Bird Arrivals this Month
Early May- Least Bittern, Ruddy Turnstone, Willet, Shrt-billed Dowitcher, Common Tern, Least Tern, R-thr Hummingbird, Eastern. Kingbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Marsh Wren, Catbird, Wood Thrush, Veery, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Golden -winged Warbler, Black and White Warbler, BlBck-throated Blue Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Ovenbird, Northern. Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, American Redstart, Bobolink, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Mid May- Red Knot, White-rumped Sandpiper, Roseate Tern, Black Skimmer, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Wood Peewee, Swainson's Thrush, Gray- Cheeked Thrush, Cedarl Waxwing, Red-eyed Vireo, Tennessee Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll, Yellow-breasted. Chat, Wilson's Warbler, Canada Warbler, Indigo Bunting, White-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow
Late May- Sooty Shearwater, Wilson's Storm Petrel, Black Tern, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Alder/ Willow Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Mourning Warbler, Nelson's Sparrow
All photos and text by Jack Rothman. All rights reserved. No photo may be copied or duplicated without written permission. Copyright 2025.
Updated 5/6/25
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.
A Blackpoll Warbler in May. It is usually one of last to pass through our area during Spring Migration.
Black and White Warbler in late April, Pelham Bay Park.
A Blue-headed Vireo in early May.
One of the many Baltimore Orioles that nest on Hunter Island, May, 2024.
As usual, a wonderful friendly and social group of birders on the May 4 tour on Hunter Island.
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
An American Redstart in late May 2024 on Hunter Island.
A Black-throated Green Warbler in early May, likely taken near the Bartow-Pell mansion.
Upcoming Birding Tours with Jack
The migration is on! Go our birding whenever you can!
June 8 9:00am Pelham Bay Park
This tour will be in the Southern Zone of the park near the running track, Aileen B. Ryan Recreational Complex.
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.
Another May bird is the Black-throated Blue Warbler. This is a male.
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.
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.
A Chestnut-sided Warbler in Central park. Again, another May migratory species.
A sought after warbler because of its intense color is the Blackburnian Warbler. The photo was taken in the tees at the City Island Traffic Circle in mid-May.
Coming at the end of the month, Black-throated Green Warblers.
Photo right: A very vocal Common Yellowthroat.
