December 17 - Inwood Hill Park: Look up!

The day started with snow - a lot of snow. From yesterday afternoon through this morning, NYC had its biggest snowstorm in several years. Inwood picked up about a foot of snow. By late morning the snow had stopped and the sky started to clear. By this evening we had crystal clear skies. Ann and I took advantage of the lovely sky and braved the cold temperatures to go out and check out Jupiter and Saturn as they approach their closest conjunction in centuries. The conjunction is still four days away, but you never know what he weather will be a few days from now, Besides, tonight also featured a nice crescent Moon.

Jupiter (the brighter one) and Saturn on the right; Moon on the left.

Jupiter with three moons (bottom); Saturn (top)

December 13 - Inwood Hill Park: Orange-crowned Warbler

Back on December 3, Nathan O’Reilly found an Orange-crowned Warbler in the fenced area on the north side of the soccer field. Danny Karlson also saw the bird later that day, but it was not seen subsequently. This morning Danny texted that he had found it again in the same area. I headed over and was able to refind it. A short time later Nathan also walked up to see it. The bird was often difficult to see but I was able to get a few pictures of it.

December 12 - Inwood Hill Park: Cooper's Hawk

A juvenile Cooper's Hawk has been seen fairly regularly around the north end of Inwood Hill Park recently. Today it was perched cooperatively in a small tree on the edge of the large bay at the north end of the soccer field. 

Cooper's Hawk - December 12, 2020 - Inwood Hill Park

The recent movement to do away with bird names that commemorate people I think is quite silly. I think it is far more interesting to find out who these people were. There are many books that provide just this sort of historical information. The classic one for North American birds is Audubon to Xantus: The Lives of Those Commemorated in North American Bird Names by Barbara and Richard Mearns (1992, Academic Press). This book is out of print now, but just published this year is Bird is the Word: An Historical Perspective on the Names of North American Birds by Gary H. Meiter (2020, McDonald & Woodward Publishing). Much of the following is derived from these two references.

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) was described and named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1828. (Bonaparte was a 19th Century ornithologist and naturalist for whom Bonaparte's Gull is named. He is a nephew of Napolean, deserves a post of his own.) Bonaparte named the hawk for William Cooper (c. 1798 - 1864). Cooper was a wealthy New Yorker and naturalist with an interest not just in birds but also many other branches of natural history. He was a founder and officer of the Lyceum of Natural History (today's New York Academy of Sciences). Cooper edited two of the volumes of Bonaparte's American Ornithology after Bonaparte returned to Europe. Cooper had also supplied to Bonaparte information on at least one specimen of the hawk that would bear his name that he had collected on Long Island. 

William Cooper has several other connections to North American Birds. In 1825 published the first scientific account of the Evening Grosbeak based on specimens from near Lake Superior in Michigan. The scientific name of Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi), named by Thomas Nuttall in 1831 also honors Cooper. Another famous bird named for Cooper was a shorebird collected by him on Long Island on May 24, 1833. Twenty-five years after Cooper collected it Spencer Baird named it Cooper's Sandpiper (Calidris cooperi). The specimen still exists in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. For over 150 years it was the only known specimen of the "species" and was argued about by generations of ornithologists. In 1981 a similar bird was collected in Australia and named as a new species, Cox's Sandpiper. Both birds are now believed to be hybrid individuals resulting from the interbreeding of Pectoral and Curlew Sandpipers. 

The Cooper Ornithological Club is named for James Graham Cooper (1830-1902), William Cooper's eldest son and a renowned ornithologist in his own right who did extensive studies of West Coast North American birds.

December 12 - Menhaden die off has a long history

Since this past summer people have been noting large numbers of dead and dying fish along the Hudson River and locally here in Inwood Hill Park. The Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed gulls have all been feasting on the fish and in some cases fighting each other for the carcasses of the fish. The fish are Menhaden also known as Mossbunker, or just Bunker (Brevoortia tyrannus). Many local newspapers in New York City and up the Hudson River have carried stories about the dead fish. Many of the stories have attributed the die-off to various environmental factors, the most commonly cited being low oxygen content in the water, with high population numbers as a contributing factor. Indeed, these factors are probably the proximate causes of the die off. Some news accounts have been quick to bring environmental degradation such as poor water quality or climate change into the mix as culprits. While we should always be concerned about such factors it is also important to be careful not to jump to easy answers. In fact large die offs of Menhaden have a very long history on the Atlantic coast and in the New York City area. In a  quick Google search I turned up a scientific paper from 1999 that reported on a large die off of Menhaden off the coast of North Carolina in 1997 ("A Large Fish Kill of Atlantic Menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, on the North Carolina Coast" by Joseph W. Smith in the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 115(3):157-163.) 

