Date: 8/15/25 7:41 am From: Thomas Fiore <tomfi2...> Subject: [nysbirds-l] Manhattan, NYC - thru 8/14
Echoing Pat Lindsay and Shai Mitras thoughts to this list, I also am saddened by the passing of birder Lloyd Spitalnik. And while all of his activities in birding and supporting that in countless ways, and all of the many friends he leaves are in my mind, what really touched my heart all through the years of knowing Lloyd was his devotion and his candor in showing and living the love and care of and for his beloved wife Sandy Spitalnik, of whom he regularly and unhesitatingly said sometimes in public, and oftener in private - She is my guiding star in all things. Lloyd may have occasionally appeared gruff to the new birder, but few had such a warm and loving inner life and his work for birds and birding also did reflect that in many ways. R.I.P., and sympathies to his family and close friends.
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Manhattan, N.Y. City - thru Thursday, August 14th -
There was a bit of briefly-heated searching by multiple birders for possible crossbills, briefly-reported -in one place in Central Park, Manhattan-this past Tuesday, with no new details emerged as-of now. This is still useful, to make a note, as a moderate to modest swell of sightings in places where Red Crossbill probably had not bred, or where they likely have not, has been noted in parts of the northeast including into and thru our tri-state region, referring to the area closest to N.Y. City in 3 states, and of course in multiple counties in each of 2 states, perhaps only at Cape May in N.J. so far. The most-likely, of the 2 potential crossbill species, for any place south of breeding-territories of the less-likely species -that LESS-likely almost-always here, being White-winged- would be Red Crossbill, in one of its forms which are mainly told by vocalizations - if heard well and recorded. Red Crossbills have been irrupting to some extent in northeastern states, presuming that not all recent sightings of those Reds in the broader region were of locally-breeding birds, such as sightings recently from New Jersey or from various southern to central New England locations. Virtually no WW Crossbill reports have -yet- been made from areas far away from where they may have, or definitely bred this year, in northern forest areas. The season is of course extremely-young for these sorts of irruptives, and it all bears watching.
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There has been a nearly-continual flow of migrants thru the wider region and some of that for recent days has been a bit deflected into the interior rather than straight along the coastal parts, particularly as regards much of N.Y. County in both nocturnal passages and in some of the morning-flight in recent days. Good numbers and fair diversity were still found in NFC - Nocturnal Flight Calls - and to the west of N.Y. City in some regular migration-watch locations. In part, local winds and broader or higher steering-winds may have played their part, but all bird migrations are far more complex than is often realized. Many many shorebirds have of course been on the move in their multitudes, regionally and across this continent and all over most of the planets fly-ways.
Nice arrivals for Thursday, 8-14 in the county and for Manhattan appear to be mainly of the same mix of species that were being found in recent days and some over past weeks. A lot of fresh migration did occur in the overnight leading in to Thursday 14th.
In tern-movement observed IN Manhattan, a flock of 8 Forsters Terns seen crossing west to east one day this week, by the Spuyten Duyvil waterway at the northern tip of Manhattan was an uncommon find in terms of numbers of that species, perhaps these being slightly storm-driven, while at the same time this is peak-season for tern movements in general all around the region.
At Muscota Marsh, adjacent to Inwood Hill Park-proper on W. 218 St., a Marsh Wren was photographed, showing possible indication of being in young or even juvenile plumage.By Tuesday, 8-12, a Greater Yellowlegs appeared at Sherman Creek Parks mudflats -this is a tidal location, along the Harlem River) in northern Manhattan, multiple observers ultimately were able to see and document this one, also seen to Wed, and Thursday, 13th-14th there. This was at least the 8th shorebird species to show for the latter half of this summer in -or from- Manhattan, with also of course some sightings on the other 3 major islands of the county - Randalls. Governors, and Roosevelt islands. Least and Spotted Sandipers as well as Killdeer were the most-numerous and there also were additional Semipalmated and Solitary Sandpipers.
Laughing Gulls have continued to show very well around Manhattan with a good number often appearing at Central Park, mainly in the reservoir for some times each day. Common Terns are ongoing with some sightings from the shores of Manhattan, most of all in the vicinity of or near N.Y. Harbor.
Modest numbers of E. Kingbirds were moving in the past week but hardly enough to make much of an impression on most observers in this area. Many species already noted as moving south thru the first half of August were still on the move in this county, and more-broadly. For some species those movements on a daily -or nightly- basis are subtle for now.
A female Wild Turkey that had not been reported in a while was seen on Saturday, Aug. 9th by several observers at Battery Park in lower Manhattan, and again to at least Aug. 12th, photos also made available to the Macaulay Library, this is generally presumed to be the same individual that had been on Roosevelt Island and sundry times in Manhattan-east over the past year-plus. This species which has scantly bred in this county, in Manhattan in the modern era, is generally a rarity in the county, and is not known to have bred in any very recent years.
Some additional warblers came thru, although none were new species of the countys southbound-season. Canada, Blackburnian, and Chestnut-sided were among the recent Warbler spp. showing a small uptick. At least 6 additional warbler spp. continued lingering or passing in some numbers, including -American-Northern Yellow, and Black-and-white Warblers, American Redstart, and N. Waterthrush in particular, as well as Ovenbird and Blue-winged Warblers. Common Yellowthroat also was showing a modest increase.By Wed., 8-13, at least 15 spp. of migratory American warblers were in Manhattan and reported by multiple observers - with about ten of those species being very widely-reported from a number of locations, as-usual especially from Central Park in Manhattan. A modest proportion of the birds being found lately are lingering-on for some days, and a fair percent are new or more-recent drop-ins, while as usual, some individual migrants may be only fly-by passage migrants and some are perhaps in a particular location just 1 day - applied to many species and not just the migratory warblers here.
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Although not unexpected there, a tally of at least 4 Yellow-crowned Night Herons for Randalls Island on Wed. was respectable, still the most-reliable site for that species in N.Y. County, with Randalls located in the East River estuary to westernmost Long Island Sound, just-east of Harlem in Manhattan. And, while a bit late to be reported to this list, a Cliff Swallow sighted at Governors Island -M. van den Boogerd- in N.Y. County waters just south of Manhattan, a putative migrator, was confirmed with eBird for Aug. 7th there, quite notable for that island, which has had very few prior records of that hirundine in the modern era.
More will be reported in coming days on migrations across this county, as some further seekings and sightings take place.
Good birding to all - and thanks to many observers and photographers who have been out and about, some in rather warm weather at times, in the past week, finding birds and giving reports via non-x alert systems and as-always in eBird with the Macaulay Library for media archives.
Tom Fiore
Manhattan
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