Van Courtlandt Bird Walk Report 11-13-2010...

Our group met for our Saturday morning bird walk at Van Courtlandt Park in the Bronx at our scheduled time of 8:00 a.m. While waiting for folks to show, I noticed that runners were gathering in numbers signifying another cross country event so I decided to change our route to avoid the traffic. The route we took was the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, all the way to the John Muir Trail, which we then hiked to loop back to the nature center. It was quite a schelp, but the group held up rather well and I paced the walk so as not to overwhelm those older attendees. Along the way, we had nice looks at some new waterfowl arrivals on Van Courtlandt Lake in Northern Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks and Hooded Mergansers. Land birds were scarce, an indication that many birds had moved on, but we did manage to scrape up a few including a new bird for our walks - a Brown Creeper. We ended the day with a total of 41 Species, a complete list is provided below.

Brant - Branta bernicla 11
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 328
American Black Duck - Anas rubripes 3
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 8
Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata 8
Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus 5
Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis 2
Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps 1
Double Crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 2
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 1
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1
American Kestrel - Falco sparverius 1
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 6
Herring Gull - Larus argentatus 2
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia 15
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 4
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 1
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 2
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 5
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 14
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 3
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 2
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 8
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 2
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 75
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 5
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 4
White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 8
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 7
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 4
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula 25
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 7
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus 14

Tags: Birding, Van Courtlandt Park Bird Walk

Tweet