BBC ceremony;Red-tailed hawk diet, Prospect lake, details on today's quality birds

BBC's 5 donor tree ceremony, Butterfly Meadow,photo by J.Zinn

So far, we have seen or heard about Red-tailed hawks going for the birds. Bobbi today reported seeing a Red-tailed Hawk eating a JUNCO. We assumed that rodents and small mammals make up the bulk of a Red tailed diet but this is a myth. I was wondering if the focus on birds being eaten  reported today and yesterday's unconfirmed killed Red-headed Woodpecker ( for you still holding out hope ) that maybe the squirrel population crashed this year in Prospect. On the contrary, I looked up a website on Red tailed Hawk diet : Its a very variable diet

AAlthough they eat mostly mammals, there is a great variety of other animals Red-tailed Hawks will prey upon, including: snakes, turtles, frogs, lizards, salamanders, toads, ducks, bobwhite, crows, woodpeckers, starlings, doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, kingfishers, robins, owls, other birds, crayfish, centipedes, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, earthworms, and fish. Red-tailed Hawks will also eat roadkill and other carrion (previously dead, but fairly fresh animals).

So there you have it. Red-taileds are fascinating gluttons of anything. So , don't leave your Cheeseburger lunch unattended on the park bench.

The first winter BONAPARTES GULL was not seen in mid afternoon on Prospect lake as I swung by there. A good bird for the park, very uncommon for this species that migrates thru the continent. On the lake with over 80 NORTHERN SHOVELERS and scattered 65 + RUDDY DUCKS, 6 BUFFLEHEAD on the northwest side, one drake with 5 hen.. PIED-BILLED GREBE out there as well.

After the BBC tree ceremony, members proceed to bird and reported a late AMERICAN REDSTART in back of the Nethermead ( Rob Bate and BBC members)

Tom Stephenson broke off from the ceremony and en route to home, reported 9 PINE SISKINS in the Vale of Cashmere and a lone BLUE HEADED VIREO. The siskins are a bit of a surprise given last years massive irruption. maybe the few are back for the holidays.

Most impressive today were numbers. This morning on my way to work, large flocks of blackbirds crossed over in flight from Quaker Ridge  heading northwest. It was mixed with grackles and redwings.. I estimated over 600 birds flying over.   Equally impressive, Rob Jett reported over 1000 DARK-EYED JUNCOS in Greenwood Cemetery  late afternoon . Wonder if those guys reported one of their own missing ?? :)>

BBgarden report

Orrin 

BBG this morning.  Lots of sparrows:

Great blue heron

Red-tailed hawk

Golden-crowned kinglet

Ruby-crowned kinglet

Song sparrow

white-throated sparrow

Fox sparrow

Swamp sparrow

Chipping sparrow

American robin

Hermit thrush

Swainson's thrush

Northern cardinal

European starling

Blue jay

date = 2013/11/14
site = Prospect Park
observers = Peter

Pied-billed Grebe Lake
Double-crested Cormorant Lake
Great Blue Heron West Isl
Northern Shoveler 80 Lake
Bufflehead 6 Lake
American Black Duck Lake
Canada Goose Lake
Ruddy Duck 65 Lake
Mute Swan Lake
Mallard Lake
American Coot 2Lake
Bonaparte's Gull 1st winter Lake
Ring-billed Gull 
Herring Gull Lake
Rock Pigeon 
Mourning Dove 
Blue-headed Vireo Vale Tom Stephenson
Winter Wren yesterday West Isl cove
American Robin am flyovers Ballfields
Hermit Thrush 7
American Redstart Nethermead , RBate and BBC
Northern Cardinal 9 yesterday West Isl cove
Red-winged Blackbird large flock flyovers early AM Ballfields
Common Grackle large flock flyovers early AM Ballfields
Pine Siskin 9 Vale by Tom Stephenson

From Doug Gochfeld 

excerpt of report for Brooklyn 

I also saw the continuing juv. Bonaparte's Gull on Prospect Park Lake after 4 
PM, which is a very good bird (~1 every 3 years, on average, this being the 
~20th record) for the park.

From Kathy Toomey

Hi Peter,
Isabel and I saw four Fox Sparrows together by the Nethermeade Bridge,
and another one behind the Upper Pool.
Kathy T.