An Eastern Bluebird was seen in the West 80s of Central Park of Central Park on Friday (and again on Saturday). It’s the state bird of New York. This once-prolific bird had a sharp decline of population due to nesting cavity competition from European Starlings and House Sparrows. Nest box programs started in the 1960s and 1970s have helped the species population numbers to improve but it remains an infrequent visitor to Central Park.
Fall brings a variety of ducks to Central Park. Every year one or two Green-winged Teals are spotted. One was the Meer for a few days this week. It’s about 2/3 the size of a Mallard, so they’re easy to pick out in a raft of ducks.
A Purple Gallinule was found on the north shore of Turtle Pond in Central Park this morning and created quite a sensation among Manhattan’s birding community. The juvenile bird worked the shoreline and gave birders great views from a short distance. The species is normally found in Florida and South Carolina, but is known to wonder, showing up on occasion in all the eastern states and many Canadian provinces. The word gallinule comes from the Latin “gallina,” meaning small hen.
In the Loch at the waterfall near the rustic bridge, in Central Park, there was a Yellow-breasted Chat. While we waited a young Red-tailed Hawk made an appearance.
After the ran stopped on Sunday, I took more photographs of the Union Square Saltmarsh Sparrow. It was still there today, Tuesday. If you go looking for it be aware that is hides anywhere from 30-60 minutes and then forages on the southeastern most lawn for about 10-30 minutes. Hopefully it will continue for a few more days.
Alex Tey found a Saltmarsh Sparrow in Union Square Park today. Rare for Manhattan, it was totally unexpected to be seen in Union Square. Thanks to the great network New York City Birders have, at least 50 birders got to see this wonderful sparrow. It was a life bird for me. This October, I’ve gotten to see three new sparrows, Grasshopper, Lark and now Saltmarsh.
