January Wrap Up

I haven't posted in a while, so here's what happened during the rest of January"

Jan 12: I added an American Kestrel flying near my apartment to my year list

Jan 22: I added Brown Creeper (photographed) and Cooper's Hawk to my checklist in Central Park. Golden-Crowned Kinglet was also photographed there. I then went to Roosevelt Island where I unsuccessfully searched for Purple Sandpipers, but added Red-Breasted Merganser (photographed), Double-Crested Cormorant, and Gadwall (photographed).

Jan 30: I successfully chased a Great Cormorant at the Reservoir. It was originally distant on the central dike, but flew towards me and turned about 10 yards away, offering amazing views. I also added Peregrine Falcon to my year list (photographed). Bufflehead and European Starling were also photographed.

Well, my county year list total is 49, less than the previous two years, but this is in part to my rigorous education schedule, and it should hopefully clear up soon. Most winter species can afford to be missed for some time, with notable misses including Brown-Headed Cowbird and Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, which are guaranteed to be seen many times. As for my photographic year list, I have photographed 31 species, 29 of which were in New York county. I'm quite surprised by this total, which includes some species I didn't expect to photograph, such as Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Common Loon, and Peregrine Falcon. February should bring some more year birds to the table, but I'll just have to wait and see.

First Week of January: Expanding the Photographic Year List

I haven't been birding much, mainly due to the continuing wild weather and a mountain of homework. I only added one new species for my county year list, an American Robin in front of my building on January 3rd. The photographic list, on the other hand, has been increasing more rapidly. On January 6th, I added several new birds to the list, which were White-Throated Sparrow, Ring-Necked Duck, American Black Duck, Herring Gull, and Great Black-Backed Gull. The remaining ice helped a lot with getting these birds up close.

A chilly White-Throated Sparrow at the Reservoir

Ring-Necked Duck male (left) and female (right)

The next day, I was able to add two more species at the Reservoir, which were American Coot and Song Sparrow. 

American Coot

 My list now stands at 22 species photographed, just over half of the species on my county year list. I'm confident I will photograph many more by the month's end.

Day 1 of 2018

One of the pros of New Years Day being in winter is that you get to oversleep because the bird diversity will be the same throughout the day. I didn't look for anything until 1 pm, when I went up to my roof. My first species was not unexpected at all, a Ring-Billed Gull. A nice surprise is what followed, a VERY distant Turkey Vulture, about a mile and a half to the southwest. I will see this species later this year, but it can be a toughie in January. I then headed to the Reservoir in Central Park in search of a Common Loon and a trio of Common Mergansers found today. I also added Rock Pigeon and Herring Gull along the way. When I got to the Reservoir, I found the Common Loon right away, and was able to get a blurry but distinguishable photo, my first species of my photo big year!

Blurry Common Loon, but it'll have to do.

It took a while to spot the Common Mergansers, but I found them along the dike in the middle, and were too distant to photograph. I then began walking around the entire Reservoir, adding species after species to my year list, including a trio of Ring-Necked Ducks.

This young Red-Tailed Hawk was also at the Reservoir

After the numerous good birds at the Reservoir, I decided to go to the Ramble to get some of the more regular passerines and woodpeckers. After finding nearly all of them, I recieved a report of a Rusty Blackbird at Laupot Bridge. I searched all around the Gill, finding no Rusty Blackbird. However, I did spot a Golden-Crowned Kinglet there. These guys have stayed much later than normal this year (with several on the Christmas Bird Count), and I wondered if I would get one of these today. I then started to head past Laupot Bridge, when a bird suddenly flies up from under the bridge onto a log. The Rusty Blackbird! This is a really good bird for January, with only a few showing up in the winter.

Rusty Blackbird at Laupot Bridge

I then headed to the Pond just so I could add the continuing Northern Pintail and Great Blue Herons to my list, which wasn't hard at all.

Northern Pintail and Wood Duck at the Pond

In total, I have spotted 40 species today, a record high for me on New Years Day. I photographed 15 of those species. A lot of common species I neglected to photograph because of the cold, so my photography list will greatly increase this month. Stay tuned for more birding!