Spring Birds and Flowers Brighten Up City Hall Park

From my window on Broadway I can easily see the rows of multicolored tulips and the pink flowers on the cherry trees across the street.  

But I have to go into the park and scout around to find out what types of wild birds are hanging out there. 

The first one I saw was an Eastern Towhee, a type of large sparrow, digging in the dirt looking for bugs to eat. These birds mostly spend the winter farther south on the east coast and then come north for breeding season. I once saw a couple nesting in low bushes in Battery Park, so possibly they will be able to find a protected spot nearby to make a nest. I didn’t hear it make its call, but it is supposed to sound like “Drink your tea”.  

Male Eastern Towhee - the female has a brown head. 

 

In the same area of the park there were a couple of White-throated Sparrows calling to each other from different trees. Their song is commonly described by birders as “Oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada”. Some of them spend the winter in the city, but they sing the most in the spring when it is time to mate. And they generally do that further north, often in Canada.

This White-throated Sparrow had very bright yellow spots above its eyes.

Down on the ground a Hermit Thrush was busy catching bugs in the grass. These birds pass through New York in the spring to pick up some food during their northward migration, but  they don’t nest here. We see them again in the late fall on their way back south.   

Hermit Thrushes have distinctive rusty-orange tail feathers.

 

There was also an Ovenbird, a type of warbler, foraging in the grass. These birds are smaller than the Hermit Thrushes, but have some similar striping on their chests. However, it is their heads that have an orange tinge, not their tails. They don’t usually breed in the city, though they might nest fairly close, building the dome-shaped nests that explain their name.   

Ovenbirds are known for calling out “teacher, teacher”. 

Then a Palm Warbler showed up next to the Ovenbird. Palm Warblers stop by during their spring and fall migration. Mostly they breed further north or in Canada. They forage on the ground for insects, and have rusty red caps of their heads.  

Palm Warblers bob their tails as they walk around. 

A larger bird flashed by and when it landed in a tree off in the distance, I saw that it was a Northern Flicker, a type of woodpecker. Some of the ones you see in New York actually stay around for the winter, while others are migratory and only pass through on their way to breed up north. They make nest in holes in trees, and I once saw one nesting in Central Park. They have unusual foraging habits for woodpeckers - they like to eat ants they find on the ground.  

Male Northern Flickers have a black mustache. 

Up in the northeast area of the park I found a group of tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitting madly around in the tops of the trees, chasing little bugs. Most of the kinglets are just passing through the city during their migration, though a few might spend the winter here. It is the males that have the ruby feathers on their crowns, but they are rarely visible.  

Ruby-crowned Kinglets prefer conifer trees.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what other birds show up as the spring migration season goes on.   

At City Hall, Wild Birds Watch Over Lady Justice

During the January snowstorm, I could see from my window that an American Kestrel was scanning the park from the crown of City Hall’s statue of Lady Justice. A light dusting of snowflakes accumulated on her head and shoulders. 

Below in City Hall Park, a gray squirrel scurried around in the snow, possibly digging for snacks it had hidden away earlier in the season.  

The squirrel was probably too big for a kestrel to go after. Kestrels in the city usually prey on mice and smaller birds.

But it would be a good catch for the Red-tailed Hawk that cruised past. 

Both the kestrel and the squirrel quickly moved along, just to be safe.     

The left hand of the statue holds the symbolic scales of justice. 

Her right hand grips a sword.

 

But the birds are oblivious to her crown and sword, and her judgments. 

Twittering starlings sometimes gather on her head.

And also the cawing crows that have been spending the winter in City Hall Park.

I was happy to see the statue so well used and appreciated by the local birds. 

And also to be able to observe their activities from my window without having to stand out in the cold.

City Hall Park Welcomed Hermit Thrushes and White-throated Sparrows During Late October Heat Wave

 

A migrating Hermit Thrush stopped to forage on the lawn near City Hall in Manhattan

Our apartment overlooks City Hall Park, and from inside I often hear Blue Jays and American Crows, which is a bit surprising considering the remarkable amount of noise from traffic, sirens, protestors, sidewalk performers and leaf blowers in the park. 

