Date: 12/2/25 10:47 am From: Tom Fiore <tomfi2...> Subject: [nysbirds-l] N.Y. County, after mid-November - Townsends Warbler, Sandhill Crane flock, etc.
New York County -in N.Y. City- including Manhattan, Governors, Roosevelt, and Randalls Islands and the adjacent waters surrounding those 4 islands, as well as the skies -
for the latter half of November -
A Townsends Warbler seen definitively on Nov. 20 -A. Kramer- and quickly reported thus also seen by many more observers on the same day, and also continuing in that same park in subsequent days, was a superb sighting for anywhere in N.Y. City and a bird to fully put Highbridge Park on the birding map in Manhattan. Its a park that has had some devoted watchers in recent years, while being known to relatively few birders in earlier years, although some recognized its location as having good potential for a diverse array of species on migrations, with very steep wooded slopes, some so steep as to be unwalkable, but also some areas accessible and parts where keen birders are and have dared to tread. And, while Central Park in Manhattan holds a prior decades-ago record for Townsends Warbler, this current Townsends was a reminder that great birds are and birding is also to be in -hundreds of- other locations in Manhattan-entire. Also, a reminder that eBird only indicates some of the more-recent history of birding in any given location. Highbridge Park is located near the Washington Heights area of uptown Manhattan, although from local custom there are several neighborhoods that adjoin this linear park, from the parks north edge at the east end of Dyckman Street down thru 165 Street, and all to the east of Amsterdam Ave. Some observers managed photos of varying resolution-quality of the Townsends Warbler on the 20th, and on later dates, with the warbler being rather active much of the time. At times it investigated the sappy drillings of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a means of feeding noted from many insectivores in colder weather, including a variety of rarer-here vagrant species with the potential availability of small arthropods where sapsuckers have drilled. At Highbridge Park, and elsewhere in Manhattan these drillings may be noticed in part on elm trees of some types, including Siberian elms, which for one other example are found in the Pinetum area within Central Park, and in multiple other parklands in the county. At Highbridge Park, the last definite sightings of the Townsends Warbler appear to be from Nov. 24th, however with that bird lingering at least five days there, it might still be in the vicinity or elsewhere in that neighborhood or in this same county. The species is capable of withstanding cold, and has occurred even in winter farther north than in N.Y. City on some -rate- occasions. Its also a species that often may be attracted to coniferous trees.
In addition to the very-rare Townsends for this county, two Yellow-throated Warblers were discovered at Carl Schurz Park on Manhattans upper-east, an unusual date for that species, first noted on Nov. 23rd. Those 2 Yellow-throateds were also found in proximate company with the spate of Nashville and Orange-crowned Warblers, each being present also at Carl Schurz Park, which latter 2 species had been found in many parts of the county in later-November. Should Yellow-throated Warbler continue, it may be worth checking for them in any areas with feeders set up, as this species is among warbler species known for visiting feeders at times, particularly when suet is a component of the proffered food items. At least one, and possibly still two, of these Yellow-throated Warblers was lingering at Carl Schurz Park thru the end of November, as were 2 Nashville Warblers at times and a late Blue-headed Vireo, along with other birds there.
A flock of at least fifteen Sandhill Cranes flew relatively low over the southern parts of Central Park in Manhattan on Nov. 16th, with a somewhat grainy photo hastily taken by one of the reporters of these birds, very rarely noticed for this park and also rare over this county in the modern era, however there are some previous records in recent decades. The cranes were noted in part thanks to their calling as they passed over. going on past parts of midtown Manhattan and presumably aiming to then quickly get across the Hudson River towards and thru New Jersey.
A male Yellow-headed Blackbird was noticed passing by the east edge of Manhattan on Nov. 24th. Evening Grosbeak was noted starting at least by Nov. 20th for N.Y. County in Manhattans Central Park, at the north end. Another sighting, and by many observers and photographers, came at the same park by Nov. 22nd. It seems that a few of this species were visiting Manhattan with most reports having first come from Central Park and there, most sightings in the north end of that park. At least one individual seen by many was a brilliantly plumaged male, but it was certain that more than one Evening had occurred, with some sightings of non-adult or female plumaged birds, in addition, and occasionally with two Evenings in one area. These grosbeaks were finding crabapples and other fruits in various areas mostly or almost wholly in the northern half of Central Park. Its also plausible the species has been in other locations in the county, in recent weeks.
