Today I did my first unofficial "Bigby" run. A "Bigby" list is a list of all the birds one sees from walking, biking, or from mass transit (I have to check on the details of the mass transit part though, because buses and ferries are big pollutants!).
Mass transit is a common way for me to go birding, especially inside Manhattan. Actually I don't think I've ever ticked anything besides pigeons when driving in Manhattan (which is rare). I know I have seen most of the eastern migrants from Bigbying in Central Park plus common winter stuff, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl and one Great Horned Owl. Then this week I visited the New York Botanical Garden, and added Brown Creeper and 2 more Great Horned Owls.
Today I was inspired to get air in my bike tires and give a little *conscious* Bigbying a try in the near future. The future was actually nearer than I thought - on the way home I couldn't help but notice tons of robins, White-throated Sparrows, juncos, cardinals, a Downy Woodpecker, a Black-capped Chickadee, and even two year birds: a pair of flyover Great Egrets and a Northern Flicker!
Mass transit is a common way for me to go birding, especially inside Manhattan. Actually I don't think I've ever ticked anything besides pigeons when driving in Manhattan (which is rare). I know I have seen most of the eastern migrants from Bigbying in Central Park plus common winter stuff, 1 Eastern Screech-Owl and one Great Horned Owl. Then this week I visited the New York Botanical Garden, and added Brown Creeper and 2 more Great Horned Owls.
Today I was inspired to get air in my bike tires and give a little *conscious* Bigbying a try in the near future. The future was actually nearer than I thought - on the way home I couldn't help but notice tons of robins, White-throated Sparrows, juncos, cardinals, a Downy Woodpecker, a Black-capped Chickadee, and even two year birds: a pair of flyover Great Egrets and a Northern Flicker!
