#birdcpp — Public Fediverse posts

A few more from yesterday, this time in Central Park, NYC: a red-winged blackbird making noise, a black-and-white warbler, a hooded warbler (not a great photo, but it's a lifer, so…), and a black-crowned night heron.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsforbecsnan

Birding in Manhattan is such fun. Here are three of the four common ravens I saw yesterday, two in the nest in a recess at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and one on an adjacent tree, calling loudly.
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It's Superb Owl Sunday!

A long-eared owl (Central Park, NYC), an eastern screech owl (Inwood Hill Park, NYC), a barred owl (Central Park, NYC), and a spectacled owl (Arenal Hanging Bridges, Costa Rica).
#superbOwlSunday #birds #birdCPP #birdsforbecsnan

I had an appointment in New York, so of course I took a train early enough to be safe in case of train delays. The train actually got in early, and by some curious coincidence I had my camera and my appointment was near Central Park, so…
A double-crested cormorant (with turtles and a duck), a great blue heron either drying off or trying to stay cool, a northern cardinal eating a spotted lanternfly (yay!), and a common grackle eating something
#birds #birdCPP #wildlifePhotography #birdsforbecsnan

Well, I didn't expect to be in Central Park today, but my medical appointment ended early. Given the weather forecast (which was wrong—it was *not* rainy), when I expected to leave, and what I (correctly) expected my hand to feel like, I didn't bring my camera. But I had time to walk home through the park, there was a very nice black-crowned night heron there, and I did have my phone…
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

I'm not sure when I'll get back to Central Park, but it's likely to be quite a while. But I had a nice walk there today, with many lovely pictures. These are my two favorites: a red-winged blackbird and an American goldfinch.
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A better view of the three peregrine falcon chicks, and a very pretty pigeon with unusual coloring and markings.
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Two lifer warblers, a bay-breasted warbler and a blackpoll warbler (which I'd have taken for a black-and-white warbler were not an expert there at the time), both in the Loch; two double-crested cormorants in the Harlem Meer, and a magnolia warbler at the Pool. 2/2
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A wonderfully birdy afternoon at Central Park in NYC. First: an adult and a juvenile black-crowned night heron (in the Loch and at the Pool). Then: a green heron that was hard to see (also at the Pool), and a great egret flying across the Harlem Meer. 1/2
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Three peregrine falcon chicks on Riverside Church in NYC. The first is a closeup of one chick. In the second, one chick is to the left of the left perch, one is on the right perch, and one is just peeking over the head of the gargoyle. (Amusingly enough, when I took this picture I only saw the leftmost one.) Yes, the latter two are a bit hard to see, but it's quite certain that they're there.
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After Battery Park, I went to Central Park. The highlights were a female scarlet tanager at a spot known as the "Bathing Rock", and a great egret that had just scored a small fish.
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For many months, a wild turkey has been living in Manhattan, first on Roosevelt Island (plus occasional excursions to Midtown), and now Battery Park at the southern tip. I tried and failed on multiple occasions to see the bird (nicknamed "Astoria" for the neighborhood in Queens it was in before flying over the East RIver. Today, I finally spotted it in Battery Park.
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Only two chicks in the nest tonight—I suspect that the third has fledged. The two remaining ones seem to be very intent on playing with the material in the nest—young ravens are known to be very curious and to play with anything in reach.
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Common nighthawk in Central Park. The only other time I've seen them was high overhead at night in Costa Rica, and nothing I could do with my camera let me photograph any…
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I can't stop checking out the raven nest at St. John the Divine in NYC…
The first picture shows three birds. All three chicks? Look at the thin red line going down from the rightmost raven's beak. I believe that it's from some meat at the bottom of the nest.
In the second picture, the middle bird seems to be nipping the tail of the rightmost one. Exploring? Saying "Momma, I'm hungry"? Dunno.
The third shows all three with their beaks open.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

More Central Park pictures from Sunday…
At the Harlem Meer, a barn swallow and two double-crested cormorants. In the Loch, a common grackle showing the lovely blueish iridescence on its head (and it's eating something), and a grey catbird.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

I had a lot of free time yesterday afternoon (I'd just gotten a paper out the door), and it was a gorgeous day, so I spent many hours in Central Park and took many pictures. To avoid overload, I'll post them over three days…
First: an unusual red-winged blackbird: its chevron is mostly white. (Well, the Supreme Court no longer likes Chevron deference…) Then a Cape May warbler (a lifer!), a northern parula, and a bluejay eating *something*.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

I went to Riverside Church in NYC to see if there were any peregrine falcon chicks—I've seen them there in other years, but a bit later in May. No chicks today, but I did see an adult fly to and then away from the nest area. (It's hard to see, but the bird is banded.) I thought I saw it circling back, but it was a great egret crashing the party. A bit later, though, another adult came out from the nest area and perched for a while.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