Pine Siskin was -still- showing more regularly in the county, while Purple Finches have been numerous for a few months, at regular intervals. Multiple Baltimore Orioles were appearing around Nov. 20-21, and even at least one in adult male plumage at Central Park by 11-22, and others in varying plumages around Manhattan and also on the outlying isles of the county, such as on Governors Island, etc. - having a late November mini-wave of Baltimores showing in this county is not very unusual, and the species sometimes manages to overwinter successfully here. In Central Park, while most observers continued to watch the Baltimore of the same vicinity as Evening Grosbeaks, there were other Baltimore Orioles elsewhere in that same park, in various plumages. Cedar Waxwings continued to be found in the county, after very strong passages earlier in fall going well into November. All Cedar-flocks are derserving of a check for the slight possibility of a heftier species of waxwing, with the occurrence of Bohemian having been reported this late fall amongst far more of Cedars in waxwing flocks in the region.
A Greater White-fronted Goose was a flyover headed south by southwest over a portion of Manhattan on Nov. 16, photographed - A. Cunningham- in the small group of Canada Geese it was with as they flew by lower-mid Manhattan. Greater White-fronted Goose has spent significant time in Central Park and elsewhere in this county, during one recent winter. At least one Snow Goose was noticed in a flock of Canadas going past Inwood in Manhattan during the mid-November period of waterfowl movements and migrations. Typically there can be large flights of Snow Geese seen passing over the county in late autumn, but these flocks can be missed if-when flying at fairly extreme elevations. A Horned Grebe was seen on the water far across the Hudson River watched and photographed - C. Baker- from Manhattan on Nov. 17th. By November 24th, up to 6 Horned Grebes were noted by several observers scanning the Hudson, and on Nov. 29, at least two Horned Grebes showed again on the Hudson, seen from n. Manhattan.
Some Long-tailed Ducks, the latter as recently as Nov. 29 on the Hudson River off upper Manhattan, as well as White-winged Scoters, Black Scoters, and Common Mergansers were among the waterfowl moving in mid-or-later November down the Hudson River past Manhattan, the noted species seen by multiple observers. At Central Park, a Red-breasted Merganser showed in late Nov, coinciding with modest increases for that species in county salt-water areas, including part of the N.Y. Harbor, such as in sight of Governors Island. A N. Pintail was seen again from Inwood Hill Park into late November. Green-winged Teal were ongoing in Central Park, as were the typical other duckage of the season such as Wood and Ruddy Ducks, Bufffleheads, N. Shovelers and others. Some Scaup have been noticed off Governors Island later in November and odds may favor Greater over Lesser, to some extent, but some sightings were left as one or both of those.
Cackling Geese were being -reported, but not all fully confirmed- as single flyovers mixing with Canada Geese on several different days of good migrations in mid-November, although some flight-photos may or may not have delineated the IDs as Cacklers, leaving open a possibility of smaller Canadas. There is great size differential in the array of birds still known as the species, Canada Goose, whether of one type or from multiple types of that taxon. Simply being smaller than a large-ish Canada does not a Cackler make, in differentiating goose species.
A Clay-colored Sparrow was found -N. Souirigi- at Randalls Island on Nov. 28th, with several more observers also present.
Numbers of Hooded Mergansers had reached up to several-dozens for the county on some days, with a high percentage of those in Central Park, however some sightings have also come from the n. Manhattan waters, and at least some from waters off the other isles of the county. Central Park also had increased numbers of American Coot by later November, with at least a few coots in scattered other locations. American Woodcock were still being seen in some locations, including at Central Park thru the end of the month, and Laughing Gull made less-regular appearances at the Central Park reservoir, as well as in the waterways near and surrounding Manhattan. Red-throated Loon and Common Loon are both now present in county waters, and had increased a bit thru late November.
