Author Archives: David Barrett

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About David Barrett

Birder and writer

Snowy Owl, Randall’s Island

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SnowyOwlFinally, a Snowy Owl appears in Manhattan. Since this species first began showing up at LaGuardia airport, less than two miles away, in November 2013, I have been waiting for it to appear on Randall’s Island. The environment is perfect: acres of flat grassy fields where gulls, ducks, and geese come to graze, along with a sheltered bay that also attracts hundreds of waterfowl. I would imagine there are rats and mice to be found, too.

I visit the northeast shore of Randall’s Island nearly once per week. It has the potential to produce rare ducks and gulls, as I have written before. In recent weeks it has had small flocks of Horned Lark and Snow Buntings, the latter having been observed just two days ago.

Today my mind was on the Snow Buntings. I also wanted to do some running, so I ran across the RFK Bridge to Randall’s Island at noon, figuring I would take advantage of what the radar indicated would be a rain-free two hours, along with temperatures in the high fifties.

It certainly was not rain-free. Strong winds blowing in off the water carried plenty of tiny water droplets, and soon my binoculars and I were soaked. After seeing that the bay contained only some of the most common ducks, I was thinking this trip was not such a great idea. I went further east along the shore to look for the snow buntings, which were known to huddle on the rocks.

Then I saw the Snowy Owl 60 yards ahead on the paved road. It was just landing after what appeared to be a short flight from a bit further east and south. I looked closely for a minute, making sure I confirmed the relevant features: yellow eyes, small bill, owl body, and mostly white feathers with just some tiny dark patches. No question it was a snowy.

The next thing I did, at 12:30 p.m., was text Andrew Farnsworth, not just so he could see it, but so that he could get the word out quickly and appropriately. He posted my find to NYSBirds, and then started preparing to drive over.

While this was going on, the owl took off and flew. I was worried that it would leave the island, but it only went to the grass just southeast of ball field #29. Ten minutes later it flew again, this time returning close to its initial location. It was looking right at me, so I backed further away until only part of it was in view. I did not want to take any chance of scaring it away.

It seemed to be resting quietly, and I was getting cold and wet just standing there, so I ran to the McEnroe Tennis Center to wait for Farnsworth to arrive. He showed up at 1:17, and I ran out to meet him. We walked back to the northeast shore area, and the owl came into view exactly where it had been before, very low and close to the rocks just east of ball field #29.

We observed it from seventy yards away, and Farnsworth took some photos (one of which appears above) using his iPhone and binoculars. After ten minutes of watching, we went off to bird the bay and the large waterfowl flock on the other ball fields.

This Snowy Owl was my first life bird in nearly three months, and my 234th in Manhattan. It is also the first confirmed Snowy Owl observation in Manhattan on eBird, and certainly the first one in over a decade — perhaps the first ever. We are going to have to check the records on this one.

Review of Manhattan birding in 2013

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Even though I devoted only about half the time to birding that I did in 2012, I still had a very active and productive year in 2013.

In 2014 I expect to bird a lot less often, and I am not at all going to pursue a year list. I want to get back to my work, which has been managing hedge funds and trading securities. This work requires a daily commitment to preparing and trading during the early morning hours. The other issue is that I have done Manhattan birding about as well as I think I can, and it’s time to move on to new challenges. I will still bird for enjoyment and exercise when I want to, and I definitely will take advantage of opportunities to expand my Manhattan life list.

Here are what I consider my top seven birds of the year:

7) Blue-winged Teal — Though not in general a hard bird to find in the New York area in recent years, it has been very rare for Central Park. The last prior observation before I found a pair on the Lake in April was from 2009.

6) Northern Pintail — This duck has been even rarer, with the last Central Park record in 2007. The one that appeared on the Lake in late October lingered on various park water bodies through early December.

5) Lark Sparrow — A rare vagrant anywhere in the New York City area, one showed up on the Great Hill in October and stayed for at least a couple days. One also was found in the same area in 2011.

