Inwood Hill Park, Mar 10, 2014 - American Wigeon

I made a quick walk into the park this morning to see if the White-winged Scoter of the last few days was still there. There were no ducks in the area below and east of the Henry Hudson Bridge. It may have been because there was maintenance work being done on the bridge and there was what I assume was a safety boat anchored below. All the activity may have disturbed the ducks.

In looking south from the point area I spotted three American Wigeon (two males and a female) in the bay to the north of the soccer fields. I think this is only the second time I have had this species in the park.

American Wigeon                                                                                                                                         © Joseph DiCostanzo

I made a quick dash back to my apartment to see if they could be seen from there and added to my apartment list. I had to use a scope and peer through a bunch of tree branches, but was able to finally catch a glimpse of a head with a white crown. This is the 110th bird on the apartment list! Nearly 20 percent (21 species) are waterfowl. My total list for Inwood Hill Park is 192 species.

As in recent mornings there were a couple of Common Grackles around, one of which posed nicely.

Common Grackle                                                                                                                                       © Joseph DiCostanzo