But there are quiet moments sometimes when the birds call out, and in recent years I have become more tuned in to their voices.    

Still, I don't usually take my camera and look for birds in City Hall Park because it is so busy, and now surrounded by fencing that doesn't allow for much roaming. 

Fenced off lawn and trees on the east side of City Hall

I do occasionally do some gardening activities there with the Friends of City Hall Park group though, and recently noticed some bird activity, so last week during the warm weather I decided to take a look. 

My neighborhood birding friend Sara advised me to focus on the southern section of the park, below City Hall. (She is very proud that she once spotted a rare Yellow-breasted Chat there.) 

Most of the migratory warblers had already passed by late October, so I wasn't hoping for anything too unusual. 

What I did find right away was a group of migrating Hermit Thrushes that had stopped over to get some food as they make their way further south in the US for the winter. 

Hermit Thrush on a chain near the Tweed Courthouse 

These are birds that breed in northern forests, where they are rarely seen (which is why they are called hermits) but are known for their hauntingly lovely songs. They weren't singing in the city, though, mostly just hunting for insects.  

They are smaller than the American Robins, which are also in the Thrush family, and are regular residents of City Hall Park. Some robins even stay around the city for the winter.

American Robins are cousins of Hermit Thrushes

I also noticed quite a few White-throated Sparrows, which arrive in the city in the fall after breeding further north, and then they stay here for the winter. 

A White-throated Sparrow hunting for insects on a tree branch

Besides insects, they also feed on seeds, fruits and berries during the winter. Native plants in the parks help provide them with food. 

This White-throated Sparrow investigated a Beauty Berry bush 

Of course there are also non-native European House Sparrows that  live in the park year-round. They were brought to New York in the mid-1800s and have thrived here - and all over the country actually.   

A House Sparrow perched on one of the decorative bird-topped posts in City Hall Park

The House Sparrows are about the same size as the White-throated Sparrows, but don't look the same up close.   

Male House Sparrow 

Male and female House Sparrows also look quite different from each other. Male House Sparrows have dark masks around their eyes, white-cheeks and dark patches on their chests. Female House Sparrows are lighter colored, and have gray cheeks, with light streaks above their eyes.

Female House Sparrow

Do look out for White-throated Sparrows in the parks during the winter, but look in the trees or on the lawns. They aren't likely to be mixing with the House Sparrows you see eating people food.  

 

An Unexpected Flaco Celebration

I finally met Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped from Manhattan’s Central Park Zoo in February and has since been living wild in the park’s north woods, to the delight of many New Yorkers. 

It felt a bit like meeting the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. His story has become mythical and inspirational, since he has survived successfully as a free bird after living in captivity for 12 years, almost his entire life. 

His escape was made possible when some unknown person made a hole in the steel mesh surrounding his small enclosure at the zoo. He evaded attempts by zoo staff to recapture him. They were afraid he would not be able to feed himself, but he quickly applied his instincts to capturing rats in the park. Now tourists and residents make pilgrimages to the north woods in search of Flaco. 

I wasn’t intending to look for him but was walking near there with a friend and she persuaded me to go look since I was so close. 

As I wandered into the area and was considering which way to go, a young woman approached me and asked ‘Have you seen Flaco?’ I thought she was a fellow seeker, but then she said ‘Look up, he is right over your head.’ And he was - though quite well camouflaged. 

While she was explaining where to look, several other people came by and before long we had formed a pop-up community of Flaco fans looking hopefully up into the tree, waiting for him to make a move. 

A passing bicyclist was playing the song ‘I Will Survive’ which led to cheering. 

He peered down at us and we felt blessed. 

I was glad to experience such an unexpected moment of community among strangers in the city - even though I am usually uncomfortable about the attention given to non-native celebrity birds. (Yes, I’m thinking about you, Mandarin Duck.)

October Birds on Governors Island

Great Blue Heron

I took the ferry from lower Manhattan over to Governors Island with my friend Sara. By the time she arrived at the ferry terminal, she had already spotted a Great Blue Heron sitting on the pilings over towards the Staten Island Ferry dock. Neither of us had seen one downtown before, so that was pretty exciting. 

