[nysbirds-l] N.Y. County, NYC - 8/3 & 8/4: more shorebirds, warblers, etc.

[Tom Fiore]

Welcome, Chihuahuan Meadowlark (!) to the list of species for the United States 
and parts of Mexico, an elevation from the longtime status of what was often 
called “Lilian’s” meadowlark but now is given a new scientific status 
[Sturnella lilianae] and which had been considered -until now- a subspecies / 
form-of Eastern Meadowlark. And congratulations to Johanna K. Beam*, doctoral 
candidate and researcher who did much work on this taxon most recently, 
publishing a paper which made the argument convincing checklist-committees that 
this should be the continent’s newest full avian species to be named. From 
Toewes Lab at Penn. State University (& previously at Univ. of 
Colorado-Boulder), *runbirdgirl (‘tweets’) has made meadowlarks in North 
America worth a further listen and a long look. The non-profit American Birding 
Association’s link will take you to an update (a.k.a., Supplement) in the 
American Ornithological Society’s [i.e. A.O.S.]’ newest updates to the official 
list of birds for the continent -  
https://www.aba.org/aos-supplement-redux-2022/ 
   This does not make a change 
to the status of Western Meadowlark. It can be seen as a ’split’, in 
taxonomic-lingo, of the Eastern Meadowlark (common English name) and the split 
coming with the new species, named Chihuahuan for parts of the general range it 
may be expected in, which is both a state (a political area) of northern 
Mexico, and more-broadly [called] for biological observations, a broader region 
with a distinct set of characters and many specialized life-forms, in the area 
we in the U.S. often call “the Southwest” in a very-much generalized sense. The 
other two meadowlark species (of N. America) - Eastern, and Western, are also 
found into Mexico; and for the Eastern even-beyond, into northern South 
America- esp, north-eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela; also (other) 
“meadowlarks”, as so-named include some additional species found in parts of 
South America, with at least one of those (in a genus not the same as our North 
American species of meadowlarks) making it into parts of Costa Rica, in Central 
America.  Other readers may have a finer set of points on this very-newly 
elevated North America species. I also believe the full article [proposing this 
as a species] from (and *copyright by*) the A.O.S. as authored by Beam, Funk, 
and Taylor is available here: 
https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/138/2/ukab004/6249548 
 (this was so for 
me in a standard browser and with no special-access); also: n.b. the 
’supplemental data’ file is located near the bottom of the above paper on-line 
and I was also able to freely access that information, which may be of most 
interest to those who read the paper in full. All of this is the paper which 
appears to have most-influenced the choice made by the N.A.C.C. (in brief, the 
checklist committee) for the inclusion as a species -by the A.O.S.- to North 
American birds.  The field identification of 'quiet-meadowlarks’ in some areas 
will perhaps be a bit of a challenge.

—
The [Siberian-form] Bar-tailed Godwit was again being seen off Cupsogue Beach 
County Park in Suffolk County, NY into Thursday, 8/4, with multiple observers 
for that morning’s tide-cycle.

- - -
With that ‘Great White Heron’ ongoing to 8/4 in Piermont, Rockland County, NY 
and some possible uptick in numbers of egrets and other wading-birds into the 
northeast, it could be worth keeping in mind Reddish Egret in addition, a 
species which is rare in N.Y. state but could (and has) occur[ed] there, and 
elsewhere into the northeast.  And just as an additional note, while well-west 
of all of NYS, a Limpkin was continuing at least to 8/3 (many many observers) 
in LaPorte County, Indiana, which adjoins Lake Michigan & not a great distance 
east of Chicago, IL.

-  -  -  -  - 
New York County (in N.Y. City), including Manhattan, Randall’s Island, and 
Governors Island & the skies & waters adjacent
Wednesday, August 3rd, and Thursday, August 4th -

Mainly just an update on some migration pushing on through, with some lingering 
species as well. Some of the early a.m. flights, including previous to this 
report’s period, have included a good many birds passing over and high enough / 
early enough / already passing to west of Manhattan island over the western 
side of the island - that the bulk of migrants can be termed flyovers & some 
not very identifiable beyond 'general sizes or shapes’… with only a modest 
amount of drop-in arrival noted, and relatively-modest lower-&-closer flyovers, 
in early hours.

At least 4 Lesser Yellowlegs were noted on the flats at Inwood Hill Park’s 
mudflats, off the north end of that park which is nearest to W. 215th St., west 
of Broadway on Wed. on Thursday, with some later-arriving seekers finding fewer 
of that species there,; other shorebirds around the county included 

[nysbirds-l] N.Y. County, NYC - 8/3 & 8/4: more shorebirds, warblers, etc.

