Other Birds Archives - Page 62 of 79

January 13, 2008December 23, 2020Other Birds

Belted Kingfisher In January!

For over a week the park has had a Belted Kingfisher alternating between The Lake and Turtle Pond. It was hard to photograph, so I only could get basic I.D. images on Saturday and Sunday.

December 8, 2007December 23, 2020Other Birds

Nashville Warbler in December

While watching the LEOs (Long-eared Owls), a father and daughter came by to watch them. We got to talking and they went over the birds they had seen. One of the was a Nashville Warbler.

Now any warbler in December would be unusual, so I had to check it out. It was located just west of the North Gate House on the Reservoir. It was between the fence and the water.

Update: I got a nice note from Tom Fiore, explaining that there is a history of late Nashville Warblers in Central Park, and they’ve even been on few Christmas Bird Count lists.

December 2, 2007December 23, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Sunday Around The Great Lawn

Lola was on the Beresford when I looked for her early on Sunday afternoon.

She was looking down at something, so I went to look for it. I was hoping for a Long-Eared Owl, but found this…

I then saw Pale Male at the bottom of the Great Lawn. He switched trees a few times.

Here he’s taking off to fly to another tree.

We had a number of “intruders”, including a Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel and this Turkey Vulture.

Pale Male on one of the baseball backstops.

Pale Male was found to be on his favorite MET security camera. He soon flew off, towards Turtle Pond.

While watching for owls, the first year hawk came by.

It ended up in a tree for the night in what I call the DMZ. The zone between the Central Park South hawks and Pale Male and Lola.

Enjoy the winter in Central Park, but remember you’re going to be kicked out come spring by the old folks!

October 28, 2007December 23, 2020Other Birds

Downy Woodpecker

A Downy Woodpecker was busy making a cavity on Sunday, near Triplets Bridge.

That’s sawdust being ejected from the nest on the right.

October 28, 2007December 23, 2020Other Birds

Virginia Rail

A Virginia Rail, which may be the same bird that was released into the park earlier this month by a rehabber, was out in the open on Sunday in the stream between Balcony Bridge and Triplets Bridge.

The reeds where the bird had been hiding, were removed last week as part of the renovations of the Lake

October 14, 2007December 25, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Sunday, I spent mid-day in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. It’s at the end of the 6 Subway Line, which is an easy but long ride from Manhattan. Long Island Sound basically ends at the park, which makes it a perfect magnet for birds migrating from New England.

Once a year, the Urban Park Rangers lead a hawk watching tour of the landfill which is normally closed to visitors. This year’s tour ended up being a perfect day for hawk watching. The weather was nice, and the wind was steady and from a northwesterly direction. We ended up having hawks in view the entire time we were on the landfill, which is highly unusual. Needless to say, I had a great time.

The landfill is a large hill. It is the highest point in the area giving us a great view, plus it creates updrafts for the hawks and falcons.

We ended up seeing many Red-tailed Hawks (seven were in the air at once), American Kestrels (at least four), Northern Harriers (at least two), Osprey (two, not photographed) and one possible Sharp-shinned hawk.