After a less than 10-minute ferry ride out into New York Harbor, we got off on the 172-acre island, which was used for military defense of the city starting during the Revolutionary War and continuing more recently as a Coast Guard base until 1996. Now much of it is accessible as a public park. 

We headed over towards Fort Jay, which was built in 1794. It has high sandstone walls surrounded by a grassy moat, as well as an upland bushy area that birds like.  

Along the way there was a migrating Palm Warbler in one of the trees.

Palm Warbler

There were also some sparrows on the ground that turned out to be Savannah Sparrows. We haven't see those very often.

Savannah Sparrow

Along the way we saw several other types of sparrows as well, including Swamp Sparrows, Song Sparrows and a few others I wasn’t so sure about. 

Swamp Sparrow

Song Sparrow

 

An American Kestrel flew over and perched on an equipment tower next to the fort, a good place to scan for small birds for breakfast.   

American Kestrel

A couple of hungry Red-tailed Hawks also cruised over the meadow area. 

Red-tailed Hawk

And when we approached the high hill across from the Statue of Liberty, we saw a Cooper’s Hawk in the distance chasing little birds through the trees.

Cooper's Hawk soaring over New York Harbor

There were whole flocks of migrating birds in the air around the hill, occasionally setting down, including Northern Flickers, Blue Jays, Cedar Waxwings and smaller Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Northern Flicker

Blue Jay

    

A few members of the flock of Cedar Waxwings

Yellow-rumped Warbler

As we went back to the ferry, an Eastern Phoebe took a break from chasing insects to check us out, while a tiny, jumpy Golden-crowned Kinglet just went about its business. 

Eastern Phoebe

     

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 

The view of lower Manhattan was fabulous. 

A Visit to the Lower East Side

Lower East Side Blue Jay 

On Sunday October 8, I went over to the Lower East Side for a community garden tour led by a long-time friend, Wendy Brawer. She is the founder of Green Map (greenmap.org), which promotes local ecology, wellbeing, climate justice and sustainability. 

The community gardens in this neighborhood were created by residents in the 1970s and 1980s who got together to transform vacant lots where buildings had been demolished and turn them into green spaces for positive activities and refuge. After much controversy, and eventual public action to preserve them, many of the gardens have survived and are now protected from development as recognized city parks. At this point, the neighborhood provides an important model for community-based urban agriculture, sustainability, comradery and resilience.  

We met up at La Plaza Cultural at 9th Street and Avenue C (laplazacultural.com), east of Tompkins Square Park, and entered a fun mini-forest complex, with a central gathering and performance area powered by solar panels. It is surrounded by rough paths through trees, garden patches and art installations, as well as composting and rooftop water runoff equipment. 

Solar installations, rainwater capture, medicinal plants, a fig tree, and a tiny fish pond  al La Plaza Cultural

An exhibit in the nearby Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space showed how the undeveloped space looked in the 1970s, in a photo taken by resident Marlis Momber.

La Plaza Cultural in the 1970s

I didn't know very much about this neighborhood before, and was inspired by the years of political activism, art, and cultivation behind the creation of the community gardens, as well as the hope for a future based on neighborhood collaboration, urban agriculture, and resilience to climate change.  

Lower East Side American Robin

A few blocks away at the El Sol Brilliante Garden on 12th Street, the birds were not real, but still lovely, embedded in the fence created by artist Julie Dermansky. 

At the Campos Community Garden down the block, a vibrant plastic flamingo presided over a lush plot of edible plants and a tree full of ripe figs. 

There were no red-tailed hawks visible when we passed through Tompkins Square Park, but there was a touching tribute to Dennis Edge, an East Village resident since 1970 who photographed the birds there. His book 'Tompkins Square Park Birds' documented 108 species, and was published in September 2023, just weeks before he passed away at 85. 

You can get a copy by sending a check for $59 made out "Birds of Tompkins Square Park LLC" and mail it to:

East Village Postal

151 1st Avenue Suite 24

New York, NY 10003 

(with your return mailing address)