Birding is Fun in the City

This Red-tailed Hawk, which I saw recently in New York City, is just waiting for you to come and see the City Birds at

Birding is Fun!

Spring Birding in Central Park

 Central Park, Easter Weekend 2014

I cannot believe it has already been four weeks since Gus and I went to New York City! We drove in on Friday night with my brother and we were out the door and into Central Park first thing Saturday morning so I could find me some birds!

“The boys” are good sports, but they are not birders. Still, they followed me around and let me lead the way for about two hours, when we all got tired and hungry!

The daffodils were in full bloom then, making me feel all “springy!”

 

Robins filled the trees and lawns with their bright red breasts and cheery songs!

 

This Mourning Dove all puffed up reminds me that there was still a chill in the air!

But there were blossoms everywhere, blooming with the promise of spring!

 

Bluebells in Central Park 4-19-14

We wandered around The Ramble and we stopped by Belvedere Castle and the Turtle Pond. I only saw 22 species this morning and my best birds of the day were Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Palm Warbler, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow which I saw flying over the Turtle Pond near the castle! All 3 of these species were New York Life Birds! We spent the rest of the weekend doing other non-birdy things, except for walk along the riverfront where I saw a few ducks and geese. Saturday was sunny and warm, but Sunday was very chilly and we decided to do mostly indoor things. But then on Monday morning before we left I got up early and went back to the park by myself.

Monday, April 21, 2014

When I first came to New York City with my brother I used to be afraid to go anywhere alone. While I’m still not brave enough to do a cab ride or take the subway by myself, I have no problem walking around Central Park! The inevitable pigeons were waiting overhead as I entered the park from Central Park West. They were not a bit afraid of the Red-tailed Hawk that shared the same tree as they did!

Early morning sunlight bathes this red-tail in golden light.

I followed flower-lined paths…

 

…to secret pools where cardinals drink…

 

…and White-throated Sparrows serenade me with their morning song!

I could hear, “Oh sweet, Canada, Canada, Canada” ringing over the grassy lawns. Some people say this bird’s song says, “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”! I say, take your pick! Either way, I love the song of this handsome sparrow! The white throat and yellow lores above the eyes help distinguish this species from the very similar White-crowned Sparrow, which is much more rare in the northeast!

 American Robin on the nest!

I searched and searched for something new, but I think I came to the park too early in the year. There were few warblers to be found, so I headed to The Lake, but other than a few ducks, geese, coots and gulls, Double-crested Cormorants were all I found!

 A Cormorant Castle?

 

 

Double-crested Cormorants on the ramparts!

I was pleased to find this Northern Flicker foraging along the water's edge!

 

 Female Bufflehead floating in the lake!

 

 Forsythia in a riot of bloom!

 

 Napping Ruddy Ducks 4-21-14

Here are the birds I saw on this April weekend visit to New York City and Central Park: (bold type denotes new date and/or location)

 

1. Rock Pigeon—Central Park 4-19-2014
2. Downy Woodpecker
3. Blue Jay
4. American Robin
5. European starling
6. Song Sparrow
7. White-throated Sparrow
8. Common Grackle
9. House Sparrow
10. Mallard
11. Double-crested Cormorant
12. Mourning Dove
13. Red-bellied Woodpecker
14. Northern Flicker
15. Ruby-crowned Kinglet*
16. Palm Warbler*
17. Northern Cardinal
18. Red-winged blackbird
19. Brown-headed Cowbird
20. House Finch
21. Northern Rough-winged Swallow*
22. Yellow-rumped Warbler
23. Brant—Greenwich Village Waterfront 4-19-2014
24. Ring-billed Gull
25. Herring Gull
26. Great Black-backed Gull
27. Northern Mockingbird—Brooklyn Museum 4-20-2014
28. Northern Shoveler—Central Park 4-21-2014
29. Red-tailed Hawk
30. Bufflehead
31. Ruddy Duck
32. Great Egret
33. American Coot

*New York Life Birds (Birds new to my New York Life List.)

