Observations, ideas, and wonderings on birds encountered in the landscape.
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The Ebb and Flow of Egrets and Herons
At high tide on the Salt Marsh, one Great Blue Heron tends to perch on a tree above the shoreline while a younger one explores the tunnel between the Salt Marsh and Muscota Marsh. The Great Egret often perches on another branch or on a railing on a dock. They are all waiting for the… Read more
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Fast Fishing with the Snowy Egret
The fish are jumping this week at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park, and the visiting Snowy Egret can’t get enough fish. It hunts all the time. While the Great Blue Heron and Great Egret gracefully and slowly stalk the fish, the Snowy Egret quickly runs around and stabs at whatever might be available,… Read more
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Two Herons in the Stillness of Dusk
On the evening of July 14, I walked over to the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park to follow up on reports of a Black-crowned Night Heron there. I did get to see it, but first I was completely captivated by the stillness of another heron. The weather hasn’t been good for frequent walks of… Read more
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An Eastern Kingbird Guards the Peninsula
Cover image: Eastern Kingbird on the Peninsula. Inwood Hill Park. July 6, 2023 For the past few days, as well as for the past few months and possibly for years, an Eastern Kingbird has fiercely guarded its seasonal territory on the Peninsula in Inwood Hill Park. This narrow strip of land, home to the neighborhood’s… Read more
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Otherworldly Cedar Waxwings, and Their Comings and Goings
Cover image: Cedar Waxwing in a tree next to the Salt Marsh. Inwood Hill Park. June 3, 2023. Whenever I encounter Cedar Waxwings, and they generally travel in groups, they seem to arrive from outer space. They are all beautiful and mysterious, thanks to those masks. Their arrival is unpredictable, appearing out of the blue,… Read more
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Vultures Among Us
Of all the wonderful sightings of birds this month, I continue to be haunted by the apparition of two great-winged creatures in Inwood Hill Park on the morning of June 13. They were Turkey Vultures. I was walking in the Clove and listening to the musical song of the Wood Thrush when my eye caught… Read more
Birds of Inwood 