Urban Hawks

January 11, 2013December 26, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

The Plaza Hotel – A New Red-tailed Nest

The Roger Paw Blog reported on January 9th that a new Red-tailed Hawk nest is being established on The Plaza Hotel at Central Park South.

This evening, at dusk while I was watching two Black Crowned Night Herons (one adult and one immature), and hundreds of Common Grackles come home to roost, I saw one the Red-tails at the nest site. The Red-tailed Hawk stayed on the nest for about ten minutes and then went off to roost.

Hats off to the Roger Paw Blog for such excellent reporting! Finding a new nest site, this early in the season, is hard work.

January 11, 2013December 17, 2020Owls

Another Northern Saw-whet Owl

A Northern Saw-whet Owl has been seen in the park for about the last week in a new location. Today it was hard to get a clear picture, but it was definitely a Saw-Whet.

January 11, 2013December 26, 2020Other Birds

American Tree Sparrow

An American Tree Sparrow has been hanging around the large woodchip pile in the northern section of Central Park. Today, it gave me some really nice looks. The American Tree Sparrow has a bi-colored beak, the top and bottom parts are different.

January 8, 2013December 23, 2020Extralimital, Other Birds

More Florida Photos

A group of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were a new species for my life list seen at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands (Delray Beach, Palm Beach County).

January 6, 2013December 28, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Another Randalls Island Day

I realized on Saturday that I haven’t spend a real day birding in a long while. I’ve been going after specific birds, but not doing a real walk counting birds for a long time.

So, I birded Randalls Island from end to end on Sunday to see what I could find. Boy, did I feel rusty. Looks like I’m going to be spending lots of time this winter doing long walks…

Photographs are of the Red-tailed Hawk pair and their nest just north of the stadium field, an American Kestrel, Brant, Black-capped Chickadee, and Red-breasted Mergansers.

January 5, 2013December 25, 2020Other Birds

American Pipits

Randalls Island has been discovered this winter by birders in New York City. Easily visited by public transportation, this island between the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens offers an interesting variety of birds.

Today, I visited the island. Thanks to the great birding skills of Ben Cacace, I got to see three American Pipits. This is a new species for my life list.