Category: Great Blue Heron
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A Hot Heron Summer at the Salt Marsh
The summer of 2024 has been hot in New York City, with successive heat waves and uncomfortable levels of humidity. Still, the early hours of the summer mornings have been mostly tolerable for rewarding outdoor excursions in Inwood Hill Park. Low tide at the Salt Marsh is the best time to watch herons fishing, but…
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Early Morning Birdwatching in the Heat of Summer
Birdwatching during the early morning hours is often a favorite time for birders in general, but during a summer heatwave, the earlier the better. The month of July is frequently hot in New York City, but in the past few days the heat has been amplified by high humidity and poor air quality. Still, an…
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Feathers Flying – Rhapsody in a Great Blue Heron
A most beautiful Great Blue Heron has been frequenting the Salt Marsh lately, with many local social media posts to prove it. A winter visitor, this particular heron has taken to perching near the shore or on one of the Inwood Hill Park docks. It can easily be seen up close. In a cold gray…
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How the Birds of Inwood Stay Warm in the Cold Northern Manhattan Winter
During the recent cold and snowy nights, I was awakened by the sounds of snapping tree limbs falling in the forest down the street. Some of the trees are old and brittle there. I imagined the birds waking up, too, jolted from their feathery dreams to find a new limb in the cold night air. …
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Fish Friday in the Fog
Most every creature caught something to eat at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park on the morning of Friday, October 6, 2023. Conditions were foggy. An Osprey was there, and also the resident Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron. The Mallards were out in force along with a gallery of gulls. A Herring…
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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 