However, Menhaden die offs have a far older history than merely the incident noted above from North Carolina. In his classic 1959 book A Natural History of New York City John Kieran cites an account of a trip in 1679 and 1680 by two preachers named Jasper Danckaerts and Peter Sluyter which they published called Journal of a Voyage to New York, and a Tour of Several of the American Colonies. In their published account Danckaerts and Jasper report on finding on the shores of Staten Island the remains of thousands of fish known as "marsbancken", what we now call Menhaden. Elsewhere in his book, Kieran quotes from a story in the New York Times, dated July 30, 1954 which reports on the removal of forty tons of dead Menhaden from five miles of Rockaway Beach.

Thus, these die offs of Menhaden have happened periodically not just in recent decades, but indeed have been documented for centuries!

December 4 - Inwood Hill Park: continuing Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler first found by Nathan O’Reilly and Danny Karlson back on November 21 continues in Inwood Hill Park. It is often found in the fenced area on the north side of the soccer fields at the north end of the park. But, sometimes it is behind the brush piles in the northwest corner of the soccer field. When I first reported on this bird I noted that the late record for the species in New York State was December 3. This was based on the species account in “Bull’s Birds of New York State” which was published in 1998. However, today Sean Sime told me that there is a record in eBird of a Blackpoll Warbler seen in Brooklyn on December 14, 2012. Therefore, the bird currently in Inwood is not yet a record late date for the species for New York. Anyway, here a some pictures from today of the Inwood’s Blackpoll Warbler.

November 22 - Inwood Hill Park: Brown Booby

I wish the Brown Booby in this post was my observation, but, alas, it is not! This morning, Nathan O'Reilly and Nadir Souirgi saw and photographed an immature Brown Booby from the Dyckman Street pier as it flew down the Hudson River. An incredible pickup for the park. Indeed, a great find anywhere in the metropolitan NYC area.

I have added an addenda to My Inwood Bird List page of species that have been recorded in the park, but that I have not seen myself. The total is now 255 species.

November 21 - Inwood Hill Park: near record late Blackpoll Warbler

Just a short note for today. Did not get into the park in the morning because of shopping at the Farmer's Market for Thanksgiving. Nathan O'Reilly texted in the morning that he had a warbler or vireo in the park on the north side of the soccer fields. He followed up with a text that he thought it was a Blackpoll Warbler. In the afternoon, Ann and I were having lunch outside at the café in front of our building when Danny Karlson walked out of the park. He said the bird was still there. So after lunch I grabbed my bins and camera and headed over to see it. This is very late for a Blackpoll. I was able to find it and get one recognizable shot.

Blackpoll Warbler - Inwood Hill Park - November 21 2020

Afterwards, I checked my own records and the references. This is the first Blackpoll I have ever seen in the month of November. It is less than two weeks short of a record late date for New York State, which is December 3. Far more likely at this date would be the very similar Pine Warbler. This bird can be identified as a Blackpoll by the streaks on the back and the yellow feet. A Pine Warbler would have dark feet and a plain, unstreaked back.

 

November 16 - Inwood Hill Park: mainly watching the river

Hoping to get some interesting migrants on the Hudson River I met Hilary Russ on the Dyckman Street pier at 7:30 am. A few other birders had similar ideas and a friend of Hilary's joined us a little after 8:00. We got reports of a female Common Eider seen down river at West 70th Street flying north. We watched for it but finally heard it had turned around and was seen again there later headed south. We did see Bald Eagle and later two Peregrine Falcons chasing a small passerine (unsuccessfully) but the river was quiet except for the usual gulls. After a while we headed north on the ballfields and met up with Danny Karlson. The fields were also quiet. Hilary, her friend, and Danny left and I was joined by Diane Schenker. We continued to scan the river. Finally, Diane and I were rewarded with three Greater Scaup (two males and a female) flying up river. They settled on the water and drifted north. This is a relatively infrequent visitor to the park and are the first I have seen in the park since the winter of 2014. After leaving the ballfields Diane and I spent some time on the ridge, but it was very quiet. On our way out of the park we encountered a large flock of Mourning Doves (two dozen) feeding on the soccer fields at the north end of the park.

Part of a flock of 24 Mourning Doves on the soccer field - November 16 2020

As we left the park we stopped at Muscota Marsh where we spotted the lone Brant from yesterday feeding along the shoreline on the north side of the ship canal. My bird list of 30 species is below.

