Urban Ornithology

150 Years of Birds in New York City

P. A. Buckley, Walter Sedwitz, William J. Norse, John Kieran

• Publisher: Comstock Publishing Associates
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781501719639
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Zoology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Urban Ornithology is the first quantitative historical analysis of any New York City natural area's birdlife and spans the century and a half from 1872 to 2016. Only Manhattan's Central and Brooklyn's Prospect Parks have preliminary species lists, not revised since 1967, and the last book examining the birdlife of the entire New York City area is now more than fifty years old.

This book updates the avifaunas of those two parks, the Bronx, and other New York City boroughs. It treats the 301 bird species known to have occurred within its study area—Van Cortlandt Park and the adjacent Northwest Bronx—plus 70 potential additions. Its 123 breeding species are tracked from 1872 and supplemented by quantitative breeding bird censuses from 1937 to 2015. Gains and losses of breeding species are discussed in light of an expanding New York City inexorably extinguishing unique habitats.

SPECIES ACCOUNTS

Ducks, Geese, Swans: Anatidae

Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor

NYC area, current

An erratic and perhaps increasing vagrant from populations in Florida (where introduced) and Louisiana to Texas that for uncertain reasons began to explode to the northeast as far as New Brunswick, Canada, in flocks to 30 in fall and winter 1961–62 and 1962–63. This continued every year until 1966, when it stopped as abruptly as it had begun. It resumed intermittently in the late 1960s until tapering off in the late 1980s–early 1990s, only to pick up once more in the early 2000s. There are now 15–20 records, the most recent in the early 2010s.

NYC area, historical

Bull’s NYC Area as of 1968: flock of 6–8 in Dec 1962, then 6 records in flocks of 3–8 in 1965, single in 1966

Bull’s New York State as of 1975: flocks of 11 in 1972, 6 in 1975

Levine’s New York State as of 1996: flock of 18 in 1977

Study area, historical and current

The sole record is of a single in Van Cortlandt Swamp on 31 Oct–1 Nov 1965 (Norse, Stepinoff), part of an influx to the New York City area when between Apr 1965 and Dec 1966 there were 6 records, some involving small flocks. The second in the Bronx, in Pelham Bay Park from 12–16 Nov 1990 (Rodewald), was apparently killed by a Red-tailed Hawk (DeCandido 1991b). Unrecorded in Central or Prospect Parks.

Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus

NYC and study areas, current

A recent European winter vagrant to the Northeast, mid-Atlantic states, and the New York City area. With greatly increased numbers of Greenland breeders, some Pink-foots have been following recently colonized Canada Geese back to their North American overwintering grounds rather than to northwestern Europe— exactly as Barnacle and Greater White-fronted Geese have been doing.

First recorded in North America when 1 was collected in MA in 1924, singles then overwintered in DE in 1953–54 and (the first in New York State) at Babylon, Long Island, in 1971–72 (unknown observers, Kingbird), followed by 1 in the late 1970s at Timber Point Golf Course, Heckscher State Park (fide Cooper), and at Middle Island from 16–31 Jan 1991 (Clinton, Ruscica et al.). All were deprecated as escapes even though each was embedded in presumed arctic Canada Goose flocks.

It was not until the first in NF in 1980 and QC in 1988 and 1989 that some voices began to suggest that these may have been genuine vagrants. The following (modern) regional firsts began to appear not long thereafter: PA 1997, CT 1998, MA 1999, VT 1999, NS 2005, NY 2007, RI 2007, ME 2009, NB 2010, NH 2011, NJ 2011, and MD 2011—the farthest south to date. Nearly all were singles but 2 appeared in NJ in 2016, 3 in ME in 2009, and 5 in NF in spring 1995 during a large fallout of Icelandic breeding species. Singles remain the rule, but increasingly (as in the winter of 2016–17 around New York City) multiple singles are scattered among various Canada Goose flocks, especially on Long Island. Unknown from Central or Prospect Parks but 1 moved between Kissena and Flushing Meadow Parks in Queens from 27 Dec 2008–12 Jan 2009 (E. Miller et al.).

There is but a single study area record, the first in the Bronx: Van Cortlandt Parade Ground 22–29 Dec 2016 (Fiore, Dolan et al.; photos). It is unrecorded in Westchester and Rockland Counties, but singles were in Orange County in Mar 2013 and fall 2016. Without doubt, increased scrutiny of arctic Canada Goose flocks will detect additional Pink-footeds elsewhere in New York State.

Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons

NYC area, current

A winter visitor/resident in very small numbers in the Northeast and the New York City area from the Greenland breeding population (flavirostris) that has been increasing markedly since the 1980s but that is known in the Bronx only from Van Cortlandt Park. Recorded in Prospect but not Central Park.

