On Saturday, my late afternoon visit to Central Park started with a Peregrine Falcon on top of the southern tower of The Eldorado on Central Park West.
It ended with my standard visit to the North Wood’s Eastern Screech-Owl. I got a glimpse at what might be a band on her, although it was hardly certain.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
