June 20, 2023 Bird Photos from NYC Audubon Eco-cruise in NY Harbor to Hoffman and Swinburne Islands

As we went out into the harbor, we passed some Common Terns with eggs on Governors Island, not really in nests, just lying on the pier. 
 

 

We passed underneath the Verrazzano Bridge on our way to Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, which were formerly used as isolation areas for people with contagious diseases. 

Great Black-backed Gulls stood on the pilings around Hoffman Island.

 So did a Double-Crested Cormorant, while a baby gull watched from a wall on the island. 

       Double-crested Cormorants have built nests in the trees on Hoffman Island. 

Along with Snowy Egrets

And Black-crowned Night Herons

There were also Herring Gulls out on the rocks.

A Great Egret flew past us

As well as a Glossy Ibis

And a Fish Crow

Swinburne Island, with its ruined buildings, now belongs mostly to the Double-crested Cormorants. Plus a few gulls.

Their voluminous excretions have killed most of the trees and vegetation.

We could see the old Coney Island parachute jump in the distance before we started back.

 

When we got off the boat back at the ferry terminal by the World Financial Center, we were surprised to see a Black-crowned Night Heron up close by the Battery Park City duck pond, maybe thinking about catching one of the koi fish in there.  

May - June 2023 Battery Birds

In early June, I heard from Todd Olson that a couple of Downy Woodpeckers had made a nest in a London Plane tree on the edge of the Labyrinth in The Battery. By the time I saw it, both parents were busily feeding the babies, though it was hard to tell how many were in there because only one head could fit through the hole at once. These woodpeckers are year-round residents in most of the US, but it seemed surprising that they would raise a family in such a busy spot.    

On May 27, Todd Olson from the Wildlife Conservation Society joined me in leading a bird and banner walk at The Battery. There are 18 banners with pictures of birds hanging from lampposts on a trail through the park, selected from the photos in my book A Birds' Guide to The Battery and New York Harbor.

One of the bird banners - the Red-tailed Hawk appeared in the final episode of the HBO series Succession. It was a winter scene, so there were no leaves on the trees and the Seaglass Carousel was visible across the woodland lawn. 

                                       

Gray Catbirds are year-round residents of New York City, and sometimes nest in bushes at The Battery. They mostly eat insects and berries. Possibly catching worms to feed their babies....

                                         

This American Robin also got into the worm pile.

                          

On the May 17 walk with Gabriel Willow, we saw a Swainson's Thrush and a Red-eyed Vireo - just passing through The Battery. 

Swainson's Thrush

Red-eyed Vireo

On the May 10 bird Battery bird walk, we mostly looked for migrating warblers. 

Black-and-White Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Northern Parula

Gabriel also noticed something very cool - an Eastern Red Bat was hanging on a branch in a low tree just outside the entrance to the Labyrinth. 

During the May 3 bird walk at the Battery with Gabriel Willow we saw an American Robin sitting on a nest fairly high up in a tree in the central woodland area. 

American Robin on nest

Eastern Towhees have also sometimes nested in The Battery, in a bushy area at the northern part of the Labyrinth. That area seemed less bushy this year, so less cover for any possible nests.

Eastern Towhee

Ovenbirds are migratory warblers that pass through New York City, coming by on their way to breed in forested areas in the northeast. You usually see them foraging on the ground, mostly for insects. 

Ovenbird