A Misty Moisty Morning in Central Park

 Bow Bridge in Central Park 6-10-2013

Since I took the trip to New Jersey to go birding with Rick Wright I did not have as much time to go birding in New York City. Thus is was that I found myself going for a stroll through Central Park on my last day there. The whole month of June was cool, cloudy, gray and rainy, and this morning was no exception. Laden down with binoculars, camera, smartphone and notebook my brother, his partner and I set out for the park.  Though the birds were not quite as active as they might have been on a sunny day, I did manage to see and photograph a few before I had to stuff my camera up my shirt to prevent it from getting rained on! Here is some of what we saw:

Central Park Birds

Female Cardinal

Male Cardinal

 

Red-eyed Vireo

 

Canada Geese

Yes, the water was this green! Everything was green!

“The red was green, the blue was green,

the Emerald City all was green,

It made a very pretty scene, especially if you like green!”

(For my little brother and sister-Do you know where this quote came from?)

House Sparrow

 

Gray Catbird

 

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

 

Baltimore Oriole

Belvedere Castle and Beyond

 

 

 

Such gray and misty days always make me think of this old nursery rhyme I used to read to my children:

One misty moisty morning

When cloudy was the weather

I chanced to meet an old man

Clothed all in leather,

He began to compliment and I began to grin,

“How do you do, and how do you do, and how do you do again!”

From Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

 

Scenes from the Shakespeare Garden

 

 

 

By the time we were done the mist has developed into a steady drizzle. By the time we left the city is was a downpour. As always, I had such a good time in the city and I look forward to going back again next year. I mean, what could be better than family, good food, and good birds?

Birds seen in Central Park on June 10, 2013:

1. Canada Goose
2. Mallard
3. Black-crowned Night Heron
4. Double-crested Cormorant
5. Rock Pigeon
6. Mourning Dove
7. Chimney Swift
8. Downy Woodpecker
9. Northern Flicker
10. Great-crested Flycatcher
11. Eastern Kingbird
12. Warbling Vireo
13. Red-eyed Vireo
14. Blue Jay
15. Black-capped Chickadee
16. Wood thrush
17. American Robin
18. Gray Catbird
19. Northern Mockingbird
20. European Starling
21. Cedar Waxwing
22. Pine Warbler
23. Northern Cardinal
24. Common Grackle
25. Red-winged Blackbird
26. Baltimore Oriole
27. House Finch
28. American Goldfinch
29. House Sparrow

Birding is Fun in New York City

My nest is empty today because I am posting about NYC Birding on

Birding is Fun!

Fly on over and see the birds!

(Photo of bird’s nest at Inwood Hills Park, New York, NY 6-21-2009)

My How the Days Fly!

After weeks of cool weather and rain the heat and humidity have finally arrived here in Connecticut. I have been here for three weeks now and soon my time here will come to an end. I hit the ground running upon arrival and went immediately to New York City the first weekend here. From there I traveled to New Jersey to go birding with Rick Wright. It was my first time birding in that state and with his help I raised my New Jersey Life List from three species seen along the highway as I travelled through last August to 85 species for that state, 2 of which were Life Birds for me! I have taken lots of photos and will post pictures and stories upon my return to Arizona. I returned to CT on Monday, June 10th and by Tuesday, June 11th was in Maine. After spending 3 days there I returned to CT and went birding in Rhode Island at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, RI. Since then I have birded with friends around Connecticut and by myself around town. I am continually amazed by all the green and all the water. I particularly enjoy listening to rain and when I first arrived, sleeping with the window open and having to add extra blankets to my bed all the while knowing it was over 100 degrees in Arizona! I have since learned that it has been over 100 degrees every day in June and there is a good chance it will continue to reach that temperature or higher. If it does, it will be the first time ever that it has been over 100 every day of the month of June in Tucson. I am hoping that by the time I return the Monsoon will have started and I will get to see and hear some storms as well as feel the temperature drop!

