Snail Kite
The second bird I saw in SW Florida, also at Harns Marsh was a female Snail Kite. She gave me goosebumps. She was a great flier and snail hunter.
Category: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey
Christmas Bird Count Weekend
The annual Central Park Christmas Bird Count was on Sunday. It’s a great event that brings together the Urban Park Rangers, the Parks Department, Audubon NYC and lots of amateur birders to take a census of the birds wintering in the park.
After a series of bad weather counts with snow, rain or bitterly cold temperatures, this count had enjoyable, if chilly weather.
The day before, I looked for the two unusual birds that have been around, the Varied Thrush and a young Red-Headed Woodpecker (which at this age, has yet to get a red head.) Along the way I had nice looks at a Cooper’s hawk.
On Sunday, I joined the Northeast team. Highlights for me were a Carolina Wren and young Red-tailed Hawk at Mount Sinai Hospital. After our counting was done, our team saw a Merlin in the Northwest team’s area, I saw a young Red-tail being harrased by Pale Male at 63rd and Fifth, and at dusk I watched the park’s surviving Eastern Screech-Owl’s fly out.
The count had 62 species of birds, including birds from the count week. There are lots of birds in Central Park, even in the winter! The count had 11 Red-tailed Hawks, 9 Cooper’s Hawks, 2 Merlins, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 Peregrine Falcon, and 1 Eastern Screech-Owl.
Cooper’s Hawk
Late fall is a great time to Hawk Watch in New York City. There are lots of migrants passing through and some may even stay for the winter. Here’s a Cooper’s Hawk in Central Park.
Merlin Continues
The Merlin that had been hanging out on top of a watertower on Central Park West between 101st and 102nd is still there. On Tuesday, just like Sunday it caught dinner just before dusk.
Merlin On Halloween
The pictures and video are of poor quality, but the find was exciting. A Merlin was on top of a water tower on Central Park at 111th Street. This small falcon was a fun find on a cold afternoon.
Riverside Update
I’ve been away on weekends, and it’s too dark in the late afternoon to visit Riverside Park after work, so I haven’t been able to visit until this Saturday.
While I was away I received reports of the youngster being at the ballfields by the dumpsters south of the Boat Basin, and further north in the 90’s and 100’s. The youngster’s being outside of the parent’s territory is a great sign that it’s growing up!
When I visited Saturday, I only found the two parents. They were together on a water tower at 81st and Riverside, and both few off towards the south. I found one, perching on various lamp posts above the highway.
I went looking for the youngster, without any luck. As I left the park, I saw a bird perched on a building at 90th and Broadway. I was hoping it was the youngster, but found that it was a Peregrine Falcon, a nice consolation prize.
