Heavy nocturnal migration on the night of 10 September will produce another nice day for birding in the greater New York City metropolitan area. Following Monday’s hawk flight in Manhattan, featuring hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks, Tuesday will see a continuation of the small streams of Broad-winged Hawks, Ospreys, American Kestrels, and Sharp-shinned Hawks passing over the northern end of the island and the Bronx. Numbers and diversity of warblers will continue to delight birders in city parks, with 15-20 species still likely for the coming days, as well as Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a suite of other Neotropical migrant songbirds. Those along the south shore of Long Island and Staten Island should watch the barrier beach for morning flight following Monday night’s northerly winds – in particular, watch not only for migrant warblers and other songbirds but for Red-breasted Nuthatch, a species seemingly staging a substantial irruption through this region this fall. Tuesday night’s forecast now calls for light southerly or variable winds, suggesting that migration will not be as heavy at the Tribute in Light Memorial as previously forecast. However, low wind speeds and an urgency for many species to continue movements after a lengthy unfavorable period last week suggest that many birds (perhaps in the hundreds at times if forecast winds are as predicted) may be visible in the beams at times.
Heavy nocturnal bird migration, 930PM, 10 September 2012. Areas of green show heavy movements of birds (and insects and bats) across much of the Northeastern US. High pressure sits over central OH, producing favorable northerly winds for the New York City area.
