Urban Hawks

January 24, 2019December 27, 2020Other Birds

Odds and Ends

My visit to Central Park on Wednesday yielded some interesting birds.

I photographed the leucistic (a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes) Common Grackle that has been well documented and visits the bird feeders in the Ramble daily.
Watched the Rusty Blackbird in The Loch in the northern end of the park.
Photographed a neck banded Canada Goose at The Pond, numbered Y3T4, with white letters on orange. Looking at my photographs, I discovered it was with another banded goose, X3A9. I’ve reported the band numbers, so I should hear back in a few weeks as to where these birds were banded, and possibly why.

Update: A Facebook reader commented that I might have best used the term Piebald rather than Leucistic for the Common Grackle. Here’s an interesting link about when to use each, from The Spruce: Bird Leucism.

Update 2: Got the banding information back.
Band Number: 1078-14416 Y3T4
Banded: 07/02/2013
Species: CANADA GOOSE
Age of Bird: WAS TOO YOUNG TO FLY WHEN BANDED IN 2013
Sex: MALE
Location: VARENNES, QUÉBEC, CANADA
Bander: JEAN RODRIGUE QC-SCF-SAUVAGINE 801-1550 D’ESTIMAUVILLE QUEBEC QC G1J 0C3

Update 3: I got an email from Michael Castellano that he saw the neck banded geese in Prospect Park on February 3rd.

January 20, 2019December 16, 2020Owls

Great Horned Owl

Tonight, as the temperature quickly dropped below freezing the Great Horned Owl held on in very high winds. What a way to wake up! It coughed up two pellets one after another. Otherwise it was tough night for owl watching, with the owl quickly going out of view at fly out.

January 18, 2019December 16, 2020Owls

Barred Owl

Just when Owl mania seemed to be over, three species of owls were reported in Central Park today, Great Horned, Northern Saw-whet and Barred. Only the Barred Owl was easy to photograph from a distance, so I choose to watch it. It was calm, except when two Red-tailed Hawks and a group of Blue Jays were nearby.

January 18, 2019December 18, 2020Other Birds

Common Loon

A Common Loon was on the Reservoir this afternoon. It was working a wide range of the Reservoir and was difficult to photograph as it kept far from the shoreline while I was watching it.

January 17, 2019December 27, 2020Other Birds

Mandarin Duck

New York City’s most famous, escaped pet continued to do well on The Pond in Central Park. It’s fame seems to have subsided and for the most part the shoreline of The Pond has thankfully, returned to normal.

January 16, 2019December 27, 2020Other Birds

Great Blue Heron

This afternoon I watched a Great Blue Heron walk on the ice of both The Pool and the Harlem Meer at the northern end of Central Park. Just like humans, the bird occasionally slipped on the ice. A few Great Blue Herons spend the winter in New York City. If I could fly, I would certainly fly to a warmer climate!