Brant  1

Canada Goose  8

Mallard  4

Greater Scaup  3

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  4

Mourning Dove  24

Ring-billed Gull  70

Herring Gull  20

Great Black-backed Gull  8

Double-crested Cormorant  1

Great Blue Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  2

Bald Eagle  2

Red-tailed Hawk  3

Red-bellied Woodpecker  2

Downy Woodpecker  1

Peregrine Falcon  2

Blue Jay  8

American Crow  2

Black-capped Chickadee  5

Carolina Wren  1

Northern Mockingbird  2

American Robin  1

House Sparrow  12

American Goldfinch  2

White-throated Sparrow  1

Song Sparrow  2

Red-winged Blackbird  20

Common Grackle  30

Northern Cardinal  1

November 15 - Inwood Hill Park: two new birds for my personal park list

On a mostly gray day I added two species to my personal Inwood Hill Park list. The first was shortly after I started at 7:30 am. I was on the deck at Muscota Marsh when I heard a flock of Canada Geese approaching from the north. As they passed over to the south I raised my binoculars to count the flock. If I hadn't I would not have spotted a group of six passerines also flying south. I was thrilled to recognize them as a group of Evening Grosbeaks! This fall has seen a considerable finch flight with many "winter finches" being seen throughout the NYC/Long Island area. Inwood has had many Pine Siskins. Evening Grosbeaks have been reported from many parks and cemeteries around the city. None had been reported from Inwood before today, but I had been watching for them, so I was thrilled to spot this small flock. It was species number 223 for me for the park. Later in the morning, Nathan O'Reilly and Nadir Souirgi reported a flock of Common Goldeneye on the Hudson River. Danny Karlson and I looked for them with no success. This would have been another new species for my personal list. A while later Danny and I were at the Hudson Overlook on the ridge when Nathan texted that he and Nadir had a Black Scoter on the Hudson near a barge and tug anchored in the river. Danny and I were able to spot the bird from our higher vantage point and watched it as it took off and flew down river. This was another new species for me for the park (and the last of the three scoters for my park list), thus becoming species 224 for my list. This has been a great year for my Inwood Hill Park bird list. I have added nine species to it this year.

I spent a considerable amount of my time in the park today watching from the Hudson River Overlook; first with Danny and then with Hilary Russ who joined us and stayed after Danny left. We had a number of Bald Eagles and a few Cooper's Hawks including one large female. The highlight, however, were the hundreds of blackbirds going by in mixed flocks of Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Brown-headed Cowbirds. The numbers for these species in my day list below are low estimates.

In the afternoon, after I got home to my apartment and had finished lunch I got a text message from Rachel Joakim that she was across the street on the Muscota Marsh deck and there was a Brant by the Columbia Dock. This is a species that is usually only seen in flocks passing over the park on migration. A few weeks ago we had hundreds going over on one day. It is however, rare to have one settle down in the park, so I went out and photographed the visitor.

Brant - Inwood Hill Park (Muscota Marsh mudflats) - Nov 15 2020

Canada Goose  30
Mallard  16
Black Scoter  1     
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  30
Mourning Dove  6
Ring-billed Gull  50
Herring Gull  30
Great Black-backed Gull  6
Great Blue Heron  4
Turkey Vulture  2
Osprey  1     (late for this species).
Cooper's Hawk  3     
Bald Eagle  7
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  1
Peregrine Falcon  1
Blue Jay  10
American Crow  2
Common Raven  1
Black-capped Chickadee  10
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  5
Northern Mockingbird  2
American Robin  8
House Sparrow  30
Evening Grosbeak  6     
American Goldfinch  14
Dark-eyed Junco  4
White-throated Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  6
Red-winged Blackbird  500     Blackbird flocks migrating.
Brown-headed Cowbird  50     Blackbird flocks migrating.
Common Grackle  500     Blackbird flocks migrating.
Northern Cardinal  2

November 14 - Inwood Hill Park: beautiful fall day

An absolutely beautiful fall day in the park. Crystal blue, cloudless skies. I started out at Muscota Marsh around 7:15 am. Shortly afterward I was joined by Diane Schenker. Later we met Danny Karlson on the soccer field. During the course of the day we met and birded a bit with Nathan O'Reilly, Nadir Souirgi, Elizabeth White-Pultz, and few others. Danny and I left the park around 2:45 pm.

When we started it was nearing high tide and with New Moon tonight, it was a very high tide. The little canal that connects Muscota Bay and the main bay was flooded and Diane and I found a Muskrat sitting in the open there.