[Tom Fiore]

Welcome, Chihuahuan Meadowlark (!) to the list of species for the United States 
and parts of Mexico, an elevation from the longtime status of what was often 
called “Lilian’s” meadowlark but now is given a new scientific status 
[Sturnella lilianae] and which had been considered -until now- a subspecies / 
form-of Eastern Meadowlark. And congratulations to Johanna K. Beam*, doctoral 
candidate and researcher who did much work on this taxon most recently, 
publishing a paper which made the argument convincing checklist-committees that 
this should be the continent’s newest full avian species to be named. From 
Toewes Lab at Penn. State University (& previously at Univ. of 
Colorado-Boulder), *runbirdgirl (‘tweets’) has made meadowlarks in North 
America worth a further listen and a long look. The non-profit American Birding 
Association’s link will take you to an update (a.k.a., Supplement) in the 
American Ornithological Society’s [i.e. A.O.S.]’ newest updates to the official 
list of birds for the continent -  
https://www.aba.org/aos-supplement-redux-2022/ 
   This does not make a change 
to the status of Western Meadowlark. It can be seen as a ’split’, in 
taxonomic-lingo, of the Eastern Meadowlark (common English name) and the split 
coming with the new species, named Chihuahuan for parts of the general range it 
may be expected in, which is both a state (a political area) of northern 
Mexico, and more-broadly [called] for biological observations, a broader region 
with a distinct set of characters and many specialized life-forms, in the area 
we in the U.S. often call “the Southwest” in a very-much generalized sense. The 
other two meadowlark species (of N. America) - Eastern, and Western, are also 
found into Mexico; and for the Eastern even-beyond, into northern South 
America- esp, north-eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela; also (other) 
“meadowlarks”, as so-named include some additional species found in parts of 
South America, with at least one of those (in a genus not the same as our North 
American species of meadowlarks) making it into parts of Costa Rica, in Central 
America.  Other readers may have a finer set of points on this very-newly 
elevated North America species. I also believe the full article [proposing this 
as a species] from (and *copyright by*) the A.O.S. as authored by Beam, Funk, 
and Taylor is available here: 
https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/138/2/ukab004/6249548 
 (this was so for 
me in a standard browser and with no special-access); also: n.b. the 
’supplemental data’ file is located near the bottom of the above paper on-line 
and I was also able to freely access that information, which may be of most 
interest to those who read the paper in full. All of this is the paper which 
appears to have most-influenced the choice made by the N.A.C.C. (in brief, the 
checklist committee) for the inclusion as a species -by the A.O.S.- to North 
American birds.  The field identification of 'quiet-meadowlarks’ in some areas 
will perhaps be a bit of a challenge.

—
The [Siberian-form] Bar-tailed Godwit was again being seen off Cupsogue Beach 
County Park in Suffolk County, NY into Thursday, 8/4, with multiple observers 
for that morning’s tide-cycle.

- - -
With that ‘Great White Heron’ ongoing to 8/4 in Piermont, Rockland County, NY 
and some possible uptick in numbers of egrets and other wading-birds into the 
northeast, it could be worth keeping in mind Reddish Egret in addition, a 
species which is rare in N.Y. state but could (and has) occur[ed] there, and 
elsewhere into the northeast.  And just as an additional note, while well-west 
of all of NYS, a Limpkin was continuing at least to 8/3 (many many observers) 
in LaPorte County, Indiana, which adjoins Lake Michigan & not a great distance 
east of Chicago, IL.

-  -  -  -  - 
New York County (in N.Y. City), including Manhattan, Randall’s Island, and 
Governors Island & the skies & waters adjacent
Wednesday, August 3rd, and Thursday, August 4th -

Mainly just an update on some migration pushing on through, with some lingering 
species as well. Some of the early a.m. flights, including previous to this 
report’s period, have included a good many birds passing over and high enough / 
early enough / already passing to west of Manhattan island over the western 
side of the island - that the bulk of migrants can be termed flyovers & some 
not very identifiable beyond 'general sizes or shapes’… with only a modest 
amount of drop-in arrival noted, and relatively-modest lower-&-closer flyovers, 
in early hours.

At least 4 Lesser Yellowlegs were noted on the flats at Inwood Hill Park’s 
mudflats, off the north end of that park which is nearest to W. 215th St., west 
of Broadway on Wed. on Thursday, with some later-arriving seekers finding fewer 
of that species there,; other shorebirds around the county included