[nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County, 10/30-31
Manhattan island & New York County - Tues. & Wednesday, 30 & 31 October, 2018 Tuesday, 10/30 - A Tennessee Warbler was photographed at Madison Square Park; this is getting quite late for the species yet others have been documented recently in various locations in the northeast, & this seems part of what appears to be a rather broad trend of more-than-typical numbers of late stragglers amongst neotropical-wintering migrants thru the northeast, this autumn. Additionally, a Northern Waterthrush was again found, in Central Park, by the AMNH (American Museum of Natural History) bird-walk group & leader; this an individual warbler that has been lingering quite some time often at the so-called “Triplets” bridge area, by a small streamlet that arises just north of the park’s W. 77th St. entrance; the waterthrush not always apparent at the small rustic wooden bridge, but patience and luck may find it. For all of N.Y. County, a minimum of 15 warbler species were found on Tuesday, more than typically expected so deep into the month of October. All of the less-common or less-expected of these species were photographed, &/or were seen by 15-30+ observers including highly experienced leaders. A plethora of various somewhat-expected migrants were seen by a lot of observers spread thru a dozen or more locations, esp. a few of the larger Manhattan parks, as well as a few of the smaller ones. In a season when September sometimes 'under-performed' for local migration-watching, Oct. came thru very nicely! At least 7 E. Bluebirds were seen on the Linnaean Society of New York regular Tues. group bird-walk in Central Park; one was photo’d. at the Great Lawn, while others flew through; there were other sightings (& nice photos) of the species in other Manhattan parks the same day, as well. It’s been quite good in Manhattan for these recently, more so than in a long, long time. (Some E. Bluebirds were also contiuing at Governors Island to the following day, the last of Oct.) The report of from ten to 12 Monk Parakeets flying through Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan is very interesting, & will further be interesting to see if any more are found in Manhattan as the autumn progresses; the species had begun to establish itself rather tenuously, it seemed, on the island over a decade ago, and then those few known breeders were either displaced or moved on due to other causes. It is an established breeder in all of the other counties of N.Y. City (or at least, has been in the present decade), & in various nearby counties, & also in parts of at least 2 states closest to N.Y. City. (The species had long been established in such northern cities as Chicago & vicinity and it is a very cold-hardy species. There was an apparent nesting attempt in 2012 in Watervliet, NY (Albany County), & there are nesting or occurrence records from southern Connecticut, Rhode Island, & Massachusetts, as well as in Wisconsin, & a part of coastal Washington state (& many other more-southern US states; the Florida populations of this species has been estimated in the low-to-mid six-figures range). There was an eBirded report of a single Monk at W. 37th St. near the Hudson river in Manhattan (on a bldg.) for the 31st of Oct., an atypical area as to most previous sightings. Wednesday, 10/31 - A lot of movement took place the night prior, & much of that was exodus, while an influx brought new rounds of sparrows (in particular), kinglets, & some other species. I took a cycle-spin from one end of Manhattan (south) to the other (north) & found both species of Kinglet (but far more of Ruby-crowned) in virtually every little patch of habitat I passed by or spent time birding in - from The Battery to Inwood, & all points between, I’d say I was never more than 50 yards from a kinglet, & this included such “habitat” as the 2-foot or less wide strip of plantings at the Hudson River greenway next to the cruise-ships docks, at ~ 48th-54th Streets & various other marginal bits and pieces. In multiple small green spaces in Harlem (north of 110 Street thru 141 Street, and on 5 of the major avenues there, were more kinglets, again a ratio of about 20 Ruby-crowneds to each Golden-crowned, while there were at least some areas where Golden-crowneds were not so scarce by comparison. Sparrows were seen mostly in larger lawns, and were by far mostly White-throated, with an admixture of Song, Swamp, & in some less-busy areas, many Chipping, plus here & there a Field, White-crowned, & the harder-to-spot Lincoln’s Sparrows, plus many Slate-colored Juncos, occasionally in the triple-digits on a few very large open lawns & fields, & even where some activities (sports or other) were taking place, the juncos simply well off on side spaces that were not in active use. [Red] Fox Sparrows have continued in multiple locations, some having been photographed at various sites, including today in Madison Square Park.
