Many of my favorite heron sightings these past few weeks have occurred at high tide. While it’s more common to spot herons wading through the waters during times of low tide, abundant fish during the late summer keep the herons nearby. They watch and wait, frequently grooming their feathers. Look for them in trees or perched on snags near the water.  

A lively Green Heron has been drawing attention this summer at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. While not uncommon for late summer, this member of the heron family stands out among the Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and Black-crowned Night Herons. For one, the Green Heron is of slighter skeletal build compared to the “greats,” yet it carries itself with a lot of confidence. Green Heron. Salt Marsh, Inwood Hill Park. August 1, 2026. 7:10 a.m. Herons are all descendants of dinosaurs. The established link between the extinct world of dinosaurs and our modern birds is relatively new knowledge, confirmed in scientific studies beginning with the discoveries in southern Germany of…

Several Baltimore Orioles made their way back to the high trees of Inwood Hill Park this year. They’ve been building and attending nests at the edges of the park. The female builds the nest over the course of the week, while the male goes out on foraging errands. Baltimore Oriole on the peninsula in Inwood Hill Park. June 7, 2026. 6:38 a.m. The orioles usually stake out the same locations in the park from year to year. There’s a nest home somewhere along the Henry Hudson Bridge path, another near the park entrance at W.

Dozens of flocks of colorful Cedar Waxwings have arrived in Isham Park in Northern Manhattan for their annual feasting of the Juneberry trees (Amelanchier is the scientific name, or serviceberry). The festive occasion takes place during late May and early June and lasts as long as the bright red berries are consumed.  Cedar Waxwings. May 27, 2026. 8:20 a.m. Isham Park, Northern Manhattan, New York City. While Cedar Waxwings can satisfy their fruit-loving habits in other New York locations, the small collection of trees in this relatively small city park seems to draw a high count of birds.

At Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers, NY, on May 18, I didn’t see many birds out of the ordinary. I was so taken in by the dramatic vistas of the park and garden that I may have overlooked them. Tens of thousands of birds migrate north of New York City each spring and up the Hudson River along the Atlantic Flyway. They fly over the sweeping landscapes, charting their course by the stars and the region’s famous sunsets. This summer I plan to explore some of their Hudson River views and perches through occasional field trips.

On an early evening walk on May 11, I came across a Great Egret foraging near high tide at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. I usually take my walks in the early morning, and the egret usually forages near times of low tide, so this was new for both of us.  Great Egret. Salt Marsh. May 11, 2026. 6:36 p.m. The Great Egret flew around the marsh, landed on low branches, and found a couple of low-lying areas of the marsh for safe landing. It tried to forage while skimming the water, yet it was never clumsy in these attempts.

During spring migration season in an old-growth forest like Inwood Hill Park, be sure to look for birds wandering along the park paths or in the dense foliage near the ground. While we are often straining our necks looking for warblers and other small songbirds in the high canopy, some warblers like the Ovenbird or a thrush like the Veery may sometimes be found near our feet.  Ovenbird. May 2, 2026. Inwood Hill Park, NYC. The forest floor contains a diverse concoction of tree debris, rotting leaves, and shade-loving plants, an environment beneficial for insects.

Today, April 22, 2026, is Earth Day, a time to learn more about and advocate for the health of our home planet. The birds depend on us. A great thing about being out in nature in the morning is that a memorable morning with birds can last all day. Whatever I’m doing, whatever happens during a hectic workday in the city, I’ll remember the birds. Yellow-rumped Warbler. April 16, 2026. 7:53 a.m. Inwood Hill Park, NYC. I still easily recall the migrating warblers, especially the dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers that I encountered near the top of Inwood Hill Park on April 16.

So tiny and fast. They were kinglets, and I saw both kinds this week in the forested areas of Inwood Hill Park. Kinglets are either golden-crowned or ruby-crowned, fast-moving, and constantly in search of insects. They may be distinguished by the color of their crowns and the coloring around the eyes. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet features a more prominent white eye ring, while the Golden-crowned one looks like it’s wearing eyeliner and mascara. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. April 7, 2026 Kinglets are considered medium or short-distance migrants here in the East, spending their breeding season in Canada and northern states and flying short distances south during the winter.

Northern Mockingbirds are famous for their expressive and varied songs, often mimicking other birds. All this month, whenever I have had occasion to walk in Inwood Hill Park or Sherman Creek Park, I’ve come across a loud mockingbird singing its heart out.

