Birds of lower Westchester celebrate spring

Now that the weather is getting warmer, the birds are coming out to play, to sing, and to search for food. Lower Westchester county in New York has numerous wild bird species, each with its own unique bird call, and unique resplendent plumage. Like I sometimes say to visiting friends, if you want to see a fantastic fashion show in New York, you can’t beat going bird-watching.

Now I am not very good at recognizing bird species, either by their call or by sight, but I believe the above is a robin. I could be wrong though. If it is a robin, it is most likely an American Robin or Turdus migratorius, which is a species of the Thrush family. If it isn’t an American Robin, it must be another type of Thrush.

This is one of the most common bird species in North America, and according to Wikipedia there are 7 sub-species of American Robin. If you want to take a stab at guessing the sub-species of the bird above, be my guest.

The noisy bird in the above photo is a member of the Woodpecker or Picidae family, or near passerine birds. This woodpecker sure made a lot of noise pecking into the trunk of that tree to search for insects. This was how I became alerted to its presence. I rarely see them.

I’m guessing that it is a Hairy Woodpecker or Picoides villosus, based on its black and white plumage and size. They live throughout North America, but particularly in deciduous forests.

It’s always wonderful seeing and hearing all these unique species while running or walking. Besides woodpeckers and robins, I also often see cardinals, hawks, and some other species I have trouble identifying. The unidentifiable species add a bit of mystery to the local forests, as I try to figure out at least which bird family they belong to. They are difficult to photograph.

I hope all you northern hemisphereans are enjoying the spring, and if you’re a southern hemispherean, autumn!

What I did on Thanksgiving Day

Starting from the east, I ran west all the way to the Hudson river and back.

I hope everyone had a fantastic time on Thanksgiving!

I had a lot of fun running the woodland trails of the Rockefeller Preserve in Pocantico Hills, NY yesterday(my own solitary “Turkey Trot”), though it was a very slow run due to the cold dry air(about 30 F or -1 C), heavy wind, and of course running up a nearly 500 ft(152 meter) ascent from the Hudson river in the second half of the run. I’m also still recovering from the Brooklyn Marathon. It took me 1:56 to complete this 10:48 mile run, though I think I ran a little more since the remote location made accurate GPS tracking with Runkeeper very difficult. The map above is very off in a few spots. I dropped the balls about 4 or 5 times.

The views of the Hudson river from the hills were amazing, but the beautiful red cardinals flying about along the trail were priceless. I can’t get over how many I saw, and how lively their birdsong was. It was like they were greeting me or trying to accompany me as I ran. Very strangely, the same thing happened the day before Thanksgiving in a very different location(in the Bronx of all places). It’s like they knew I wasn’t eating one of their distant relatives! Or maybe my juggling attracts them.

The forest seemed mostly dead and brown except for them. I felt like I was in a mystical forest for a good part of the run. It’s precious little things like this that make outdoor exercise so much more wonderful.

 

After this, I spent some time with friends and family and I ate what I usually eat. I am thankful for my friends, I am thankful for my family, and I am thankful for my health. Now, I just gotta get used to running in the cold air again.

Spectacular views from Beacon Mountain

Looking south from Beacon Mountain fire tower

I went to Beacon Mountain yesterday, and the weather was perfect! At 1,611 feet(491 m), Beacon Mountain is the highest peak between New York City and the Catskill mountains. It is the highest point in the Hudson Highlands and so offers spectacular views of the Hudson valley. On a clear day, you can see for 75 miles from its summit. From the fire tower on top of Beacon Mountain, if you look south on a clear day you can even see the Manhattan skyline, which is 50 miles south. Look closely at the horizon toward the middle of the picture below(which is a zoom in of the same view of the picture taken above – not a zoom in of the same picture), and a little toward the left, and you can sort of see the skyscrapers of New York City.

The photo below shows the skyscrapers a little better.

I tried joggling up Beacon Mountain on the main trail leading to the top, but couldn’t get very far because of how steep and rocky it was. I was reduced to running and then reduced to doing running/walking intervals. There really isn’t any actual “climbing” involved, unless you want to climb this thing off the main trails where it is much steeper. It was much easier joggling down the mountain, and managed to do this 60% of the way down. I took many short breaks while up there to take pictures, to juggle and of course to eat and drink. Due to all the hill running I do, my legs aren’t all sore from this steep run/walk. Years ago I probably would have had trouble walking for a week after doing something like this.

Juggling at the top of Beacon Mountain.

It is called Beacon Mountain because it was used during the Revolutionary War for setting signal fires to alert the continental army of British troop movements. In fact, Beacon Mountain and the surrounding Hudson Highlands were so important to the revolutionary cause that if they didn’t exist, or the British had managed to take them, Queen Elizabeth would probably be our Head of State today. Or at least that’s what the historical markers below the mountain want us to believe.

Beacon Mountain is actually made up of 2 main peaks, the North peak, and the South peak. The South peak is the higher one(1,611 ft), and this is where I took most of the photos from and where the fire tower is located. These two peaks are pretty close to each other, so its easy to go up one, then down a little, then follow the trail to go up the other, though the North peak is more easily accessible from the main parking area below.

Inside the fire tower

If anyone knows what species of bird that is in the photo below, please tell me in the comments.

It was a little cold and windy up there, but I can handle the cold better than the heat. I highly recommend running up this mountain to train for the hilly Yonkers Marathon.

Fire tower on top of the South peak in the distance. Look closely.

Near the top of the fire tower on the South peak, the same tower in the previous photo.

Cardinal in my neighborhood

Not only are they gorgeous birds, they also make some beautiful music. The best music soundtrack to run to. This one was especially musical.