All photos and text by Jack Rothman. All rights reserved. No photo may be copied or duplicated without written permission. Copyright 2025.
Updated 3/4/25
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.
Birding News
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.
Jack's talk , "Pelham Bay Park"
On March 14, 2023, I did a Zoom talk for the Saw Mill River Audubon. If you would like to view it, it is available on YouTube, Just link here.
Watch a City Island Birds birdwalk here,
and another walk here.
A pandemic interview about birding here.
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.
An American Woodcock in the park. I almost stepped on it because it was so camoflaged.
A Horned Grebe in breeding plumage. They usually migrate from here in April, but this one hung around. Photo off Twin Island.
You can find Eastern Meadowlark in the southern zone of the park.I've also seen them at Van Cortlandt and Ferry Point Park locally.
There are reports of Killdeer already. They are terrible nesters, using shallow holes in pebbly soil, often out in the open
An Eastern Bluebird, arriving this month. A good place to look is on the Split-Rock trail near the golf course,
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
A Pied-billed Grebe. Find them in fresh water, often in the lake at Van Cortlandt Park.
A Rusty Blackbird in early March a year or two ago. You can still see snow.
It's not too late to find a Snow Goose in the park, keep checking.
Upcoming Birding Tours with Jack
March 9 9:00am Pelham Bay Park
April 27 9:00am Van Cortandt Park
May 4 9:00am Pelham Bay Park
June 8 9:00am Pelham Bay Park
These are NYC Bird Alliance Tours and can be found on their website. All are free and open to everyone!
Other tours will be forthcoming.
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A very old photo of an Eastern Phoebe sitting on the razor wire around the Pelham Bay landfill in the southern zone.
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.
Bird Arrivals this Month
Some of these species are already here. Others are yet to arrive. March can be a disappointing month. The weather warms, you go out birding and don't see much. Why? Early migrants have left and new species haven't arrived.
Early March (March 1-10)- Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Killdeer, American Woodcock, Robin, Eastern Bluebird, Rusty Blackbird, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow
Mid March (11-20)- Nothern Gannet, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snow Goose, Turkey Vulture, Piping Plover, Wilson's Snipe, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Fish Crow, American Pipit, Eastern Meadowlark, Cowbird.
Late March (21-31) Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Greater Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Tree Swallow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Field Sparrow
Helping the Forest
The deer herd on Hunter Island and the surrounding areas has exploded. Each time I'm out there, I easily see more than 10 fawns. They have become habituated and emboldened because people have been feeding them. The herd is decimating the forest by eating the buds of new seedlings. They have no natural predators and many will die of simple starvation and disease, while decimating the forest. Please do not feed the deer. If you are caught by a Park Enforcement Officer you will be fined.