Birding

One Year in New York City

March 1, 2009 by Corey No Comments

As of today, the first of March, 2009, I have been a denizen of the best city in the world for exactly one year. Of course, this post was written in advance and I am actually celebrating my first anniversary of being a resident of The Big Apple from Honduras. Though my body is in a rain forest my heart is beating to the rhythm of the F train. Or some such claptrap…

Though I have lived almost my entire life in upstate New York (with the exception of a couple of years of school in Pennsylvania) I have managed to adapt from the slower pace and open space of upstate and am quite content bullying my way down a crowded sidewalk or cramming into a stuffy subway car. Of course living with Daisy and our cats again as one happy family helps a great deal (the therepuetic value of curling up on a couch with loved ones is as great in a city as it is in the country).

In addition to reuniting with my lady love the marvelous parks in my fair city make Gotham a birder’s dream. Whether I am exploring da Bronx or Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan (even Staten Island) there are birds and nature in general to be observed.

While I was reminiscing about my year in New York City I realized that I have had some great birding experiences this past year (duh!). So I figured I would share my five favorite birding adventures that took place in the five boroughs. Here they are, in no particular order:

Rescuing a Virginia Rail from a vacant lot in Manhattan (I feel bad I never updated everyone on this story. The rail recovered and was eventually released in Jamaica Bay).
My Big Day in Queens this past May that netted me my life Kentucky Warbler and 120 species total.
Seeing two lifer shorebirds that would be more at home in Siberia at Jamaica Bay on the same day.
Dipping on two target birds on a long expedition along the coast of Staten Island (but getting them nearly a year later).
The simple pleasure of watching and photographing a fledgling House Sparrow getting fed.

Of course, there are many more memories but I didn’t want to overload everyone with a ton of links to posts you’ve probably read already…you have read 10,000 Birds regularly, haven’t you? I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I have…and I hope the years to come are as rewarding as this one has been!

New York City Queens

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.