Confusing Sapsuckers and Other Spring Birds in Lower Manhattan

 

This bird seemed to be a sapsucker but didn’t have any red on its head.

On April 20, I was passing through City Hall Park with a friend and happened to see maybe 10 sapsuckers flying around the trees. I didn’t have my camera with me but did manage to get a photo of one of them with my cell phone. When I looked closely I didn’t see red on its head, unlike the other ones I have seen before. I thought maybe it was a juvenile.

Although there are thousands of yellow-bellied sapsucker holes in the trees in City Hall Park, I rarely see the birds responsible for making the holes there. A sapsucker is a type of woodpecker that makes lines of small holes across the bark of many different kinds of trees, and then licks up the sap that wells up, along with any bugs attracted to the sap. Over time, some trees are almost entirely covered with these holes, since the holes don’t close up, and new ones may be added every year. 

Sapsucker holes are lined up in horozontal rows.

About a week later I went on Monday morning Battery Park City bird walk with Marieke Bender and there were a number of sapsuckers around the Cedar of Lebanon trees in the South Cove. The markings on their backs provide a lot of camouflage when they are against the bark, but red feathers on the head will catch your eye.  

This sapsucker had red on its head but not its throat so I figured it was a female. 

The male yellow-bellied sapsuckers usually have red on their heads and throats.

Then on April 30 I went on the bird walk in The Battery with Gabriel Willow. We saw several yellow-bellied sapsuckers in the Labyrinth there chasing each other around on the Atlas cedar trees. And one of them had a black head. Like the one I saw in City Hall Park. Gabriel told us that some adult females are a black-crowned variety – maybe one in ten. It's mentioned in the Sibley app. Interesting to learn.

Meanwhile we were treated to a good look at Astoria, the lonely female wild turkey who seems to be roaming the city in hopes of finding a mate. People were reminded of Zelda, a different wild turkey who lived in The Battery for quite a few years a while back.

Elsewhere in The Battery, some house sparrows were making a nest in a London Plane tree hole.

And a pair of mockingbirds had a nest in a tree by the Farm.

The mourning doves had already moved out of their nest in the Labyrinth. 

White-throated sparrows were still around, after spending the winter in the city. They were singing their wonderful high-pitched song, but will soon be moving north to breed.  

Other birds were just stopping by on their way north.

Including an Ovenbird.

And a Ruby-crowned Kinglet on the Atlas cedar.

Further uptown, in the Trinity Church graveyard, there was a Veery.

And a male Common Yellowthroat.

Fun to see so much springtime life in lower Manhattan. 

Meeting and Celebrating Trees (and some birds) in City Hall Park

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For Earth Day in April, I organized a show at the One Art Space gallery on Warren Street called Celebrating City Hall Park Trees, in conjunction with a weeklong program of events put together by the Friends of City Hall Park and the City Hall Park Conservancy. 

Some of the photos in the show showcased the flowering trees in the park, just across the street from my apartment.  Another set of photos focused on the different personalities of some of the trees, and the faces in the bark I began to see as I spent a lot of time studying the trees and getting to know them better. 

At the same time I published a new book Meeting Trees in City Hall Park on Amazon.com, where I included many of the photos from the gallery show, along with other information. 

People can use the book to explore the park, looking for the featured trees with distinctive faces and personalities, and learn about the eclectic mix of foreign and domestic species that have ended up in New York City's former commons. 

                   

I highlighted the trees that resident birds like, as well as some of the visiting migratory birds.  

 

Here is some info from the Introduction:

I set out to learn about the trees in New York's City Hall Park, and found some fascinating new friends and neighbors. After almost 40 years living across the street, I decided to get to know the trees in connection with a project for the Friends of City Hall Park. It turned out to be quite challenging, as there was no easy source of accurate information for some of the ornamental trees planted in the park.

Often I stood in front of a tree for a long time circling around searching for clues in its branches, or on the ground. Sometimes I spoke to the trees, asking for information or admiring their beauty. I touched their bark and caressed their leaves. It seemed like I could feel their energy. Some of them became special friends and I was eager to sit and visit with them when I went out to the park.

Trees from around the world have been planted in the park, and their lives are in many ways controlled by people. Yet even though they may have little in common, they still form a community, connected with each other - and with us too , as neighbors.

When I was getting familiar with the different trees, one particular elm seemed to have a sassy face on it. Then I began to see expressive looks on many of the other trees. Wow, I thought, they're looking back at me. How do they feel about me, I wondered. About us. About their lives in New York City.

Some of them must have seen successions of Mayors, City Council members and government officials, plus thousands of public events - demonstrations and protests, celebrations and parades. Witness trees.

It's common now to reference the ways trees communicate with each other, through underground networks of fungi or airborne chemical signals. Walking among the trees is touted as good for our immune systems. All those airborne chemicals and the cooling, calming shade. However, more important, I think is that trees are able to use the magic of photosynthesis to create energy and matter from light, supporting life on earth, including ours, and producing oxygen for us to breathe.

