Registrar: Lisa Kroop
Participants: 18
Weather: 66°F–79°F, sunny with haze; light breeze, 2 mph NE
Bird Species: 41
It felt like a summer day, especially as the morning progressed, but we were now into October and some trees were starting to show signs of fall. It was close to high tide, and at our first stop we saw many sleeping Mallards concentrated along the far shore of the salt marsh. As it was quiet, with little activity, we moved on to a small fenced-in meadow nearby, adjacent to a large grass field, to see what we might find there. We took our time, carefully inspecting the House Sparrows that were energetically foraging in the grass along the fence. Over time, among them and nearby, we found a Swamp Sparrow, a couple of Savannah Sparrows, a Chipping Sparrow, and a Palm Warbler. We looked for the Indigo Bunting that Loyan had spotted before the walk, but we were unable to relocate it.
Continuing onward, soon reaching the corner of the field, we left the bay behind us and paused again. This time we found the action along the wooded edge of the field, first with sparrows, followed by the arrival of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk who perched very close to us on a sturdy plant stalk that had just moments before been vacated by a Song Sparrow. And while the Red-tailed Hawk perched, a Belted Kingfisher alighted onto a snag nearby.
We entered the Clove, a deep, narrow valley between steep rock ridges and woods of mature, tall trees. In the heavily shaded and cool Clove, Blue Jays called loudly all around us. We paused several times to search for other migratory birds in the sunny patches high in the treetops, but didn’t find any. Then, to the delight of everyone, a warbler was spotted foraging in the path far ahead of us—a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. It continued there for several minutes, briefly moving out of the shade into a bright sliver of sunlight, and then flew into the understory and out of sight.
Observing the vista from the Overlook Meadow, we hoped to see raptors moving over the Hudson River. The view was beautiful, but we saw barely a flying bird, and no raptors. We resumed our walk back into the woods. We had heard and seen quite a few Red-bellied Woodpeckers by this time. Yet another one called—we located it, saw that it had an acorn in its bill, and watched it fly to another tree and cache the acorn under the peeling bark of the trunk—fascinating to watch.
We followed the trail downhill to underneath the Henry Hudson Bridge that overlooks Spuyten Duyvil Creek. As we gazed out at the view, noting a distant Great Blue Heron, we heard the loud and clear croaking of a raven close by. There were two of them, directly overhead, perched on the supporting framework of the bridge. And across the creek, perched on the roof of an apartment building, was a third.
As we neared the end of our walk, we paused to observe a couple of phoebes, and then gathered at Shorakkopoch Rock to thank Loyan for leading us on a wonderful birding trip through Inwood Hill Park.
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
Mallard
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
European Starling
Gray Catbird
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk
Eastern Gray Squirrel
