On the morning of Friday, September 22, the day the rain began, the clouds looked like birds. This configuration of clouds – giant birds in profile with wings outstretched – signaled the arrival of the storm known as Ophelia. Rain then fell relentlessly for four days.
On the afternoon of Monday, September 25, I took a walk down to the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. It was still raining intermittently. An Osprey commanded the Osprey tree overlooking the marsh. A Great Blue Heron assumed a slumping position near the shoreline.
At around 5 pm, I first sensed and then saw the sudden flight of a hawk near me. It was a young and small hawk, and it found a perch on a snag close to the shore of the marsh. I was surprised, and the hawk looked surprised. I had not seen any hawks other than Ospreys at the marsh all summer. A Red-tailed Hawk has been out and about in nearby Isham Park, but that was it. The storm had brought this young hawk to Inwood.
I was able to confer with other birders in identifying the bird as an immature Cooper’s Hawk. I don’t know where it came from, but it didn’t stay long.
During the last week or so of September we saw seemingly endless rain here. A few days after the departure of the Ophelia, the storm’s remnants rose again and drifted back over the New York archipelago. In combination with other storms systems, an inverted trough, and an overheated climate, New York City experienced an historic rainfall on Friday, September 29. Many parts of the city flooded, largely as the result of over-development and impervious cover.
The island of Manhattan was once surrounded by Salt Marshes, essential ecologies that can both filter polluted water and act as a sponge for excessive rainfall. The marshes provide everything marsh birds need to thrive, so I was anxious to see how the local birds fared after the deluge.
The Great Egret and the Great Blue Heron were out and about after the storm. The Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls and the many ducks were fine. I saw a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron sticking close to the egret.
Along the path that circles around the large western hill in the park, American Robins were splashing around in a temporary pond.
The sun is out today, though some haze from the Canadian wildfires occasionally dims the brightness. The forest is once again alive with migratory birds that have resumed their long-distance flights.
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Check back for regular sightings on the October 2023 Sightings page. Fall migration has resumed.
Birds of Inwood 
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