Category: Cooper’s Hawk
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The Slow, Cold Start of Birdwatching in 2026
The dawn of the first day of January brought cold, piercing winds and a surprising early morning snow squall. It was the kind of day to stay indoors and drink tea. The first bird I saw that day was the Cooper’s Hawk of Cooper Street, a sighting from my kitchen window. The Cooper’s Hawk is…
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Observing Birds Outside the Window: The Comforts and Surprises of Birdwatching During a Winter Storm
On Tuesday, December 2, a Nor’easter barreled through New York City, bringing a cold, steady rain for most of the day. Areas to the north and west got the snow, but most of NYC was just out of range for a nice snowfall. My plans for birdwatching were rained out. Or, so I thought. When…
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Birds of Inwood in a Golden Light on the Last Full Day of Winter
Cover: A Great Egret arrives on a rock in the Salt Marsh as a goose flies overhead. March 19, 2025. 7:31 a.m. Inwood Hill Park, NYC. A bright sunrise at 7:01 a.m. brought a golden hue to Inwood Hill Park. The last full day of winter is a good time to observe the birds of…
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The Cooper’s Hawk of Cooper Street
The Cooper Street Rock stretches high above Cooper Street in Inwood, and on the rock grows a tall tree popular with all sorts of birds. The short street lined with apartment buildings is named after James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans (1826). A Cooper’s Hawk often visits this rugged summit,…
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A Gull, a Goose, and the Odd Duck in Wild and Wintry Weather
New York City is experiencing a real winter this season with weather fronts bringing snow, freezing rain, and sleet to the metropolis. This year, the winter has been cold enough for the waterways to be covered in icy islands and sheets of ice floes. Periodic warmups have thawed the rivers and inlets. This weather pattern…
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Rain and Floods and a Hawk from Somewhere
On the morning of Friday, September 22, the day the rain began, the clouds looked like birds. This configuration of clouds – giant birds in profile with wings outstretched – signaled the arrival of the storm known as Ophelia. Rain then fell relentlessly for four days. On the afternoon of Monday, September 25, I…
Birds of Inwood 