Jackson Heights Life

I see a lot of cardinals in this neighborhood (and NYC in general)... given the angle/visibility/bird's condition - it's possible the crest wasn't clearly visible or occasionally the individual loses its crest (molting gone bad, parasites). Otherwise, could it be a house finch? They are common around here, and though I've never seen one in JH, it's more likely than the tanager/flycatcher. Bright red (with brown) would be a male, and it is typical breeding season.

I'd be less confident about saying a scarlet tanager or vermillion fly catcher - latter even less likely. They both occur in NYC and now would be the time to see them, but our barely green neighborhood is an unlikely place to spot them unfortunately! A sure shot way to know is if you noticed black on the bird? Both these birds have substantial black plumage... the summer tanager is totally red (but again more likely around the parks/greener spots).

Regarding birds:  there is a bird who sings solo every morning.  It is the first bird of the morning (about 5:30) I have yet to see it but the song is so beautiful.  It is later joined by the chatter of sparrows, the cooing of pigeons and sometimes not often by the cawing of crows. Does anyone else hear it?

i've never seen a cardinal or a blue jay in Jackson Heights, and i love those -- even though blue jays are often jerks to other birds, come feeding time. mockingbird song, on the other hand, is pretty ubiquitous, an a lovely thing in the morning.

Cute little bird. Do they only go in dead trees?

I've seen a woodpecker in front of my building. Grey body, red crest. Pretty cool. We hear them in the mornings a lot in the spring. The tapping sound is them searching for grubs and insects (as well as in early spring, hollowing out a space for a nest). They are a super useful part of the ecosystem, helping to clear trees of infestations. And if you are a home owner with a wood frame house or wooden siding, if a woodpecker is drilling in to your home it means call an exterminator!

A really cool app is the Merlin ID app from Cornell. I used it to identify a female black-throated blue warbler I spotted last year in Jackson Heights. I've been looking for a male ever since, but no dice so far.

Here is the listing on the Cornell site for the cardinal. We have a lot of cardinals in the neighborhood. I listen for their calls to start in the spring. They are one of the first birds I notice resume their song in early spring. This year I think they started in late February. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/sounds

So I listened to a lot of bird songs on the online and it is definitely a cardinal who sings every morning in a tree outside my window.
Such a beautiful relief against the horrible backdrop of our current situation.

Don't know if anyone caught the segment about bird calls in our area on The Brian Lehrer Show this week.  There were some serious bird enthusiasts and it was a really fun listen!  (Look for Name That Birdsong! on wnyc radio.)