Green-Wood Cemetery 2025 Highlights

Here's a short video of some of the birds seen in Green-Wood Cemetery during my 2025 walks.

Birds of Green-Wood Cemetery

I've spent a lot of time birding in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery over the years and began collecting photos of some of its resident birds. Here are some of those photos. Updated as I find more, scroll to the bottom for the latest pics (updated 11/12/25):




























The old world spelling, perhaps.


Not quite a bird, but I liked the name.

I'll add more in the future as I find them.

Here's an update from July 2015:



Here's an update from October 2015:



Here's a Reeve, also from October 2015:



Here's my first "Fish Hawk" for Green-Wood from March 2016:



Here's a new addition I spotted in November 2016:



Spotted in December 2016. I was kind of hoping to read a family member named "Hermit", "Wood" or "Varied":



Spotted during my walk on 7/29/18:

This one may be a bit of a stretch, but humor me. Lanius is the genus for a family of birds called shrikes. They can be found in Eurasia, Africa and North America. They are sometimes referred to as "butcher birds". Not surprising, lanius is latin for butcher. My favorite is the Northern Shrike - Lanius excubitor: the butcher sentinel. Perhaps Henry Clay came from a long line of family butchers ... or shrikes.



Here's a western species I came across while wandering around on August 26th. Don't normally see Verdins on the east coast:



With all the Chimney Swifts that nest in Brownstone Brooklyn this one seemed quite fitting (or flitting):



A few years ago my friend Mike mentioned seeing a willet in Green-Wood Cemetery. At first I thought he improbably saw one of these long-legged shorebird in the cemetery. Once I calmed down, he explained he was merely adding to my virtual collection. I finally located Mr. Willet a week ago on December 22, 2018:



I just found this one today during a private tour:



Can't believe I never came across this one before:



Going to guess that they are not a native New Yorker:







Here's one I photographed in 2015, uploaded to my computer, then promptly forgot about until a friend texted me a "bird" alert today:



Never noticed this one before today (11/6/25), primarily because it's located in a section of the cemetery where I rarely bird:



Not a specific bird, but a whole family. I'm making the rules up to the game as I go along ;-) :


...Read more

Green-Wood Cemetery 2024 Highlights

Here is my highlights video of my 2024 "Birding in Peace" tours at Green-Wood Cemetery. Note that the species shown are in chronologic order from my first walk in January to the last in December. I hope you enjoy it.

A Favorite Tree

Some may think it odd to have a favorite tree. There are many species of trees that I really enjoy. In some cases it is seasonally dependent. Katsura in the Fall when the leaves are dropping smells amazing. Any crabapple in the Spring. The Japanese Pagoda tree when it's popcorn-like blossoms litter the ground in August. I think you get the idea. There is one tree in Green-Wood Cemetery, however, that catches my attention during all the seasons - the Laceleaf Japanese Maple. There are several in the cemetery, but one on Vista Hill, who's branches arch over the steep curve at the edge of the hillside, and who's bifurcating limbs mimic a kind of freestanding vascular system, always draws my attention. Here are some photos that I've taken during the four seasons.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Green-Wood Cemetery "Nightfall: Time Flies"

The following is not what I typically post on this blog. I just attended Green-Wood Cemetery's annual "Nightfall" event. It defies a simple description, but is an absolutely amazing event, so had to share. I took a lot of photos and created a short video of some of the highlights. This is the description from Green-Wood's website:

Amidst the serene backdrop of weathered gravestones and trees whispering in the wind, this year’s Nightfall invites you to reflect on the fleeting nature of time itself. As dusk settles and darkness fills the cemetery, explore tales of lives lived and moments lost, revel in nostalgia for a grand past, and grieve for all the things that could have been.

Join us for an evening where memories intertwine with the present, reminding us that in this sacred space, the essence of time is both ephemeral and eternal.

Set across Green-Wood’s storied grounds, Nightfall features music and moving images curated by Death of Classical and Rooftop Films; spectacle provided by the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, and storytelling and show and tell by Morbid Anatomy. Kings County Brewers Collective is the official beverage sponsor for Nightfall.

Duckling Drama

Every year in late-June to early-July one or two mother Mallards that have nested in Green-Wood Cemetery do something that tries our patience.

There is likely some survival instinct connected to their behavior or maybe great-grandma Mallard did it, then grandma Mallard followed, then her mom... The issue, in a nutshell, is that the Mallard hatches a brood at the edge of one of Green-Wood Cemetery's ponds, but doesn't raise them in that safe location. Instead she leads her ducklings on a dangerous road trip across the cemetery, into the adjacent neighborhood of Windsor Terrace, across busy roads into Prospect Park, then finally, Prospect Lake. It is akin to humans deciding to run with the bulls in Pamplona. There are safer alternatives, for goodness sakes! As one might expect, during this challenging marathon run she often loses some ducklings into the sewer afterwhich the fire department is called to rescue them.

On Sunday, after my dawn birding tour, I decided to exit via the 20th Street cemetery gate. While walking north along the Hill of Graves ridge I glanced to my left and noticed a female Mallard leading a line of 8 tiny ducklings through the grass in the general direction of 20th Street.

Heading towards the street

You need to understand that this is not anywhere near a body of water. She and her brood were about 1/2 mile north of the closest pond. I texted Angela and Mary Beth the waterfowl wrangler. While I waited for them I did my best to run interference and prevent her from endangering her offspring.

I wasn't sure what we were going to do next, but I at least wanted to wait until Mary Beth arrived. Eventually Evan and Javi showed up and we were able to keep the family corralled in the grass near Border Avenue. Evan's wife Evie arrived and helped us keep the ducks together while Mary Beth came up with a plan.

Keeping the family calm and out of danger

Mary Beth had a carrier, a net, a bowl of water and some food. The food distracted mother Mallard and Mary Beth saw her opportunity and grabbed her. Javi put the net over the ducklings, but one escaped. Thankfully Evan and his wife managed to scoop it up a few feet away. Once the mom was safely in the carrier, I took the ducklings one by one out from under the net and placed them in the carrier with their mother.

Evan drove Mary Beth and her fluffy charges over to Prospect Park where they successfully released them into the lake. Mission accomplished!

Best of the Fortnight

Here are my favorite photos from the first two weeks of April. All photos were taken in Brooklyn's historic Green-Wood Cemetery. Enjoy!

Female Purple Martin

Chipping Sparrow

Osprey

Palm Warbler

Pine Warbler

Eastern Phoebe

Crabapple

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Callery Pear

Killdeer

Blue-headed Vireo

Crabapple

Saucer Magnolia

Prairie Warbler

Blue Grosbeak