4) Black-headed Gull — The first eBird record of this species in Central Park was on 30 January 2013. It was only the third such record for Manhattan.

3) Virginia Rail — A very cooperative one appeared on the banks of the Loch on 10 September and was seen again the following day. The Virginia Rail is rarer than the Sora, one of which remained at Bryant Park in mid-October for roughly a week.

2) Red-necked Phalarope — There was only one prior Manhattan eBird record of this species (during Hurricane Irene) before one was found swimming near the Hudson shore just south of Pier 40 on 18 August. Because of an afternoon commitment, I was unable to chase it earlier in the day when other birders were on it and had to race out for it alone with dusk approaching. A very satisfying twitch.

1) Chuck-will’s-widow — Easily the rarest bird on my list, there had been only one record of it on eBird in all of New York City during the past 17 years. It gave good views to many high up in a tree just north of Tupelo Meadow on 16 May.

Long-eared Owl, Cherry Hill, Central Park

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I have a bit of a history with the Long-eared Owl. It was the first species of owl I ever observed in Manhattan, when a trio came to the pines atop Cherry Hill in February 2011. It was a bird I missed in my big year when a single such owl appeared in Strawberry Fields on 17 October 2012 and no one reported it in time for me to see it. This owl chose to linger for only a single day (as far as we know), which is a little unusual. Records on eBird indicate that when a Long-eared Owl comes to Central Park, it usually stays for at least a few days at the location where it was seen, though owls that arrive alone tend to be the exception.

Another lone Long-eared Owl was seen by many this year, on 18 December 2013,  in the pines southeast of Turtle Pond and just south of the 79th Street underpass. This one was reported quickly, on Facebook, but I was not around to see it. It was not found again the next day.

Yesterday, 27 December 2013, three Long-eared Owls were found in the pines of Cherry Hill. Today only one was visible, and it could be seen only partially and with difficulty.

Varied Thrush, Stuyvesant Town Oval

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The Varied Thrush is a special bird for me. I will always remember the one that showed up in the Central Park Maintenance Meadow on 28 November 2010. This was, coincidentally, the first day I ever went birding. I did not know about it until my second birding walk, when I happened to wander through while many photographers and birders were trying to find it. I wrote about this bird in Chapter 4 of my book.

This Varied Thrush drew birders day after day, and it amazed everyone by lingering in the same general area for five months, disappearing in mid-April 2011.

Birders doing the Christmas Bird Count for the Stuyvesant Town area found a Varied Thrush near the corner of 20th Street and First Avenue on this past Sunday, December 15. This is the first Varied Thrush reported in Manhattan since the one in Central Park mentioned above. In the following days the bird has been appearing on the Stuyvesant Town Oval and near adjacent building #11. This one is a vibrant male. The one in Central Park was a female.

The bird is generating a lot of excitement among birders. It would generate even more were it not for the 2010-11 Central Park Varied Thrush, which put the species on nearly every local birder’s list. Brooklynites had a Varied Thrush appear in Prospect Park this year in March.

I went to see it on 17 December in the early afternoon.

Dickcissel, Central Park Pinetum

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After finishing a midday workout, I was considering going to the Hudson today to watch for waterfowl driven to move by the sub-freezing overnight temperatures. I returned to my apartment and saw a NYSBirds posting alerting me to a more proximate opportunity: one of Manhattan’s most accomplished birders, Peter Post, had reported a Dickcissel in the Central Park Pinetum.

I had just several week ago chased a reported Dickcissel on the Great Hill only to find that it was actually an exotic escaped bird, probably a Yellow-fronted Canary. I had no doubt about the one today, however. Mr. Post is a noted expert who has been birding Central Park since long before I was born.

I arrived at the Pinetum roughly 40 minutes after Post’s 1:38 p.m. report, and no one had seen the bird since the original sighting. I was encouraged to see that Post, with his camera, was still looking. I surveyed the surrounding area, checking the Pinetum’s inner circle and also the newly-seeded lawn that had attracted many sparrows in recent weeks.

