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

  • Birds in Silhouette and the Case of the Barred Owl

    As a practice, birding involves the ability to scan the landscape and pick out anomalies in trees, the surface of the river, in the sky, and so forth. The process for trees goes something like this – see a tree, then a branch, and then more trees, a stump, some gnarly branches, twigs, another tree,…

  • A Song Sparrow Singing at the Salt Marsh

    With the arrival of the Vernal Equinox, a male Song Sparrow has been singing many melodies at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. While a loud Northern Mockingbird practiced for a song competition in the marsh grasses nearby, the Song Sparrow assumed the loftier perch at the top of a favorite tree. For the…

  • Little Birds of the Winter Forest

    Deep into the old-growth forest of Inwood Hill Park, the Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, and Tufted Titmouse cling to the bare tree limbs of late winter. As the tree buds and athletic fields begin to show green, as befitting the work week ending with St. Patrick’s Day, these small active birds have yet to disperse…

  • The Office Hours of an Eastern Screech-Owl

    (Updated February 10, 2024) Many regular walkers in Inwood Hill Park enjoy taking a stroll through the Clove, a small picturesque valley between the two prominent hills in the park, and stopping to look for a little owl that resides way up high in a hole in a tree. The owl is an Eastern Screech-Owl,…

  • American Robins Arrive and Sing

    Many American Robins returned to Inwood Hill Park this week. They gave the appearance of being a little dazed, as if they had suddenly been transported from another space and time to this wild hilly place of tall old trees adjacent to a big river. The robins were singing their song not heard here in…

  • An Early Morning Photo Session with a Red-tailed Hawk

    A few days ago, as I started my morning walk to the park, a guy practicing his tennis strokes on the courts next to the 207th Street entrance to Inwood Hill Park noticed my camera and then pointed to a large hawk perched on a low branch nearby. The next day, I saw the same…