NYC area, historical

Cruickshank’s NYC Region as of 1941: western vagrant, shot 5 times on Long Island 1846–89

Bull’s NYC Area as of 1968: 2 recent Long Island records: Apr 1944, Dec 1948 in flocks of arctic Canadas; others in Feb, Mar–Jun deprecated as escapes

Bull’s New York State as of 1975: wild status of most now accepted

Study area, historical and current

A recent winter resident first seen on the Parade Ground and then Van Cortlandt Lake on 28 Oct 2010 (McGee) when it had just begun overwintering with a large arctic Canada Goose flock. It was last seen on 26 Feb 2011 (Bochnik). The same bird overwintered in Van Cortlandt a year later from 11 Nov 2011 (Bochnik)–5 May 2012 (Van Doren et al.) but spent its time elsewhere in the winter of 2012–13 and then returned to Van Cortlandt from 1 Dec 2013–mid-Feb 2014 (DiCostanzo et al.) and perhaps also on 19–20 Feb 2017 (King et al.).

Comments

All study area individuals have been flavirostris, the Greenland breeding taxon comprising the vast majority of northeastern North America White-fronts.

Snow Goose Chen caerulescens

NYC area, current

An increasing fall migrant and winter resident inland and recently in large numbers coastally. Spring flocks tend to move well west of the Hudson River.

Bronx region, historical

Bicknell’s Riverdale 1872–1901: unrecorded

Eaton’s Bronx + Manhattan 1910–14: rare migrant

Griscom’s Bronx Region as of 1922: unrecorded, but once in Croton Point area

Kuerzi’s Bronx Region as of 1926: no Bronx records

NYC area, historical

Cruickshank’s NYC Region as of 1941: on Long Island uncommon to rare in spring/fall (maximum 700) migration, extremely rare in winter; 24 Sep–27 Apr; away from coast often unnoticed in spring/fall migration. 3 Bronx records, once each in Van Cortlandt and on the Hudson

Bull’s NYC Area as of 1968: increased in numbers during spring/fall migration, but also increased numbers of observers; 21 Sep–24 May; Long Island maxima fall 5500+, spring 700; no overwintering flocks, per site maximum 4

Bull’s New York State as of 1975: status unchanged

Study area, historical and current

A regular migrant as hundreds pass overhead north- and southbound, even though most do so unnoticed; nearly all are Baffin Island-breeding white-morph atlantica (Greater Snow Goose). Occasionally a few or a small flock will alight and 1–2 sometimes remain for short periods in all 4 extant subareas.

In fall, first migrants arrive in early Oct, peak in late Oct–early Nov, and depart by mid-Nov, with extreme dates of 10 on 8 Oct 1999 (Garcia) and 2 on 30 Nov 2011 (Kravatz) and flocks to 40 on several occasions, with a maximum of 120 on 4 Oct 2000 (Young). One on Jerome 27 Oct–10 Nov 1974 (Sedwitz) was the only blue-morph caerulescens. Until the late 1970s all Blue Geese were by definition caerulescens (Lesser Snow Goose) and most still are, but blue alleles now occur in atlantica (Greater Snow Goose) and also in Ross’s Goose, though quite rare in both.

We know of 13 winter records: 1 may have overwintered on Jerome in 1964–65 (Enders et al.); Jerome 16 Jan 1966 (Zupan, Enders); Van Cortlandt 27 Dec 1970 (Buckley, Sedwitz); 29 Dec 2006 (Young); 2 from 25 Nov–12 Dec 2011 (Scully, Kravatz et al.); 8 Dec 2012 (Baksh); 2 from 20–28 Dec 2014 (McGee et al.); 12 Dec 2015 (McGee); 20 over Woodlawn on 27 Dec 2015 (Gotlib et al.); 16–17 Jan 2016 (Fung et al.); 22 Dec 2016–20 Jan 2017 (Fiore et al.); 13 over Jerome on 12 Dec 2017 (Ward); 120 over Hillview on 14 Dec 2017 (Camillieri).

There are only 3 spring records: Van Cortlandt Lake on 24 Apr 1957 (Mayer), Woodlawn on 12–13 Mar 1966 (Horowitz et al.), and, quite late, on the Parade Ground on 30 May 1994 (Lyons). The 200 over the Bronx Zoo on 23 Mar 2016 (Olson) and the 250 over Riverdale on 27 Mar 1982 (Sedwitz) were during the typical peak northbound flight period, when most migrate well to the west of the Hudson River.

Brant Branta bernicla

NYC area, current

A common but local winter visitor/resident and migrant, restricted to bay and sound salt-ma...

Table of contents

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Avifaunal Overview
• Introduction to the Species Accounts
• Species Accounts
• Appendixes
• Literature Cited
• About the Authors
• Indexes