Les Parks of A Tidewater Gardener has been hosting the Winter Walk-Off series since 2011. I participated in New York City in 2011, in London in 2012 (London), and in Arlington (VA) in 2016. This year my walk was completed in New York City.
After a day mostly spent indoors on Sunday, I was itching for a Winter Walk-Off. I headed to my favorite walking place, Washington Square Park. I walked the wildlife transect loop (a project of WSP Eco Projects) looking for birds. In particular, I was hoping to spot the Red-tailed Hawk pair hunting or gathering nesting material. I did see both hawks both on and off the nest, and possibly a third hawk. For cameras I have a smartphone and a compact 90mm/3.8X camera. I only had the former on me. I did not attempt any hawk photographs. It was more fun to watch them with my eyes and through my binoculars.
I was surprised to see a Northern Mockingbird out on a lawn. In my post about mockingbird songs, I mentioned that I typically see this bird in dense vegetation which is unusual for the species. All About Birds describes the Northern Mockingbird as conspicuous.
I kept an eBird checklist during my walk and listed the usual winter birds of Washington Square Park: House Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, European Starling, American Robin, and pigeon. Another bird surprise was a Turkey Vulture flying low enough over the park to rattle the pigeons.
Trees are another passion of mine, and there are beautiful trees in Washington Square Park. I noticed that red maples and cornelian cherries (really dogwoods) are still blooming. Next to come are the showstopper magnolias, cherries, and crabapples.
I look forward to reading all the Winter Walk-Off posts. You can find them at Winter Walk-Off 2018 on A Tidewater Gardener.
After a day mostly spent indoors on Sunday, I was itching for a Winter Walk-Off. I headed to my favorite walking place, Washington Square Park. I walked the wildlife transect loop (a project of WSP Eco Projects) looking for birds. In particular, I was hoping to spot the Red-tailed Hawk pair hunting or gathering nesting material. I did see both hawks both on and off the nest, and possibly a third hawk. For cameras I have a smartphone and a compact 90mm/3.8X camera. I only had the former on me. I did not attempt any hawk photographs. It was more fun to watch them with my eyes and through my binoculars.
I was surprised to see a Northern Mockingbird out on a lawn. In my post about mockingbird songs, I mentioned that I typically see this bird in dense vegetation which is unusual for the species. All About Birds describes the Northern Mockingbird as conspicuous.
I kept an eBird checklist during my walk and listed the usual winter birds of Washington Square Park: House Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, European Starling, American Robin, and pigeon. Another bird surprise was a Turkey Vulture flying low enough over the park to rattle the pigeons.
Trees are another passion of mine, and there are beautiful trees in Washington Square Park. I noticed that red maples and cornelian cherries (really dogwoods) are still blooming. Next to come are the showstopper magnolias, cherries, and crabapples.
I look forward to reading all the Winter Walk-Off posts. You can find them at Winter Walk-Off 2018 on A Tidewater Gardener.
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