Just after 3 p.m. I saw some birders running and a camera flash going off. I ran toward them, to the area where the bird had originally been seen, the very northeast edge of the Pinetum just northwest of the Great Lawn. The Dickcissel was on the grass only twenty feet from the wire fence, but it did not stay there long. Camera flashes seemed to frighten it, and it flew up into a pine tree and then, apparently, away.

I had gotten a good look, but I wanted to see it again, so I went off looking for it. Most of the other birders stayed in place. After twenty minutes it reappeared on the same lawn from which it had flown. It eventually gave all birders extended, close looks as it walked across the lawn. It had only a hint of yellow on its eyestripe and a dull grey breast. It almost certainly was a female, or possibly an immature bird.

I had had the Inwood Hill Park Dickcissel in December 2011 and January 2012, so it was not a life Manhattan bird for me. It was, however, my first Central Park Dickcissel.

Nelson’s Sparrow, Golden Eagle, Eastern Bluebird

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On 27 October I made a midday visit to the northern shore of Randall’s Island to look for waterfowl and sparrows. Nelson’s Sparrows were being observed at Pelham Bay Park to the north, and I had expected them to arrive at the northern saltmarsh of Randall’s Island, as they had last year in late October. It took nearly an hour of observing to get them definitively, but both a Nelson’s Sparrow and a Saltmarsh Sparrow appeared.

On the evening of 2 November, a cold front passed through and shifted winds to the northwest. I went to Inwood Hill Park the following morning and was treated to a parade of migrating raptors, including six Bald Eagles, one of which descended to the Hudson to try to grab a fish. I also saw Turkey Vultures, two Black Vultures, and two new species for the year: Snow Goose and a single adult Golden Eagle.

On 4 November I ran into Andrew Farnsworth on the northeast shore of Randall’s Island. I had just reported seeing the Saltmarsh Sparrow again, and he came by to have a look. It took some time and some searching, but he eventually had one of the Nelson’s Sparrows pop up briefly.

On the morning of 5 November I decided I had better try for the Eastern Bluebird before it was too late. Some had been reported in the North End of Central Park on the Third, and I searched after my visit to Inwood Hill but did not find them.

A bit of background: I had had Eastern Bluebird the prior two years so it would not be a life bird, but it was still one that I wanted to get. In 2012 it was the first new species I got when Central Park re-opened following Hurricane Sandy. I missed many of the good hurricane birds and not only temporarily lost the big-year lead but also was in slight danger of allowing another birder a chance at second place. Getting the Eastern Bluebird almost immediately upon arriving at the Great Hill on 3 November 2012 was crucial both to restoring my confidence and to giving me the freedom to pursue other rarities. The Barred Owl that quickly followed (in the Ramble) virtually guaranteed that the big year race would be a two-man battle.

Even though I am not doing a big year in 2013, I think Eastern Bluebird is one of those regular migrants that a good birder ought to get. Also, it would be fun to reach the 200 mark again for my annual species count.

So I set out for the North End on foot at 10:30 a.m. on the Fifth. I had studied carefully the calls that these birds make, which would easily be distinguishable from those of the very few other birds in the park at this time of year. I also knew to watch along fence lines and in trees, where Eastern Bluebirds like to perch before sallying out to feed on ground insects.

I checked all the likely places near the Great Hill, where they had been seen the day before. After roughly 90 minutes of birding I was walking back home in the North Meadow thinking that my quest would be unsuccessful when I suddenly heard a bluebird whistling behind me. I turned to see a male Eastern Bluebird perching on the chain-link fence encircling the baseball fields. It soon flew out to join three other Eastern Bluebirds on a distant length of fence. It was a most colorful sight.

