Top 10 Birds of 2015!

Here are my top 10 birds of 2015. This year, there was quite a selection to choose from, with around 25 notable birds, but here are the ones that stood out.

10. Yellow-Crowned Night Herons on Governor's Island, 6/19. Rare visitor in the county. These birds were the first nesting pair in the county, offering me great views as they hung out around their nest. I later found out that they were successful, as well as that a second nesting pair was there too.
9. Great Horned Owl in Central Park's Ramble, 11/8 up to now. Scarce in the county. Just as I was about to give up on seeing an owl this year, this bird showed up and offered great views at times, as well as attracting crowds waiting to see it fly out.
8. Red-Headed Woodpecker in Central Park at the Oven, 10/26 thru November. Rare migrant/winterer for county. This bird which I thought may not show up put on a great show where it took up residence for a month.
7. Vesper Sparrow in Central Park near the Great Lawn, 10/6 and 10/7. Rare migrant for county. After missing this bird a few days prior, it felt great to see it twice while in the company of several other sparrow species.
6. Orange-Crowned Warbler in Central Park near the MET museum, 12/20. Scarce fall migrant for county. The one bird I felt like I should have seen at some point during the season, yet saw it on the last day of fall when one was found on the Christmas Bird Count.
5. Chuck-Will's-Widow in Bryant Park, 4/12. Rare spring overshoot for the county. Seen sleeping in a tree and only getting up once to preen.
4. Connecticut Warbler at Trinity Church, 9/22. Scarce migrant for the county. Seen foraging in the cemetery along with several other warblers.
3. Common Redpoll in Central Park at the feeders, late January-early March. Rare irruptive species for NYC. Seen sporatically at the feeders with other finches and sparrows.
2. Sora in Central Park's Ravine, 10/18. Rare migrant for the park. Injured bird seen well in the open and seemed healthy.
1. Pacific-Slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher in Central Park near Boathouse, 11/21. Rare for eastern North America, only the second record of this species pair for New York. Gave great views, and was seen by a lot of people.

All of these birds were seen by me last year but I missed them all. Excluding rarities, here are the misses:

Least Flycatcher: I probably saw several this year, but couldn't conclusively identify one
Cuckoos: Missed both of them despite being regular migrants. May have seen one, but not sure.
Broad-Winged Hawk: Bad hawk migration year, and not many were seen by others.
Red-Shouldered Hawk: Should've seen one flyover this fall, but missed this one.
Long-Eared Owl: Looked for it on the one day it must've changed a roosting spot in March.
Prairie Warbler: Easily the biggest miss of the year, despite being common. Somehow couldn't find one, and missed several by minutes.