Birds of Bohemia (New York)

Posted by John Humphries on 23/10/12 • Categorised as Bohemia USA, No. 75 Jun 2010

Birds of Bohemia by Diane Haberstroh
I thought you might be interested in the results of the Cornell backyard birdwatch which are now on their webpage. If you care to know what birds are being seen in Bohemia, Long Island, New York, click this link and it should get you to the results.

I mentioned to Mike, (a colleague at the library where I work) that I was happy to see that Carolina Wrens were reported as being seen in Bohemia. He said he hated Carolina Wrens. “How could anyone hate Carolina Wrens?” I ask.

Our commonest bird, by far, is the Grackle (picture).

Common Grackle

Carolina wren

Species and numbers of birds

Canada Goose 25
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper’s Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Herring Gull 7
Mourning Dove 106
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 14
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 20
Black-capped Chickadee 23
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
European Starling 126
Song Sparrow 12
White-throated Sparrow 19
Dark-eyed Junco 80
Northern Cardinal 16
Red-winged Blackbird 185
Common Grackle 925
Brown-headed Cowbird 95
House Finch 14
American Goldfinch 66
House Sparrow 39

COMMENT(S)

(Un)common Grackle by Eric Hardwick, August 2010.

Since reading with interest in the June/July 2010 edition about the Common Grackle, I have been searching for this popular bird, as the article said by far the commonest bird in Bohemia was the Common Grackle. I could not recall ever seeing one before.

I was amazed to read about its popularity, certainly I have never ticked it off in my bird book at home. I searched and walked around Bohemia – the Oval, Summerfields Woods, the Park, but to no avail. I could not find a single grackle. So going back to the original article in Bohemia Village Voice, I realised my mistake: that it applied to Bohemia, New York. So much for me reading the small print at the top of the article! Was I the only one to make this mistake? Yours with grackle (blackbird) on my face,

Eric Hardwick M.B.E., Hastings Half-Marathon Race director.