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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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