The Obsessive Sandpipers

“. . . The tide
Is higher or lower. He couldn’t tell you which.
His beak is focussed; he is preoccupied,

Looking for something, something, something.
Poor bird, he is obsessed!”

— Elizabeth Bishop, The Sandpiper

Sandpipers (order: Charadriiformes) often visit Central Park and Muscota Marsh (immediately north of Inwood Hill Park) during migration and give us a few days of delight as they run up and down the mudflats, lakeshores and salt marshes. I've seen three kinds of these shorebirds in the last few years: Solitary Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers.

Spotted sandpiper on the shore of the Lake, Central Park, May 1, 2017

In The Sandpiper, Elizabeth Bishop really captures the sandpipers I've seen when she writes, "Poor bird, he is obsessed!" The sandpipers can't seem to stop, can't seem to take a rest as they hunt for food, or fly off briefly and then come back, only to bob and peck and peck and bob some more.

Solitary sandpiper, near the compost heap in northern Central Park, April 27, 2017

When I was putting together the spotted sandpiper video, I found footage of sandpipers from 2015 at Muscota Marsh, but could tell the birds were neither the solitary nor the spotted sandpipers I'd seen recently. I asked around, and was told by a superb young birder that these were least sandpipers. I believe him, but if someone disagrees, let me know and I'll do more research! These sandpipers are the smallest of the three, and are part of the group of five small sandpipers known as "peeps."

Least sandpipers, Muscota Marsh, Aug. 13, 2015

I've now done three videos of sandpipers: in Central Park, solitary sandpipers I saw on April 27 this year in the mudflats south of Conservatory Garden; spotted sandpipers I saw on May 1, 2017, at the Lake, and in April, July and August 2014 at Turtle Pond and the Pond; and a pair of least sandpipers I saw at Muscota Marsh on Aug. 13, 2015. The composers I used vary, but all the music features flutes for the pipers.

Here are more photos of the solitary sandpipers (Tringa solitaria) I saw flitting around the mud near the compost heap on April 27. They lived up to their name: I watched three or four solitaries that day, and only once did one approach a second bird, only to be shooed off immediately.

This grouping shows the spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius) I watched on May 1 of this year at the Lake.

This group shows spotted sandpipers seen in Central Park in 2014 in April, July and August.

The least sandpipers (Calidris minutilla), with their yellow-green legs and round bodies.

Shakespeare, the Bar(re)d of Central Park

The first owl I saw in Central Park was a saw-whet, in April 2013. The next time I heard about an owl in the park was July 2013, when one was spotted high in a pine in the Pinetum. When I was told the owl's name, in my head I spelled it "B-A-R-D," and wondered why I couldn't find a reference to a "bard owl." I finally figured out it was a barred owl, which made more sense. But I still think of this owl as the "poet" of the owls. 

Shakespeare, a barred owl in the Ramble, April 26, 2017

On April 26, a barred owl took up temporary residence in the Ramble and provided a joyful day for all who saw him (I'm going with him, even though no one knew for sure whether he was a he or a she). The owl was fairly low, and preened and stretched and kept an eye on all the photographers and binocular-raising birders who came to witness his majesty. I named the owl Shakespeare (I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who called him that, but after all, he was a "bard owl" and the Delacorte Theater wasn't that far away!). And of course, I made a Filming the Feathers video.

So here's to Shakespeare, the Bard of Central Park! And here are photos and some of Shakespeare's poetry.

“The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots and wonders / At out quaint spirits.” — A Midsummer Night's Dream

"The night to th’ owl and morn to th’ lark less welcome." — Cymbeline

"With a good leg and a good foot, uncle, and money enough in his purse, such a man would win any woman in the world, if a' could get her good-will." — Much Ado About Nothing

"They say the owl was a baker’s daughter." — Hamlet

Cinnamon Feathers in Manhattan

Though not rare, wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) are special visitors in Manhattan. I have had three sightings: May 11, 2013, Nov. 14, 2014, and April 23, 2017. In 2013, there were two wood thrushes singing, a glorious sound to hear in the Ramble in Central Park. In 2014, the wood thrush was hanging out in small planted areas surrounding a corporate building at 49th Street and Sixth Avenue. The 2017 visitor was foraging in the leaves between Humming Tombstone and Tupelo in the Ramble.

Wood thrush, the Ramble, April 23, 2017

The Filming the Feathers video is set to a flute sonata by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Although I have heard wood thrushes sing their gorgeous song, I haven't been able to record it. You can listen to the thrush by clicking on the Cornell link above or the Audubon field guide link.

The bird I saw on Sunday was digging around for insects and flipping up leaves in the Ramble, doing what wood thrushes like to do, but unfortunately not in good light or in an open area! The little cinnamon-headed guy was opening and shutting his beak, but the song was not the loud song I got to hear in 2013, but much softer. I could barely hear it, and attempts to record the call failed against the sound of a helicopter and parkgoers talking away.

The wood thrush we saw in 2014 was hanging out near the Chase building in Midtown Manhattan, along with a hermit thrush and a brown thrasher, an ovenbird and a yellow-breasted sapsucker and a common yellowthroat. What a great holiday gift these birds were for us that year.

I didn't take video in 2013, but did take photos. Although a bit grainy, I offer them here anyway.