April 27 - James DiCostanzo

Just a short non-bird note. My older brother Jim died today from COVID-19. He had been ill for several years with respiratory problems, but was hospitalized late last week with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus.

April 23/24 - window birding again - Barn Swallow

This is a two day report since I didn't have time to post anything yesterday. There wasn't much to report anyway. Yesterday was mainly a shopping and errand day. In the new world we live in Ann and I only go out shopping and to run errands (such as laundry) about every two weeks. Yesterday was the day. In the little time I got to look for birds from the window yesterday i did add one new year bird - Barn Swallow flying over Muscota marsh. Today it rained pretty much all day. I didn't add anything new, but the Belted Kingfisher was around again and both Great Egret and Great Blue Heron dropped in for a visit. The short list of 17 species for the two days is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

April 22 - window birding only again

This will be a short post. It was a chilly and windy day. I never left my apartment and only spent a relatively small amount of time birding from the window. Nevertheless, I did record 18 species. None were new for the month. The list is below. Maybe I will get into the park tomorrow.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher - for the second day in a row one spent time around the Muscota Marsh bay
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow - interesting that yesterday the only swallows were rough-wings, but today it was Trees
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

April 21 - window birding only

About the only thing the weather did not produce today was snow. It was sunny at sunup. then it turned cloudy. Shortly before noon it started raining. Then there were thunderstorms. Briefly, there was small hail. In the afternoon after the heaviest rains it got sunny again. On and off during the day it was windy. After sunset there were passing periods of light rain. Given the weather, I did not go into Inwood Hill Park today, but instead worked indoors and watched for birds from the apartment window at times. By the end of the day it was my best window list of the month so far. I totaled 21 species. None were new for the April Inwood Hill Park list, but Belted Kingfisher was new for the month's apartment list. I saw the kingfisher a number of times during the day flying around the small bay by Muscota Marsh and sometimes perching in the trees and once on the lights in the Columbia area. I even managed to get a poor picture of it across the bay from the apartment. There were also several Northern Rough-winged Swallows flying about.

In the morning Nadir Souirgi reported Common Loon migrating over the park. I watched for them (I have had them from the apartment in the past), but had no luck. I sent out a message to my WhatsApp group that I was watching for them, but my phone's autocorrect feature converted the message to say I was watching for migrating lions. I received a number of comments about that.

Today's window list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret

Osprey
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher (the red band on the lower breast identifies the bird as a female)

Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

April 20 - Inwood Hill Park - a sparrow morning

My first indication that it was going to be a good sparrow day was hearing a White-throated Sparrow singing outside my apartment window at 6:30 am. Hence it was not a surprise to see numbers of sparrows on the soccer field when I went out into the park later in the morning. the most abundant sparrow on the soccer fields was Chipping Sparrow. I counted at least 25 birds. Also present were four Field Sparrow (usually you are lucky to find one or maybe two Fields on a good day). They were joined by a lone Swamp Sparrow and two Dark-eyed Juncos. The Field Sparrows were my first of the year, though I had heard other birders at seen them in Inwood at least a week ago. Going up the Clove and along the ridge, there were White-throated Sparrows everywhere. Another new bird for the year was a Brown Thrasher near the top of the Clove path. Except for the sparrows, the woods were once again disappointingly quiet. But on the way back down, near the north end of the ridge I spotted my first Black-and-white Warbler of the year.

As I mentioned the other day, Mayapple wildflowers are up, but not yet in bloom in the woods,

The three year birds brought my total April list to 61 species. The singing White-throated Sparrow in the morning, along with two American Goldfinches seen in Muscota Marsh from my window in the afternoon brought my apartment list for the month to 31 species. My walk through the park in the morning tallied 35 species (full list below).

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker

Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

April 19 - Inwood Hill Park

It was a beautiful morning to be out. Many people seem to agree with that sentiment. It was the most people I have seen in the park since the current coronavirus crisis started. Most, though unfortunately not all, wore masks. At least it seemed like everyone was "social distancing" - except for obvious family groups. After heading into the park I ran in to Danny Karlson at the soccer fields. We spent several hours birding the park together, while maintaining our distance from each other. Over the course of the morning we ran into a number of other birders also taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Everyone was looking to see if the Pileated Woodpecker from April 17 was still in the park. As far as I know, no one found it today. We did meet a couple who said they saw it yesterday morning in the rain. This is the only report I have heard of the bird after Friday.

