From my Manhattan Window (4 Viewers)

Pinewood · Feb 14, 2016

A little cold

Hello,

It is before dawn, and the temperature is -16ºC, with windspeed of 26 kph, so it feels like -24ºC. I doubt that I will do much bird watching in this weather, even if my binocular is supposed to be functional at -30ºC, I doubt that I am particularly functional, at the current temperature.

On Thursday, I was surprised to see a gray catbird in Central Park. Another observer confirmed that this warm weather bird was around. As I have written the weather has been remarkably changeable which is making for all sorts of surprises.

On Thursday, I spotted two female hooded mergansers on the Lake. As the Lake is rather shallow, diving ducks are not frequent visitors. By this morning, there should be enough ice on the Lake to keep most waterfowl away. I walked to the Reservoir to see the usual wintry bird: ruddy ducks, buffleheads, and shove[l]lers, but I got to see the pie billed grebe, and my first sighting of the common mergansers, which have been there for a while.

Red bellied woodpeckers are as common as downy woodpeckers. My great disappointment is that the great horned owl has moved on.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
P.S. As the sun rises, the temperature has dropped to -17.8ºC, or 0ºF: Brrrrr.

Pinewood · Feb 21, 2016

Spring birds?

Hello,

It actually dropped to -18ºC, last Sunday but I still went out. I walked directly to the Reservoir, which was almost ice free to see some of the usual suspects but there were several double crested cormorants.

This week, I saw more of that gray catbird. On Tuesday the temperature rose to 12ºC. On Wednesday, I saw a song sparrow on the Northern Lobe of the Lake, aka Bank Pool, standing on the edge of the ice.

Today, I saw a mature red tailed hawk carrying a small branch before landing on the San Remo building, picking a spot just below Demo Moore's terrace. This is part of the courtship ritual as the male displays his ability to build a nest. The only other bird of note was a brown creeper.

Bird images are by Louis Agassiz Fuertes; the San Remo was photographed with an iPad.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

Pinewood · Mar 4, 2016

A touch of snow this morning

Hello all,

I have little to report. I have seen that gray catbird, again, but it probably wintered elsewhere in the Park. That red tailed hawk is still visiting the San Remo, but he is now trying out a nook on the north tower, under Bono's terrace. Cooper hawks turn up, as well.

I saw another song sparrow, yesterday. Three days this week, I have seen juncoes. I saw some early in the winter then none until this week. Wednesday and Thursday, I saw red winged blackbirds, for the first time this year.

With the Lake now ice free, northern shovel[l]lers have returned but not in great number. I have not seen any crocuses, which I would have expected by now.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

Pinewood · Mar 13, 2016

Earl spring

Hello,

Last Sunday, I saw my first glaucous gull on the Reservoir. This gull is a rather unusual visitor to Central Park. The last sighting, in the Park, was about a decade, ago.
Today, I saw my first red breasts merganser, also on the Reservoir.

On Tuesday, I saw my first hermit thrush of the season. Fox sparrows have been appearing in great number, probably migrants. On the Lake, I saw a wood duck, for the first time, this year. Near the Lake, I am fairly sure that I saw a swamp sparrow but there is no question that I saw phoebes twice near Azalea Pond.

All images are by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Oh yes, the turtles have returned to the Lake and to Turtle Pond.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :scribe:

Pinewood · Mar 23, 2016

A woodpecker returns

Hello all,

After my last post, I saw crocuses and daffodils in the Park. I have not seen shove[l]lers on the Lake for quite a while, but on Sunday, they were on the Reservoir. Buffleheads were still around, last week, as well.

Song sparrows and red winged blackbirds are frequent sights. I saw another phoebe, on Sunday, so that means they have been in the Park for eleven days.
Also on Sunday, I saw my first northern flicker of the year but the red bellies are still common. That gray catbird turned up, as well.

Those red tailed hawks are still working on their nest beneath Bono's terrace. Last week, I visited the mainland, namely the Bronx. That was my first move off the New York archipelago, in more than a year. On East Fordham Road, another red tailed passed overhead landing on a building.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :scribe:

Pinewood · Mar 27, 2016

A Nice Day

Hello,

Today, I had a three woodpecker day: downy, red bellied and a northern flicker. Earlier in the week, I pointed a woodpecker out to a visitor from Ireland. Actually, he was a Scouser who had moved to County Clare. He said that it was the first woodpecker which he had ever seen. I thought a moment and asked if Ireland had been so deforested in the nineteenth century that woodpeckers were rare. He did not exactly answer but he did proudly say that he had planted sixty trees on his property.

Wednesday, I saw a large bird fly by. Another bird watcher joked that it may have been a pterodactyl but we agreed that it was a great blue heron. I have seen some more ruby crowned kinglets and today I saw a brown headed cowbird. I am still seeing white throated sparrows, white breasted nuthatches, house finches, tufted titmice, black capped chickadees, red winged blackbirds and American goldfinches, which are taking on more colour.

On the Reservoir, I saw just a few northern shovel[l]lers, several pairs of buffleheads, ring billed gulls and a few cormorants.