Wilsons Snipe and American Woodcock were both showing up in mid-November, and the woodcock later as well, around the county. There were a few E. Phoebes still around into late November. Eastern Bluebirds continued to show in at least some locations of the county after mid-November. Purple Finches and Pine Siskin had appeared again thru November. Some Rusty Blackbirds had lingered in at least a few locations, particularly noted from Central Park, and there were some American Tree Sparrows showing in addition to a fresh further arrival of Red Fox Sparrows in Manhattan and elsewhere in the county by mid-November, a fair number of the latter also lingering. At least one Lincolns Sparrow was noted from lower-west Manhattan in late November, but possibly others also were lingering. A slightly-late White-crowned Sparrow was seen and photographed -A. Deutsch- at Bryant Park in mid-Manhattan, where at least 4 other native sparrow species were also seen as well as at least 2 lingering warbler species - Ovenbird and Common Yellowthroat, thru Nov. 25, with the White-crowned and those warblers also continuing there. White-crowned Sparrows have very-sparsely overwintered in the county in the past, including at least several known records of such for Central Park.
At and just past the midpoint of November, at least fourteen species of warblers were still being found in this county, the obviously-exceptional one amongst all of those being the Highbridge Park Townsends Warbler from Nov. 20th, and for moderate numbers in the latter parts of the month, especially so of Orange-crowned Warblers for which there were up to ten different sites on all 4 of the islands of the county, particularly on Manhattan island, seen there at sites from the northern edge of Manhattan to near its southern tip, as well as from parks and greenspaces at the easternmost side and also the western areas of the island. It was also noticed that multiple Nashville Warblers showed all around the county, with two of the individuals seen by far more than 400 observers in even just 2 days of observations, as there was one Nashville which was often somewhat associated with the Townsends Warbler at Highbridge Park over its stay, and contemporaneously as well as soon after, also in the same park miles apart where 2 Yellow-throated Warblers were seen. Nashville Warbler is a moderately-regular find during CBC season in winter in many past years, around N.Y. City generally and also specifically at N.Y. County. It would be interesting to try to analyze whether any of the Nashvilles of recent were possibly of the western-breeding form, rather than the typical-migrant eastern-breeding form. There is a fairly slim but extant chance that some of the Nashville warblers found in November might be, or were, of the rather drabber when first-fall individuals are being seen western-breeding ridgewayi form of Nashville, a type which has a tendency to wag the tail more so than the more-common eastern breeding type. Some females in first-year plumage of the eastern-breeding form of Nashville might be quite drab in appearance, so plumage characters might not always be sufficient to denote a subspecific form in all observed Nashvilles showing at this season in our area. A further note on late-season warblers - any observer believing they might be seeing Tennessee warbler after mid-November on into the winter season ought to attempt to obtain photos or video of any resolution-quality, including with a phone, as this species can be confused at times with the far-more-likely late-season or wintering Orange-crowned Warblers which latter have become more regular in recent decades, particularly in the present decade.
A Northern Waterthrush was among less-expected species, although the latter was not much noted past mid-November, while American Redstart and Black-throated Green, both quite late for showing up here after mid-November, were photo-documented later than mid-month. Very typical lingerers for Manhattan included multiple Ovenbirds and Common Yellowthroats, each of the last two species often attempting to overwinter in a variety of Manhattan sites, very much not-limited to fairly-frequently birded locations such as Bryant Park. Black-and-white Warbler was among other species showing up in at least several locations to the latter half of November, with at least one Wilsons Warbler showing at Highbridge Park in Manhattan by 11-24, this last species of uncommon but somewhat regular occurrence even into December in some years in this county and more-generally in N.Y. City. Various other warblers including Black-throated Blue, and more-so Pine, and to much greater extent Palm and Myrtle-form Yellow-rumped Warblers are fairly regular if not common into late autumn or even the start of winter in this county and more generally in this region.
A quite-late Indigo Bunting in non-adult type or female-like plumage was found on Nov. 27 in mid-lower-east Manhattan. While late in the fall for this, this is a species that has -rarely- overwintered in Manhattan successfully in prior years.
A bit of a postscript from Battery Park at the southern end of Manhattan was that a hybrid of Dark-eyed Junco with White-throated Sparrow was reported -S. Ogger- and confirmed for Nov. 6th, at that location. The long-long-lingering Wild Turkey continued on at Battery Park.
Thanks to many hundreds of observers and photographers for sightings and alerts all via non-x birding apps, and for reports via eBird with attendant alerts, and media made available thru the Macaulay Library which includes media in photo, video, and auditory formats.
Good birding to all,
Tom Fiore
manhattan
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