Sadly, a Common Merganser is on The Lake in Central Park with a plastic band wrapped in its mouth and neck.  It looks like the ring to a wide mouth beverage container.  The Urban Park Rangers have tried to trap the bird over the last two days without success.  Let’s hope they are able to net the bird soon.

A Graylag Goose, which has been seem for at least a week on the Reservoir was on The Lake of Central Park today.  The spotted black/yellow bill coloration and white feathers around the bill, suggest that it is most likely a Graylag Goose x Swan Goose Hybrid.  The bird is most likely an escapee from a poultry farm.

We used to have a number of Domestic Duck/Mallard hybrids on The Pond and The Meer and we had the Mandarin Duck last winter.  So, another hybrid is just par for the course I guess.

I went walking on Randalls Island today.  I got very nice looks at a Belted Kingfisher at the north end of the island.

There is an American Woodcock who appears to be over wintering in Bryant Park.  Today it was just north of the Bryant Park Grill, in a small garden.  Nearby was a Song Sparrow.

Two wonderful birds, seen in December have stayed for the New Year in the north of Central Park.  An immature Red-Headed Woodpecker at 98th and the West Drive and a Green-Winged Teal, which was first seen on the Harlem Meer, rediscovered on the Reservoir on the Christmas Bird Count, and is now hanging out on the The Pool at 102nd Street.  It is nice they have stayed. 

They aren’t rare birds for the New York area, but they are infrequent visitors to Central Park.  So, it’s nice to be able to have more than just a brief look at them both.  The woodpecker continues to dig out cavities and cache acorns, while the teal, seems happy to hang out with the Mallards.

For about a week a Red-headed Woodpecker has been reported in Central Park.  I finally got a chance to see it on Saturday.  Like most of the Red-headed Woodpeckers we get in Manhattan, it is an immature bird, without a red head.  It has selected a stand of oak trees west of ball field number 2 in the North Meadow and east of light W9802.  (If you don’t know the “secret code” of the park street lights, this decodes as W=West Drive, 98=98th Street, 02=the second street light in the block.)

Red-headed Woodpeckers excavate cavities and then store nuts in them.  If this one behaves like ones we’ve had in previous years, it should be fun to watch this activity through the winter.