Today was a sunny but cold day in the park at 32ᴼF. We once again went birding with Birding Bob and approximately 30 other birders. Bob wore a yellow arm band in support of the Ukrainians who are fighting for their lives. We ended our walk early because of the cold, but we still saw 13 bird species, only one of which for the first time – a Ring-billed Gull. We brought bird seed with us so Charlie could try and get a Northern Cardinal to perch on his hand, but it was too cold for Charlie to take off his gloves. Charlie and I can’t wait for the weather to warm up. We are excited to see all the birds that will migrate back north, and are looking forward to finally being able to take off our gloves without freezing our hands. When we were done birding with Bob we met up with Henry and Grandma in the park on the Upper West Side and went birding with them for awhile. Henry has his own binoculars, and loved when he got to use them to see some Fox Sparrows and House Sparrows that Charlie pointed out. Charlie and I ended our day with a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts. Below are some pictures from today and the list of the 26 bird species we’ve seen so far in our 2022 Big Central Park Year.



Heading out to go birding!




House Finch

Red-tailed Hawk


Canada Goose


Charli's favorite way to go birding!


Ring-billed Gull



Northern Shoveler



Mallard


Henry's First Time Birding


Henry Birding



Grandma, Henry, and Charlie looking at Fox Sparrows and House Sparrows



Fox Sparrows and House Sparrows



Charlie's favorite part of the day!

2022 Central Park Big Year: Complete Bird List

(bold = saw today; * = saw for first time)

1.    Mallard

2.    Hooded Merganser

3.    Great Blue Heron

4.    Cooper's Hawk

5.    Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

6.    Blue Jay

7.    Ruby-crowned Kinglet

8.    Golden-crowned Kinglet

9.    Brown Creeper

10.    American Robin

11.    House Sparrow

12.    Northern Cardinal

13.    Rock Pigeon

14.    White-throated Sparrow

15.    European Starling

16.    Red-bellied Woodpecker

17.    Red-tailed Hawk

18. Great Horned Owl

19.    Northern Shoveler

20.    Downey Woodpecker

21.    House Finch

22.    Fox Sparrow

23.    Red-winged Blackbird

24.    Brown-headed Cowbird

25.    Canada Goose

26.    Ring-billed gull*

 








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