A New Cemetery Couple

At first I thought that Green-Wood Cemetery's resident pair of Red-tailed Hawks were exploring rentals on the opposite side of the cemetery from their usual digs. They seemed to be eyeing the large conifers behind Horace Greeley. That's where Bald Eagle "Rover" frequently dines. Then, about two weeks ago the red-tails began nest building at that spot.

There is a towering tuliptree nearby that the amorous couple has been using for their construction material. I got a few shots of one of the hawks snapping off a sizable branch for the nest. While watching with a couple of friends we noticed that one of the birds was banded! A blue band is on one leg, a silver on the other.

The blue one really stands out, so I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it before. This individual is also distinctive for its very dark, thick belly band. Also new to me. I checked Evan Rabeck's Flickr page to see if he had any photos of the cemetery nest builders. He has photos of a different pair perched side by side. Neither is banded.

It has been about a decade, but we have seen two pairs of Red-tailed Hawks nest in Green-Wood Cemetery. One year there were three nesting pairs in adjacent Prospect Park! I guess it is a sign that there is enough food to support a relatively large community of local raptors. If you'd like to check out the new nest, there is a really good view from the hill at the south-east side of the intersection of Oak and Hillock Avenues.

I look forward to seeing fledgling hawks perched on the head of Horace Greeley sometime in the near future.

A Classic NYC Birding Book

My birding mentor was an iconic Brooklyn character named Marty Sohmer. Since passed, he was well known and loved within the local birding community. In addition to teaching me great identification tips and relating timeless birding anecdotes (plus really corny jokes), he told me about a great book on birding around New York City called "Enjoying Birds Around New York City". Published in 1966, the authors were Robert Arbib, Jr., Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. and Sally Hoyt Spofford. All three were very important ornithologists and conservationists in their own rights.

One of the best features of this publication is the section titled "A Bird Watcher's Calendar". Each month has a few paragraphs which describe the seasonal event one should expect to observe. As a scientist Mr. Arbib shows a surprising sensitive and poetic nature to his descriptions. The March section begins, "Often the month of hope denied". There is a similar section, "Calendar for a Big List of Birds" which recommends weekly locations to maximize one's year list of birds. This book has been out of print for a very long time. Fortunately I stumbled on a copy while in a used bookstore in (of all places) Chatham, MA. It's in great condition and think I paid $15 for it. I've seen used copies available online.

The title page makes it clear that this book wins the award for longest title ever. Thirty-nine words!

This is not just a book about where to bird in New York City, but also how to bird: seasonal fluctuations, habitat preferences, family groupings, species field marks & vocalizations, behavior, etc. There is also a brief discussion on resources, such as binoculars and field guides.

The species accounts may be a little dated with regard to some of the currently accepted common names. Harrier is listed as "Marsh Hawk", kestrel is "Sparrow Hawk" and American Crow is "Common Crow", to name a few. For me, that is minor given the quality of the pen and ink illustrations that accompany the species accounts. They really are beautiful.

Finally, in a world of Google Earth satellite images in the palm of our hands, I find the 17 hand drawn maps in the book to go beyond simple navigation tools. To me they are art and make having this 55 year old publication on my bookshelf worth it. Are there other birding books with good information? Certainly, but much of the information contained within its 160 pages are, unbelievably, still relevant and useful. As a bonus, it is also filled with lovely illustrations, "historic" hand drawn maps of birding hot spots and a peek into birding around NYC nearly 60 years ago. It would make a nice addition to anyone's birding library.

Spring Ear Birding Prep

This year the first day of Spring in New York City will be Saturday, March 20th. As an ear birder I always like to take a few days and refresh my brain by listening to the Peterson "Birding by Ear" bird-song identification guides. Whether new to bird vocalizations or a longtime aficionado, spending even a little time with the recordings to prepare for the waves of northbound songbirds is really helpful. If identifying birds by their calls and songs frustrates you, then now is the best time to start studying. With the right tools it much easier than you think.

There are several sources available to help you learn how to identify birds by ear, but the best I've found is the Peterson Field Guides series of CDs. These discs are not just reference recordings, but well organized lessons that use groups of similar sounding species, repetition and mnemonics to help you quickly learn sounds. Here on the east coast of North America you should purchase "Birding by Ear: Eastern/Central", as well as, "More Birding by Ear Eastern and Central North America". There are discs available for the west coast, too. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate digital downloads.

Below is a list of the tracks on which I recommend you concentrate. Obviously, there are many more common species in our area which you could add as you feel needed.

The colorful wood-warblers are the most important songbirds to learn. Once you've purchased the discs, use iTunes (or similar software) to import the following tracks:

Name	Album	Disc #	Track #
Sing-songers	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	1	4
Warbling Songsters	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	6
Wood Warblers & a Warbling Wren	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	1
Warblers: Buzzy	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	1
Warblers: Simple	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	2
Warblers: Two-Parted	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	3
Warblers: Complex	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	2	4
Empidonax Flycatchers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	1	4

Note that I included the empidonax flycatchers on the list as they are notoriously difficult to separate visually, but have very distinctive vocalizations.