Muskrat - Inwood Hill Park - 11/14/2020

On the north side of the soccer field the tide was so high the main paved path was flooded as was much of the fenced in area. In recent weeks there had been good numbers of Pine Siskins around and we usually found some in the lower Muscota Marsh area or a few at the fenced in area on the soccer field, however, they seemed to moved on since we did not see any today. Indeed, I haven't seen hardly any in the last week. It was another good raptor flight day. I recorded seven species, plus a Turkey Vulture that Danny spotted over the Palisades. The highlight among the raptors was a total of nine Bald Eagles, most of them immatures, but a few adults. There were also some flocks of blackbirds moving over and Danny and I encountered a group of Red-wings and Grackles that landed in a tree on the ridge as we headed down the Clove. For me, the highlight, or rather highlights, of the day were picking up two year birds: an American Pipit (finally!) on the Hudson River ballfields and an Eastern Bluebird up on the Ridge.

I ended the day with 49 species (full list below). I was also able to get some photos to add to My Inwood List page. I now have photos for 115 of 222 species on my Inwood list. 

I missed the best bird reported in the park today. Nathan and Nadir saw a gull flying south over the Hudson River in the morning. Nathan got some very poor quality photos of the bird which appear to show an immature Black-legged Kittiwake. This would almost certainly be a first record for the park.

Canada Goose  60

Mallard  5

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  3

Mourning Dove  6

Ring-billed Gull  40

Herring Gull  15

Great Black-backed Gull  6

Double-crested Cormorant  3

Great Blue Heron  2

Black-crowned Night-Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  1

Osprey  1  (getting late for this species)

Sharp-shinned Hawk  1

Bald Eagle  9

Red-tailed Hawk  3 (probably more than this, but it is impossible to tell migrants from residents)

Belted Kingfisher  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  2

Downy Woodpecker  1

Northern Flicker  1

American Kestrel  1

American Kesrel - 11/14/2020

Merlin  1

Peregrine Falcon  2

Blue Jay  2

American Crow  3

crow sp.  16     One flock.

Common Raven  1

Common Raven - 11/14/2020

Black-capped Chickadee  6

Tufted Titmouse  2

Golden-crowned Kinglet  1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1

Carolina Wren  1

European Starling  1

Northern Mockingbird  2

Eastern Bluebird  1  (Nathan had a flock of 14 on the Ridge)  

Eastern Bluebird - 11/14/2020

American Robin  2

Cedar Waxwing  10

House Sparrow  10

American Pipit  1  

House Finch  4

Purple Finch  2

Purple Finch (female) - 11/14/2020

American Goldfinch  10

Chipping Sparrow  2

Dark-eyed Junco  10

White-throated Sparrow  2

Song Sparrow  4

Swamp Sparrow  2

Swamp Sparrow - 11/14/2020

Red-winged Blackbird  2

Common Grackle  20

Tennessee Warbler  1 (late for this species - spotted by Nathan on the Hudson River ballfields)

Northern Cardinal  1

November 3 - Inwood Hill Park: A Big Turnout.

There was a big turnout of diurnal migrating raptors and vultures in Inwood Hill Park today! What? Did you think I was referring to something else?

To get our minds off some other events in the news today, Danny Karlson, Diane Schenker, and Elizabeth White-Pultz and I spent the day birding in Inwood Hill Park. It was a spectacular day for migrating hawks and vultures and a few other things. I spent nearly eight hours in the park and recorded 54 species (total list below). First, let's het the biggie out of the way. We missed, by minutes the bird of the day. As the four of us headed up the ridge to get over to the Hudson River ballfields, Hilary Russ was just coming onto the soccer fields from the east. Shortly afterward, Hilary spotted an immature Golden Eagle flying over, headed south! This is a great bird anywhere in New York State, but a particularly spectacular find for New York City. Amazingly, the bird was seen by other birders, basically down the length of Manhattan. It was reported by birders at Dyckman Street at the south end of Inwood, at West 70th Street and the Hudson River and at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. Hilary also spotted two Black Vultures, another uncommon (but regular migrant) over the city. Danny, Diane, Elizabeth, and I did not see either of these two special birds, but we did tally a total of nine species of hawks and dozens of Turkey Vultures, mainly from the Hudson River ball fields. The hawks we saw were: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, and Peregrine Falcon. It is getting late for Broad-winged Hawk, though not a record date, and James Knox and I saw one during yesterday's morning flight over the soccer field. The specific numbers for all these species are in my list below. In addition to the above we counted seven Common Ravens and saw a single flock of several hundred Common Grackles go over. It is hard to come up with a number for Red-tailed Hawks since it is essentially impossible to distinguish migrant from our resident birds. This juvenile which landed in a tree above us and studied us is certainly one of local birds.

Red-tailed Hawk - Inwood Hill Park - November 3, 2020

In addition to the birds we had some interesting mushrooms on the walk. The iNaturalist app was sure about this colorful mushroom but suggested the genus Pholiota. 

