Hangin' with my peeps

hangin'

Last weekend, the shorebirds finally showed up at Inwood Hill Park. Following a report by Nathan O'Reilly on Saturday, I went up on Sunday and saw my first peeps of the season.

Peeps--tiny sandpipers about the size of sparrows--are fun to watch skitter along the mudflats or beaches. Sunday I mustly saw Least Sandpipers, like these:

the Least of sandpipers

But there were also a couple of Semipalmated Sandpipers--generally grayer and with black instead of yellow/green legs. If you get a close view you can see the partial webbing--thesemipalmation--on their feet, but my views were not so good.

Semi-Palmated on trust

Nathan also had Greater Yellowlegs and a Semipalmated Plover, but those had left by Sunday. I contented myself with a Great Egret, a couple of Great Blue Herons (one of whom was going out of his way to bug the egret), and a charming family of ducks.

There should be plenty of more chances to see shorebirds there between now and about the end of September. Or if you don't mind a bit of wading, you can go out to Jamaica Bay, where they flock by the hundreds or thousands.

on your marks! get set! dabble!

Down in Central Park, Fall migration continues to trickle along. I saw a worm-Eating Warbler on Saturday, and a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, both near Warbler Rock in the Ramble.

Gnatcatcher

The main warbler in right now is American Redstart--lots of females and immature types.

I often wonder if they remember their close encounters with people

Less common birds will be drifting through for a couple of months. There was a sighting of a Golden-Winged Warbler in the North Woods, but nobody saw it but the initial observer as far as I know.

And of course, our resident birds are still around enjoying the pleasant summer weather.

bold grackle

Osprey and fish; wasp and dragonfly

Osprey and fish

On Friday I went up to Inwood Hill Park in search of an Osprey. Anya Auerbach had described the bird's roosting spot perfectly in an eBird report--just west of the Henry Hudson Bridge, above the paved path along the headland, the spot well-marked with what birders politely call "whitewash".

The Osprey was atop a tall snag, holding down a large fish, seemingly waiting for sunset to eat. I watched for a while until it stretched its wings, giving me the photo I wanted.

On the way up to that spot, I heard a ferocious buzzing and a commotion in the plants by the path, and saw--well, I wasn't sure what at first. Long and thin and colorful, too small for a bird and too large for an insect.

Wasp devouring its dragonfly prey

I finally resolved it into two creatures--a wasp dragging a struggling dragonfly along the ground. The dragonfly didn't struggle for much longer.

You can see a smaller wasp at the bottom of the photo. I don't know what kind it is, but I do know that the big wasp got the heck out of its way and let it feed on the dragonfly.

Down at Muscota Marsh, the tide was high, but a group of small sandpipers was on the rocks right near the bench on the east side of the cove. It was mostly Semipalmateds (I counted 32) and a dozen Least Sandpipers mixed in. Some were standing in the shallows, but others were on the rocks and you could see the webbing on the Semipalmateds' feet.

Lots...

...of...

...sandpipers

The Osprey was my 176th species of the year in New York County, matching my total from last year.

My 175th was a Budgerigar in Maintenance Meadow of Central Park on Thrusday.

Budgie and House Sparrow

A Budgie, of course, has to be an escaped bird (or, God help us, a released bird), and so not really "countable". But I had one on my list last year also, so I've still matched my total. Beaten it, in fact, since last year's total also included a Canary (foraging near the Great Hill in Central Park).

Funny thing about this Budgie was that the sparrows were quite comfortable with it. They chased away the blue one from last year any time it tried to forage with them. The Blue Jays gave that one a hell of a time as well.

Hanging with my peeps

Semipalmated Plover, Muscota Marsh, Inwood Hill Park

My next trip up to Inwood Hill brought more shorebirds. A Great Egret was on the mudflat of the bay, a couple of hours before low tide, with a flock of sandpipers.

Great Egret and Sandpipers, Spuyten Duyvil Creek

The fishing was pretty good, it seems.

Great Egret fishing, Spuyten Duyvil Creek

There were a couple of mixed flocks of sandpipers, Least and Semipalmated, in the bay and in Muscota Marsh nearby.

Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper

The big deal bird was a single Semipalmated Plover hanging with the sandpipers at the Muscota Marsh area.

Semipalmated Plover, Muscota Marsh, Inwood Hill Park

The two Semipalmated species were life birds for me, and my 173rd and 174th species of the year in New York County.

At long last, Leasts

without context, they don't seem so small

Shorebirds are hard to find in Manhattan. Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers usually come through central Park on migration, and you can find Kildeer on Randall's Island sometimes, but for the most part you need to get out of Manhattan for them--Jamaica Bay, for example.

So it was interesting when people started reporting Least Sandpipers in Spuyten Duyvil Creek at Inwood Hill Park a couple of weeks ago. I went up there several times, and gazed upon mud flats filled with...gulls. Hmph.

Finally, last Thursday, I went up again at low tide. I walked around the cove and the Muscota Marsh that Columbia University is restoring. No sandpipers in sight. I rested on a bench a while, made some phone calls, got ready to go home. When I arose to take a last look at the cove as the tide came in, I say little birds scrambling around on the mud. Sandpipers, huzzah!

Six of them , Least Sandpipers with greenish legs, thin bills, sort of blurry streaking across the breast. Very cute, running around probing the mud, sometimes running into each other when they got out of the way of a larger bird passing through.

with context, you see why they're the Least Sandpipers

This shot with the duck strolling by will give you an idea of their size. Teensy little birds.

Since then, I've been seeing reports of Semipalmated Sandpipers in the creek, and Semipalmated Plovers across the island in Sherman Creek Park, so I'll have to try to get up there again soon.