer also had a pair of Hooded Mergansers a few Buffleheads, as well as Gadwall other usuals. Song Sparrows are about in slightly higher number than those which overwintered. A few half-hardy species did overwinter successfully, including a couple of Brown Thrashers, at least 1 Gray Catbird, and a few E. Towhees. (I'm not aware of other half-hardy or more uncommon overwinterers but there may have been.) A modest number of adult male Yellow-bellied Sapasuckers, and a very few Yellow-shafted Flickers, were again found, these few perhaps arrived in the last week or more. Red-winged Blackbirds are singing in a few places, most in evidence at the Meer from my a.m. wandering. welcome - the vernal equinox in just a few hours from now. 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/ --