Genus Pholiota - Inwood Hill Park - November 3, 2020

The app was sure about this Polypore, giving it the wonderful English name of Cracked Cap Polypore. My references, however, disagree on the genus it belongs in; some say Phellinus, some say Fulviformes. 

Cracked Cap Polypore, Fulviformes (Phellinus) robiniae - November 3, 2020

On the way out of the park, north of the fenced area on the soccer field we came across a Chinese Mantis on the ground. After Diane and Elizabeth moved it to some vegetation, it was ready for its close-up.

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) - Inwood Hill Park - November 3, 2020

Brant  20

Canada Goose  25

Mallard  10

American Black Duck  3

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  5

Mourning Dove  1

Ring-billed Gull  30

Herring Gull  1

Great Black-backed Gull  1

Great Blue Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  32    

Sharp-shinned Hawk  4     

Cooper's Hawk  10    

Bald Eagle  14

Red-shouldered Hawk  2

Broad-winged Hawk  1   

Red-tailed Hawk  8

Belted Kingfisher  2

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1

Downy Woodpecker  1

Northern Flicker  2

American Kestrel  2

Merlin  1

Peregrine Falcon  2

Blue Jay  6

American Crow  16     

Common Raven  7     

Black-capped Chickadee  4

Tufted Titmouse  1

Golden-crowned Kinglet  8

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Inwood Hill Park - November 3, 2020

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  4

White-breasted Nuthatch  1

Brown Creeper  1

Winter Wren  1

Carolina Wren  1

European Starling  8

Northern Mockingbird  1

Hermit Thrush  4

American Robin  4

House Sparrow  6

House Finch  5

Purple Finch  6

Pine Siskin  30

American Goldfinch  10

Chipping Sparrow  2

Dark-eyed Junco  1

White-throated Sparrow  4

Savannah Sparrow  1

Song Sparrow  4

Swamp Sparrow  1

Brown-headed Cowbird  4

Common Grackle  200 - 400

Yellow-rumped Warbler  1

Northern Cardinal  1

November 2 - Inwood Hill Park: high winds and migrating vultures and hawks

After yesterday's rains a cold front with high winds moved into the area overnight. In the morning we had sustained winds of over 20 mph from the northwest. The weather pattern brought a significant flight of diurnal migrants over the park in the morning. I went out for about 2.5 hours starting around 8:30 am. I only went as far as the soccer fields and watched the skies from there. There was a good movement of Turkey Vultures and Bald Eagles. It is possible more may have been visible from either the Hudson River Overlook on the ridge or from the ball fields along the river. However, the viewing would have been much harder in those locations because of the lack of shelter. In any event I ran up a nice list of migrants passing over the fields and the ridge. One surprise was a Broad-winged Hawk; it is getting late for that species. My total bird list is below.

Canada Goose  45

Mallard  10

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  6

Mourning Dove  1

Ring-billed Gull  70

Herring Gull  3

Great Black-backed Gull  1

Turkey Vulture  35     Conservative count of migrating birds.

Cooper's Hawk  7     Individual southbound migrants counted.

Bald Eagle  10     Minimum total count. At one point had four birds in view at one time.

Broad-winged Hawk  1     

Red-tailed Hawk  5

Merlin  1

Blue Jay  6

Fish Crow  20     One migrant flock; several were calling. .

European Starling  6

Northern Mockingbird  1

American Robin  5

House Sparrow  20

Pine Siskin  1

American Goldfinch  1

White-throated Sparrow  2

Song Sparrow  4

Red-winged Blackbird  30

Common Grackle  40

November 1 - Inwood Hill Park: A quick morning walk.

 Daylight Savings Time ended overnight, but despite the extra hour's sleep I did not get out early. Also, since my back was bothering me, I only went for a short walk to Muscota Marsh and out to the soccer fields. In any event, rain was predicted to start around midday (and it did). Still in that short time I was able to record 23 species, including a few nice ones. A Marsh Wren is always nice to see in the park and it is starting to get a little late in the fall for them, so one in Muscota Marsh, first reported by Nathan O'Reilly around sunup was a welcome sight.

Marsh Wren - 11/01/2020

My full list of 23 species is below.

