Laundry Birding

It’s a maintenance day- “adulting” as it’s come to be called. Instead of walking the trails and scanning the treetops, I am washing shirts, pants, and socks.

It’s laundry time. But that won’t stop me from spotting a few birds. Before each quarter goes in the machine, I scan it for birds.

What did I see today?

Roseate Spoonbill (left) and Anhinga (right)

#birdbx has arrived!

Birders in the Bronx are getting a new resource for sharing birds: the Twitter feed @Birdbronx and #birdbx.

Another birder and I tried tweeting in 2016 and early 2017 with the hasthtag #bronxbird, but it didn't catch on (you can search Twitter with that hashtag- Cackling Goose, Eastern Meadowlark, Cattle Egret were some of the birds we shared). In Manhattan, there is a Twitter account that automatically retweets tweets with #birdcp; the Bronx did not have such a thing. Thus, people could follow the Manhattan account and could see the tweets about birds in Manhattan. For people who bird the Bronx, this was not an option unless searched for the hashtag #bronxbird. There were still plenty of other ways to share news of a good bird sighting (word of mouth if you encounter another birder, posting to the state email listserve, texting/calling a friend, or seeing an eBird checklist). But Twitter is so fast and easy and now this option is available for the Bronx!

Here is how it works: https://bigmanhattanyear.com/bronx.

Here is the Twitter page: https://twitter.com/BirdBronx. "Real-time rare bird observations and birding news for the Bronx. Followed users can issue alerts by tweeting with #birdbx."

Looking forward to finding fun birds and sharing them #birdbx!

Snow Bunting on Governor's Island

Birding is chancy!

Birding is chancy.

When I take a second loop around a trail or make a repeat pass at a spot visited earlier, it amazes me the things that I saw the first time that I did not see the second time (sometimes the second pass is better, and I feel lucky to have repeated my steps).

Birding is just like that. To connect with a bird, you have to be going in a direction that puts you in the path of a bird. Slightly different trajectories could cause the connection to be missed. For all the sightings I do make, there are probably many more that do not happen because a difference of a few feet of distance, a timing off by a few seconds or minutes, or a noise that calls my attention to the left but distracts me from the right. That birding is chancy is not a principle of birding that I stick by, but more a key understanding of how birding, and perhaps life, works.

I have been deepening this understanding since I started looking at birds, and even using that phrase, "birding is chancy," for years. Two recent experiences from the last couple weeks in the Bronx demonstrate the understanding perfectly.

Raptors and Dickcissel near the landfill in Pelham Bay Park

Osprey

I birded the southern zone of Pelham Bay Park in Bronx County, New York, today (October 1, 2017). Near the southwestern edge of the landfill, there is a brushy area between the landfill and Eastchester Bay. A Dickcissel popped up briefly and then landed on the fence that blocks off access to the bay. I was not able find this bird again despite being in the general vicinity for the next 4 hours. I got some poor photos that are on the eBird list linked below.

Dickcissel, out of normal range! Sure, on the Osage Plains of
the Midwest this is a common species, but not in NYC!

Shorebirds of the Bronx

Whimbrels in Turtle Cove, Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

In mid-July a couple Bronx birder friends and I were talking about we have never really had that much luck with shorebirds in the Bronx. There were several species that could be generally found at certain times in certain places, but the Bronx definitely seemed to be the least shorebirdy place in NYC.

That luck would change, due to some serious puddles, but also perhaps some increased attention at the right times.

All you need is lovebirds

Yellow-collared Lovebird, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania