McGolrick Bird Club Issue 007
June 24th Bird Walk
Saturday’s meet marked the McGolrick Bird Club’s ninth! Though summer is known to be a relatively quiet birding season here in NYC, our walk still featured:
The recently elusive Downy Woodpecker’s descending squeak toy call
Our tracking down a newly fledged Mourning Dove (good spot, Millie 👏)
American Robin hatchlings
The mating Northern Flickers doing their nest cavity shift change
Stoke, awe, punk bird zen!
Summer Break?
Nine walks! In the immortal words of Miley Cyrus, “we can't stop (whoa) / And we won't stop (whoa)” …
Except for the next two Saturdays, when there will be no guided walks! (Usual sessions to restart on 7/15/23.)
Field Trip Ideas!
But this brief hiatus doesn’t mean the stoke, awe, and punk bird zen have to pause. Here are some ideas for going out beyond our regularly scheduled Saturday program.
@McGolrickPark
Simply walk McGolrick Park when you have time, like for 20 minutes before or after work. (Or better yet, come Saturdays at 9 anyway to see who else also shows up?)
Try to actively meditate when you walk the park. Like, instead of focusing on your own breath, focus on the breath of the trees & sky. (Sound woo-woo? It kinda is, dude! Try it. It’ll change your life.)
You may notice:
The park’s 5 regulars — American Robin, European Starling, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Pigeon — and the park’s sonic base layer formed by their calls/songs
The laser beam like call of a Northern Cardinal. There are a few Cardinal calls/songs but all are rhythmic and more sustained than a Starling’s whistle
The quick buzzsaw-like screech of a Blue Jay
The static-y alien twitters of bat-like Chimney Swifts, who look like cigars with wings in NYC’s summer skies
The Northern Flickers, near the park’s south entrance, in the backwards crescent-shaped hole
Be on the lookout for our favorite birds holding fecal sacs, the bird equivalent of dirty diapers, when leaving the cavity. This would be a welcome sign of breeding! Example:
(Photo not taken in McGolrick Park)@McCarren Park
Look for large hawks atop our neighboring park’s field lights. These are Red-tailed Hawks, either a breeding pair or their recently fledged young.
Walk the rows of trees along the park’s edges. What seems to be the birdiest spots in this fairly urban locale?
@Under the K Park
(follow Driggs east a few blocks to this hidden gem)
Find Northern Mockingbirds via their long tails, black and white accents, and varied car alarm calls.
Notice Barn Swallows, their cinnamon + blue tops, and their pointy winged profiles, sometimes flying acrobatically at eye-level around the skate park and its environs.
Once at Newtown Creek, look for Northern Rough-winged Swallows skimming the water. These are distinguishable from Barn Swallows by gray-brown heads, dingy throats and chests that fade to white bellies, relatively not pointy wings, and square-ish fan tails.
Scan the creek and its banks for shorebirds that may be present, especially the Double-crested Cormorant.
Check the underside of the bridge, especially on the Queen’s side, for Peregrine Falcons! A pair of these birds, the fastest animal in the world, was recently seen there.
@Prospect Park
Take the G all the way to the 15th Street stop, then walk to Dog Beach.
Follow the path to the right of the beach, into forest.
Scan the pool for Green or Black-crowned Night- or Great Blue Herons.
Then head to the Vale of Cashmere.
Find its ponds.
Scan the high trees above the ponds for bright orange Baltimore Orioles (remember to keep an ear out for their drunk American Robin-like song.)
Ask birders using binoculars what they’re looking at. WARNING: Birders can be off-putting people due to poor social skills. Don’t take their bad vibes personally, but do proceed with caution.
Bird on!
If you’re looking for a guided way to get deeper into birding, check out the New York Times’ recent collab with eBird and Cornell!
Want to Shazam birdsong? Download the Merlin app (Apple, Android) and poke your way into its “Sound ID” feature.
Also via the Merlin app, try its “Explore Birds” feature. Here you can plug in places and dates to see which birds you’ll most likely encounter. It’ll be set to your present location by default. This is a great way to ID new-to-you birds.
Can’t wait to hear about your adventures when we regroup on 7/15, Saturday at 9AM, at McGolrick’s Russell/Driggs entrance!
That’s it for this week!
Let’s get zen and be punk and go birding together—and see what other birds show up!
