Saturday, September 12, 2015

Birding on 9/11

Here's a report posted on this blog  13 years ago, just around the time interest in studying moths in  Central Park began:

Weird Pulsating Fly Identified



Three moths and a fly
The CP Mothers observed a weird and beautiful insect at their first Moth Night on 9/9/02. [See full report below]. Clearly in the Diptera [Fly] order, it was not to be found in the Peterson Insect Guide we had taken along. A few weeks later Nick Wagerik found it in the Audubon Insect Guide. It was a Pyrgotid Fly, one of a family that is attracted to lights [!]and is known to parasitize beetles.
The artist and illustrator Ed Lam was one of the mothing band that night, and captured the fly as well as the three moths to the left with his Nikon Coolpix digital camera.


Now, back to the present [or the present minus a day] 

9/12/15
Jordan Spindel  sent in [to ebirdsNYC] a report of birds scene on the 13th anniversary of the event now known as "9/11'

Today it seems like many migrants have moved into the city as predicted. Morning birding in Central Park was hard because the light was terrible, but I still identified 6 warbler species and a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak in an hour. The afternoon was good too. The light was mostly good, and I was able to go out with a friend and be there much longer. I saw 7 warbler species in the afternoon, including Nashville (good looks) and Tennessee (bad looks). Those 2 were in a flock of Parulas and Magnolia Warblers at Laupot Bridge. Here is what I saw:

M= morning only
A = afternoon only

Redstart
Parula
3-4 Magnolia Warblers
1 Chestnut-Sided Warbler A
1 Ovenbird M
1 Common Yellowthroat M (a bird seen in the afternoon was probably also one)
2 Black-and-White Warblers
1 NASHVILLE WARBLER A (Laupot Bridge)
1 TENNESSEE WARBLER A (Laupot Bridge)
1 Willow Flycatcher A (heard calling at Maintenance Field)
3-4 Empidonax sp.
2 Eastern Kingbirds A (Maintenance Field)
1 Great Crested Flycatcher A (Maintenance Field)
1 Warbling Vireo
Red Eyed Vireo
Veery (many at Maintenance Field)
1 Swainson's Thrush A
1 Ruby-Throated Hummingbird A (Tupelo Field)
1 Red-Tailed Hawk (W 86th st entrance)
12 Gadwall (Turtle Pond)