It was cool in the morning (30s - low 40s), warming up towards midday with bright blue skies and a few clouds all morning. Despite the lovely weather, it was surprisingly quiet. We only found three species of warblers: Pine, Yellow-rumped, and Palm. We only saw one of each. In fact I missed the Palm which Danny spotted. There were also a few Eastern Phoebes and a number of Hermit Thrushes. My total for the morning in the park was 37 species (list below) - the best morning I have had so far this April. I thought I was going to go the whole walk without adding anything to my spring list, until we spotted two Black Vultures over the soccer fields on the way out. Other birders saw Tree Swallows and I finally spotted one over the ship canal from my apartment window in the afternoon. This brings my totals for April to 58 species for Inwood and 29 from the apartment.

Before getting to the bird list here are a couple of wildflowers I photographed today.

Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Mayapples are up also, but not yet in bloom. Below is the morning bird list with a few photos.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 8 (over the Palisades)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe - at least 3 on the Ridge
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Tufted Titmouse - 2
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird

European Starling
Pine Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow - a couple on the soccer field

Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow

April 18 - Window birding only

This will be a short post today. It was a chilly, mostly overcast and wet day with on and off rain. I never left the apartment and the only birds noted were from the window. Nevertheless, I was able to add one species to the apartment's list for the month: in the afternoon a calling Fish Crow flew over. The only other birding note was that this was the first day this spring there was more than one Great Egret at Muscota Marsh. The month's apartment total is now 28 species. The day's total list of 18 species is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull adult

Ring-billed Gull subadult

Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

April 17 - Inwood Hill Park - Pileated Woodpecker

It was a lovely, sunny, but cool morning. I had an online meeting to attend in the early afternoon so I headed into Inwood HP in the morning. My goal was to finally find a Palm Warbler. Palms had been reported in the park by a number of birders over the last week or so, but I had yet to see one. As I crossed the soccer fields I ran into James Knox and he told me he had seen a couple of Palm Warblers up on the ridge. This was encouraging, but I have heard it before. The walk up the Clove was uneventful. At the southern White Pine grove up on the ridge it was fun to hear and see a male Ruby-crowned Kinglet flashing his brilliant ruby crown.

At the west edge of the Overlook Meadow I finally spotted a Palm Warbler! As far as I was concerned the morning's walk was a success. Moments later I was struck by a loud bird call somewhere inland from the overlook. It sounded like a loud Northern Flicker, but higher pitched. I thought, if I were almost anywhere north of the city I would identify that call as a Pileated Woodpecker. But in Manhattan? There have been previous records of Pileateds in Inwood Hill Park. I had had one myself on April 21, 2013. A few years before that a nonbirder in the park told me that a week earlier she had seen "a large woodpecker, the size of a crow, black with a bright red crest". Most descriptions of birds by nonbirders are unidentifiable, but that one is unmistakable. So, I knew I could be hearing a Pileated, but the odds were definitely against it. I tried to track down the bird, but it stopped calling after only a few calls. I continued searching to no avail. I decided not to report it since it seemed so unlikely and I hadn't seen the calling bird. A strange sounding flicker seemed more plausible.

I continued birding the ridge, spotting an Eastern Phoebe and my first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the spring. Then I headed home. I took the quick way down off the ridge using the switch-back trail that starts at the walled overlook above the Indian Caves. I had just gotten to the bottom when I received a text message from Danny Karlson. He had a Pileated Woodpecker in the Clove! I texted back asking where he was and quickly headed up the Clove to find him. On the way I heard a loud drumming off to the east which I realized could be the Pileated, but since I was almost to Danny I ignored it and met up with him. He said he had lost sight of the bird, but it had flown off in the direction of the loud drumming that we both had heard. Since the Pileated had now been visually confirmed by Danny I texted out word of the bird. Danny and I continued to try to refind the bird while other birders texted they were coming to look for it. First on the scene was Nathan O'Reilly. The three of us maintained the correct "social distance" while we watched and listened for the bird. Finally, I had to leave to get home for my on-line meeting. Danny left when I did and Nathan continued searching.

During my on-line meeting my phone started dinging with messages. The Pileated had been relocated. Then pictures of it taken by Rachael Joakim and Dawn Hannay  came through to further document the find. In the afternoon, Ann and I headed back into the park and hung out in the Clove watching and listening. Nadir Souirgi spotted it flying over and then we all heard it calling. Ann and I got a couple of other flight views of it high in the trees and heard it calling again up on the ridge. Finally, we left as the first few raindrops started falling.

