Re: [nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County, NYC 5/8-9-10-11-12-13 (many, many migrants)
Of interest is the “orange variant” Scarlet Tanager that we saw in the Pinetum on 5/12, practically as brilliant orange as a Flame-colored. It was following an adult male Scarlet and perhaps the same pair reported today 5/14 from Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, CT. It was a nice 5 days shared 5/10-14, and much needed away from the new norm of COVID-19; also uplifting to hear the support echoing the streets at 7:00p every evening honoring those of us working the “frontlines.” As they say, “stay safe” - we all know what to do, it’s no time to put aside necessary precautions. Brenda Inskeep Stamford, CT >> On May 14, 2020, at 3:55 PM, Thomas Fiore wrote: > Manhattan (part of N.Y. County, in N.Y. City) - May 8th through May 13th: > > Arrivals included LEAST SANDPIPER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, > GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, KENTUCKY WARBLER, MOURNING > WARBLER - as well as many species of migrants that heretofore had been > rather sparingly or even just singly. A few “gray-cheeked” type thrushes > were apparent by Monday, 5/11. The single Bobolink seen by many in Central > Park and a ‘lifer’ for some newer birders, was one of a number passing thru > recently, which typically are not quite as obliging (or tired of flighting > high winds) as the single male seen Saturday in the Ramble. For a bit of > diversion, there was also a Yellow-breasted Chat very nearby to that bobolink > & also seen by multiple observers, eventually on Sat. > > The amazing (6+ months staying) RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in Central Park stayed > on into the 2nd week of May, seen to at least May 13th (many many observers). > And there were two, with a 2nd passage-migrant Red-headed arriving for > Central on Wed., 5/13. > > - - > Friday, May 8 - A mix of drizzles, rain, clouds, but a start of the day with > 90+ minutes of sun. > > Tremendous day overall for warbler-diversity, in particular. A singing male > Kentucky Warbler present all day at Central Park’s Loch was among the > highlights along with a (continuing) male Golden-winged Warbler in Riverside > Park, a not-so-high Cerulean Warbler at the s. end of Central Park, & a > minimum of a dozen Cape May Warblers in various locations around Manhattan > (likely many more than that, in all), with a total of at least 29 American > warbler species found on the day just in Manhattan alone. More than 60 > observers were out & about, finding migrants in many, many locations, all > around town. That Riverside Park warbler was almost certainly the > most-visited bird of that park since the long-lingering male Evening Grosbeak > that had been a fixture in a prior recent winter into spring, which brought > hundreds & hundreds of visitors over its’ long, long stay. The Golden-winged > at times received up to 30-40 observers at one time, & far more in total for > its full stay - thanks again to A.Drogin for his reporting and his birding a > dedicated ‘patch’ around that very nice park. > > A [Red] Fox Sparrow was photographed in Central Park (A.Simmons) & seen by > multiple observers; there were a couple of reports of American “tree” sparrow > which at such an extraordinary late date for Manhattan should be photo or > video documented; note: some spring Chipping Sparrows can have a hint of a > central breast-pin, &/or feathers out-of-place in windy conditions. > > -- > Sat., May 9 - Big west winds, with temperature dipping into the 30’s (F.) & > not far north of N.Y. City, a bit of snow for this 2nd weekend of May. Later > in the day, temp’s. moderated very slightly into the 40’s. > > An American Bittern, at least the 3rd appearance in New York County this > spring, sat in a tree in Central Park for the first in-place showing of the > species there for the year. Yellow-breasted Chat made its appearance, also > in Central Park - an annual, but often shy visitor to the city & to > Manhattan’s parks & greenspaces. Also annual, usually both spring & late > summer-fall, but rather rarely detected, Bobolink made a drop-in-&-stay a > while appearance and in the Ramble, where a lot of folks could actually view > (a male), in Central Park (as others made it thru and likely did not linger > as the one did). Both of these were photographed, the bittern in particular > by dozens & seen by dozens & dozens more, including curious passersby. > > Several Cliff, Bank & the 3 more-typical & commonly-seen swallow species were > found over the Central Park reservoir, watching from west & NW edges, > throughout the day, esp. afternoon. The least common of these is actually > Bank, in terms of well-described sightings for the location, overall. The few > Tree Swallows seen may not have lingered, while Barn were by far most > numerous, into the many dozens at all times. Chimney Swifts were also > present in fair numbers over the reservoir (& elsewhere) and on the water > there were at least 2 lingering Bufflehead (down
[nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County, NYC 5/8-9-10-11-12-13 (many, many migrants)
Manhattan (part of N.Y. County, in N.Y. City) - May 8th through May 13th: Arrivals included LEAST SANDPIPER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, KENTUCKY WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER - as well as many species of migrants that heretofore had been rather sparingly or even just singly. A few “gray-cheeked” type thrushes were apparent by Monday, 5/11. The single Bobolink seen by many in Central Park and a ‘lifer’ for some newer birders, was one of a number passing thru recently, which typically are not quite as obliging (or tired of flighting high winds) as the single male seen Saturday in the Ramble. For a bit of diversion, there was also a Yellow-breasted Chat very nearby to that bobolink & also seen by multiple observers, eventually on Sat. The amazing (6+ months staying) RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in Central Park stayed on into the 2nd week of May, seen to at least May 13th (many many observers). And there were two, with a 2nd passage-migrant Red-headed arriving for Central on Wed., 5/13. - - Friday, May 8 - A mix of drizzles, rain, clouds, but a start of the day with 90+ minutes of sun. Tremendous day overall for warbler-diversity, in particular. A singing male Kentucky Warbler present all day at Central Park’s Loch was among the highlights along with a (continuing) male Golden-winged Warbler in Riverside Park, a not-so-high Cerulean Warbler at the s. end of Central Park, & a minimum of a dozen Cape May Warblers in various locations around Manhattan (likely many more than that, in all), with a total of at least 29 American warbler species found on the day just in Manhattan alone. More than 60 observers were out & about, finding migrants in many, many locations, all around town. That Riverside Park warbler was almost certainly the most-visited bird of that park since the long-lingering male Evening Grosbeak that had been a fixture in a prior recent winter into spring, which brought hundreds & hundreds of visitors over its’ long, long stay. The Golden-winged at times received up to 30-40 observers at one time, & far more in total for its full stay - thanks again to A.Drogin for his reporting and his birding a dedicated ‘patch’ around that very nice park. A [Red] Fox Sparrow was photographed in Central Park (A.Simmons) & seen by multiple observers; there were a couple of reports of American “tree” sparrow which at such an extraordinary late date for Manhattan should be photo or video documented; note: some spring Chipping Sparrows can have a hint of a central breast-pin, &/or feathers out-of-place in windy conditions. -- Sat., May 9 - Big west winds, with temperature dipping into the 30’s (F.) & not far north of N.Y. City, a bit of snow for this 2nd weekend of May. Later in the day, temp’s. moderated very slightly into the 40’s. An American Bittern, at least the 3rd appearance in New York County this spring, sat in a tree in Central Park for the first in-place showing of the species there for the year. Yellow-breasted Chat made its appearance, also in Central Park - an annual, but often shy visitor to the city & to Manhattan’s parks & greenspaces. Also annual, usually both spring & late summer-fall, but rather rarely detected, Bobolink made a drop-in-&-stay a while appearance and in the Ramble, where a lot of folks could actually view (a male), in Central Park (as others made it thru and likely did not linger as the one did). Both of these were photographed, the bittern in particular by dozens & seen by dozens & dozens more, including curious passersby. Several Cliff, Bank & the 3 more-typical & commonly-seen swallow species were found over the Central Park reservoir, watching from west & NW edges, throughout the day, esp. afternoon. The least common of these is actually Bank, in terms of well-described sightings for the location, overall. The few Tree Swallows seen may not have lingered, while Barn were by far most numerous, into the many dozens at all times. Chimney Swifts were also present in fair numbers over the reservoir (& elsewhere) and on the water there were at least 2 lingering Bufflehead (down from the minimum of 7 of that small diving-duck, from 5/5 at same location, as seen then also by many obs.) The 2 seen on 5/9 were female & male, & together. (It is not at all rare to find various duck species mate or at least act-out mating ritual, well before reaching a breeding-area, even when they may be very far from such an area; this is indeed fairly common, in many duck spp. in our region as winter gives way to spring and duckage is closely-observed.) Once again, at least 29 American warbler species were found in Manhattan, plus a Y.-br. Chat which is an unusual species not quite placed in a category with warbler, icterid, nor tanager. (birds with the common English epithet of ‘chat’ are many in the world, and this one, the Yellow-breasted, is unrelated to pretty much most of t
