On the morning of October 10, a small olive bird with white wing bars caught my eye as it flew around the marsh regeneration area of Inwood Hill Park. I couldn’t immediately identify the bird, but I thought it was a type of warbler passing through the park during fall migration.
A feature available on iPhone models with iOS 15 or later can identify objects in Photos. The embedded content of Visual Look Up includes plants, pets, food, art, landmarks, and yes, birds.
This small bird showed some of the characteristics of similar warblers like Cape May but without the yellow tones. I knew that Blackpoll Warblers were expected to fly through New York around this time, but this olive bird did not look anything like the black and white Blackpoll I expected with its familiar little black cap. But, wait. It was a Blackpoll, as I later discovered.
After some online research, with frustrating results, I happened to scroll through the Photos app on my iPhone. All my bird pictures are copied there, a handy reference in the field. Landing on a picture, it’s easy to swipe up on a selected image and see if there’s additional information. To my surprise, many of my photos of this particular bird identified it as a Blackpoll.
Image: Screenshot from iPhone.
In late summer, Blackpoll Warblers molt into this green-yellow color. They have orange legs, too, so that’s another thing to help with the identification. (more on Cornell Lab’s All About Birds.)
Blackpoll Warblers breed in the forests of Canada and in evergreens in New England. They will spend winter in the forests of South America.
While in Inwood Hill Park during its stopover, this Blackpoll Warbler took advantage of the tall reedy marsh grasses for foraging and gaining energy for its long trip south.
Cover: Blackpoll Warbler. Inwood Hill Park. Marsh Regeneration area. October 10, 2024.
Latest Sightings
In addition to multiple species of sparrows reported in the marsh areas, an American Kestrel has been putting on a show in the adjacent open field. It has a habit of sitting on one of the goal posts. Raptor activity has picked up, especially with Red-tailed Hawks. See the October Sightings page for details. Just this morning, on the chillest day so far this fall, I saw a Winter Wren foraging on the forest floor of the Clove.
Recent posts
- Observing Birds Outside the Window: The Comforts and Surprises of Birdwatching During a Winter Storm
- A Thanksgiving with Hawks and All the Birds of Inwood
- Easy Fall Birding with White-throated Sparrows
- The Birds for Our New York City Moment
- Fall Birding Falls Into Place: Notable Birds of Inwood During Mid-October
Birds of Inwood 
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