A New Birding Year begins

The year got off to a slowish start for me. Usually, I spend New Year's Day going all over Central Park getting as many ordinary birds as possible along with whatever rarities are around. I do it this way because I use the eBird "year Needs" list, and it's a little annoying to see dozens of "Common Grackle" reports for the first few days of the year.

This year, though, I decided to start by looking for the several rarities I knew were around Manhattan. I started with a swing around the Reservoir, where the three drake Ring-Necked Ducks are still in residence,

ducks in residence

and then went down to the Village for another look at Couch's Kingbird, who put in a quick appearance.

continuing Kingbird

Then I sent up to Hudson River park in Chelsea, where I dipped on my old friend the Eurasian Collared-Dove, who I know is still around. I also didn't see any of the resident Ravens. I decided to to troll Riverside Park looking for the Black-Headed Gull found there by Jacob Drucker. I'm not sure I'd know a Black-Headed Gull if it crapped on me.

Friday and Saturday I was in Central Park, which was a bit sparse. I did have both Sharp-Shinned and Cooper's Hawks at Maintenance on Friday, and the Chipping Sparrow is still maintaining his place at the Evodia feeders against all comers.

Chipping Sparrow tells a Titmouse what's what

Sunday I finally made it up to Randall's Island, where several remarkable birds--Tennessee Warbler! Cackling Goose! Orange-Crowned Warbler! Lesser Black-backed Gull!-- had been reported, but none of them appeared for me. I did see Field Sparrows.

rather late for Field Sparrows

Always a cheerful sight, they were hanging around with a small flock of Juncos and a few House Sparrows, which was working both sides of the Bronx Kill west of the railroad bridge.

And since then, my morning jaunts through the Ramble on my way to the subway have started filling in my species list.

confiding woodpecker

How's your New Birding Year going?

Couch's Kingbird, Abingdon Square

the hero of the hour

Well, the first thing Christmas weekend brought me was a head cold. After spending Christmas Day in bed, I struggled in to work on Friday morning--and then struggled right back out on Friday afternoon to chase the reported Couch's Kingbird in Greenwich Village. Luckily I have an understanding boss.

Couch's Kingbird is a Central and South American bird, with a range extending into southern Texas and no reported sightings in New York before now. But apparently one has been hanging around a vest-pocket park at Jane and Washington Streets for six weeks or so--and nobody reported it until Christmas Day, when Zack Winestine, who found the bird, told Gabriel Willow, who posted it that night on the NYSBIRDS-L mailing list, and the next morning it was off to the races.

I got down to Jane Street about 2 PM. A knot of birders was on the corner opposite the little park. Ken Gayle had just seen the bird, but it had flown. I walked around the block and then into the park, thinking about where I would be if I were a flycatcher.

The answer came when I rejoined the other birders, who had just gotten a call that the bird had been sighted at Bleeker and Hudson, and off we went.

that first glimpse!

There we found sixty-plus birders, and one bird.

the bird paparazzi

A lot of passers-by were curious about what was going on. Everyone was happy to explain about the bird, the first state record, and all that. "And this is what always happens when there's a first sighting of a bird in the state," I told them, "the bird paparazzi all come out."

or maybe "birderazzi?"

So, Couch's can only be distinguished from a Tropical Kingbird -- a more numerous species with more vagrant records -- by voice, and this one wasn't calling. It's possible I heard it call once--when a kestrel flew overhead calling, and wouldn't that have been a bad scene--a sharp kip! Maybe.

ready for action

Luckily it had been calling that morning and was heard and recorded by people who could positively ID it.

Eventually I headed back to work, checking on the Ovenbird still present in Bryant Park and making it back to the office inside the two hours I had told the boss I'd need. Urban birding, there's nothing like it.

you made it to the end, so you get one more pic of the pretty bird