April 30 - Inwood Hill Park

I went into Inwood for a short walk this morning. It was mainly gray and cool. The best bird was actually seen from my apartment window shortly before I went out - a Red-throated Loon by Muscota Marsh. As I entered the park I encountered Danny Karlson, also going in to bird the park. We birded together for a while and Danny stayed in when I had to leave to go to the office. On the slope at the beginning of the road into the valley, a few Trout Lilies were in bloom while the Dutchman's-breeches in the Clove seemed to be at their peak. At the upper end of the path through the Clove we found an Eastern Chipmunk, a park resident that can be surprisingly scarce.

Eastern Chipmunk - 04/30/2018

 The birding was very quiet. While I was with Danny, we only came across two warblers. My total list of 33 species is below.

Canada Goose
Red-throated Loon (1)
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret (2)
Turkey Vulture (1, over the Hudson, another over the Palisades)
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo (1)
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse (2)
Carolina Wren (several singing)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Hermit Thrush (1)
American Robin (at least 40 on the soccer fields)
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler (1)

Black-and-white Warbler - 04/30/2018

Palm Warbler (1)
Chipping Sparrow (9, the soccer field)
Savannah Sparrow (1, bright plumage; the soccer field)
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (1)
White-throated Sparrow (only a few)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird (3, males on the soccer field)
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow