Warbler Wednesday!

Palm Warbler, Halsey Pond, Irvington, New York.

Magnolia Warbler, Rockefeller State Park, Pocantico, New York

Ovenbird, Hillside Woods, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Rockefeller State Park

Yellow Warbler, Rockefeller State Park

They know – it’s time
They know
In every feather they can feel it
They know

Every bird in the sky knows
A change is gonna come
By an’ by

Eric Bibb – Songwriter and musician – from his song “They Know”

Such Miracles!

Black-throated Blue Warbler at Hillside Woods in Hastings, New York this morning.

Yellow-rumped Warbler at Halsey Pond in Irvington, New York

My first sighting of a Prothonotary Warbler. Belleplain State Forest in New Jersey.

Black and white Warbler. Hillside Woods, Hastings, New York

Hooded Warbler, Belleplain State Forest, New Jersey

The Warbler Parade is officially underway! The May migration spectacle has already been everything I had hoped… and it’s only May 3rd!

“I feel poised at the edge of a great adventure. For me, these birds and their movements in waves northward, draw a veil of life, of beauty, of urgency, across this continent. It’s the most exciting time of year to me – it’s what I wait eleven months for. I will be soaking it in with every fiber of my being. Birds are such miracles!” – Melissa Groo

The Avian Parade Marches On

A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher zeroes in on an insect at Rockefeller State Park while an 8-week-old Great Horned Owl owlet catches the morning sun at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. Black-capped Chickadees are easy to take for granted but these feisty, little birds can enthrall us with their beautiful yet simple song.

“Gratefulness is possible with the awareness of the fragility of what we have.” – Mike Martin

Our Common Home

Tree Swallows, Snowy Egrets and Yellow-rumped Warblers are now flying again, in our neck of the woods, as we celebrate Earth Day – but our celebration is tempered by the realistic view of the work that is needed to restore the “irretrievable beauty” of our common home.

“A sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly.”

“We seem to think that we can substitue an irreplaceable and irretrievable beauty with something which we have created ourselves.” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si

The Avian Parade

The New York Times recently described spring migration as the “avian parade” and it’s a fitting way to portray the beautiful birds now marching our way.

A Great Egret, two Yellow-crowned Night herons and a Palm Warbler were recent area highlights as we head into our favorite (birding) time of year!

“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” – Maya Angalou

Spreading Their Wings

A Great Blue Heron flies toward a perch at Halsey Pond in Irvington, NY while two Bald Eagles fly together at Croton Point Park.

An Osprey displays its fishing skills at Marshlands Conservancy while a Killdeer spreads its wings next to the Hudson River.

“Each day is an invitation to see the world in a new way.” – Marv & Nancy Hiles

A New Season Begins

Killdeer, some of the first birds back to our area, were showing some spring-like behavior at Sherwood Island State Park in CT.

Red-winged Blackbirds have also now returned. This one was establishing his territory at Constitution Marsh in Garrison, NY.

One of our year-round residents, a Mallard drake stretches out at the start of his day on the Hudson River in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

“I photograph birds because they are visual poetry to me. I see them as the truest embodiment of grace, hope and beauty.” – Melissa Groo – Wildlife photographer and Conservationist

A New Day

A Hooded Merganser starts his day by gliding across a lake in Rye, New York.

And he’s off! A new day has begun!

“Once we know that the entire physical world around us, all of creation, is both the hiding place and the revelation place for God, this world becomes home, safe, enchanted, offering grace to any who look deeply.” – Richard Rohr

Beechin’ It

The female Northern Cardinal doesn’t get quite the same attention as those bright red males, especially in the snow but this female looked especially beautiful while surrounded by some winter-worn beech leaves.

“My favorite bird changes depending on the family, the season, the rarity factor, whether I managed to locate the bird myself, whether we locked eyes in the field or not. But in general, unless I’m staring at gulls, or muttering obscenities under my breath while trying to distinguish a Baird’s from a White-rumped Sandpiper, my favorite bird is the one right in front of me.” – Julia Zarankin – Field Notes From an Unintentional Birder