Birds

Early Autumn Migrants

September 6, 2011 by Corey 5 Comments

Labor Day weekend has passed, the kids are back in school, and it is now (un)officially autumn in the United States no matter how high the mercury rises.  Of course actual autumn does not begin until after the autumnal equinox which is on 23 September this year.  But try telling that to the birds, some of which started south during what we considered the height of summer.  Seasons are subjective in the birding world but one thing is for sure: the birds have been moving and there is no doubt that regardless of the calendar fall migration is in full swing!

And what is a birder to do but try to see as much of migration as is possible?  That is what I have done, getting out when I can and watching and digiscoping the birds on their way to their wintering grounds.  I am fortunate to live by a coastline that tends to concentrate migratory birds and in an urban area packed with birders who report the birds that they find, a happy coupling of traits that leads to me seeing many birds. What birds have you seen moving through so far this fall?

All of the following shots have been taken over the last couple of weeks on Long Island and in New York City.  Every shot is of a migratory bird though some might show birds that actually bred in the area, or, in the case of juveniles, were born in the area.  Either way, they will soon be heading south if they haven’t already.  Enjoy!

Killdeer Charadrius vociferus at Heksher State Park, Suffolk County, New York

Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia in Queens, New York

Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York

Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York

Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus in Queens, New York

Northern Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York

Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora cyanoptera at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York

juvenile Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York

Bobolinks Dolichonyx oryzivorus in Queens, New York

Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York

juvenile Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus at Heksher State Park, Suffolk County, New York

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.