Birds of Inwood

I enjoyed a closeup of a female Belted Kingfisher at the marsh on a recent August morning, marveling at its curious shape. Belted Kingfishers possess a big beak and a big, crested head. The rest doesn’t seem to match in proportion to what nature has provided for the head and beak. 

This charismatic bird feeds on prey in the water, diving headfirst for fish. They need to see the fish first, so the water should be clear. They’ll get into a good position and study the action in the water before making a move.

Their sound gives the first clue of their presence. They make a rattle noise that carries across water, a click like pinned trading cards on the spokes of a bicycle I made as a kid. 

The males sport a blue band or belt, while females have a blue and brownish-red belt. I saw a female this last sighting.

Belted Kingfishers build their nests in a burrow, a deep tunnel of dirt at the edge of the water. They are ancient birds, dating back to the Pleistocene era. In Inwood Hill Park at the Salt Marsh, I see them most often perched slightly above the water in a place where they would not be disturbed by human activity.

Belted Kingfishers are common across North America. They migrate south, but many will stay if open water is available.

That little round patch of white feathers situated between its eyes and aggressive beak makes it hard to even locate the eyes. From afar, that bright patch tends to give away its location but obscure its gaze.  

Most of my personal sightings place the Belted Kingfisher in Inwood Hill Park starting in August and continuing through January. I saw one this year at the end of May.

Around high tide is the best time to catch one. They look for opportune times to fish and to dive. Listen for its loud rattle and look for sturdy crags that reach out over the water. Those are its diving boards.

Cover: Belted Kingfisher. August 3, 2025. 6:35 a.m. at the Salt Marsh, Inwood Hill Park.

Cormorants and Modern Architecture at Sherman Creek

Sherman Creek Park is one of the best places to see birds in Inwood, as I wrote about in a previous post. In addition to migrating shorebirds, Double-crested Cormorants favor the waterfront near the opening of the Sherman Creek inlet. I’ve seen multiple cormorants and a Great Blue Heron on recent visits. 

Observing birds at this park opens up a wide natural and urban landscape with multiple points of interest. On the opposite shore, vehicle traffic crawls along the Major Deegan Expressway. University Heights, the neighborhood there, takes its name from the Bronx campus of New York University, built in 1894 and sold to CUNY (Bronx Community College) in 1973. The college setting includes notable works of architecture, beginning with the Gould Memorial Library designed by Stanford White (of McKim, Mead & White) from 1895 to 1900, and the same architect’s Hall of Fame (1901).

The most noticeable building, from the cormorant perspective at Sherman Creek, is Marcel Breuer’s Carl Polowczyk Hall, built between 1959 and 1961. The wide modernist building is one of several concrete buildings that Breuer designed for NYU’s expanding campus. While the complete plan was never realized, these buildings still serve the students of Bronx Community College. In New York City, Breuer is best known for the former Whitney Museum (1966) building at 945 Madison Avenue (also known as the Breuer Building).

The Yellowing of the American Goldfinch

On the last day of February and into early March, I observed several goldfinches in the trees around the W. 207th Street steps near Emerson Playground. The birds were pale yellow then. Flash forward to the deepening of summer, and bright yellow sunflowers dot the gardens here. The goldfinches are enjoying eating the sunflower seeds. The flowers and the birds make a natural match. See August 2025 Sightings page for more birds this month.

A View of the August Sturgeon Moon from Inwood

Setting out for an early morning walk on Sunday, I was able to catch the full moon setting over the Met Cloisters. I knew I had to stop in the middle of Cooper Street to capture that fleeting moment. Fortunately, it was 6:21 a.m. and not much traffic. There’s a bird in this picture, too. Look for it. 

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

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