I encourages you to get acquainted with the trees in your own neighborhoods, and to appreciate the many ways they support us and grace our lives. Introduce yourself to a tree, any tree, and get to know it better. Maybe say thanks.

The trees in City Hall Park include beech, buckeye, catalpa, cedar, cherry, crabapple, crape myrtle, dawn redwood, dogwood, elm, gingko, hawthorn, holly, horse chestnut, linden, London plane, magnolia, maple, oak, pine, plum redbud, snowbell, spruce, sweetgum, tupelo, viburnum, and more.

I hope you will check out the book.... 

Fall Birds at The Battery - Woodpeckers, Warblers and Sparrows

You can experience Battery Park at its most peaceful time during early morning walks with expert birder and naturalist, Gabriel Willow. Despite ongoing construction to raise the edge of the waterfront to prevent flooding from rising sea levels and climate change, birds still live in the park’s woodland areas, and many migrating birds are stopping by on their journeys to southern wintering grounds. 

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are woodpeckers that make holes in the bark of trees to release sweet sap that they lap up with their long tongues, along with any insects attracted to the sap. 

 Northern Flickers are also woodpeckers and they will look for insects in the bark of trees too, as well as on the ground. 

And for the first time I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker at The Battery, even though some of them stay in the area all year. The red is more noticeable on its head than its belly, though.

 

There haven’t been as many migratory warblers this season as I hoped for, maybe because of the wind and weather patterns. 

Still there have been many of the regulars, especially around the Labyrinth.

An Ovenbird crept around on the ground in the Labyrinth.

 Along with a Palm Warbler.

While a male Common Yellowthroat climbed on the Labyrinth fence. 

A Black-and-white Warbler hunted for insects on the Atlas Cedar in the Labyrinth.

 

Plus a Cape May Warbler.

 

And an American Redstart 

 

A tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglet flitted around.

 

A Baltimore Oriole was inconspicuous in drab winter feathers.

 

While a young Hermit Thrush scratched below in the leaves.

Throughout the city parks, White-throated Sparrows are arriving to stay for the winter.  

 

Along with Song Sparrows.

 

And a Brown Creeper that was creeping along a tree trunk - well-camouflaged except from the side, when you could see its light belly. 

It's been a good group to hang out with!

An October Walk at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

Monarch Butterfly on Seaside Goldenrod

On October 5, we went on a walk with Jamaica Bay Guardian Don Riepe, from the American Littoral Society. It was a lovely fall day, not too windy, but we only saw a few migrating monarch butterflies. And one Common Buckeye. I learned that they also migrate to the southern states as the weather gets colder. 

Common Buckeye butterfly

Meanwhile, back at the Visitors Center there were butterfly-related activities led by Wing Kong, a local environmental artist and educator (wingny.com). She brought an enclosure with monarch butterflies and chrysalises to show participants, and then later released a newly emerged butterfly near the Pollinator Garden.

Wing Kong 

There was a large flock of Snowy Egrets gathered around the West Pond, resting for a while before resuming their journey south.

And Canada Geese flew by as well. 

Over at the East Pond, we saw a large collection of ducks, including the large billed Northern Shovelers.  

And Ruddy Ducks

Plus American Black Ducks.

 

Also Pied-billed Grebes were diving close by. 

A great day at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, right here in New York City. 

     

 

The Tiny Pond in Battery Park City is a Downtown Oasis

The pond is built of stone and set into the promenade between the Hudson River and the Irish Hunger Memorial. 

 

The shiny buildings nearby, including the World Trade Center tower, are reflected in the surface of the water.

When the light is right and the Mallard ducks are swimming in the pond, the effect can be psychedelic. 

In early summer, the Mallard ducks nest in dense clumps of reeds that are planted around the pond in circular, sunken containers.

The male Mallards are more colorful than the females, with their irresistible bright green heads. Both parents are involved with looking out for the ducklings.

When the ducklings first enter the water, they are smaller than the Koi fish in the pond.

The ducklings swim around the pond, following their parents, then rest on the rocks. 

Sometimes the family is joined by other birds using the pond, including an iridescent Common Grackle.

There is a shallow ledge on the upper level with a light waterfall coming off it. That’s where the smaller birds come for their baths, including the Grackle.  

The ducks do their splashing down below.

 

The Mallards are vegetarian and don’t bother the Koi. 

However, a Black-crowned Night Heron sometimes comes by to enjoy the little pond and its abundance of bright, tasty fish. 

Sometimes it might be hard to actually swallow a fat, wiggling fish.  

After the struggle, the Black-crowned Night Heron can rest and digest in a nearby tree. 

For all of us, it’s a great place to relax for a while and watch the activity in the pond.