Highlights of September Bird Walks in The Battery and Battery Park City

At Battery Park City with Marieke Bender

The best day so far for migratory warblers in BPC was September 15, when we stopped by the sprinkler at the east end Rector Place.

A Northern Parula was the first bather we saw.

Later the Northern Parula moved over to a crabapple tree for look for a snack - mostly interested in insects, not fruit. 

Northern Parula

 

There was also a Black-throated Green warbler catching the spray, which was exciting because I have rarely seen one of them in lower Manhattan.

A Common Yellowthroat came for a shower too.

On the lawn nearby, we saw a robin eating an unripe fruit off the dogwood tree.  

And a Downy Woodpecker climbing a tree.

 

Downy Woodpecker

On September 22, a Black-and-white Warbler put on a show for us, roaming up and down a honeylocust tree checking for bugs in the bark, and proudly showing off a spider it caught.




Along the river we also gazed into the eye of a Double-crested Cormorant.



And Marieke pointed out a particularly handsome white pigeon, noting that these birds were domesticated - bred and cross-bred by humans - and therefore ended up with many different color patterns, though most are now wild.  

At the Battery with Gabriel Willow

A much larger, once-domesticated, type of bird is taking center stage in The Battery this fall. A wild turkey has been there for several months, enjoying the grazing opportunities in the extensive gardens. She is being called Astoria, for the neighborhood in New York where she was first spotted, 

She is mostly ignoring the tourists waiting to go to the Statue of Liberty.

 

On September 17, I caught a long distance photo of Northern Cardinal male standing on a post by the Battery farm, and when I looked at on my computer, I realized there was a Gray Catbird flying over to use that pole too. 

On September 24, Gabriel spotted an interesting migratory bird - a female Baltimore Oriole -  at the far south end of the park.   

Along with a somewhat color-coordinated migratory Monarch butterfly.

Otherwise the big drama was provided by local birds. A male American Kestrel zoomed around, scaring up a large flock of pigeons, and ignoring the angry scolding of a Blue Jay. 

Blue Jay on the watch 

A couple of American Crows were diligently working on breaking open some acorns on a Pin Oak tree.  

While over by the Battery farm, a Northern Mockingbird and a Gray Catbird snacked on crabapples. 

Gray Catbird

We are expecting more migratory birds to show up downtown when the weather gets cooler and the winds shift to come out of the north. 

Exploring the Arverne East Nature Preserve on Labor Day Weekend

It was a direct ride from Manhattan on the A train, and a lovely day for exploring. We often go to other sections of Rockaway Beach, and have seen the protected areas for Piping Plovers near Riis Park and Fort Tilden, but not this bird conservation area by Arverne.  

I thought the beach might be closed off entirely, but I also knew the Piping Plover nesting period was over. The beach part turned out to be open but not for swimming or surfing, and there was no going up in the dunes. 

There was hardly anyone along this part of the beach, and we started walking towards a bunch of gulls loafing around down the way.  

But first we ran into some Royal Terns. During breeding season they have sleek black caps that extend over the backs of their heads. By now they were done, though, and their hairlines had receded.  

Royal Terns

Then it turned out that the terns weren't entirely done with parenting. 

A young one showed up and was pestering the adults for food. 

The adults were not cooperative, and flew away.    

There was also a juvenile Laughing Gull standing next to an adult. Maybe also hoping for a handout. 

Juvenile Laughing Gull

Laughing Gull with post-breeding head feathers

The juveniles are brown, while the adults have gray backs and white bellies - and solid black heads when they are breeding. Like the terns, the Laughing Gulls lose their dark head feathers after breeding.

Laughing Gull with black head during breeding season

The large Black-backed Gulls dominated the waterfront further out along the beach.  

Black-backed Gull

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Along with a few slightly smaller Herring Gulls. 

Herring Gull

The Ring-billed Gulls are even smaller, but also feisty.

Ring-billed Gull

Overhead, several Ospreys were scanning the water and dropping down to snatch up unsuspecting fish.

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I was surprised to find a number of Double-crested Cormorants on the beach. I have mostly seen them nesting on off-shore islands around the city, or standing on piers, rather than wading in the surf.  

A flock of small Sanderlings swung by and then quickly moved back towards the east. They are often running in groups along the shoreline, collecting small snacks as the water recedes, then retreating as the next wave comes in.  

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Sanderling

I sometimes get confused between Sanderlings and Semipalmated Sandpipers, which both congregate on beaches and are around the same size. However, the Semipalmated Sandpipers don't have the same behavior of chasing the waves. 

Semipalmated Sandpiper

There was also a Ruddy Turnstone, a larger type of sandpiper that has much more dramatic coloring.

My favorites, though, are the big Oystercatchers, with their bright carrot-like bills, and high-pitched voices. 

It was a sweet end-of-summer day at the beach, and just a subway ride away.
 

Piping Plovers and Other Shorebirds Benefit From a Protected Nesting Area at New York's Fort Tilden Beach

 

American Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Piping Plover adult,
and immature Herring Gull

An area of beach was roped off so the Piping Plovers and their chicks could run down from the dunes to the beach to get food from the water's edge. Even the adults are barely visible from behind the barriers because they are so small.  

Piping Plover chick

The American Oystercatchers also benefit from the protected area. However their chicks will get fed by the adults, so they won't have to make the trek to the water until they are older. 

An American Oystercatcher sat on a nest in the protected area

• The oystercatcher parents take turns on the nest, doing a quick turnover.

Oystercatcher parents switch off so they both have a chance to go get food.

But the non-sitting oystercatcher parent also keeps watch for danger. When a Great Black-Backed Gull passed over and got too close, one of the oystercatchers flew up and chased after it, apparently thinking it might be a threat to the eggs.

Great Black-backed Gull

Interestingly, the oystercatchers didn't seem afraid of the herring gulls foraging along the shoreline. 

An immature Herring Gull ate mussels washed up on the beach

Or concerned about the smaller Laughing Gulls gathering around on the open beach area.

Laughing Gull

Several Common Terns took advantage of the unpopulated beach area to do some fishing, although they were not nesting there. 

Common Tern

 

And an Osprey also flew over, heading further out to sea to do its fishing.  

Ospreys nest nearby in Jamaica Bay