Mallard  10

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  10

Mourning Dove  1

Ring-billed Gull  30

Herring Gull  1

Great Blue Heron  1

Eastern Phoebe  1

Blue Jay  6

American Crow  1

Common Raven  1

Marsh Wren  1  

European Starling  7

Northern Mockingbird  2

American Robin  3

House Sparrow  40

Pine Siskin  1  

American Goldfinch  2

White-crowned Sparrow  1

White-throated Sparrow  2

Song Sparrow  5

Palm Warbler  1

Yellow-rumped Warbler  1

Northern Cardinal  1

October 31 - Halloween in Inwood Hill Park

A beautiful, but cold day in the park. It was the first subfreezing temperatures of the fall - though just barely. It was 31 F when I started out at 7:30 am. I met up with Danny Karlson, Diane Schenker, and Elizabeth White-Pultz at Muscota Marsh. Nathan O'Reilly was also with us for a bit in the morning, though Nathan headed directly up onto the ridge while the rest of us headed over to the ballfields along the river after we headed towards the Henry Hudson Bridge. We had hoped for some Evening Grosbeaks given the overnight northwest winds which continued into the daylight hours. Alas, though we heard reports of grosbeaks from around the NYC area, we did not encounter any. A highlight of the walk was an immature Bald Eagle that sat unperturbed in a tree along the Hudson River for probably more than half an hour.

Bald Eagle (immaure) - 10/31/2020

In addition to the immature we also saw three adult Bald Eagles: one over Muscota Marsh when we started and two more over the Hudson later. On the river there was a lone Brant which took off when the immature eagle finally left his perch and flew over where the Brant was resting on the water.

Brant - 10/31/2020

This single Brant was in marked contrast to last Sunday when on a similar cool day with northerly winds, hundreds of Brant flew over in various size flocks. We did have one flock of Canada Geese fly over in one of their classic "v" shaped migrating flocks, so different from the "untidy" flocks of Brant that caused hunters to call them "wavies".

Canada Geese - 10/31/2020

Another highlight of the walk was an adult Cooper's Hawk perched in a low tree up on the ridge near the "whaleback" rock. It was identifiable as an adult by its reddish underparts. It seemed fairly large, so was probably a female.

I picked up two new birds for this fall season: a small flock of Bufflehead on the river (first spotted by Nathan) and two Winter Wrens up on the ridge. The Winter Wrens were my first ones this year. Other people had seen the species this fall, but I had missed them until now.

My total list of 53 species for the day is below.

Brant  1

Canada Goose  30

Mallard  20

Bufflehead  6

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  80

Mourning Dove  6

Ring-billed Gull  20

Herring Gull  2

Great Black-backed Gull  1

Common Loon  1

Double-crested Cormorant  7

Great Blue Heron  1

Black-crowned Night-Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  2

Osprey  1

Cooper's Hawk  1

Bald Eagle  4

Red-tailed Hawk  2

Belted Kingfisher  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1

Downy Woodpecker  2

Northern Flicker  1

American Kestrel  1

Peregrine Falcon  1

Eastern Phoebe  2

Blue-headed Vireo  2

Blue Jay  12

American Crow  8

Black-capped Chickadee  12    

Tufted Titmouse  2

Golden-crowned Kinglet  5

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  3

White-breasted Nuthatch  2

Brown Creeper  1

Winter Wren  2

Carolina Wren  5

European Starling  4

Northern Mockingbird  2

Hermit Thrush  2

American Robin  4

House Sparrow  40

House Finch  4

Pine Siskin  1     

American Goldfinch  4

Chipping Sparrow  10

Dark-eyed Junco  50

White-throated Sparrow  10

Song Sparrow  5

Swamp Sparrow  1

Brown-headed Cowbird  30

Common Grackle  15

Yellow-rumped Warbler  5

Northern Cardinal  3

October 30 - My Inwood Bird List

We have had two days of rainy weather courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Zeta. So I used some of the indoor time to make a new page on my blog. It is a full list of the birds I have found in Inwood Hill Park. The page can be found in the list of pages on the right side of the main page of the blog. Here is a link to go to it directly: My Inwood Bird List. The list currently stands at 222 species. I will add to it as I see new species in the park. I will also be adding more photographs of birds to the list.

October 28 - Dobb’s Ferry - Tropical Kingbird

Ann and I made the dash up to Dobb’s Ferry to try for the Tropical Kingbird discovered there yesterday. This is a megararity. A first record for New York State. Not to draw this out we were successful! After parking at the Ardsley-on-Hudson train station we followed the directions for various returning happy birders. We encountered a small group of birders watching the bird. We got some great views, particularly through Tom Burke’s spotting scope. I must thank Tom Warren who found the bird yesterday. A second big thanks to Tom Warren who was at the bird when we were there and who drove us back to our car saving us a bit of a walk!

This was my 428th species in New York State.

October 27 - Inwood - Flying Squirrel

Last night I received a text with a video from Diane Schenker who lives a few blocks from Inwood Hill Park. Last night she took a video of a Flying Squirrel coming in her window!

