All photos and text by Jack Rothman. All rights reserved. No photo may be copied or duplicated without written permission. Copyright 2026
Updated 8/30/26
City Island Birds
Since 2007
Welcome to City Island Birds. My name is Jack Rothman. I created this website and birding club because this area of New York City is little known and underutilized by birdwatchers and other nature lovers. Pelham Bay Park, with its woods and wetlands is a critical stopover and nesting area to many migratory species.
Our Mission
City Island Birds was created in 2007 to bring birders, and would be birders, to the park. Everyone has always been and always will be welcome. Our walks are always inclusive, friendly, non-competitive, fun and free. We all love to see great birds, but without each other, it's never as enjoyable.
Saul's Science Watch
My birding buddy Saul has been writing wonderful science articles for the Hudson River Audubon Society. You can link for years of wonderful insights and information. Just scroll to the bottom of the page for a complete list of the articles.
Five Quick Beginning Birding Suggestions
1. Go out with a group or an experienced leader. You'll learn how to use binoculars, find birds, meet interesting and friendly people.
2. Wear appropriate clothes. Weather is always a little more extreme in open spaces. Don't wear your brand new $200 running shoes. It can be muddy.
3. Most leaders have binoculars to lend if you don't have your own. Opera glasses are pretty useless for birding. If you want to buy a pair, email me and I will make suggestions depending on your budget.
4. Bring a snack and water. Most walks are a few hours. You'll see that birding is not fast walking. Expect to be moving slowly.
5. Get a portable field guide to bring with you when you bird alone. Use it at home too. Look for the Peterson or Sibley guide.
In mid- September my daughter Julia's latest book will be available! It's called, “Bird Anatomy,” and is the latest in her series, Farm Anatomy, Food Anatomy, Nature Anatomy, Ocean Anatomy and Insect Anatomy. It's dedicated to the “City Island Birders” and has a few pages on how I lead bird walks. It's not a field guide but a kind of celebration of birds, full of great information and amazing illustrations. It's available on Amazon, book sellers, museum shops and Audubon stores.
A Blackpoll Warbler in fall plumage that showed up in my backyard a few years ago.
Names Given To Groups of Birds
Based on History and Literature
From The Verb To Bird, Peter Cashwell (Paul Dry Pub. 2003)
A gaggle of geese ( in water)
A charm of finches
A tiding of magpies
A descent of woodpeckers
A mustering of storks
A parliament of owls
A host of sparrows
A siege of herons
An unkindness of ravens
A cast of hawks
An ostentation of peacocks
A murder of crows
A walk of snipe
From An Exaltation of Larks, James Lipton (Penguin pub. 1993)
A party of jays
A gatling of woodpeckers
A murmuration of starlings
(in air)
A clutter of starlings
(on ground)
A mutation of thrushes
A fall of woodcock
A skein of geese (in air)
An exaltation of larks
A shimmer of hummingbirds
A spring of teal ( ducks)
A sorde of mallards
A rafter of turkeys
A descent of woodpeckers
A convocation of eagles
A leash of merlins
Upcoming Birding Tours with Jack
Labor Day Walk, Sept 7 at 8:30am. An early start will give you time to attend a barbeque and spend time with your friends or family.
Meet in the southern zone of Pelham Bay Park in the parking lot by the running track. Put Aileen B. Ryan Recreational Complex in your GPS.
Question? Contact me, jack@cityislandbirds.com
A Forester's Tern in late August. This is a juvenile bird.
Pete Dunne, in his book, Pete Dunne on Bird Watching: The How-to, Where-to and When-to of Birding:
"The difference between a beginning birder and an experienced one is that beginning birders have misidentified few birds. Experienced birders have misidentified thousands."
A terrific ABA blog post called "Birding is Hard" from April 22, 2015 can be found here.
Two male Bobolink in mid-September in the southern zone.
A Semipalmated Plover in late August.
A Solitary Sandpiper. The yellow legs are a good marker. Be careful, sometimes they get muddy and the bird appears to be a Semipalmated Sandpiper.
The American Goldfinch in fall. They lose that great bright yellow plumage once breeding season is over.
Not too common here is the Baird's Sandpiper.
An American Pipit on the Orchard Beach Oval in the fall. A good place to find them is at Van Cortlandt Park. From the Nature Center there, scan the grass, especially to the right side.
This Killdeer "walks the line." in the Orchard Beach Parking Lot.
The Fall Migration is On!
Shore birds have been migrating for the past few weeks and finally songbirds have been showing up in the park. In the next few weeks we can expect more and more migratory species to come through. Turtle Cove has been mowed, and if you can manage to walk over, there are many shorebirds to see while the tide is low. At the Jerome Reservoir the water has been drained, exposing the bottom. Many terrific shorebirds are being found including Baird's Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper and Buff Breasted Sandpiper. To view the birds you will need a scope. You observe them from the street. A good spot is Reservoir Avenue between Clafin and University Avenue. If you're not familiar with shorebirds a good field guide is essential.
Birding on Hunter Island has been slow, so I would recommend going to the Southern Zone for passerines. Warblers and other songbirds are being found. As always, be sure to protect yourself with insect repellant.
A Wilson's Snipe sitting in the grass in the oval at Orchard Beach in early October.
A Whimbrel at Orchard Beach in Sept. 2017