A burst of spring weather and unseasonably warm days brought a variety of birds to Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan this week. American Goldfinch. March 9, 2026. 8:45 a.m. The three days in early March— March 9 through March 11— felt like a gift, especially after a long winter of cold temperatures and abundant snow. Many New Yorkers talked about how much we deserved this weather, though they labelled it a “false spring.” We’re realists here and know how spring works. Song Sparrow. March 9, 2026. 9:58 a.m. Thunderstorms on the evening of March 11 were followed by a rainy cold front the next morning.

On Monday, February 23, the snow fell across New York City in steady downfalls over many hours, embedded in a winter storm that arrived late afternoon on Sunday and continued well into the afternoon. By the end, Central Park experienced one of the largest snowstorms in the city’s history. * Up here in Northern Manhattan, the snow eventually measured over 22 inches. With an extra dusting a couple of days later, we could round that number up to an even two feet of snow. 

Northern Cardinals have resumed singing their song of spring this past week, so you would never know that NYC and parts of the Tri-State area are currently under a blizzard warning. As I write, the temperatures are mild, and the sky is blue. The blizzard warning is the first such weather alert issued for NYC since March 2017. Northern Cardinal. Inwood Hill Park, NYC. February 16, 2026. 8:41 a.m. This morning, the continuing Great Blue Heron was hunkered down at the edge of the Salt Marsh. Big herons can deal with the harsh winter weather as long as they find open water.

I fell in love this morning on my walk over to the Hudson River. Red-shouldered Hawk. Inwood Hill Park. NYC. February 14, 2026. 8:08 a.m. I was walking very slowly on the sloped path leading up to the Henry Hudson Bridge. The path was a little icy, still covered with recent snow, and I was careful with every step. My intention was to see the Bald Eagles or any other birds gathered on the ice floes along the river. The eagles have been bountiful this year.

A quarrel of sparrows has descended on my fire escape each morning this January, asking for some seeds. A year or so ago, I tossed a handful of seeds out my kitchen window. They never forgot. January 19, 2026. The Clove, Inwood Hill Park. Recently, as the snows and cold weather have descended on the city and on much of the rest of the country, for that matter, I have taken to feeding them again. Red-tailed Hawk. January 22, 2026 On Tuesday morning, my kitchen window froze completely shut, causing frustration all around.

The dawn of the first day of January brought cold, piercing winds and a surprising early morning snow squall. It was the kind of day to stay indoors and drink tea. The first bird I saw that day was the Cooper’s Hawk of Cooper Street, a sighting from my kitchen window. The Cooper’s Hawk is built for the worst weather, and I was confident that its presence stood as a metaphor.  Cooper's Hawk. January 1, 2026. Photo from closed window. For much of the first week of the new year, it was cold outside.

On Tuesday, December 2, a Nor’easter barreled through New York City, bringing a cold, steady rain for most of the day. Areas to the north and west got the snow, but most of NYC was just out of range for a nice snowfall. My plans for birdwatching were rained out. Cooper's Hawk. December 2, 2025 Or, so I thought. When I went into the kitchen to make coffee, I looked out the window. In the large tree that rises high above a rocky vacant lot, I spotted what looked unmistakably like a Cooper’s Hawk.

When I was a young girl growing up in Texas, my family liked to take a walk in the neighborhood on the morning of Thanksgiving Day. We gathered autumn leaves and branches to decorate the dinner table. A great pecan tree grew in our front yard, alongside a magnolia and its fragrant blossoms for a later season. As the centerpiece for our Thanksgiving feast, a large cornucopia overflowed with fruits and native varieties of corn. We placed our leaves and twigs there, too. I remember that my grandmother, the daughter of immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, spearheaded the pre-feast saunter.

Even if I have only ten minutes to go birdwatching this time of year, I can always walk to the edge of Inwood Hill Park, look down, and find at least a dozen White-throated Sparrows. Pretty birds with white throats and yellow lores, these sparrows also possess a sweet, lilting song.   White-throated Sparrow. November 15, 2025 Cornell’s All About Birds page on the sparrow cites “cool facts” about these birds, including the fact that they will mate with Dark-eyed Juncos from time to time. They also come in two forms - white-striped and tan-striped - and “almost always mate with a bird of the opposite morph.” (website) Keep a lookout for any hybrids. 

Over the course of several busy and consequential days for New York City— a thrilling Halloween Parade, a photo finish for the NYC Marathon, and the city’s historic mayoral election— thousands of birds flew overhead. Some were late migrants en route to winter homes and springtime in the Southern Hemisphere. Other birds came here to stay for winter. Still others, like many Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals, grew up here and dined in their forest home. Cedar Waxwing. November 1, 2025. 9:16 a.m. As New York City drew international attention for this dizzying sequence of seasonal events, nature gifted the city with a resplendent autumn.