Too wet to take my camera out today, so here are yesterday's raven chick pictures from St. John the Divine. One of the chicks is starting to flap its wings—not ready to fledge yet, but it wants to. Also, and unlike past feedings that I've seen, there was a lot of vocalization when the parent arrived. (I also saw and heard the other parent flying north during the feeding—"it's your turn with the kids!")
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The St. John the Divine raven chicks are getting big! And I can now see that there are three of them.
The adult seemed to be limping a bit walking on the ground, but since it's flying properly I suspect that there's no cause for concern.
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An American crow near (what I’m told) is its nest in Riverside Park in NYC.
And it's now certain that there are at least two chicks in the nest! But the two parents took a break on a rooftop across the street before both headed towards Morningside Park.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

The construction of the new pool/ice skating rink near the Harlem Meer in NYC's Central Park is finished; that let me get close to the rock where the double-crested cormorants hang out. In the Pool, I got a lovely shot of a pigeon that had just bathed and a swamp sparrow; in the Loch, I saw my first snapping turtle.
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The ravens' nest on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. There's at least one chick, visible in the first photo and highlighted in the zoomed-in version. The third photo appears to show feeding behavior, after which the parent perched briefly on a post before flying off, first to a tree and then south, I assume to find more food.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

I woke up too early this morning, so of course I went to Central Park before breakfast… I was rewarded by a brown-headed cowbird (I haven't seen one in quite a while), a FOS black-crowned night heron, a northern flicker (“does this leaf on my beak make me look funny?”), and a FOS Louisiana waterthrush.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdsForBecsNan

More Central Park birds: a pair of wood ducks (another birder said that they had mated a few minutes before I got there), an eastern phoebe, a ruby-crowned kinglet, and a white-breasted nuthatch.
#birds #birdCPP #wildlifePhotography #birdsForBecsNan

A very lovely walk in the neighborhood and in Central Park today: a common raven nest in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a red-tailed hawk on the ground (I think it missed a squirrel and was staring at it), a great egret (first of season if I don't count Costa Rica), and a male green-winged teal.
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An American black duck in Central Park and a red-tailed hawk just chilling in Morningside Park in NYC.
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Back to the middle of Central Park today!
An eastern phoebe, a white-breasted nuthatch, two American goldfinches at a feeder, and three red-eared slider turtles on a rock.
#birds #birdCPP #wildlifePhotography #birdsForBecsNan

Central Park today: a double-crested cormorant (my first of season!), an eastern phoebe, a male wood such, and a raccoon.
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A yellow-bellied sapsucker in Morningside Park in New York City.
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An unhappy raven chick, wanting more food. But—in this clip, it looks like it’s eating something left in the nest. Deposited, per the previous post? Leftovers? Random pecking? I can't tell. (Aside: I was using a back-up tripod (because reasons). It reminded me of why I spent a fair amount of money on a good one…)
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #wildlifeVideo

A wildlife play in four scenes…
I. A great egret, in Morningside Park in NYC, reflecting on what to have for an early dinner.
II. Oh, my, a nice fish (the largest I've ever seen in that pond)!
III. Always swallow fish head-first, so that the fins don't catch.
IV. Look at the bulge in its throat as the fish goes down…
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #birdEating

No late afternoon photo of Flaco would be complete without a video of him hooting. I love the way the white feathers at his throat moves when he hoots.
#birdCPP #birds #wildlifeVideo

Meanwhile, a Cooper's hawk is surveying the construction area in Morningside Park, while a gadwall, a hooded merganser, and a red-winged blackbird—a sign of spring!—were in the Harlem Meer in Central Park.
#birds #birdCPP #wildlifePhotgraphy

A pair of red-tailed hawks, first atop a Columbia University dormitory and two hours later perched on the Archangel Gabriel's trumpet on top of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, about five blocks south. It's almost mating season; I suspect they're discussing if the chicks should receive a secular or a religious education.
#birds #birdCPP #wildlifePhotgraphy

Sometimes, I see a raptor on top of a flagpole on the Columbia University campus and sometimes I see a bunch of European starlings…
#wildlifePhotgraphy #birds #birdCPP

Two pictures of Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl, and a near-full moon.
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I, along with a few dozen other people, were there to watch Flaco, the escaped/liberated Eurasian eagle owl, fly out tonight in Central Park. (The second picture is what I call his "angel wing" pose.) He relocated a few times to nearby trees, and eventually into the North Woods before heading towards the construction area.
#birdCPP #birds #wildlifePhotgraphy

I probably won't be able to get out with my camera for a while, so in honor of today's weather in New York City here's a picture from two years ago, of a great blue heron in the snow in Central Park.
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I don’t often do videos, but when I heard Flaco hooting I knew I had to try. Watch his neck feathers move as he hoots.
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These days, it's hard to avoid seeing red-tailed hawks in New York—I saw two without even trying while cycling around Central Park yesterday. Today, though, I saw two Cooper's hawks, one in Morningside Park and one near the feeders in Central Park. Also: a nicely-posing house sparrow in the Ramble, and a red-bellied woodpecker in the Mall.(And yes, some red-tailed hawks as well…)
#birdCPP #wildlifePhotgraphy #birds