Date: 9/27/26 1:59 am From: Tom Fiore <tomfi2...> Subject: [nysbirds-l] N.Y. County, NYC - Saturday 9/26 - Black Skimmers, terns, other stormbirds, etc.
New York County -in N.Y. City- including Manhattan, Randalls, Governors, and Roosevelt Islands and the adjacent waters and sky -
Saturday, September 26 -
Up to fifteen Black Skimmers were found at and near the Pier 11 heliport on the lower
East River on Manhattans shore, the first alert from L. Beausoleil of around one dozen of this species bringing other birders in the morning of Sept. 26. These high numbers may be double or more to prior peak numbers in the modern era or known historic records of the species in county waters, and are also a rather late-in-year occurrence relative to past finds, most typical of summer months, for a species usually uncommon at best in this county, despite its regular occurrence and some breeding in some adjacent counties, including within N.Y. City.
Randalls Island in N.Y. County -which is at the juncture of westernmost Long Island Sound connecting to the estuary known as the East River of Manhattan, and off to the north-northwest, the estuary of the Harlem River dividing the southwest Bronx from Manhattan- had rather less-stunning birds show up by comparison to the eastern edges of the Bronx, notably Belden Point on City Island in Bronx County, from where Black-legged Kittiwake got plenty of attention on Friday, 9-25, and drew yet more watchers to the east Bronx Sound-watch, for Saturday 9-26 east-Bronx finds of, among other storm-driven species, up to ten or more Leachs Storm Petrels, Parasitic Jaeger and a number of other birds most likely almost-only on such a storm watch, as these days are providing. Randalls watchers found Forsters Terns, also being seen eastward in numbers, and there was a later-Saturday Caspian Tern off Randalls as well. Forsters Tern and Common Tern were each seen elsewhere on Saturday in N.Y. County. Great Cormorant off Randalls is an annually expected species for all of the cooler and cold months of each year, not a real surprise by this date, for the location or the county. Fair numbers of typical migrants were noted at Randalls on Saturday.
Governors Island had seemingly no unusual or unexpected birds reported from Saturday, and may have received relatively little observation compared with other locations, particularly by birders who left N.Y. County to observe farther east. There were some NY County-Manhattan observers trying their luck from Riverside Park and some other Hudson River locations on Saturday, no known rarities being reported.
Laughing Gulls were ongoing in numbers in various typical locations in the county, not at all unusual for all of this month, and likely to be found well into October here as well, with such good numbers around this year in this county.
Much of Saturday turned out either rain-free or just barely-drizzly in much of the county, although there was some variability in rainfall even in a fairly compact county as this one is. Winds were another matter, as were tides where the latter was noticed, with plenty of strong gusts and excessively high tide noted.
Another Connecticut Warbler was reported with some textual details on Saturday from Madison Square Park, following a report from Friday of that species from Washington Square Park, each in lower-mid Manhattan, Washington Square being within the Greenwich Village neighborhood. This is very much the time period of any year to seek that warbler species, and the somewhat high numbers of sightings and reports might lately be connected in part with regional weather of the past week, and thru this weekend.
Warbler species such as Blackpoll Warbler and Cape May Warbler were among a wider assortment of warbler species being found in many county locations, in numbers at some areas in the county. At least twenty species of warbler were found on Saturday in the county, and of those all but one species was noted from Central Park.
Over the county, a nearly similar number of expected seasonal migrants were found on Saturday as had been seen Friday here. There were many birds seeming to linger in much the same areas on both days. Sparrows again included White-crowned in the low multiple, while such species as Lincolns and Savannah Sparrow were ongoing, along with the various more-common migrant sparrow species. Coming days and weeks are likely to bring fresh batches of sparrow arrivals, with possibilities for rarer species. At Central Park, lingering species were many, including ongoing American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Ruddy and Wood Ducks and assorted other typical waterfowl of the month.
At least 90 species were found for N.Y. county on Saturday, even with the various observers who defected to other eastward locations, and of course a slight reduction of observers and photographers not wishing to come out and play in the wind and rains.
………
In rarer vagrant flycatchers, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was still being seen across the far western side of NY state in Chautauqua County to Saturday. While vastly far from NY, or anywhere in the east, a stunning seabird find, probably new to the nation of Canada if confirmed in any avian-records committees, was confirmed for eBird, off British Columbia - of a Juan Fernandez Petrel, photographed and thus far agreed by experts to be of that species, and seen from land, no less. Thats in the northeastern Pacific so we easterners should not be expecting that, but it is a reminder that pelagic birds can show up at times far from where typically expected.
Thanks to all observers and photographers all around, for many sightings, alerts, and reports.
Good birding, and stay safe around high winds, tides, and waters.
