Where the birding is worth it today

• Sharp-shinned Hawktakes some lookingFamily · Hawks, Eagles & Kites (Accipitridae)How to know it Small, about the size of a blue jay, with short rounded wings and a long squared-off tail. Flies in bursts: flap flap flap, glide.A songbird hunter that migrates right alongside the birds it eats. They pass low and fast, often close enough to see the eye.When & where The October target at the hawk watches: peaks through October, flying lower and closer than the buteos.
• Yellow-rumped WarblerWhen & where The one warbler that stays all winter, and the commonest bird of an October morning.
• Ruby-crowned KingletWhen & where Tiny, hovering, never still for a second. October fills the parks with them.
• White-throated SparrowWhen & where Winter's soundtrack in every weedy edge; a clear whistled song even in January.
• Ospreygood first birdFamily · Osprey (Pandionidae)How to know it Big, long-winged, strikingly white underneath with a dark stripe through the eye. Holds its wings with a kink, like a flattened M.A fish specialist that hovers, then drops feet-first into the water. Almost extinct locally fifty years ago; now a regular sight over the Schuylkill.When & where Steady singles all autumn, over the hawk watches, the marsh and the river.
• Northern Harriertakes some lookingFamily · Hawks, Eagles & Kites (Accipitridae)How to know it Slim, long-tailed, with an obvious white patch at the base of the tail. Flies very low over grass with wings held in a shallow V, tipping side to side.It hunts by ear as much as by eye — the face is shaped like an owl's to funnel sound. Marshes in winter are where you meet one.When & where Low and tilting over open marsh, most often late in the day.
• American Kestreltakes some lookingFamily · Falcons & Caracaras (Falconidae)How to know it A falcon the size of a mourning dove, two black stripes down the face. Males are blue-grey above with a rusty back; females and young are barred rufous above, so their wings are rusty rather than blue-grey.North America's smallest falcon, and one of the most colourful birds on the continent. It hunts grasshoppers from wires and hovers like a kite.When & where Early autumn; fast, small, and easy to write off as a swallow.
• Merlin · falcona real findFamily · Falcons & Caracaras (Falconidae)How to know it A compact dark falcon, bigger than a kestrel, flying with fast stiff wingbeats and no hovering.Fearless out of all proportion to its size — it will chase birds twice its weight and harass larger hawks. Not to be confused with Merlin the bird-ID app, which is named after it.When & where One hard, fast silhouette going through without stopping. (The bird, not the phone app of the same name.)
• Peregrine FalconWhen & where Resident on the city bridges and towers, so any month can produce one.
• Turkey VultureWhen & where The practice bird: learn its rocking flight and shallow V and every other raptor gets easier.
• Red-tailed HawkWhen & where Year-round and everywhere, with a genuine migration push in late October.
• Cooper's HawkWhen & where City resident as well as migrant — often the hawk chasing pigeons over a square.
• Bald Eaglegood first birdFamily · Hawks, Eagles & Kites (Accipitridae)How to know it Unmistakable when adult: huge, dark body, white head and tail. Young birds are mottled brown and often mistaken for something rarer.They nest along the Delaware and Schuylkill now, which was unthinkable a generation ago. Plank-flat wings in flight, unlike a vulture's V.When & where Resident along both rivers now — the easiest large raptor on this list.
• Black-throated Green Warblertakes some lookingFamily · New World Warblers (Parulidae)How to know it Tiny, restless, bright yellow face with an olive cap, usually high in the leaves and never still. The male has a black cap and a black bib; females and young have no bib — same yellow face and two white wing bars, but a plain olive throat.Its song is a buzzy "zee-zee-zee-zoo-zee" that birders learn early because it is one of the few you can pick out of a noisy canopy. Weighs about as much as four paperclips and flies to Central America.When & where One of the most reliable canopy migrants in a city square through September.
• Black-throated Blue Warblertakes some lookingFamily · New World Warblers (Parulidae)How to know it Deep blue above, clean white below, black face and flanks. Females are plain olive with a small white wing spot.Males and females look so different that they were once described as two separate species. Feeds low, so it is one of the easier warblers for a beginner to actually see.When & where Understorey rather than canopy — check the shrub layer.
• Blackpoll Warblera real findFamily · New World Warblers (Parulidae)How to know it In autumn a drab streaky yellow-green bird with pale legs — genuinely hard, even for experienced birders.It flies nonstop over the open Atlantic for up to three days, losing half its body weight, to reach South America. A 12-gram bird doing that is one of the great feats in nature.When & where The late one, in drab autumn plumage, on its way to South America.
• Palm WarblerWhen & where Pumps its tail constantly, and feeds on the ground where you can actually see it.
• Gray CatbirdWhen & where Plain grey with a rusty vent, and it really does mew like a cat from inside a thicket.
• Golden-crowned KingletWhen & where A winter bird of conifers; listen for a thin high call above you.
• Hermit ThrushWhen & where The thrush that stays for winter — rusty tail, raised and lowered slowly.
• Winter WrenWhen & where A mouse-sized wren in creekside root tangles. Hard to see, easy to hear.
• Eastern PhoebeWhen & where Sits on a low branch over water and wags its tail; says its own name.
• Pileated WoodpeckerWhen & where Crow-sized, red-crested, loud. A gorge resident rather than a migrant.
• Great EgretWhen & where Tall, white and patient at the edge of any marsh through the warm months.
• Belted KingfisherWhen & where Rattles along the water ahead of you before you ever see it.
• Green-winged Tealgood first birdFamily · Ducks, Geese & Swans (Anatidae)How to know it Our smallest dabbling duck; males have a chestnut head with a green swipe through the eye.Fast and agile — flocks twist in unison like shorebirds rather than flying in the straight lines other ducks use.When & where Tight flocks along the mud edges from mid-autumn onward.
• Northern Shovelergood first birdFamily · Ducks, Geese & Swans (Anatidae)How to know it A duck with an absurdly large, spatula-shaped bill; males have a dark green head and white chest.That bill has comb-like edges that strain tiny food out of the water, so they often swim in slow circles in groups to stir up a meal.When & where Arrives with the real cold and stays; wants a flat surface to pick out.
• Pied-billed GrebeWhen & where A small brown diver that submerges rather than flies when it sees you.
• Great Blue HeronWhen & where Year-round and unmistakable — a good first big bird.
• Double-crested CormorantWhen & where Black, low in the water, wings spread to dry on a piling.
• American PipitWhen & where Flocks on bare flat ground, walking rather than hopping.

The list is this month’s realistic birds for these sites, not a life list. Tap one when you see it. It is kept on this device only, and the pictures are illustrations rather than photographs. Families are grouped the way the Merlin app groups them, so learning one bird gives you a head start on its relatives.