The last two weeks brought some volatile weather, including a big Nor’easter and high wind events, to the Salt Marsh and to the forest of Inwood Hill Park. The pace of fall migration sped up and then died down. Sometimes, on an average morning, there were many birds, and on other days, nothing much to report. Yet, the autumn foliage continues to deepen in color. The sight of brilliant gold and red leaves from the top of the forest provides enough motivation to get out for a walk.

By the time the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk landed on a perch near the Salt Marsh on October 4, it was sopping wet. It was practicing its hunting skills by buzzing over the ducks in the water and then chasing a Belted Kingfisher foraging there. The hawk and the fast kingfisher flew circles around one another over the water.    The two then flew from the main inlet of the Salt Marsh to the nearby Muscata Marsh next to the boathouse. They managed to stay clear of one another.

On Tuesday, September 23, I attended NYC Bird Alliance’s tour of the Green Roof at the Javits Center. I was there to see how the Javits Center, New York City’s main convention venue, transformed its facility into a climate-forward and bird-friendly nexus of urban infrastructure. The Javits Center sits on land near the Hudson River in the West 30s in Midtown Manhattan, a site within the greater Atlantic Flyway. Many birds along the Eastern coast of North America undertake their epic migratory journeys through here. Ideally, their stopover sites would include favorable natural landscapes such as diverse forests and coastal wetlands.

The West Point Foundry Preserve in Cold Spring, NY, was quiet when I arrived there on Tuesday morning. Stepping off the train, the background noises disappeared, something a New Yorker would notice. As soon as I began my walk along the forested trail, I heard crows loudly calling overhead in the trees. I heard herons vocalizing in the Foundry Marsh. I saw a hawk of some sort over the Hudson River and a Red-winged Blackbird swinging on a tall marsh reed. An American Robin splashed in a cool stream.

Earlier this week, the locals experienced two full days and nights of over 300,000 birds flying through New York County. Many flycatchers, warblers, vireos, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks landed in Inwood Hill Park during these days, especially at the top of the forest. The birds found plenty of seeds and insects to replenish their diets. Many of these migratory birds prefer to explore the tops of the forest canopy, so I spent the early mornings high up on the ridge. I found a particularly good observation spot along the highest stretch of the old walled trail that leads to the Clove at the bottom and a parapet at the top.

In 2023 and 2024, I took pictures of an Osprey perched in the tree on September 1, so this year’s landing makes it three years in a row for that exact date.

Killdeer is easy to spot with its two dark breast bands, long wings, slender tail, and large eyes. The shorebird is often running and seemingly skittish.

I enjoyed a closeup of a female Belted Kingfisher at the marsh on a recent August morning, marveling at its curious shape. Belted Kingfishers possess a big beak and a big, crested head. The rest doesn’t seem to match in proportion to what nature has provided for the head and beak.  Belted Kingfisher. August 3, 2025. 6:35 a.m. at the Salt Marsh, Inwood Hill Park This charismatic bird feeds on prey in the water, diving headfirst for fish. They need to see the fish first, so the water should be clear.

New York City has often been warm this past month, ideal for bringing out many flying insects and, in turn, the Barn Swallows that relish them. These swift flyers are mesmerizing to watch, darting over the marshlands, damp fields, and the waterfront. Barn Swallows. July 16, 2025. Inwood Hill Park. Barn Swallows are found everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in the warm months. They typically migrate south during the winter, and many will return to the same nesting locations. With forked tails and long wings, Barn Swallows are distinguished by dark blue, rust, and saffron colors that vary with the light.

All the herons were there in Sherman Creek Park, a Harlem River waterfront park along Inwood’s east side. It was early afternoon on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. An hour and a half before low tide, members of the heron family— a Great Egret, a Great Blue Heron, and Black-crowned Night Herons (adult and juvenile)— foraged in the main Sherman Creek Inlet. Three Killdeer wandered the muddy flats. A Great Black-backed Gull perched on one of the piers. So, too did a Double-crested Cormorant. 

On the morning of July 13, within the first hour after low tide, I spotted a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron foraging for food under the boat launch at the Salt Marsh in Inwood Hill Park. When I…

This blog post is for the everyday bird photography hobbyist who may want to see their favorite bird photos displayed around the home or to give as gifts. This post on DIY photo crafts projects could be useful for professional wildlife photographers employed by National Geographic, but they are not my target audience. Bird photography is a pleasurable and addictive hobby, often resulting in the accumulation of thousands of images. Digital albums prove to be a useful resource for birders, allowing comparisons of bird activity over time. Excellent photographs of individual bird species could be submitted for various publications, the Macaulay Library, or in competition to the National Audubon Society.

