[nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County 5/1-2-3-4, incl. Summer Tanagers, Clay-colored Sparrow, Prothonotary Warblers, & much more of migration
In looking back, a Nashville Warbler was likely the first warbler of the year reported (& photographed) for N.Y. County since one was found on Randall’s Island, by J.Keane, on January 4, 2020. ... A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continued on in Central Park, at its 6+ months-long territory into May, seen into Monday, 5/4. A nice surprise-visitor stopped by to see the Red-headed Woodpecker of Central Park on Sunday - it was Lotus Winnie Lee! ... Oh, another person also passing by that location on 5/3, doing a literal drive-by, in his big black SUV surrounded by a large escort, was the mayor of N.Y.C. Note: when viewed v. early a.m. on Monday 5/4, the Red-headed was ‘back’ in part of territory a bit closer to the 97th St. Transverse, although still at least 100 feet to the north of that; it was active & moving around in several trees as well. It may utilize trees in a south-north ‘line' of up to 400+ linear feet. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was found & photographed a bit southeast & then moved to the west of the Great Lawn in Central Park on Sunday, 5/3. (my brief notes to this list on that day included the latter location.) This species has become less-rare in recent times as the breeding range has been expanding into the east & northeast of N. America. It is still far less-common in spring than in fall, at least in the NYC area. This individual had many obsevers & photographers. (A Clay-colored Sparrow also turned up in Rye, Westchester Co., NY Monday, 5/4, photo’d. by G.Benson & with T.Burke, our RBA compiler for the southeast region of NYS.) A (first-year male) SUMMER TANAGER was photographed in Central Park on Sunday, 5/3 by James Roberts; the location was Strawberry Fields; report w/photo is in eBird. Another (or same) of that species was seen again in Central on Monday, 5/4, around Turtle Pond, but seems it was a full-adult, ’new’ 2nd individual for the Monday. And there was still another Summer Tanager, a molting-to-red male, seen in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan on 5/4. A male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER appeared at Turtle Pond in Central Park on Sunday 5/3; then later sightings came from The Pool, 1 mile north, and this may have been the same bird from farther south in the same park, but may not have been. The bird at the Pool is likely the one which then moved to the Loch, which flows from the Pool’s eastern end waterfall. And a late-day sighting at the Meer could well have still been the one bird on Sunday, 5/3. There have (rather rarely) been more than 2 (& multiple times, have been 2, sometimes together incl. female/male) of Prothonotarys in that park, in past years of occurrences there. In addition, another Prothonotary -by description a likely male- was reported at the n. end of Riverside Park’s sanctuary area, next to tennis courts; this being about near W. 122nd St. & west of Riverside Drive (this area has had that species over past years, albeit v. rarely). Hooded Warbler as well as 2 Cape May Warblers were seen & photographed (A.Auerbach) at Riverside Park near W. 84th St. on Monday, 5/4, with 6 additional warbler species in that area. Many parks in Manhattan - other than Central - have hosted a very good array of migrants, and other parks can be much less-crowded than is Central Park on most spring days. Two (slightly ‘early') Common Nighthawks were seen on the evening of May 3rd, by Andrew Farnsworth, in flight in the vicinity of the East River to the east of Manhattan. Arrivals included: COMMON NIGHTHAWK, LEAST FLYCATCHER, RED-EYED VIREO, SUMMER TANAGER, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, LINCOLN’S SPARROW, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, CERULEAN WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, WILSON’S WARBLER. -- Friday, May 1st - After overnight rain, the wind continued from the east, shifting south & SW much later during the day, allowing some warming even without sunshine. Some new species for the year were uncovered; whether all had actually just arrived, or may have been present in very low numbers a day or more prior is hard to know; in any event, some new-for-year species were found. A bit oddly unexpected (for the date) was the return of a female Long-tailed Duck to the Central Park reservoir, after few-to-no reports of them lately from Manhattan’s waters (although others of the species were still in the region), a sign, perhaps, of an individual bird not able to or with much incentive to migrate onwards; there are many examples of this in waterfowl of many different species, which sometimes simply summer in a ‘wintering’ location, & this has been seen many times in the past, esp. at such well-watched sites as the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in N.Y. City, for one nearby example. It’s also found worldwide, for waterfowl. A male Blue Grosbeak continued at Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan, and a 2nd male
[nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County 5/1-2-3-4, incl. Summer Tanagers, Clay-colored Sparrow, Prothonotary Warblers, & much more of migration
In looking back, a Nashville Warbler was likely the first warbler of the year reported (& photographed) for N.Y. County since one was found on Randall’s Island, by J.Keane, on January 4, 2020. ... A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER continued on in Central Park, at its 6+ months-long territory into May, seen into Monday, 5/4. A nice surprise-visitor stopped by to see the Red-headed Woodpecker of Central Park on Sunday - it was Lotus Winnie Lee! ... Oh, another person also passing by that location on 5/3, doing a literal drive-by, in his big black SUV surrounded by a large escort, was the mayor of N.Y.C. Note: when viewed v. early a.m. on Monday 5/4, the Red-headed was ‘back’ in part of territory a bit closer to the 97th St. Transverse, although still at least 100 feet to the north of that; it was active & moving around in several trees as well. It may utilize trees in a south-north ‘line' of up to 400+ linear feet. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was found & photographed a bit southeast & then moved to the west of the Great Lawn in Central Park on Sunday, 5/3. (my brief notes to this list on that day included the latter location.) This species has become less-rare in recent times as the breeding range has been expanding into the east & northeast of N. America. It is still far less-common in spring than in fall, at least in the NYC area. This individual had many obsevers & photographers. (A Clay-colored Sparrow also turned up in Rye, Westchester Co., NY Monday, 5/4, photo’d. by G.Benson & with T.Burke, our RBA compiler for the southeast region of NYS.) A (first-year male) SUMMER TANAGER was photographed in Central Park on Sunday, 5/3 by James Roberts; the location was Strawberry Fields; report w/photo is in eBird. Another (or same) of that species was seen again in Central on Monday, 5/4, around Turtle Pond, but seems it was a full-adult, ’new’ 2nd individual for the Monday. And there was still another Summer Tanager, a molting-to-red male, seen in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan on 5/4. A male PROTHONOTARY WARBLER appeared at Turtle Pond in Central Park on Sunday 5/3; then later sightings came from The Pool, 1 mile north, and this may have been the same bird from farther south in the same park, but may not have been. The bird at the Pool is likely the one which then moved to the Loch, which flows from the Pool’s eastern end waterfall. And a late-day sighting at the Meer could well have still been the one bird on Sunday, 5/3. There have (rather rarely) been more than 2 (& multiple times, have been 2, sometimes together incl. female/male) of Prothonotarys in that park, in past years of occurrences there. In addition, another Prothonotary -by description a likely male- was reported at the n. end of Riverside Park’s sanctuary area, next to tennis courts; this being about near W. 122nd St. & west of Riverside Drive (this area has had that species over past years, albeit v. rarely). Hooded Warbler as well as 2 Cape May Warblers were seen & photographed (A.Auerbach) at Riverside Park near W. 84th St. on Monday, 5/4, with 6 additional warbler species in that area. Many parks in Manhattan - other than Central - have hosted a very good array of migrants, and other parks can be much less-crowded than is Central Park on most spring days. Two (slightly ‘early') Common Nighthawks were seen on the evening of May 3rd, by Andrew Farnsworth, in flight in the vicinity of the East River to the east of Manhattan. Arrivals included: COMMON NIGHTHAWK, LEAST FLYCATCHER, RED-EYED VIREO, SUMMER TANAGER, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, LINCOLN’S SPARROW, PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, CERULEAN WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, WILSON’S WARBLER. -- Friday, May 1st - After overnight rain, the wind continued from the east, shifting south & SW much later during the day, allowing some warming even without sunshine. Some new species for the year were uncovered; whether all had actually just arrived, or may have been present in very low numbers a day or more prior is hard to know; in any event, some new-for-year species were found. A bit oddly unexpected (for the date) was the return of a female Long-tailed Duck to the Central Park reservoir, after few-to-no reports of them lately from Manhattan’s waters (although others of the species were still in the region), a sign, perhaps, of an individual bird not able to or with much incentive to migrate onwards; there are many examples of this in waterfowl of many different species, which sometimes simply summer in a ‘wintering’ location, & this has been seen many times in the past, esp. at such well-watched sites as the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in N.Y. City, for one nearby example. It’s also found worldwide, for waterfowl. A male Blue Grosbeak continued at Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan, and a 2nd male