It's not tooo late to see Red-breasted Merganser. You easily find them off Hunter or Twin Islands or from the north end of Orchard Beach,

All photos and text by Jack Rothman. All rights reserved. No photo may be copied or duplicated without written permission.Copyright 2024

Updated 3/18/24

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.

I'm guessing most everyone knows about Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle Owl that was sprung from his cage about a year ago. We are waiting for the autopsy to find out if his crash into a building was caused by colliding with a glass window. Perhaps he was compromised because he ingested a city rodent with rat poison.


A Common Loon beginning to get its breeding plumage.

It's March and American Woodcocks are here. They can be found in Pelham Bay Park. The above video was taken in Manhattan in Bryant Park a few years ago. Turn up the volume.

Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites

A Clapper Rail in Turtle Cove, late March 2012. They will be back soon!

A wonderful group of both novice and experienced birders showed up for the walk on Feb. 4. It was 28 degrees at the start but with the strong sun it didn't feel cold at all. There was no wind. While woodland birds were few, we enjoyed some great waterfowl which included Long-tailed Duck, Red-throated Loon, Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead and Brant. This was a friendly and social group and we all enjoyed seeing the birds together. The seals were sunning themselves out on a rock outcropping on this beautiful morning. Link for a bird list

A productive walk for the Linnean Society of NYC on Feb. 24. We had 39 species! There were close looks at a Razorbill. Highlights include Red-necked Grebe, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye and Purple Sandpipers. Link here for a species list.


Upcoming Free Bird Tours

March 17- Pelham Bay Park with Jack 9:00 Meet in Orchard Beach Lot

March 31-Pelham Bay Park with Jack 9:00 Meet in Orchard Beach Lot

Apri14- Pelham Bay Park with Joe 9:00

April 27 Hudson River Audubon Walk in the Southern Zone of Pelham Bay Park- Link

May 26- New York Botanical Garden with Jack

Link to NYC Audubon website for details unless otherwise noted.

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A Greater Yellowlegs like this one is being seen consistently at Turtle Cove in March. This is quite early for it to appear now. Shorebirds, like this one generally migrate earlier ad will be moving in great numbers soon.

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Bird Arrivals for March


Early March (March 1-10)- Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Killdeer, American Woodcock, AmericanRobin, Eastern  Bluebird, Rusty Blackbird, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow


Mid March (11-20)- Northern Gannet, Black-crowned Night Heron, Snow Goose, Turkey Vulture, Piping Plover, Wilson's Snipe, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Fish Crow, American Pipit, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird


Late March (21-31) Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Greater Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Tree Swallow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Field Sparrow




March is always a tough month for birding as the many of the winter species have thinned out and the spring arrivals haven't showed. We managed 30 species with our friendly and social group. Highlights were the two Bald Eagles, adult and immature, as well as an American Oystercatcher. Link for ebird report.