 

October 27 - Inwood Hill Park - miscellaneous

Very gray morning. Cleared a little in the afternoon before turning gray again. In the afternoon I looked out the window and saw there were some hawks and vultures going by. I saw at least two Bald Eagles and a few Turkey Vultures. I headed down to Muscota Marsh with my scope to watch from there. I saw another Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Osprey and some Red-tailed Hawks. There were again Pine Siskins feeding around the marsh plantings. Later I walked over to the soccer fields (minus the scope). Met Hilary Russ and later Diane Schenker and Elizabeth Pultz-White there. Lots of Dark-eyed Juncos, a few Song Sparrows, a Savannah Sparrow and an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

White-crowned Sparrow - Inwood Hill Park - 10/27/2020

 Overhead small flocks of Brant were migrating south.

October 26 - Inwood Hill Park - new apartment bird.

It was a dreary, wet day with lots of clouds and drizzle. I did make a trip up on to the ridge trying to refind a mystery warbler seen, but not identified yesterday. I had no luck finding the unknown bird from yesterday. However, there were still Pine Siskins around and a number of sparrows including flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos, Field Sparrow and several White-crowned Sparrows. There were at least two White-crowns out on the soccer field. Back at Muscota I found another immature White-crowned. As soon as I saw it I realized it would be visible from the apartment window, so I headed upstairs to try to add it to my apartment bird list. When I looked out from the window there were no birds at all in the bush I had seen the sparrow in. It took a few minutes, but finally birds started coming out to feed again. My guess is that someone had walked by and frightened all the birds back into the dense bushes. Finally they were out feeding again and there with the Song Sparrows, goldfinches, and siskins was the White-crowned Sparrow. The sparrow was species number 121 for the apartment.

October 25 - Inwood Hill Park: a great day.

The day started out mostly clear and fairly cook with temperatures in the low 40's. Just as they were yesterday afternoon, Pine Siskins were feeding in the plantings (with goldfinches) in Muscota Marsh.

Pine Siskin (left) and American Goldfinch - Muscota Marsh - 10/25/2020

Black-capped Chickadees also continue in good numbers in the park and some were in Muscota.

All morning flocks of Brant flew over, particularly over the Hudson. Before getting over to the Hudson I found an American Black Duck and a male Hooded Merganser in the bay north of the soccer field. Danny Karlson, Diane Schenker, and Elizabeth White-Pultz headed into the park though Elizabeth had to leave early. Danny, Diane, and I decided to head over to the ball fields along the Hudson since we heard that birds were being seen flying south along the river. Hilary Russ later joined us over there. We found lots of sparrows and juncos on the fields, particularly at the north end. There were many Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. Hilary spotted a Nashville Warbler along the Amtrak fence line. Hawks, Bald Eagles, and ravens flew over. After walking down to the pier at Dyckman Street and spending some time there we headed back into the park proper and up onto the ridge. It wasn't as birdy up there but there were things around. In the end we were in the park for about nine hours, leaving just before 5:00 pm. The entire bird list of 59 species, quite a good total for a late October day is below. On the way out of the park we looked for and Danny spotted a Vesper Sparrow that had been reported earlier. I only got a poor photo.

Vesper Sparrow - Inwood Hill Park - 10/25/2020

                         

We also encountered some interesting mushrooms on the walk. I am certainly not a mushroom person. I rely on the iNaturalist app to identify them for me. Diane told us about the impressive poltypore and took us all to it.

Pear-shaped Puffballs (Apioperdon pyriforme) - Inwood Hill Park -10/25/2020

Resinous Polypore (Ischnoderma resinosum) - Inwood Hill Park -10/25/2020

Below is the full checklist for the day.

Brant  500     (Conservative estimate.) 

Canada Goose  80

Mallard  30

American Black Duck  1

Hooded Merganser  1

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  8

Mourning Dove  4

Sanderling  35  (Flock of very pale shorebirds flying down Hudson River; slightly larger than peep.)

Ring-billed Gull  15

Ring-billed Gull - Inwood Hill Park - 10/25/2020

Herring Gull  1

Great Black-backed Gull  1

Common Loon  1

Double-crested Cormorant  1

Great Blue Heron  4

Turkey Vulture  4

Osprey  2

Cooper's Hawk  3

Bald Eagle  2

Red-tailed Hawk  2

Red-tailed Hawk - Inwood Hill Park - 10/25/2020

Belted Kingfisher  1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  2

Hairy Woodpecker  1

Northern Flicker  2

American Kestrel  1

Peregrine Falcon  1

Eastern Phoebe  2

Blue-headed Vireo  1

Blue Jay  10

American Crow  5

Common Raven  1

Black-capped Chickadee  8     Very conservative number. Could easily be double that.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  4

White-breasted Nuthatch  1

Carolina Wren  1

European Starling  20

Northern Mockingbird  2

Hermit Thrush  5

American Robin  5

Cedar Waxwing  1

House Sparrow  12

House Finch  4

Pine Siskin  20     Very conservative number. Part of continuing flight in the last week or so.

