Registrar: Miriam Rakowski
Participants: 10
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28-35 F, winds north, 12-14 mph
Bird Species: 32
Our birding adventure began en route to Croton when we saw at least two perched Bald Eagles from the train. Bald Eagles turned out to be the highlights of the day. After leaving the train station, we saw another one sitting on a nest of twigs. It swooped down towards us, flying low overhead and giving us great views. Later we witnessed three Bald Eagles gliding overhead effortlessly on flat wings in the heavy wind.
The other stars of the trip were five sparrow species. As we approached the Park, we noticed a few small brown birds feeding on the ground. Several had bright red heads, with creamy breasts and a central chest spot. We had great looks at these lovely Tree Sparrows. Mixed in with them were a few Song Sparrows.
Arriving at Croton’s landfill, we took the middle path of the three available up to the top. It was very windy, keeping most birds away, out of our sight. However, we did see a small bird scurrying on the ground like a mouse. It turned out to be a furtive Savannah Sparrow. As we continued to ascend, another small sparrow was spotted exhibiting the same behavior. We had only fleeting looks at this Savannah, which was quite white in appearance—perhaps an Ipswich type?
Some other highlights were the distant Common Mergansers on the Hudson and the even more distant Common Goldeneyes. At the trailer park above the landfill, we happened upon a feeder with a goodly number of birds to entertain us and bring our list up to 32 species for the day, despite the very gusty winds.
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
American Black Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
