October Bird Walk Glynwood Farm

By Anthony Macchiarola

Our group of eight set out on a beautifully cool, calm fall morning to see what Glynwood had in store for us. We started at the Big Woods parking lot in Fahnestock State Park and right away we encountered a large mixed group of Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets.

From there, we walked the trail along the edge of the farm fields. As expected, large numbers of sparrows were on the path and along the margins. Here we encountered the first White-crowned, Savannah, Field, and Vesper sparrows of the day. We also had our first few groups of flyover American Pipits, although we would have more throughout our walk.

As we continued through the Glynwood property, we added Lincoln’s and the first Fox sparrow of the fall to our list bringing our tally of sparrows up to an awesome twelve species! Throughout the walk we encountered many Palm and Yellow-rumped warblers, the last of the warbler species to pass through in migration.

We also had an incredible number of Purple Finches, highlighting the good flight year this shaping up to be for the species. We had fewer raptors than expected, but two Sharp-shinned Hawks and an American Kestrel, along with the always-present Red-tailed Hawks, were welcomed sights for our group.

Glynwood Farm is one of only a few large grassland habitats in Putnam County. This location is always one of the highlights of our monthly walks, and this trip certainly lived up to the expectation! You can see our complete list on eBird here: eBird List