The woodland thrushes are also incredible songsters, so I recommend the following tracks:

Name	Album	Disc #	Track #
Thrushes	Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	2
Thrushes	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	1	7

One family of bird vocalizations that I tend to neglect are the shorebirds. More often than not, during spring migration a group of calling shorebirds passing overhead are noted only as "flock of unidentified peeps". While their calls and songs may not be nearly as melodic as the wood-warblers, they are each unique and easily identifiable if you take a few minutes each day to study the recommended "Birding by Ear" tracks.

Name	Album	Disc #	Track #
Shorebirds: Pairs	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	1
Shorebirds: Plovers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	2
Shorebirds: Whistlers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	3
Shorebirds: Peepers	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	4
Shorebirds: Other	More Birding by Ear, Eastern/Central	3	5

In case you were wondering, I don't make any money promoting the Peterson Field Guide series. I have just found that their systematic approach to learning bird-song to be the best available. Our local populations of birds, as well as, overwintering species have already begun to sing, so don't procrastinate. If you spend even just 20 minutes a day listening during your commute, by the time all the warblers begin streaming through NYC I guarantee you'll be able to find some birds with your eyes closed.

Green-Wood Cemetery Birding Map

In an attempt to make navigating Green-Wood Cemetery a little bit easier, I modified the existing official map that is available on the cemetery's website. Using 1855 and 1901 maps, which shows the names of the various landforms, i.e. ridges, hills and valley, I overlaid these landmarks on the current map. My reasoning was that most birders haven't a clue what the names of the roads are in places like Central Park and Prospect Park, but they do know the geographic labels.

The file is very large (9686 × 13200 pixels) so if you have access to a large format printer, it should look very good. Download the full-sized map here.

New Green-Wood Cemetery Bir... by citybirder

Signs of Spring in Green-Wood Cemetery

Our goals during this past Sunday's "Birding in Peace" walk was to look for signs of Spring, as well as, my favorite early migrant: American Woodcock. Most people think of the Eastern Phoebe as the earliest migrant in our area, but woodcocks frequently begin passing through in late-February.

As the snow retreats and bare patches of ground soften, Common Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) emerge. A great spot to look for these blooms is the open grass at Twilight Dell, along Central Avenue. They didn't disappoint this week and I expect that for this coming weekend's tour there will be a lot more poking their nodding blooms up through the soil.

Across the intersection from Twilight Dell is a new tree for me - Cherry Birch (Betula lenta). I never really noticed this native species before, but the low, dangling catkins caught my attention for the first time last winter. Birch beer can be made from this tree's sap. Maybe that could be another product for the Green-Wood Cemetery store! If you'd like to find this tree it is just off the south-west intersection of Central Avenue and Pine Avenue.

Turkish Filbert or Hazel (Corylus colurna), which are fairly common throughout the cemetery, are now covered with their long catkins. The nuts are edible, but apparently smaller, harder and more difficult to harvest than the Common Hazel, so probably best left for squirrels to dine on.

Witch-hazel is blooming throughout the cemetery. Not really a Spring bloom or even a sign of Spring. This example at Winter Walk is a cultivar: Jalena witch-hazel (Hamamelis × intermedia 'Jelena'). I've seen witch-hazel blooming in Brooklyn in the middle of Winter, when the Spring thaw is a distant dream. Always a nice splash of color on an otherwise drab landscape, though.

As the group circled the edge of Sylvan Water I spotted something moving under a white pine. I ducked down to get a better look and saw a Cooper's Hawk among a pile of white, downy feathers. Approaching slowly, the raptor spooked & flew off, dropping her prey at the base of a cherry tree: a female Wood Duck. It was the first time I'd been so close to this tiny waterfowl and was immediately struck by the beautiful, iridescent speculum.

The Cooper's Hawk had only flown a short distance, perching in an elm tree above the grave of Do-Hum-Me. By the robust size of this raptor, I assumed it was a female. She patiently waited for us to leave the area before swooping down to reclaim her breakfast. I learned from a friend later on that there was an unhappy male Wood Duck paddling around the Sylvan Water.

Finally, as we were looping back to the start of the walk I heard the low, twittering sounds of a woodcock's wings. I wheeled around in time to spot this odd, chubby little bird flying towards the leaf litter near the steep ridge below Cliff Path. Knowing where this cryptically plumed bird landed only gets you halfway there...actually finding it is a challenge. How quickly did you spot it in the photo? The American Woodcock's migration is just beginning, so if one is patient, knows where to look for them and can tell the difference between a plump bird and a pine cone, you may actually get to see one. Aldo Leopold wrote a great essay about their amazing breeding display. Read it online here.