All images by Louis Agassiz Fuertes from Eaton's Birds of New York. 1912-1914.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :scribe:

KC Foggin · Mar 27, 2016

Sounds as though it's been a pretty good week for you Arthur

Pinewood · Mar 27, 2016

KC Foggin said:
Sounds as though it's been a pretty good week for you Arthur

Hello KC,

No matter what I see, if I get to Central Park and have my little walk I am doing well. If I see a lot of species, all the better.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

Pinewood · Apr 1, 2016

More sightings for the year

Hello,

Wednesday was another three woodpecker day, as was today. On Wednesday, I thought that I saw a female yellow rumped warbler,also known as a myrtle warbler, but I cannot be certain. Thursday, I certainly did see a golden crowned kinglet, two black crowned night herons and an egret, which joined a bufflehead on Turtle Pond. Today's best bird was a chipping sparrow.

Titmice and black capped chickadees seem to be in short supply.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur

Pinewood · Apr 10, 2016

Hello,

Strangely, there are northern shovel[l]lers on the Lake, again. There were weeks when none appeared there. Cormorants are on both the Lake and on the Reservoir. On Thursday, I took a walk to the Reservoir, where I saw more buffleheads than ever, but nothing more interesting on the water. However, at the south end of the Reservoir I saw a red tailed hawk on tree branch, trying to make lunch of a pigeon but it was being harassed by American crows. It finally flew off with the pigeon in its talons and the crows pursuing it.

Last week, I definitely saw a gray gnatcatcher and fairly sure that I saw a kingbird, our largest flycatcher. Titmice, black capped chickadees and white breasted nuthatches are becoming far less common. Kinglets are now common.

Ail images are Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :scribe:

Merlin · Apr 10, 2016

Keep it coming Arthur.
I only made it for a wait in Newark Airport for six hours this year and so it's a little while since I walked in the Park, however reading your posts it's like I walking in the park myself.

best regards

Merlin

Pinewood · Apr 10, 2016

Hello Merlin,

I thank you for your encouragement.

Today, I managed to see four woodpeckers, red bellied, northern flicker, downy and a yellow bellied sapsucker, but no warblers. There was one female bufflehead. Even with no nuthatches and no chickadees, I managed to see 24 species.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

KC Foggin · Apr 11, 2016

All in all Arthur, sounds like you had a good day

Pinewood · Apr 11, 2016

Can one have a bad day bird watching?

KC Foggin said:
All in all Arthur, sounds like you had a good day

Hello KC,

Yes, I had a good morning walk. Not only do I have good days bird watching but on clear nights I can see both Jupiter and Saturn, in the evening. An 8x binocular can pick out the Galilean moons. There was a good chance that I saw both Rhea and Titan, two moons of Saturn, with my spotting scope, last week.

However, I neglected to mention my first sighting of the year of an American coot. It was practically under my nose at near the South Gatehouse of the Reservoir.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

KC Foggin · Apr 11, 2016

The sky and the planets are a whole other world for me Arthur

Pinewood · Apr 14, 2016

A couple of year's firsts

Hello all,

On Monday, I went to the Museum of Modern Art to see a Degas exhibition, mostly prints and especially monotypes. So I walked through Central Park: entering near Tavern on the Green, around the Sheep Meadow to the Dairy, then to the Pond, near the Plaza Hotel, as seen in Home Alone II. I saw nothing until I was near the Pond, when I saw a red tailed hawk.

Near the Pond was a Louisiana waterthrush, and swamp sparrow.

Tuesday was too rainy for me.

Wednesday was another four woodpecker day brightened by seeing a black capped chickadee, and white throated nuthatches, and even shove[l]lers on the Lake. However, I did see a purple finch, a first for the year, and a brown thrasher, which had escaped me for quite a while. I also managed to see hermit thrushes and buffleheads.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur

KC Foggin · Apr 15, 2016

I'm a tad jealous Arthur. This is the first year in the past 12 years I have not had a Hermit Thrush (Hermie) come spend the winter with me. Sounds as though you had a great week guy.

Pinewood · Apr 21, 2016

Springtime

Hello,

First, I would like to write about two oddities, which I have seen. Twice, I have seen a female mallard high up a tree along the Lake. Of course, she was no wood duck. Last week, I saw both a bufflehead and an egret, at the same time, on Turtle Pond.

Of late, I have seen a pine warbler, palm warblers, black and white warblers, a blue headed vireo and a northern waterthrush.

All images by Louis Agassiz Fuertes from Birds of New York by Eaton.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

Pinewood · Apr 28, 2016

An uncommon warbler

Hello all,

I am not getting up to speed for the warbler season. I cannot find and identify what others are finding. I did see a black throated blue and a chestnut sided but I did spot a very furtive and uncommon warbler. This morning, there was a bunch of bird watchers, at Strawberry Fields, staring at the ground, under bushes. They were looking at a Swainson's warbler, a very uncommon visitor to Central Park. I got a brief view of but it kept under cover, most of the time. This bird is not mentioned in Eaton's Birds of New York nor is there an image in BF's gallery.

On Monday, I was fortunate to see a ruby throated hummingbird on the Point in Central Park. On two days consecutive days I have seen orchard orioles, like the first year on the left of the image, a life bird.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:

etudiant · Apr 29, 2016

The Swainson's Warbler is pretty rare for NYC, so as Pinewood noted, there was much excitement among NYC birders.
Photos here: http://birdsofnewyork.com/swainsons_warbler/

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