Obviously the Pileated was the highlight of the day, but it was also my first two warbler day of the spring. My total list for the day was 30 species (below) and my grand total for the park so far this April is now 56.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

April 16 - Inwood Hill Park - short walk

This will be a short report. I had a Zoom meeting to attend and other computer work to do today so I was only able to do a short walk in the morning in Inwood. I didn't even get up on the ridge. Warblers are still eluding me, though Danny Karlson texted me that he found two Palm Warblers in the lower Clove shortly after I passed him near the entrance to the park as I was headed home. My one new bird was a Merlin spotted by Nadir Souirgi flying over near the top of the Clove.

My short walk tallied 30 species (list below). Before getting to the list here are a couple of interesting photos. Yesterday I pictured one of the Eastern Redbud trees starting to bloom. Here is a close-up of one of the trees showing how the buds grow right out of the branches.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

On the edge of the soccer fields, high in a tree is an old oriole nest from last year. The fun thing about it is that the bird incorporated into the structure of the nest a long piece of metallic green ribbon. The photo shows the green color, but does not show how it sparkles in the early morning sun as the wind blows the branch around.

old oriole nest

Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron (standing on the Columbia dock)

Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Merlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
American Goldfinch (singing from the top of a tree, edge of soccer fields)

House Sparrow

April 15 - Inwood Hill Park - Bald Eagles

This morning I met Danny Karlson for a walk into Inwood Hill Park - birding while maintaining social distance. The weather was lovely, though cool, as it has been most of this strange spring. On the far west side of the soccer fields an Eastern Redbud was coming into glorious bloom.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

The walk up the Clove was relatively quiet, though we did come across a Hairy Woodpecker feeding low down on a stump. Calling Northern Flickers have become a fixture of the woods in the last week. Calling White-breasted Nuthatches could also be heard pretty much anywhere you walked in the woods or on the ridge. The most excitement was in the vicinity of the Overlook Meadow. We picked out soaring Turkey Vultures over the Palisades across the Hudson. Then we spotted an adult Bald Eagle further to the north. A few minutes later there was an adult and an immature soaring over the middle of the river drifting south. When we started to leave the Meadow a Blue-headed Vireo flew by us and landed in a small tree and then started calling. The vireo was a first of the year for both of us. As we circled the meadow to head for the pine groves we heard an eagle calling overhead. Danny then spotted an adult perched in a tall tree in the middle of the meadow. Another adult flew in and landed in the tree above the first. There was considerable calling between the two birds and we watched as the lower one ate something in its talons.

Finally, first one bird and then the second took off, circled overhead a bit and then moved on. Very quickly we spotted an adult and a juvenile circling overhead - perhaps these were the two we had seen over the river earlier.

Passing through the pine groves we added a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher to the day list. Coming back down the ridge from the area of the Henry Hudson Bridge tollbooths there was a Belted Kingfisher on the edge of the bay north of the soccer fields. I recorded 33 species on my walk and later in the day added one more when I spotted from my window a Great Blue Heron on the flats by Muscota Marsh.

Now half way through April my total for Inwood is 52 species, with 27 species from my apartment. The full day's list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (apt. only)
Great Egret

Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

April 14 - Inwood HP - Birds and Wildflowers

It was a beautiful day to spend some time in Inwood Hill Park. I had several goals when I set out. Of course one was to continue to add birds to my spring (since April 1st) bird list. Another was to look for some of the spring wildflowers that are coming in to bloom right now. My first goal was finding Yellow Trout Lily. I know where they come up in numbers every spring and the other day Danny Karlson texted me they were in bloom. It didn't take me long to find some, right where I expected them to be. Every year Ann insists they are not Trout Lilies, but Dog-toothed Violets since that is the name she grew up with in Ohio. Whatever you call them, they are lovely.

Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Nearby, I noticed some lovely small purplish-blue flowers I was not familiar with. I photographed them and sent them along to my WhatsApp group of Central Park AMNH birders asking if anyone knew as ID. In the meantime, I ran into Danny and he said his sister had identified them as Scilla. Later Evelyn Huang of my group texted me that she thought they were Early Snow Glories. A little research at home later confirmed them as Glory-of-the-snow, an introduced Old World wildflower.