I tend to be an early morning birder because that’s when the birds are active. I am also by nature a morning lark. For several days of the week, I also need to get ready for work in another part of Manhattan. Great Blue Heron. June 19, 2025. Inwood Hill Park. 7:08 a.m. I often revel in memories of my pre-work birdwatching walks. On Thursday, deep into the afternoon, I remembered the herons from the morning. Great Blue Heron. June 19, 2025. 7:11 a.m. Many Canada Geese and Mallards had gathered on the sandy islands in the main inlet that morning.

In the past few days, I’ve observed a Great Blue Heron preening in a tree, a couple of Double-crested Cormorants diving in the water, a pair of American Goldfinches flitting about bushes, several Northern Flickers here and there, and Rough-winged Swallows on an old snag at the Salt Marsh. On the morning of June 9, I saw an Osprey flying low and diving briefly into the Salt Marsh. I’ve seen other birds, too, fortunately within a good range of my camera. Someone recently asked me if I took the photos on this site.

Cedar Waxwings may seem mysterious in many ways, but they show up on time. As I’ve noted in previous posts, many fly through New York in early June on their way to Canada. Native to North America, the birds enjoy fruit and are named for the waxy secretions at the tips of the secondary feathers. They move from place to place and nest in large flocks. They look like they possess unknown superpowers or knowledge of magic.

On the morning of May 24, 2025, I watched a Common Yellowthroat flit all over one of the two hawthorn trees near the main bend of the Salt Marsh path. I stayed with this charming masked warbler for around fifteen minutes as it looked for anything good to eat. Common Yellowthroat. May 24, 2025. 7:20 a.m. The Common Yellowthroat seemed completely engaged with the microscopic life of this tree— a Cockspur hawthorn or thorn (Crataegus crus-galli), a native of eastern North America. The clusters of white flowers that bloom in late May are followed by small red fruit. 

The sight of a Yellow Warbler can bring a rare thrill during spring migration season here. Cute by any definition, their cheerful color can brighten even the grayest of days. In Inwood, I most often spot one in a tree bordering the Salt Marsh, though I will hear their song high in the forest. I don’t see them often. The Cornell Lab’s All About Birds map page on the Yellow Warbler describes their typical journey from winter grounds in Central America or northern South America. While they migrate earlier than other songbirds, “Yellow Warblers from eastern North America fly across the Gulf of Mexico in a single nonstop journey; some Yellow Warblers in fall take an overland route around the Gulf.” …

Amidst all the excitement of spring migratory birds arriving in the high canopies of Inwood Hill Park, it is sometimes easy to overlook the Salt Marsh. While walking along the marsh path on Tuesday, several vocal Baltimore Orioles in the nearby trees demanded attention. Following their movements, I glanced over to the sandy little island in the main inlet. A Spotted Sandpiper was bobbing its tail around a couple of much larger Canada Geese. Spotted Sandpiper. May 13, 2025. 9:29 a.m. The Spotted Sandpiper, one of the most common and widespread sandpipers in North America, frequents the edges of bodies of water.

The second Saturday in May typically brings many warblers and other spring migratory birds through Inwood, and the 2025 spring iteration of World Migratory Bird Day was no exception. The morning brought a full chorus of bird sounds to accompany a walk in Inwood Hill Park. Actually spotting the birds in the dense spring canopy was another matter. Recent rains have brightened the old-growth forest here with abundant bright green foliage, so the birds of seasonal interest seem even more elusive than usual. I found an American Redstart.

A breeding male Scarlet Tanager is impossible to miss. In a mature old-growth forest, at the top of the tallest tree, the bird’s brilliant red coloring with contrasting black wings broadcasts its location. A Scarlet Tanager is a memorable sight during spring migration. Spotting a Scarlet Tanager can be elusive. They tend to perch high in the canopy, often obscured in the light green leaves of spring. Their arrival comes as a surprise and is always hard to predict. Scarlet Tanager. Inwood Hill Park. May 1, 2025. 6:41 a.m. Imagine my surprise, then, when a Scarlet Tanager was the first bird I spotted shortly after sunrise on the first of May.

Just when you expect to see tiny warblers, a large waterfowl pirouettes into the Salt Marsh of Inwood Hill Park. A Mute Swan, a native to Eurasia, was visiting the main inlet early this week. It was sleeping when I first saw it, a pile of white feathers floating in the water. Then it raised its neck, assuming the classic swan shape. Mute Swan. April 28, 2025 A graceful bird, the Mute Swan let the tide carry it to the north and south shores of the inlet and then back again to the middle.