I birded in Central Park on Saturday and Sunday. The fall migration is winding down and it is getting tougher to find birds. Pale Male and Lola have a Cooper’s Hawk and a young Red-tail in their territory, which is mixing up the standard schedule for the pair.
Sunday was a crisp fall day. Highlights included Lola on the Beresford Apartments, a cooperative Black-throated Green Warbler, Winter Wren and Song Sparrow.
Pale Male was already in one of his favorite roost trees when I went to look for him this evening. After a few minutes, Lola arrived to be with him, first landing on his branch and then moving a few feet away to another branch after about a minute.
I wonder if the number of “intruders” in the park this time of year encourage them to sleep together?
The first photo is of Pale Male and the rest are of Lola.
The Blue Jays in the park have been making lots of noise these last few weeks. Most of the time it seems to be a false alarm, but this afternoon they were helpful. They helped me find a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk and an Accipiter (either a Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk). They were west of the Conservatory Garden and east of the Compost Heap.
All of the pictures but the last one are of the Red-tail. It was eating something with a thin band on each leg. I didn’t stay long enough to see if they got swollowed.
Pale Male was in a few of his favorite trees late this afternoon and early evening. He was in one of his regular spots in a tree on the west side of the Great Lawn when I arrived, moving just for a moment to a tree 100 yards north. He then went to his favorite tree north of Turtle Pond before going to a standard roosting spot at the bottom of Cedar Hill.
Golden-Crowned Kinglets and Palm Warblers may be common this time of year, but that doesn’t make them any less beautiful.
I had new bird in Central Park today, a Vesper Sparrow. It was on a ridge of rocks just north of the North Meadow. It was nice to have a life bird. They’re getting much harder for me to get these days in Central Park.