Glory-of-the-snow (Scilla forbesii) 

I continued onto the Ridge where the birding was fairly quiet as it has been the last few days. I stopped at the Overlook where I finally picked up a new bird for the month: a lone female Red-breasted Merganser flying over the Hudson. A number of Turkey Vultures were taking advantage of the thermals over the Palisades across the river. Near the Overlook I ran into a birder I had not seen in the park before. Her name was Gloria and she had come up from downtown. While we chatted (from an acceptable social distance!) she spotted an adult Bald Eagle flying low over the trees above. The eagle then headed west over the Hudson. Another new bird for the spring.

As i continued birding the ridge, birds stayed relatively scarce, but I found a number of wildflowers in bloom. One was Greater Celandine. Lesser Celandine has been in bloom in profusion throughout the park for weeks.

Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus)

Garlic Mustard is of course starting to bloom in many places now.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

In one of the small pine groves on the ridge I discovered a tree had been blown down in yesterday's heavy wind and rain.

As I started back down off the ridge I noticed some Cut-leaved Toothwort in bloom.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

When I stood up from photographing the toothworts I noticed a little bird flitting in the branches about eye level. Finally, my first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the year! I knew other birders had been seeing them for over a week and Danny had told me he had seen a few earlier in the day. It was my last new spring bird of the day. In all I recorded 28 species on my walk. The merganser, eagle, and gnatcatcher get me to 49 for April in Inwood. My full day list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Red-breasted Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

April 13 - Apartment Birds - Greater Yellowlegs

For most of the day, this was a day to stay indoors, even without the coronavirus. It rained overnight and much of the day saw steady, sometimes heavy rain and high winds. It did get sunny in the late afternoon and when the sun set it was mostly clear. The bad weather did produce a good sighting from my apartment window. Around noon, from my window, I spotted four Greater Yellowlegs feeding on the mudflats by Muscota Marsh. The tide was coming in and the mudflats rapidly disappeared as did the yellowlegs which took over, circled overhead and disappeared. I think this is only the third time I have seen the species from my apartment window.

I recorded sixteen species from the apartment today. The full list is below. All of the accompanying pictures were taken today from my apartment window.

Canada Goose

Mallard

Double-crested Cormorant
Greater Yellowlegs

Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird

House Sparrow

April 12 - Inwood Hill Park - NO warblers

I went into Inwood Hill Park for a few hours starting in mid-morning. Though my total was 30 species, my best this spring, it felt very quiet. I saw no warblers, though I did hear of Pine and Yellow-rumped warblers seen by others in the park. I did manage to add one species to my April list, Turkey Vulture, seen from the Hudson River Overlook. Danny Karlson and Hilary Russ also saw TV's from the overlook, but they were lucky enough to also have two Bald Eagles go by while they were there. On the soccer fields there were a number of Chipping Sparrow, one or two Savannah Sparrows and a few Brown-headed Cowbirds. On the edge of the bay north of the soccer fields a Red-eared Slider was sunning itself.

My full bird list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Common Raven
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird

House Sparrow

April 11 - Inwood HP - Birds, mammals, and butterflies.

A beautiful, sunny day, though a bit cool and a little breezy. Added one bird species to the April apartment list in the morning with a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the trees across Indian Road. After Ann and I got back from shopping at the nearby Saturday Farmer's Market I headed into the park for a couple of hours. The birding was pretty quiet and I didn't add anything to my April list. On the way up the Clove one of the "Black" Squirrels that are so common in the park decided to pose for me on a tree with the sun shining through his tail.

Up on the ridge, though the birding was pretty quiet, it was my best butterfly day of the spring so far with single individuals of Cabbage White, Tiger Swallowtail, and Mourning Cloak. The Mourning Cloak was the only one that landed for its picture.

The total bird list of 24 species is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow

April 10 - Inwood HP - birds and shells

Another one of those strange spring days when the weather was all over the place. At sunup it was clear and sunny. Later it got overcast. It was windy most of the time. I went into the park for a bit around the middle of the day. While in the park there were snow and sleet flurries. A little while later it was partly sunny and then another sleet flurry came through. By the end of the day it was partly sunny again.

There were not a lot of birds around, though one of the highlights was an Osprey seen from the top of the ridge. Strangely, it was flying south. At the bottom of this post you will find a list of 27 species I recorded today.