From this point on there are no more “expected” birds, and I already had many of the typical winter rarities earlier this year. Vagrants like Ash-throated Flycatcher, Black-throated Gray Warbler, or Cave Swallow would benefit both my year and lifetime lists.

Northern Pintail, Central Park

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After I finished trading the market this morning, I had a brilliant idea: visit the Hudson by Inwood to watch raptor and waterfowl migration. Winds would be favorable (northwest and strong) for the first time since the cold air arrived yesterday. I emailed Andrew Farnsworth to let him know my plan.

It turns out Farnsworth was, as usual, already a step ahead. He had been birding the Dyckman ball fields area of Inwood Hill Park since 10 a.m. and his lengthy eBird list arrived in my inbox before I was even ready to leave.

He warned me that the birds were flying high and that I would want to bring a scope, but 10 x 42 binoculars were all I had, and besides I was already walking across the park on my way to the C train at 86th Street. He was on his way back home, but he planned to be back in the afternoon again.

I went first to Fort Tryon Park, thinking that the extra 200+ feet of elevation would help me get better views. I arrived at 12:40 p.m. Within ten minutes I saw an adult Bald Eagle fly low and directly overhead — I was off to a great start. But this was nearly all I saw, and after forty minutes I decided to try the Dyckman fields.

I immediately started seeing more birds, mostly geese and Red-tailed Hawks, that were swerving east over the hill and thus not passing over Fort Tryon.

Somewhat later, at 2:35 p.m., a text alert arrived: Sandra Paci (who took part in the birdathon in honor of Starr Saphir) had found a male Northern Pintail on the Lake in Central Park, just west of the Point.

Right away I texted Farnsworth that I had to leave Inwood to chase the pintail.

Northern Pintail observations in Central Park are extremely rare. The last verified one was from February and March of 2007, when a male pintail overwintered on the 59th Street Pond. They can be had in flight over the East River, but that takes a lot of watching and some luck.

The one on the Lake was, as the expression goes, a “sitting duck.” All I had to do was reach it before it flew away. (Not a trivial concern — the Blue-winged Teal I found on the Lake in spring flew off after little more than an hour.)

I went directly toward the the Dyckman 203rd Street station and quickly caught the express train going downtown. By 3:20 I was in Central Park on the south side of the lake, west of Bethesda Fountain and north of Cedar Hill.

I scanned the shoreline of the Point and quickly found the duck sleeping under a tree branch near some Mallards. It was well concealed from most viewing angles and not showing any movement. If this is how it was when Sandra found it, it was certainly was not an easy find.

By 3:30 I was on my way back to join Farnsworth for more migration-watching in Inwood. We got in a half-hour of viewing before he had to leave, with the highlight being another low-flying adult Bald Eagle.

Eastern Meadowlark, Randall’s Island

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I mentioned the Eastern Meadowlark several times in my book. Though not a rare bird in general, it is extremely hard to find in Manhattan, and is not reported in Central Park every year. It is more regular in Queens and Brooklyn, though still an uncommon bird worth reporting anywhere in New York City.

I ran many miles over the North End of Central Park and over Randall’s Island in 2012, during my big year, trying to observe this bird. I even visited Inwood Hill Park in search of it.

Recent reports of it in Queens suggested that a visit to nearby Randall’s Island was in order. It has been reported before on Randall’s Island and along the East River in Manhattan. Randall’s Island ought to be tremendously appealing to Eastern Meadowlarks, as it is filled with acres of mostly-unused grassy baseball and soccer fields.

I ran across the 103rd Street pedestrian bridge and began birding the south end of the island at 10:50 a.m. I saw many kinglets of both species there, but nothing unusual.

After two hours I had made my way to the northern shore just east of the pedestrian bridge to the Bronx when I flushed a large yellow-breasted bird out of thick grass and into nearby trees. It was my life Manhattan Eastern Meadowlark. It did not want me anywhere near it, and for five minutes I observed it perching atop the shoreline trees and flying from tree to tree. Then I lost sight of it, and was not able to re-find it again.

