| Download the bird list for Gooseberry Falls State park. |
Common birds
Some birds are present year-round, others are seasonal.
Black-capped Chickadee (black cap & bib, white cheeks, smaller than a sparrow, "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" voice)
Pine Siskin (heavily streaked brown finch, some yellow on wings & tail base, pointed bill, social bird)
American Goldfinch
Purple Finch
American Crow
Downy Woodpecker
Ruffed Grouse
Herring Gull (red spot on bill, pink legs, black wing tips with white spots)
Eastern Phoebe
Red-eyed Vireo
Veery
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
Common Yellow Throat
Other birds include (partial list)
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
American Woodcock
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Alder Flycatcher
Blue Jay
Northern Raven
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Nashville Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
American Redstart (warbler)
Ovenbird (warbler)
Mourning Warbler
Canada Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Evening Grosbeak
Bird identification tips
When you see a bird make at least 3 observations*, such as:
Location: where exactly did you see the bird (water, forest, field, feeder, tree top, tree trunk, lower branch, on the ground, roadside, trail side, shoreline, etc.)
Body size: compare to a known bird (smaller than a...bigger than a... plump like a...slender like a...)
Colors & markings: on wings, tail, back, belly, rump, head (stripe above, through, or below eye, eye ring, etc.)
Other: shape, length & color of tail, legs, bill (long, short, thick, thin, curved, straight) sounds or movements (travel alone or in groups, in-flight wing position--soaring, flapping, flap & glide, etc.)
*Jot down observation notes as soon as possible to help in identification.
North Shore birding year highlights
Spring
The first spring migrants arrive in early April with the "big push" of migration in late May, when over 150 species may be present in the park at once.
Summer
Summer nesting specialties along the North Shore include Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, many wood warblers, and more.
Fall
During fall look for the Common Nighthawk migration in late August, when thousands can fill the sky on warm evenings; the flood of songbirds heading south in early September; the peak of raptor migration in September and October, when the North Shore is one of the best places in North America to see migrating hawks; and the Arctic birds beginning to arrive in late October.
Winter
In winter, northern owls and winter finches such as redpolls, crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, and Evening Grosbeaks sometimes visit from Canada.