Barred Owl
One Barred Owl continues in Central Park. Tonight it flew out to the Southwest. Luckily, it has become such a regular that only a few people were paying any attention to it this afternoon.
Carolina Wren
Among many White-throated Sparrows in the Shakespeare Garden of Central Park was this Carolina Wren. A nice colorful bird for a gray winter day.
Last weekend
I haven’t been able to spend much time birding this December. During the week, it’s too dark to bird after work, and the weekend before last, I was away on business.
This last weekend, I only had a few hours on Saturday to go birding. Sunday, I participated in the Christmas Bird count in Central Park, but didn’t have time to photograph much.
So, here are the few photos I got last weekend.
Northern Saw-whet Owl
The smallest owl that visits Central Park is the Northern Saw-whet Owl. It’s about eight inches tall. A Saw-whet has been in the park for about a week. Today, it was in a perfect spot to watch until dusk. A small group of us were hoping for a fly out, but the owl jumped to the center of the bush it has been perching in rather than flying out. I was disappointed but also glad to see that the owl could out smart us.
Barred Owls Are Still Here
Three Barred Owls were spotted in the park today, most likely the trio that arrived after Huricane Sandy. It’s so great that they’ve stayed in the park.
Cooper’s Hawk and then Pale Male
Despite all of time I’ve spent looking at owls, I have been keeping an eye out for Pale Male. Today, I started my birding near Pale Male’s nest. My first views were of a Cooper’s Hawk chasing some European Starlings.
Then Pale Male arrived. He broke off a tree branch and took it to the nest. He then perched a little south of the nest on a fence, then a water tank and then a railing. He kept looking south. I think his new mate may be spending her time below 72nd Street.
