 Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the most popular aspect of wildlife watching in America, with butterfly watching now second. The reasons for birding’s popularity are many. Most birds are active in daytime and their color, their flight and their songs attract us to them. They convey a sense of freedom and they have been celebrated in poetry, song and story since the earliest of mankind’s written communications. Remember larks, nightingales and albatrosses?
When is the best time to watch birds in the Wissahickon? Winter and summer are good, fall is great and spring is outstanding. Click here to download a Checklist of the Birds of the Wissahickon. For information about bird walks or local birding organizations contact the Wissahickon Environmental Center.
Winter Birding
 During the winter, there are some 35 to 40 species of birds that are most likely to be seen. These include the best-known permanent residents: red-tailed hawks; mourning doves; five species of woodpeckers; chickadees and titmice; white-breasted nuthatches; Carolina wrens; blue jays; crows; cardinals; song sparrows and house finches. Other regular winter residents, mainly from the north, include sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks; yellow-bellied sapsuckers; brown creepers; winter wrens; white-throated sparrows and northern juncos. Over-wintering migrants, now found in large numbers, are robins and goldfinches. Winter is also the season when you are most likely to spot a great horned or screech owl.
Where do you find birds in winter? Actually, all over. Bird feeders can attract large numbers. Feeders are especially attractive to chickadees, titmice, goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, doves, sparrows and juncos. Suet feeders will bring downy, hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers; nuthatches and Carolina wrens. In the Wissahickon, a great spot to enjoy the feeder action is at the Wissahickon Environmental Center.
During winter, wood edges can be very productive. Take a walk around Carpenter’s Woods or around the edges of the field at Monastery Stables. The creek and its tributaries are also good places to go – especially along almost any stretch of Forbidden Drive – not only for birds feeding along the edges but also for the occasional kingfisher or great blue heron and the common presence of Canada geese and mallards. In winter, birds are effective meteorologists; first with a feeding frenzy and then in their absolute disappearance as a storm gets closer.
Spring Birding
 When spring comes, the birds come! And, it is the early birder who gets the birds! The main migration begins in March
— with geese and some early hawks overhead
— and multitudes of blackbirds, of which the grackle and redwing are most commonly seen. It is now hard to identify the first robin of spring
— generally around March 15
— because so many are here all winter. Then, comes a succession of phoebes and flickers; sparrows and finches; kinglets and gnatcatchers; vireos; thrushes; wrens; orioles; warblers; tanagers and flycatchers. It is possible, with a little bit of luck, to see and/or hear some 30 species of warblers in springtime
— almost all of them on their way further north.
Where do you go to see the action? Carpenter’s Woods is probably the greatest spot to experience migrant fall-outs
— not in the numbers of 50 years ago
— but still in impressive numbers and variety because of the great oak trees that are there. The only problem is that one must be prepared for some serious neck bending. The entire length of Forbidden Drive – but especially from Northwestern Avenue to the Covered Bridge – can be great. There’s no place like it for up-close looks at wood ducks and their young; blue- gray gnatcatchers; Louisiana waterthrushes; Baltimore orioles; scarlet tanagers and many more. Or, for hearing wood thrushes, veeries, phoebes, peewees and ovenbirds. Out in open spots
— especially early in the day
— one can see swallows galore and swifts, broad-winged hawks and even an occasional common loon. In May, almost any entrance area to the Wissahickon can be active and it’s certainly possible to get in two hours of joyous birding before you head off to work. See
Calendar for a list of Spring Bird Walks.
Summer Birding
 For birds in this area, summer begins in early June and ends in August. Once the excitement of spring migration has passed, the Wissahickon is host to a considerable number of breeding birds. They are easier to find in early summer when bird song fills the air
— the song of the male intended to protect his territory around the nest area. By mid-July, many birds sing infrequently and are more difficult to locate as they move deeper into the woods with their newly-fledged young.
Some of the breeding songbirds that are quite common in many parts of the Park include
the permanent residents described above
— especially four species of woodpeckers; chickadees; titmice; blue jays; white-breasted nuthatches; robins; mockingbirds; towhees; cardinals and goldfinches. Among the summer breeders, those that you hear most clearly and frequently include two thrushes that make beautiful music (wood thrush and veery;) the red-eyed vireo, which is the most constant and repetitious “singer,” and the people-watcher among birds
— the catbird — with his classic catcall plus a variety of tones and wheezes.
The beautiful Baltimore oriole is abundant in many areas as well as in nearby neighborhoods. Other summer residents include the ruby-throated hummingbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, Acadian flycatcher, phoebe, wood peewee, great crested flycatcher, common yellowthroat, Louisiana waterthrush, and the ever-chattering house wren .A few red-tailed hawks breed in the woods and many beautiful wood ducks breed in trees and wood duck boxes along the creek. Occasional breeders include green herons, belted kingfishers, scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings and rough-winged swallows. So there is plenty of activity
— even after many of the singers quiet down as they prepare for their fall trip south.
Autumn Birding
 When autumn comes, many birds come over and through the Park on their southward journey
— though this immediate area is more of a migrant trap in spring than in fall. During September, we have the major migration of neo-tropical songbirds
— those passing through and nesters such as orioles, hummingbirds, vireos, thrushes and flycatchers that breed here. Far fewer warblers use the Wissahickon route in fall than spring and many are in their confusing fall colors, but it is still possible to see quite a few on through the first week in October. After that, there are some palm warblers and large October flights of yellow-rumped warblers. Sometimes it may be more likely to spot a truly uncommon bird in autumn than in any other season because that’s when immatures are most likely to lose their directions.
One interesting aspect of the fall movement is the opportunity to see good movements of certain long-distance fliers by going to upland fields or open hillsides in and near the Park – places where you have a view of a wide stretch of sky. In September, an hour before dusk, there are often flights of common nighthawks, chimney swifts and barn and tree swallows. On days after a cold front has come through, it is often possible in mid-day to spot a variety of raptors including an occasional peregrine falcon, osprey or even an unusual bald eagle (away from its major track over the ridges of Montgomery County.) More common are broad-winged hawks (early September), northern harriers, sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks and American kestrels. And the ubiquitous turkey vulture can frequently be seen soaring overhead there or almost anywhere!
In the woods and fields, October is a good month for sparrows of a half dozen species and of northern
finches — such as the purple finch or pine siskin
— to arrive. November is the time for them. It’s often a time to spot small flocks of the beautiful cedar waxwing feeding on crab apples or a number of other fruits that ripen after a frost
— sometimes actually getting a bit tipsy if the fruits have fermented!
Up until the first snow, all roads and trails in the Wissahickon are open and, especially during the morning or late afternoon, you can frequently come upon breeding groups. In December, during the annual Christmas count period, there are at least 50 species of birds that are still around in fair to large numbers. And when there’s snow or ice, bird feeders are not only a good place to watch the birds, but a very good place for the birds to be.
Yes, every season, every month of the year brings its bounty to the ardent or beginning birder who continues to explore the many varied and productive habitats that help make the Wissahickon Park such a marvelous and magic place. For more information, see Birds.
For a complete list of birds that can be seen either in the Park or overhead, download the FOW’s brochure,
Checklist of the Birds of the
Wissahickon.
You can also obtain a copy of this brochure FREE at:
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