Sora, Bryant Park

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I had been waiting for someone to find a Sora on one of the Central Park water bodies. Prospect Park already had a lingering Sora since late September. Bad judgment caused me to miss the Sora that visited Turtle Pond in September 2011, and I was not about to let the next one go uncounted.

So it was with much excitement that I read a Twitter alert (hashtag #birdcp) from frequent birder Ed Gaillard at 4:46 p.m. on Friday, October 12, saying that there was a rail, possibly a Sora, in the planter area at the SE corned of the lawn at Bryant Park.

I wasted no time in getting there, and was on the scene in 25 minutes. I knew that I would have just little more than an hour to observe and identify whatever was there before it got dark. Bryant Park can be an excellent spot for various birds to make an extended stay, such as warblers and sparrows, but rails prefer marshes and this park was notably dry. I did not expect any rail would want to stay overnight.

When I arrived Mr. Gaillard said he had not seen the bird since his tweet. He showed me the few photos he had taken, which I told him were clearly of a Sora. After another 20 minutes of searching, I was getting a little nervous that the bird might have gotten spooked by the attention and sneaked into another planter area. But Ed said he had briefly seen it again while I was looking from the other side, so the bird still had to be there.

Within minutes the bird began walking west through the planter giving us brief but clear views. I noted the light yellow bill and white lines on the wings. It certainly was a Sora, most probably one in its first year.

Now that I knew for sure that the Sora was still present, I issued an alert. A handful of birders responded to it. I lingered until just after 6 p.m. to help direct viewers to the bird. Some viewed it as late as 6:30.

I was surprised to see a report the following morning that the Sora was still present in the same place. I was even more surprised when the Sora was found there again, not just on Sunday, but also on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and even Thursday!

In the following days, more rare birds appeared in Central Park. On Sunday, October 13, there were two reports of Vesper Sparrow in the park, one in the North End by the Compost Heap, and the other just west of the Pinetum. It turns out that the former flew off soon after the report. I chose to chase the latter, which lingered in a fenced-off lawn area for most of the afternoon and provided good views to many.

Then on Tuesday the 16th a Wilson’s Snipe was reported around midday on the rocks lining the shore of the Lake just east of the Oven. In general, this is a common bird, but it is scarce in Manhattan and observed perhaps only once per year in Central Park. I had my first one in April 2012 at the Upper Lobe.

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Lark Sparrow, Great Hill Central Park

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At 4:52 p.m. today a text alert arrived of a Lark Sparrow on the Great Hill north of the balancing rock. With the strong westerly wind flow of the previous few days, I had been wondering about the possibility of Lark Sparrow. An eBird report that arrived less than 50 minutes earlier indicated the bird was first seen briefly this morning by a couple of observers, with the last sighting at 11:20 a.m.

I was late getting the text, and then I had to change into running clothes. But I ran fast and arrived on the Great Hill at 5:19. There were no sparrows near the balancing rock, but I saw two birders intently observing something at the NE end of the sloping meadow nearby. It turned out that they did not have the Lark Sparrow, so I started searching the area, and soon split from them to check higher on the hill. There I found a flock of at least twenty Chipping Sparrows and twenty Dark-eyed Juncos.

Soon the other birders began walking toward me, so I met them and suggested we examine the flock. We walked toward it, and when I looked again the Lark Sparrow was 25 feet away right in my binocular view and I called it out. It took some time to get everyone of the six birders on it, as there were many sparrows moving about, but eventually all saw it. It is large for a sparrow, with a dramatic, unmistakable head pattern.

We observed the bird for roughly 15 minutes before the flock frightened and moved north. The other birders move on. I pursued the flock to the far NE end of the Great Hill, where I last saw the Lark Sparrow at 6:15 p.m. just as darkness was falling.

The last prior report of Lark Sparrow in Manhattan was just over two years ago on 13 September 2011 at the same initial location, the Great Hill’s southern slope.