Also in the northeast of Central Park was another nice sparrow this past week, in the Compost Heap, a Lark Sparrow.

Last Thursday there was at least two Clay-colored Sparrows in the northeastern section of Central Park.  This one was in a Crab Apple tree at 106th Street.

A Phalarope was found in Stuyvesant Cove Park this morning and after much discussion was identified as a Red Phalarope.  It was an amazingly cooperative bird, staying close to the shoreline.  It as a life bird for me.

For the last few days, there has been a Dickcissel up by the compost heap in Central Park, which is near the East Drive and 105th Streets.  I got lucky and was in view for a few minutes.  It harder to find later in the afternoon.

One of the joys of New York City birding is its great network of birders who freely share their discoveries.  Another joy is the pocket parks of Manhattan that due to light pollution end up with an interesting number of rarities.  Yesterday and today, these intersected with a Sora in Bryant Park.

It was a tough bird to find, as it kept hiding in the undercover but if you were patient, you could get some good looks at the bird.  It was in the western section of the plantings just north of lawn.  It worked east and west before climbing up into a small conifer, after dusk, and may have ended up roosting there.

Fall migration has been slowly starting over the last few weeks.  Birds take some work to find at times, but there are interesting species moving through the area now.  Today, I was lucky to have a number of birders direct me to a Tennessee Warbler in Central Park’s Maintenance Meadow.  It was a very cooperative bird and it gave great looks for over two hours.