No owls for me!

So I'm really bad at spotting owls. I spent several hours in Inwood Hill Park again yesterday, and again failed to see the Eastern Screech Owls being reported there. There's supposed to be five or six of them, sometimes roosting on the same branch. They're pretty small owls, but that shouldn't be so hard to spot.

But not for me. It wasn't a total loss, though. I didn't see any new birds, but when I went down the hill to the shore of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, the tide was out, and a Great Egret was browsing the bleak mudflat.

As I relaxed on a bench listening to the Song Sparrows, a female Red-Winged Blackbird popped up for a minute.

And in one tree I heard first a Warbling Vireo, and then an Orchard Oriole singing a quite jazzily syncopated song.

If I ever figure out how to edit video from my camera, I might post a little clip of this guy. Outstanding singer, well worth the trip.