Date: 5/27/26 4:06 am From: Tom Fiore <tomfi2...> Subject: [nysbirds-l] N.Y. County, NYC - thru Tues., 5/26 - v. late R.-n. Duck, Bicknells Thrushes, shorebirds, other migrants, etc.
New York County -in N.Y. City- including Manhattan, Governors, Randalls, and Roosevelt Islands and adjacent waters and skies -
thru Tuesday, May 26th -
Perhaps the oddest fully-confirmed bird sighting of Tuesday in the county was a drake Ring-necked Duck seen by multiple observers in the Spuyten Duyvil creek, the waterway that separates n. Manhattan from the Bronx -and thusly, also separates Manhattan as an island from the mainland of N. America - on May 26, this duck species normally long-gone from county waters and very rarely lingering nearly so late in spring here.
At least several Bicknells Thrushes were still being found in Manhattan, as were more Gray-cheeked, and also a few quite-late lingering Hermit Thrushes including all these seen and heard vocalizing in Central Park to Tuesday, as well as ongoing slightly-late Veery, plus multiple Swainsons and Wood Thrushes continuing.
Shorebirds of recent days had included both Yellowlegs species, and there were unconfirmed reports of some species that, while typical for spring shorebird diversity in migration in this area, would be rare for this county. Some of the less common shorebirds may have moved on by Tuesday, or on prior days, with the peak days of sightings and reports coming on the recent weekend, some birds perhaps put down all-too-briefly by rains, while multiple shorebirds whether singly or in flocks were mainly or solely noticed as flyovers.
Flycatcher diversity continued, with at least 8 species still being found in the county thru Tuesday, and the possibility that up to ten species have been present including all five of the annual Empidonax-genus, with the toughest to nail-down identifications for being Alder, while its congener Willow Flycatcher sets up on territories in at least a few sites. Olive-sided Flycatcher was still being found as a migrant in some locations.
Of migrant warblers, diversity was dropping in this last week of May, although at least twenty species were still being found thru Tuesday, including Mourning and some of the other more-boreal-forest nesting migrant warblers. Vireo diversity has also dropped off, as expected with, in particular, Blue-headed Vireo mainly cleared out for the breeding season now.
There is still plenty of migration occurring all around the country, continent, and in our local area, however more and more of the migrants are now passing by overnight or at least in a much greater hurry to reach breeding areas, whether not far from NYC or all the way north past the Arctic circle for some, such as some shorebirds. In the county, many local-breeding birds including those which migrate long distances from wintering grounds, have been nesting or preparing to nest. Please do nothing at all that could disturb the nesting birds wherever they are.
