Category: Salt Marsh
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Meditations on a Great Blue Heron
And more tales of flight from early spring migration Great Blue Heron A Great Blue Heron arrived at the Salt Marsh a couple of days ago, basically on time compared with previous years. In an erratic and unpredictable time characterized by volatility and uncertainty, the heron’s appearance brings a comforting sense of continuity. I do…
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Hooded Mergansers Join the Early Spring Party in Inwood Hill Park
Even among a hundred gulls, dozens of ducks, and a score of geese, a pair of small Hooded Mergansers stood out in the waters of the park on the morning of March 25, 2025. They were festive looking creatures, discernible by their small size and their vigorous wading and diving. The bright white head patch…
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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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Heron Homecoming 2025: A Great Egret Returns
A Great Egret returned to Inwood Hill Park over the weekend, an expected homecoming for one of the stars of the park’s Salt Marsh. I have lived in the Inwood neighborhood for over a decade, and I’ve observed at least one Great Egret every year. Sometimes, more of them will appear, but often it’s just…
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As Foretold, a Red-breasted Merganser Visits Inwood Hill Park
Cornell Lab’s BirdCast resumed posting live migration tools on March 1, noting on the Migration Dashboard for New York County that among the expected nocturnal migrants this time of year we should look for Red-breasted Mergansers. And, sure enough, a Red-breasted Merganser showed up in our local waters. On the early morning of March 6…
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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…
Birds of Inwood 