Observations, ideas, and wonderings on birds encountered in the landscape.
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Easy Fall Birding with White-throated Sparrows
Even if I have only ten minutes to go birdwatching this time of year, I can always walk to the edge of Inwood Hill Park, look down, and find at least a dozen White-throated Sparrows. Pretty birds with white throats and yellow lores, these sparrows also possess a sweet, lilting song. Cornell’s All About… Read more
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The Birds for Our New York City Moment
Over the course of several busy and consequential days for New York City— a thrilling Halloween Parade, a photo finish for the NYC Marathon, and the city’s historic mayoral election— thousands of birds flew overhead. Some were late migrants en route to winter homes and springtime in the Southern Hemisphere. Other birds came here to… Read more
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Fall Birding Falls Into Place: Notable Birds of Inwood During Mid-October
The last two weeks brought some volatile weather, including a big Nor’easter and high wind events, to the Salt Marsh and to the forest of Inwood Hill Park. The pace of fall migration sped up and then died down. Sometimes, on an average morning, there were many birds, and on other days, nothing much to… Read more
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The Hawk and the Kingfisher
By the time the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk landed on a perch near the Salt Marsh on October 4, it was sopping wet. It was practicing its hunting skills by buzzing over the ducks in the water and then chasing a Belted Kingfisher foraging there. The hawk and the fast kingfisher flew circles around one another… Read more
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The Green Roof of the Javits Center: Birds, Climate, and Action
On Tuesday, September 23, I attended NYC Bird Alliance’s tour of the Green Roof at the Javits Center. I was there to see how the Javits Center, New York City’s main convention venue, transformed its facility into a climate-forward and bird-friendly nexus of urban infrastructure. The Javits Center sits on land near the Hudson River… Read more
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In a Different Forest: Fall Birdwatching in the West Point Foundry Preserve
The West Point Foundry Preserve in Cold Spring, NY, was quiet when I arrived there on Tuesday morning. Stepping off the train, the background noises disappeared, something a New Yorker would notice. As soon as I began my walk along the forested trail, I heard crows loudly calling overhead in the trees. I heard herons… Read more
Birds of Inwood 