A visual journal exploring the birds of Inwood and Northern Manhattan by Teri Tynes

  • Northern Mockingbird – The Bossiest Singer in the Park

    Northern Mockingbirds are famous for their expressive and varied songs, often mimicking other birds. All this month, whenever I have had occasion to walk in Inwood Hill Park or Sherman Creek Park, I’ve come across a loud mockingbird singing its heart out.

  • An Early Spring Preview of the Birds of Inwood 

    A burst of spring weather and unseasonably warm days brought a variety of birds to Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan this week. The three days in early March— March 9 through March 11— felt like a gift, especially after a long winter of cold temperatures and abundant snow. Many New Yorkers talked about how…

  • The Snowiest of Snows, and a Bald Eagle Appears

    On Monday, February 23, the snow fell across New York City in steady downfalls over many hours, embedded in a winter storm that arrived late afternoon on Sunday and continued well into the afternoon. By the end, Central Park experienced one of the largest snowstorms in the city’s history. * Up here in Northern Manhattan,…

  • Blizzard Warning: A Great Blue Heron Hunkers Down, and Other Stories of the Birds of Inwood in a Cold and Snowy Month 

    Northern Cardinals have resumed singing their song of spring this past week, so you would never know that NYC and parts of the Tri-State area are currently under a blizzard warning. As I write, the temperatures are mild, and the sky is blue. The blizzard warning is the first such weather alert issued for NYC…

  • A Red-shouldered Hawk for Valentine’s Day

    I fell in love this morning on my walk over to the Hudson River. I was walking very slowly on the sloped path leading up to the Henry Hudson Bridge. The path was a little icy, still covered with recent snow, and I was careful with every step. My intention was to see the Bald…

  • The Snows of January and the Birds of Inwood

    A quarrel of sparrows has descended on my fire escape each morning this January, asking for some seeds. A year or so ago, I tossed a handful of seeds out my kitchen window. They never forgot. Recently, as the snows and cold weather have descended on the city and on much of the rest of…