Date: 6/18/26 6:48 pm From: Tom Fiore <tomfi2...> Subject: [nysbirds-l] N.Y. County, NYC -mid-June- highlights & some notes, to 18 June
New York County -in N.Y. City- including Manhattan particularly-so in this report, and also including Randalls, Governors, Roosevelt Islands as well as adjacent waters and skies above.
Some selected sightings from around the county, most at Manhattan ---home of the New York Knicks--- and from middle parts of June 2026.
A first-of-year for Central Park adult-plumaged Yellow-crowned Night-Heron showed near the Metropolitan Museum of Art-adjacent meadow at end of June 16th, thanks to B. Yolton for the report with nocturnal photo of this bird on a lawn, and for his acknowledging D. Lei as the earlier reporter, same day. That rarer-of-the night-heron species for our area has also sometimes been noticed on the shores in lower Manhattan at the East River estuary and-or by the NY Harbor, as seen from Manhattan or from boats in and adjacent N.Y. County waters. The only semi-reliable site for Yellow-crowned has been and still is, within N.Y. County, on Randalls Island. Black-crowned Night-Herons can and do turn up nearly anywhere by various waters, and in-flight as well, including at night, dawn, or dusk.
Two female-plumaged, perhaps young, Hooded Mergansers on the Central Park reservoir were fairly unusual for the date of June 15 in Manhattan, however the species has been increasingly seen in the NYC region in summer, in some locations. The species is also one of those that on-average, have seemed to increase a bit in recent decades in N.Y. City.
A bright breeding-plumaged male Ruby-throated Hummingbird was lingering on at the n. end of Central Park to at least June 17, and another male of that species was seen again at Fort Tryon Park in n. Manhattan to this week, still present as of midweek, and there have been other sightings, including from Governors Island.
A late-moving or lingering White-crowned Sparrow was found back on June 11, and later confirmed at Inwood Hill Park. Multiple White-throated Sparrows have been ongoing in Manhattan thru this week and all or at least some of these may spend all summer, with -no probabilities of any- breeding activity. The latter species regularly summers in Manhattan every year in low to middling numbers, never with any indications of nesting. Swamp Sparrow also will occasionally or perhaps regularly summer thru on Manhattan in low to very low numbers, also with no indications of breeding at all, and some of the latter are also still present now in Manhattan. Song Sparrow is the only relatively-common annually breeding native sparrow in Manhattan but a modest number of Chipping Sparrows also try to breed each year, some successfully, including pairs at Central Park each summer.
Warblers still being seen, some also heard singing, in Manhattan thru at least June 15 included N. Parula, Ovenbird, Blackpoll Warbler, American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat, with all of the above species represented at Central Park, and some in a number of other parks or greenspaces. In the multiple were the last five of the species listed above. Some of these were female, thus non-singing, however all of the above were represented by singing males as well including the singular N. Parula at Central Park. At least some warblers were seen and heard from the Ramble as well as the southern end of Central, while up to five Warbler spp. were noted from that parks n. end.
The maybe-late, maybe-early-to-head south Louisiana Waterthrush was again found at The Pool in Central Parks n. end, to June 14. There are past records in the literature for this species reaching into southern Florida after moving south, within the first ten days of June. There are also records - pre eBird for some - of this Waterthrush species turning up at Central Park in June, rather more-so in years when many migrants birds were moving quite late relative to expected northbound-migration windows, but also with exceptions to the latter situation, thus less readily explained. Most of such past June records were in early days of the month of June. The species is certainly regular on southbound movement in and thru our area, including passage thru N.Y. City, in all weeks of July, and noticed more by the second half of July when more birders begin to watch incrementally for southbound -non-shorebird- movement. Other migrant warbler species from northeastern-region breeding grounds are also starting to move south by even the first half of July, in most if not all years.
Peak diversity in eastern N. American warbler migration for the southbound segments of the journeys, takes place species of migrant warblers, into September. This is not the same however as peak-numbers of total warblers of all possible kinds. We for example have vastly more Northern Waterthrush, or Palm Warbler -as 2 examples of common migrant and northeast breeding warblers which have modestly separate phenologies, particularly on some of their southbound passage- in numbers passing south each year than all of NY STATE or New England, combined, have of Louisiana Waterthrushes.
A fairly-late-moving or lingering Olive-sided Flycatcher was at Central Park to at least June 13. Yellow-billed Cuckoos were still being seen and heard to at least June 14. A few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were still being seen to midweek in Central Park, and had been seen in the past week in other sites in Manhattan. A hen Wild Turkey continues on, on, and on at Battery Park at the s. edge of Manhattan.
About 15 or more species of the overall birds thus far found in June - wild, free-flying birds, that is - of N.Y. County, were not being reported in June after about June 8th, ten days prior. Otherwise since then, up to 100 or more species have still been found and reported conclusively, although additional species, such as some late-movers, stragglers, lingerers among the migrants of this spring, may have still been seen a bit more recently. And, unlikely as it can seem to some folks, there may already be a few to more-than-a-few -southbound- migrants in the local area, and in or over this county.
A happy and healthy Juneteenth,
good summer-birding -
Tom Fiore
manhattan
