Van Courtlandt Bird Walk Report 10-9-2010...

Our walk began with a look at the Eastern White Pines near the ranger station and we were quickly keying in on some Golden-crowned Kinglets. A few minutes later as we made our way to the restoration area behind the Van Cortlandt House Museum, we picked up Dark-eyed Juncos and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. As we approached the path to the restoration area, we picked up a couple of immature White-crowned Sparrows feeding at the edge of the path. We paused for a few minutes soaking up the WCS and really got a chance to study them. As we continued on the path, we picked up additional sparrows that included a Field Sparrow, Swamp Sparrows and more immature White-crowned Sparrows. We ended up with 9 Sparrow types and 45 species in total. A complete species list is provided below.

1. Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 365
2. Mute Swan - Cygnus olor 2
3. Wood Duck - Aix sponsa 5
4. Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 25
5. Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 1
6. Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii 1
7. Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1
8. Rock Pigeon - Columba livia 12
9. Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 6
10. Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 3
11. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 2
12. Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
13. Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 5
14. Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 5
15. Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 2
16. American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3
17. Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 3
18. Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 2
19. White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 1
20. Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 2
21. House Wren - Troglodytes aedon 1
22. Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 10
23. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 3
24. American Robin - Turdus migratorius 14
25. Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis 2
26. Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 2
27. Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum 1
28. European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 9
29. Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 12
30. Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 4
31. Blackpoll Warbler - Dendroica striata 1
32. Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 3
33. Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 1
34. Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis 3
35. Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 7
36. Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 3
37. White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 14
38. White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 6
39. Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 8
40. Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 2
41. Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 2
42. Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus 1
43. House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus 5
44. American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 9
45. House Sparrow - Passer domesticus 14

Tags: Birding, Van Courtlandt Park Bird Walk