Birding in Peace

Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful early morning walking tours to discover the many birds that make Green-Wood their home—at least temporarily. Green-Wood’s official birding checklist will be made available to all attendees, or you can print it in advance here.

And depending when you stop by, you may see a variety of different species passing through.

EARLY SPRING MIGRATION (APRIL)

Our April tours will be a feast for the ears and eyes with the trilling song of pine warblers and drumming pronouncements of woodpeckers on newly blossoming trees (including magnolias, maples, quinces, and dogwoods). We’ll discover thousands of songbirds resting before their trip farther north as well as arriving herons and egrets at Green-Wood’s glacial ponds.

PEAK SPRING MIGRATION (MAY TO MID-JUNE)

From ruby-throated hummingbirds to over twenty species of colorful wood warblers, our peak migration tours will feature many of the 163 bird species that have been recorded at Green-Wood during the month of May. Beginning just after sunrise, we will experience spring’s dawn chorus at the most active time of day for birds.

SUMMER BIRDING (LATE JUNE TO AUGUST)

In July we should see the offspring of our resident red-tailed hawk bravely preparing to leave the nest. Warbler songs will be replaced by chirring cicadas and the tweets of fledgling birds. Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant. By late-July, expect the arrival of the first southbound migrants.