[nysbirds-l] Manhattan / N.Y. County, 10/30-31
Manhattan island & New York County - Tues. & Wednesday, 30 & 31 October, 2018 Tuesday, 10/30 - A Tennessee Warbler was photographed at Madison Square Park; this is getting quite late for the species yet others have been documented recently in various locations in the northeast, & this seems part of what appears to be a rather broad trend of more-than-typical numbers of late stragglers amongst neotropical-wintering migrants thru the northeast, this autumn. Additionally, a Northern Waterthrush was again found, in Central Park, by the AMNH (American Museum of Natural History) bird-walk group & leader; this an individual warbler that has been lingering quite some time often at the so-called “Triplets” bridge area, by a small streamlet that arises just north of the park’s W. 77th St. entrance; the waterthrush not always apparent at the small rustic wooden bridge, but patience and luck may find it. For all of N.Y. County, a minimum of 15 warbler species were found on Tuesday, more than typically expected so deep into the month of October. All of the less-common or less-expected of these species were photographed, &/or were seen by 15-30+ observers including highly experienced leaders. A plethora of various somewhat-expected migrants were seen by a lot of observers spread thru a dozen or more locations, esp. a few of the larger Manhattan parks, as well as a few of the smaller ones. In a season when September sometimes 'under-performed' for local migration-watching, Oct. came thru very nicely! At least 7 E. Bluebirds were seen on the Linnaean Society of New York regular Tues. group bird-walk in Central Park; one was photo’d. at the Great Lawn, while others flew through; there were other sightings (& nice photos) of the species in other Manhattan parks the same day, as well. It’s been quite good in Manhattan for these recently, more so than in a long, long time. (Some E. Bluebirds were also contiuing at Governors Island to the following day, the last of Oct.) The report of from ten to 12 Monk Parakeets flying through Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan is very interesting, & will further be interesting to see if any more are found in Manhattan as the autumn progresses; the species had begun to establish itself rather tenuously, it seemed, on the island over a decade ago, and then those few known breeders were either displaced or moved on due to other causes. It is an established breeder in all of the other counties of N.Y. City (or at least, has been in the present decade), & in various nearby counties, & also in parts of at least 2 states closest to N.Y. City. (The species had long been established in such northern cities as Chicago & vicinity and it is a very cold-hardy species. There was an apparent nesting attempt in 2012 in Watervliet, NY (Albany County), & there are nesting or occurrence records from southern Connecticut, Rhode Island, & Massachusetts, as well as in Wisconsin, & a part of coastal Washington state (& many other more-southern US states; the Florida populations of this species has been estimated in the low-to-mid six-figures range). There was an eBirded report of a single Monk at W. 37th St. near the Hudson river in Manhattan (on a bldg.) for the 31st of Oct., an atypical area as to most previous sightings. Wednesday, 10/31 - A lot of movement took place the night prior, & much of that was exodus, while an influx brought new rounds of sparrows (in particular), kinglets, & some other species. I took a cycle-spin from one end of Manhattan (south) to the other (north) & found both species of Kinglet (but far more of Ruby-crowned) in virtually every little patch of habitat I passed by or spent time birding in - from The Battery to Inwood, & all points between, I’d say I was never more than 50 yards from a kinglet, & this included such “habitat” as the 2-foot or less wide strip of plantings at the Hudson River greenway next to the cruise-ships docks, at ~ 48th-54th Streets & various other marginal bits and pieces. In multiple small green spaces in Harlem (north of 110 Street thru 141 Street, and on 5 of the major avenues there, were more kinglets, again a ratio of about 20 Ruby-crowneds to each Golden-crowned, while there were at least some areas where Golden-crowneds were not so scarce by comparison. Sparrows were seen mostly in larger lawns, and were by far mostly White-throated, with an admixture of Song, Swamp, & in some less-busy areas, many Chipping, plus here & there a Field, White-crowned, & the harder-to-spot Lincoln’s Sparrows, plus many Slate-colored Juncos, occasionally in the triple-digits on a few very large open lawns & fields, & even where some activities (sports or other) were taking place, the juncos simply well off on side spaces that were not in active use. [Red] Fox Sparrows have continued in multiple locations, some having been photographed at various sites, including today in Madison Square Park.
