Other Birds

Spring Birds

Now that Spring has arrived and Daylight Savings time has started, it’s possible to some real birding after work.

Here are some birds from Monday evening.

Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler backside
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Brown Creeper with insect
Owls

Sunday, 4-9-06 through Wednesday, 4-12-06

I wasn’t able to make the Sunday fly out, but reports were that the owl flew out on schedule.

On Monday, there was no sign of an owl, just European Starlings hovering about the hole.  We hope that this only means that the surviving adult Eastern Screech-Owl is now sleeping in tree branches now that the trees have leaves and the weather is warmer, and that nothing has happened to the owl.

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On Tuesday, European Starlings were seen in the cavity early in the morning.  By mid-day a dead owl hatchling was visible at the edge of the cavity.  The park dispatched a “cherry picker”, and a second dead hatchling was discovered in the cavity.  Both bodies were badly decomposed.

On Wednesday, a park employee found a third hatchling on the ground near the owls’ tree.  I went to the tree and the surounding area in the evening to look one more time for our adult owl.  It was nowhere to be found, which may be good news not bad.

So, a winter season of Eastern Screech-Owl watching ends with sad
results in the southern portion of the park.  The season started with four
adults, two in the Ramble and two along the West Drive.  It ended with
only one adult and a death toll of three adults and three hatchlings.

Owls

Sunday, 4-2-06 through Saturday, 4-8-06

I was only able to watch the fly out on two nights this week, Monday and Tuesday. 

On Monday, it rained and there was no sign of the owl.

On Tuesday, there was a standard fly out and two brief stops before flying off to hunt for the evening.

Soon the owl will be leaving its cavity for the summer to spend the warmer months in tree branches.  Last year they left around April 20th.

We also learned this week the fate of the Red morph Eastern Screech-Owl found dead last week.  It has been attacked by another animal, possibly our West Drive owl.  (The fate of the Red morph’s mate, who disappeared this winter while the Great Horned Owl was around is still a mystery.  Many suspect that he was attacked by the Great Horned Owl, but I suspect we’ll never know what really happened to him.)

Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

All Quiet On The Southern Front

With Junior giving Charlotte a break midday, it’s very quiet looking at the nest in the late afternoon/early evening.

Looking up at the nest from the “Little Hill” (the small hill between 6th and 7th Avenues just north of the Essex House just inside the park), one can’t see any activity in the late afternoon.  You might even think the nest was empty.
But Charlotte is safely tucked in at the back of the nest keeping her eggs warm.
The sun is still low in April, so for the most part the nest is in shadows much of the late afternoon.
The nest has fresh twigs, some of which are budding.
Although the trees still have a ways to go, green is replacing brown as the dominant color in the park.
Note that the Beresford, Pale Male and Lola’s west side perch has a view of Junior and Charlotte’s nest.
When the sun peaks through the office towers, the gray of the nest’s building turns a wonderful golden color.
It was cold up there, about 40 degrees with high wind gusts.
Day turns to dusk and the lights go on in the park and the George Washington Bridge.
Charlotte is all tucked in for the evening.  The bright lights on the lower left are from the gardens of Tavern on the Green, a popular restaurant and hunting area for Junior.