 

This week in Connecticut is all about family with numerous family birthdays and a high school graduation going on. Over the weekend we were suppose to have our annual Adams Family Road Race, but it was postponed until August for various reasons, so we just had a family get together instead. Tomorrow if all goes well I will reach my goal of birding in Litchfield County, CT as well as in Vermont. Litchfield County is the ONLY Connecticut county I do not have a bird list in YET, and Vermont is the only New England state I have not counted birds in. I have been busy helping my Mom around the house and planting flowers for her in her yard. She has a virtual wildlife habitat here with her bird feeders and her fountain. Though she lives in the center of town, her yard backs up to a vacant lot filled with young saplings and bushes. I have counted up to 18 species of birds in her yard on a single day and she has numerous mammals that frequent her yard, including a family of groundhogs, families of gray squirrels and red squirrels, chipmunks and, at last count, at least 5 cats, some of which are feral. It is not uncommon for the neighbors to see me run screaming and hissing out of the house to chase the cats away from beneath the feeders! I can do a pretty mean mad cat impression!

 

Around town I have been counting birds at Cohen Meadows, Lion's Pond, and Savin Lake. I have also counted birds at Comstock Covered Bridge and one evening I counted birds at Day Pond. I would like to go back there as I arrived just at sunset and was hearing and seeing so many birds but they were just locking the gates for the night and kicked me out! I spent a lovely day birding with Lin Sandpiper and her husband at Hammonassett Beach State Park and I have plans to go birding with Larry from the Brownstone Birding blog this weekend. I feel my life is so rich and full and I have so much to be thankful for. While I have not added any life birds since my return to New England, I have added several species to individual state and county Life Lists.

 

I feel I am a person torn in two by my love for my family and New England, and my love for the desert and my husband. In the end I am thankful for both and for the birds that populate each place filling my life with songs, beauty and wonder.

 

As always, there is poetry happening at Kathie's Poet Tree! I have been writing some poems about Nature and New England and Life with a few more to post before I return to AZ! There is a special poem posting on Thursday in honor of my mother's birthday with a photo of a painting she did for me. I hope you will check it out if you have time. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment on my blog! and for the latest story from Arizona, scroll down a post or click on the link to read about The Magic of Madera.

 

Links:

• Kathie's Poet Tree
• Savin Lake
• The Magic of Madera
• The Brownstone Birding Blog
• Sandpiper's Place
• Rick Wright
• Norman Bird Sanctuary
• The Adams Family Road Race-Kathie's Birds Posts
• Adams Family Road Race-Sycamore Canyon Posts

 

 

 

 

Last Things

Misquamicut Beach, Rhode Island 8-17-2012

My life is lived in moments of “last things” right now. My last trip to the bog, my last time at the store, my last walk in the neighborhood. On Friday the 17th my friend Kathryn and I drove to Connecticut to drop the dog and some food off with mom. After eating lunch we drove over to Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island. Kathryn had never been to Rhode Island before and I had not yet been to the beach this summer. I wanted to go “One Last Time” before leaving for the dry desert.

When we arrived around 4 PM EDT, and the beach was still a bit crowded, but by the time we left two hours later the most of the people were gone and the beach was awash in the golden light of a setting sun.

We found a great place to park at a private beach with food, restrooms and changing rooms. It was a short walk to the beach, so we had easy access to our car and only cost us $10 to park!

We were too anxious to get in the water, so all of these pictures were taken after we were done swimming and had already changed back into our dry cloths. Here is Kathryn standing on the beach. She is helping with the driving on out way to Tucson.

What an endless horizon!

 

I played in these waves for two hours until my legs were weak and my body was chilled to the bones. I did not want to leave! Kathryn had more sense than me and sat on the beach people watching after an hour or so.

As the tide rolled in, so did the seaweed!

 

The inevitable seagulls keep watch!

 

Good-bye Rhode Island!

