(above) Eastern Screech-Owl. May 21, 2023. All images from Inwood Hill Park unless otherwise noted.
A spring gallery of park regulars and new arrivals. The gallery begins March 20, 2023, the first day of Spring, and will conclude May 31, 2023. See the March-April 2023 page for earlier sightings.
May 2023






















































Recent posts
- Summer Season with the Baltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are in town, and I don’t mean just the ones playing away games at Yankee Stadium this past week. I’m referring to the all-star birds of orange and black, joining the major league Cardinals and Blue Jays above the athletic fields and all around the edges of Inwood Hill Park. Most Baltimore […]
- Listening to the American RedstartLike most warblers, the American Redstart is a petite bundle of energy unwilling to sit still for pictures. It appears in quick flashes, a blur of black and orange (the male) while flitting from tree to tree to forage for insects. Though dressed in the colors of Halloween (a frequent characterization), American Redstarts are rarely […]
- A Black-throated Blue on the Old Green HillI heard the song of a Black-throated Blue Warbler on Sunday morning, an amusing sound that is sometimes translated in the field guides as “please-please-SQUEEZE-me.” (Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds of North America, Eastern Region, 1977) With their midnight blue coloring, a black throat, and white underneath, these birds are both pretty […]
- When the Tree Swallows Come Back to Northern ManhattanIn the recent springs I have observed them, Tree Swallows have returned to the same place at the corner of the Salt Marsh path in Inwood Hill Park. They perch on an old tree branch that has fallen over into the water. In the background you’ll see the Henry Hudson Bridge. The spot is almost […]
- Birdwatching at SunriseOne of my favorite vintage books, The New Field Book of Nature Activities and Hobbies by William Hillcourt, first published in 1950 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, devotes a chapter to birdwatching. I own the 1970 edition. Hillcourt recommends what to wear – clothes of drab hues in the blue/green/gray range but no white as […]