Trips

November Birding in Bryant Park

November 17, 2014 by Corey 4 Comments

Several Gray Catbirds are still in Bryant Park. This one was hanging out on a table in front of Sixth Avenue waiting for, what else, table-service.

Though it is getting colder and fall migration is essentially over, I still spend fifteen to twenty minutes in Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan on my way to work, just to see what is still around. Some of the same individuals from my last post about Bryant Park are still lingering and a few other interesting birds have moved in. And, of course, some birds are always at Bryant Park. What have I seen lately? Read on and find out!

Ovenbird feature

There are still at least two Ovenbirds hanging around and they have gotten more and more tame. This one was sitting in the sun on Friday morning, which was rather cold, and it had no problem with my getting down on the ground next to it for a portrait.

Ovenbird eye

Yeah, I never thought I would get a picture like this of an Ovenbird‘s eye either.

Bryant Park Rock Pigeon

Feral Pigeons and House Sparrows are in the park year-round in numbers. Oddly, European Starlings are a real rarity in Bryant Park.

Bryant Park White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrows might outnumber House Sparrows in the winter months. The occasional Swamp Sparrow is nice too.

Common Yellowthroat at Bryant Park

So far, it looks like the only wood-warbler other than Ovenbird that will attempt to winter this year is Common Yellowthroat. There are still at least two, and probably more, trying to find enough to eat.

Common Yellowthroat feather detail

Yeah, the Common Yellowthroats are getting pretty tame too.

American Woodcock

My favorite bird of my last couple of visits to Bryant Park, an American Woodcock I found day-roosting in one the planted borders. It’s been relatively easy to find for the last several days and a bunch of birders have had the chance to see it.

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.