One bit of local history Inwood Hill Park is famous for is that it is the site of the Native American village of Shorakapok of the Lenape people. Legend has it this is where Peter Minuit supposedly bought Manhattan Island from the Lenape in 1626.. I say legend since Native Americans did not have the same concept of land ownership the Europeans had so it is doubtful that they understood whatever transaction took place as being a "sale" of their land. All that aside, the shell middens of the Shorakapok village are still present in the park. The early spring is the best time to see them before they disappear under vegetation and leaf litter. Below is a picture I took today of a fairly complete oyster shell half surrounded by many small fragments of other shells.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow

April 9 - Great Blue Heron vs. gulls

Did not get out of the apartment today so the only birding I did was from the window. I did pick up one new bird for the month. Around 1:40 pm I spotted a Great Blue Heron flying over the ship canal off Muscota Marsh. It was pursued by several gulls including a Great Black-backed Gull. It landed in water too deep for it to stand up in and then I could see it was carrying a very large fish. This was why the gulls were chasing it. After swimming in the water briefly it took off again still carrying its fish and still pursued by a coupe of gulls. The gulls forced it down in the water another couple of times, but it still held onto the fish. Finally the heron got out of the water and started flying north towards the other shore still being harassed by the gulls. It hadn't gone far, however, before it lost its struggle to hang onto the fish. It dropped the fish and though a great Black-backed Gull immediately dropped into the water after the fish, the fish must have still been alive because it apparently got away. At least the gull did not catch it.

The total bird list for the window today was 17 species. My best day so far this month. This brings my April total for Inwood to 42 species with 25 seen from the apartment. Today's apartment list is below.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

April 8 - Birding Inwood Hill Park plus a window bird.

About 9:45 in the morning I picked up a year bird from my apartment window when I spotted an Osprey going east over the shipping canal. During the course of the day I recorded a total of 15 species from the apartment. In the afternoon I went for a walk up through the Clove in Inwood Hill Park and along the ridge. I picked up another three new birds on the walk: Fish Crow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Brown-headed Cowbird. Two days ago I encountered my first Northern Flicker of the spring in the park. Today they seemed to be all over the park, rapping on trees and calling loudly. It was also only two days ago that I had my first Chipping Sparrow on the edge of the soccer fields. Today there were numbers of them on the field.

Up on the ridge, I encountered the following sign of the times.

I encountered a number of runners in the park. While most were keeping their distance from each other and other park goers (except for a few pairs who were obviously running together), I would say much less than half of them were wearing masks. I can understand that it must be uncomfortable running wearing a mask, but it would seem that a runner is probably breeding harder than a walker and expelling their breath more forcefully. I think they really are being thoughtless.

Back to birds. For the day, I recorded 28 species, I found 27 species on my park walk and the Osprey from the window in the morning added one. The total from the apartment for the day was 16. The complete day list is below with birds seen from the apartment birds indicated. This brings my total for the month to 41 species with 24 being seen from the apartment.

Canada Goose (apt.)
Mallard (apt.)
Double-crested Cormorant (apt.)
Great Egret (apt.)
Osprey (apt. only)
Ring-billed Gull (apt.)
Herring Gull (apt.)
Rock Pigeon (apt.)
Mourning Dove (apt.)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay (apt.)
Fish Crow
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin (apt.)
Northern Mockingbird (apt.)
European Starling (apt.)
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal (apt.)
Red-winged Blackbird (apt.)
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow (apt.)

April 7 - Window birding only

A beautiful day outside, but it was a work inside day. Nevertheless, I did get some window birding in and added one bird to my April Inwood list and a second bird to my April window list. The new bird was nothing special, a Red-tailed Hawk. Back in March it seemed as if I would see a Red-tail almost daily from the window, but Since April 1st I am been missing it every day. Finally saw one this afternoon. Also this afternoon there was a flicker in the trees across 218th Street. I had a couple on my walk in the woods yesterday, but this added to the month's window list. The total list of 14 species recorded from the apartment is below.

The total numbers for the month so far are now 38 species in Inwood and 23 from the apartment.

Canada Goose
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

April 6 - Inwood Hill Park

Ann and I did a foray into Inwood Hill Park in the mid-afternoon. It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies and hardly a cloud to be seen. Pretty much everyone we encountered was practicing social distancing and most were wearing face masks.

I recorded 27 species including six that were new for my April list. The six new ones are in italics in the list below. This brings my current April list up to 37 species. I also encountered a Spring Azure butterfly that I managed to get a relatively poor picture of.

Great Egret
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Hermit Thrush

American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Pine Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow