Registrar: Dom Ricci
Participants: 8
Weather: Around 60 F, broken clouds, moderate breeze
Bird Species: 54
Randall’s Island sits at the confluence of the Bronx Kill, Harlem River, and East River and occupies a unique ecological niche in New York County. However, it was subject to environmental disruption throughout 2024 due to construction and human activity. A small but dedicated group of Linnaean birders led by Alan Drogin gathered to explore the island in search of fall stopover migrants. While we did not observe Ammospiza sparrows as expected in the remnants of the Bronx Kill saltmarsh, we encountered several mixed flocks containing Savannah, Chipping, and Song sparrows along the coastal walk around the northeastern ballfields. The freshwater marsh and fenced areas in the middle of the island held a variety of individual late warblers including Tennessee, Nashville, Cape May, and a Bay-breasted with residual breeding plumage. We beheld the largest migrant flock of the day inside the abandoned driving range, where a multitude of Yellow-rumped Warblers circulated amidst the overgrowth, accompanied by several Eastern Phoebes. Although we did not see any unusual rarities, this was more than made up for by the variety of species we observed.
Species List
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven (h)
Tufted Titmouse
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Common Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