We did manage to do a bit of bird watching before we left and found a few Semi-palmated plovers in a parking lot along with some seagulls near a puddle. In all we saw or heard 13 species of birds in Rhode Island on this day. Now we are on our way to Tucson. May people want to know if I am changing the name of my blog or starting a new blog. The answer is, my blog will stay the same for now. That is why I changed the name to Kathie's Birds two years ago, because no matter where I live, it can always be Kathie’s Birds! So follow me as I Fly Away to Tucson! I will try to keep in contact as I travel and will start blogging again as soon as possible after I arrive. I also have a Facebook page for those who want to subscribe!

• Birding is Fun
• Kathie’s Poet Tree
• Sycamore Canyon
• Sycamore Canyon Birds
• My Mountain Green (Kathryn’s blog)

Contemplation

 Orchid in the Window

It is our last day in New York City. We’ve returned from our anniversary dinner and now it’s time to clean the apartment and pack our suitcases and the car. We’ve squeezed so many things into these last few days; birding, shopping, eating, sight-seeing, and more. We took in a play one night, and wandered the streets at will. But now as we collect dirty laundry or fold unused clothes back into our bags, it feels as if a great heaviness has settled on all of us. None of us wants to leave. I feel as if I have been in another world these past five days, but I am nature’s child, so why would I want to stay?

 

My brother has taught me to see New York City with new eyes. No longer do I fear the tall buildings and the endless asphalt. I have learned there is nature here as well, peeking out in-between bricks and mortar, or consuming multiple city blocks in the city’s vast parks. But it is not nature or lack of it that makes me reluctant to leave. So what is it? Is it the art I find everywhere and so readily accessible? Here in New York even dumpsters and donation boxes are painted artistically. Is this what I crave? Art at every corner?

 

As I glance out the apartment window I look over the tops of trees that line the streets. This, too, amazed me about the city. I expected it to all be bare bricks, stone and asphalt, but I have learned that it is not. There is not a lot of space in this studio apartment with its 500 square feet, yet suddenly it hits me. Life is very simple here. Everything we need to live is contained within these 500 square feet. There is a bed, a bathroom and a kitchen. In one area we have a table to sit at, in another there are a couple of stuffed chairs for relaxing. This small space is so easy to clean, so more time may be spent outside watching birds or viewing art. If we needed anything to eat while we were here the grocery stores and restaurants were all within walking distance. If I want to be alone in nature, Central Park is just down the street. If I want to see a play or a movie, they are just a few steps out the door. In the first three days we were here alone and during that time Gus and I never took a cab or the subway, yet we never ran out of things to do! So this got me thinking; could one live as simply in the country as one can in the city and vice versa?

 

While I am not ready to actually move to the city, could I replicate this simple life where I live? What if, instead of wanting a larger house, I lived in something smaller? I know I have friends who have done this in their own way by living in motor homes. Could I do that? Or, could I buy a piece of land and leave it mostly natural and just build a small house on it? We live in a world that teaches us bigger is better, but is it really? Or is it really just more time consuming? Life is so short. How do I want to spend my days? Polishing floors and mowing a lawn, or would I rather be outside hiking and bird watching? Would I rather spend my time with my family or working to pay for a big house? It makes me wonder if I have to
“own” the place I love, the things I love, or is it enough to just enjoy them while I can and then move on, keeping only memories?

I am not the first to say that we are only passing through this life, so as we drive away from the city I am left to ponder if I can have “more” in life by owning “less.” I used to have a bit of reverse snobbery, thinking of New York and New Yorkers as somehow having a more complicated and diminished life. I now know that living in New York can be one of the “greenest” things one can do for the planet by living in such compact housing and walking everywhere. Yet, this I know, I still need the sounds of nature around, and the wide open expanses of an unaltered earth. I need times where I cannot see or hear a manmade thing. Being in the natural world can sooth my soul. New York is another world, one which I hope to visit again. Nature and New York, I think I need them both. Besides, after this trip to the city I now know that there are warblers there!