Double Kingbird Day - 4th Jan

My first day back in the USA from a very nice Christmas in Ireland. The holidays had been somewhat fraught due to the news of a Couch's Kingbird in Manhattan which emerged on 25th December. I spent a few days hoping that it would still be there when I got back, and my prayers were answered! We originally located it at the corner of W 11th and W 4th, where it has been most reliably found over the last couple of weeks. It then moved off, and we eventually caught up with it again at its original site on Washington St.

Having achieved the main target for the day it was suggested that getting the other mega kingbird in New York at the moment would be fun, so we headed to Floyd Bennett Field. The Cassin's Kingbird was showing very well, a great start to the NY year list! Doug then showed us a Northern Saw-whet Owl roost that had been found a few weeks ago, and we finished the day looking at gulls at Coney Island Creek, including a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull. Marvelous!

Couch's Kingbird. A NY state first record. It has been hanging around a patch of the West Village in Manhattan for several weeks, instead of Mexico where it really should be.

The notched tail identifies this as either Couch's or Tropical. Both have the yellow extending up to the throat ...

...and green upperparts. The best method of separating the two is by call, fortunately this fellow was very vocal every time he flew.

The tail is another key feature. Cassin's has a white tip, Western is black with white edges.

Cassin's Kingbird. Note the grey upperparts unlike the Couch's. Still in the same spot where it was found in November. Let's hope this chap survives the cold weather that's on the way.

Northern Saw-whet Owl. Also very site-faithful. I'll be visiting this one again.

Juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull. Small numbers are scattered around various sites, particularly on Long Island. This is the first I've managed to catch up with.