Category: Inwood Hill Park
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The Sparrows of April

The month of April could be told in sparrows. That rusty-capped little sparrow you may have seen this past month in the local parks, the Chipping Sparrow, is currently traveling north from Mexico and South America, stopping here on its long migration journey. It breeds in late April and May. The Chipping Sparrow trills loudly,…
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The Return of the Yellow-rumped Warblers

The Merlin app detected Yellow-rumped Warblers in Inwood Hill Park on April 17, 2024. The author also spotted a pair of Palm Warblers and a Hermit Thrush earlier than the previous year. The spring migration seems faster this year but keeping a multiple year diary helps anticipate future arrivals and monitor any decline in bird…
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The Double-crested Cormorants of Spuyten Duyvil

Double-crested Cormorants frequent the waters of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, a turbulent tidal estuary that runs between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers at the top of Manhattan Island. These inky-colored waterbirds possess a strong hooked bill that gives them efficient powers over small fish. While Double-crested Cormorants are large and strong, their impressive feathers lack…
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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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Woodpeckers Own This Place

With the leaf fall of autumn nearly complete, a curtain has been pulled back to reveal the main characters of the now bare old-growth forest. American Robins, Blue Jays, and Northern Cardinals, plenty of sparrows, a couple of hawks, and many others are still here in Inwood Hill Park, but if my walk yesterday morning…
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Two Red-tailed Hawks in the London Planes of Inwood Hill Park

I took two brief walks in Inwood Hill Park this week, and both times I saw a Red-tailed Hawk. On the first walk on late Monday morning I observed a mature hawk, and the second time on the late afternoon of Wednesday, I saw a young hawk. They were both in the London planetrees on…
