Birding in Phillys Forgotten Habitats

[Judi Lynn]

Who goes looking for robins and swallows at the casino and Navy Yard? Lifelong Philadelphian Keith Russell does—for good conservation reason.

By Purbita Saha
March 02, 2018

It wasn’t so long ago that Ring-necked Pheasants ruled the Philadelphia shipyards. The ochre, stripe-tailed birds would dart through the ports, bewildering dock workers as they unloaded fruit, coffee, and other Caribbean cargo. The pheasants were also imports of sorts: Back in the 1800s, hunting clubs released the Asian species all across Pennsylvania. By the 1970s, the state population had swelled to millions.

But just three decades later, Ring-necked Pheasants had vanished from Philadelphia. The last time Keith Russell saw one was in 2006, years after he started his winter bird census. Now, he says, people think of the species as a relic of the city’s colorful past.

Pacing along the Navy Yard today, it’s hard to imagine the concrete lots as a playground for pheasants. The SS United States, the largest passenger ship to cruise the Atlantic, sits defunct and rotting against the skyline; traffic hums along on the boulevard, past the Chinese buffets and hulking Ikea. The few birds in sight are Double-crested Cormorants, posed like mannequins on the Delaware River.

The lack of bird life isn’t all too surprising, given the dreadful January weather. After last week’s bomb cyclone, temperatures are finally up in the teens—but with windchill, they may as well be sub-zero. The river is iced over in parts, leaving little space for huddles of ducks. Still, Russell had hoped to log more species; after eight hours of birding, he’s only picked up 21. No finches, no catbirds. Hell, not even a robin.

More:
http://www.audubon.org/news/birding-phillys-forgotten-habitats