American Goldfinch  8

Chipping Sparrow  50

Field Sparrow  1

Dark-eyed Junco  60

White-crowned Sparrow  1

White-throated Sparrow  4

Vesper Sparrow  1     

Savannah Sparrow  2

Song Sparrow  6

Swamp Sparrow  1

Red-winged Blackbird  1

Common Grackle  150

Nashville Warbler  1     

Palm Warbler  4

Yellow-rumped Warbler  6

Northern Cardinal  1

October 24 - Inwood Hill Park, Muscota Marsh: Pine Siskins again

I didn't get out into the park today, but in the afternoon when the weather cleared a bit I watched from my apartment window. Yesterday a single Pine Siskin was a new species for my apartment list. This afternoon there were 20-30 Pine Siskins (plus 10+ American Goldfinch) feeding in the plantings in Muscota Marsh. It was hard to know whether the flocks I saw flying around were always the same individuals or different groups so I don't know for sure how many siskins were about. The pictures below were all digiscoped from my apartment window.

Pine Siskin - Muscota Marsh - 10/24/2020

Pine Siskin - Muscota Marsh - 10/24/2020

Pine Siskins - Muscota Marsh - 10/24/2020

October 23 - Inwood Hill Park: fog again, but a new apartment bird.

 Yet another foggy morning at sunup, but it mostly lifted early, though it remained cloudy for most of the day. However, as in recent days I saw reports on the Internet of flocks of Pine Siskins around the city so I decided to spend some time in the later morning watching from an apartment window in hopes of adding the species to my apartment list. I was encouraged by flocks of American Goldfinches feeding in the flowers and weeds around Muscota Marsh. Finally I spotted a siskin with a group of goldfinch across Muscota on the other side of the boat ramp. At that distance I was only able to get a poor digiscope photo of the bird, but it is recognizable.

Pine Siskin (above) - Inwood Hill Park - 10/23/2020

This was species number 120 for my apartment list, the second new species for the list this month, after the Nelson's Sparrow on October 14.

In the afternoon I went for a short walk over to the soccer field. The fenced in "marsh restoration area" was productive. with among other species, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadee, Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Savannah, Song, and Swamp sparrows, American Goldfinch and another Pine Siskin. Below are a few pictures.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Inwood Hill Park - 10/23/2020

Savannah Sparrow - Inwood Hill Park - 10/23/2020

Pine Siskin - Inwood Hill Park - 10/23/2020

October 22 - fog again.

Another foggy morning in Inwood; the third in a row. So I thought I would post some bird pictures I took back on October 9. That morning was a lovely morning with a fair number of birds around. I birded that day with Danny Karlson, Hilary Russ, Diane Schenker and a couple of others. I recorded 55 species that morning. The list included five woodpeckers: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and Northern Flicker. The list also included both Ruby-crowned, and Golden-crowned kinglets; both Red-breasted, and White-breasted nuthatches; and a couple of Pine Siskins. Another highlight was eight species of sparrows: Chipping, Field, White-crowned, White-throated, Savannah, Song, and Swamp sparrows, and Dark-eyed Junco. A White-throated Sparrow was especially cooperative and posed for its picture.

White-throated Sparrow - Inwood Hill Park - 10/09/2020

I also recorded seven warblers that morning: Tennessee, Magnolia, Blackpoll, Palm, Yellow-rumped, and Black-throated Green warblers, and Common Yellowthroat. A Tennessee and a Black-throated Green, like the White-throated Sparrow, were both particularly cooperative.

Tennessee Warbler - Inwood Hill Park - 10/09/2020

Black-throated Green Warbler - Inwood Hill Park - 10/09/2020

The Tennessee Warbler was one of two by the Hudson River overlook on the ridge and was quite actively feeding in some low vegetation.

October 20 - A couple of additions to my butterflies of Inwood Hill Park page.

On this somewhat dreary morning I thought I would add some recent photos to my Butterflies of Inwood Hill Park page. First is a Red-banded Hairstreak photographedby the fenced in area on the north side of the soccer field about two weeks ago.

Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) 10/03/2020

Second is a caterpillar of a Spicebush Swallowtail found up on the ridge in September. I have seen this butterfly in the park but have not managed to get a good photograph of one yet.

Caterpillar of a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troils) 09/21/2020

While we are on caterpillars, here is a photo of a one of a distinctive one of a moth taken up on the ridge in August.

Saddleback Caterpillar Moth (Acharia stimulea) 08/31/2020