While I was on a staff tour of the Well house , out on Prospect Lake, a solitary white bird caught my attention in the western sector of the Lake. A SNOW GOOSE, very late for this date was a surprise. It liked to hang out on the western shore where I was able to get pictures after my tour.
Right after my discovery, I started to cross the Southwest Lake Park Drive, when a flock above me caught my attention. Despite a stiff wind, 9 FORSTER TERNS with their aerodynamic wing shape paid no mind slicing thru the wind, heading northwest while swaying back and forth against the resistant wind.A good tip or mnemonic to remember identifying this species in flight is : " frosted are the Forsters wing tips"
Then the last good species, a facebook post from Paul Heller reported BLUE WINGED TEAL, retweeted by Keir. Responding to this report, Bobbi Manian went on a search first at the lake, then finding her target, the 6 teal at Lily Pool, just northwest of the Boathouse.
Eager to see these birds, despite my car parked at my work site at 9th Street,I ventured over there to look after work.UNFORTUNATELY, the uncommon ducks were already spooked before I got there. The reason ? Two rules bending fishermen jumped the back fence by the horse trail and encroached upon Lily Pool's back shore..so much for bad luck and aggravated consternation and inconsideration.
The RED BREASTED MERGANSER drake continues on Prospect Lake, now I think 3 straight days. Along with it, a small smattering of swallows are enjoying windy passages, among them TREES and BARNS, and one NORTHERN ROUGH WINGED.
Rafael Campos texted me his good finds, SAVANNAH SPARROW and NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER ,the latter in the Lull water.
Windy days, even for a north wind should encourage one to seek birds that are determined to come through,particularly species that want to rest up and wait for strong winds to abate.
--kb
pics of Blue winged teal from R Jett tweet
https://mobile.twitter.com/BBCKingsbirds#!/BBCKingsbirds
My list
Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY Apr 23, 2014 Protocol: Incidental 30 species
Snow Goose 1 http://prospectsightings.blogspot.com/2014/04/snow-goose-prospect-lake-noon-today.html
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X Mallard
X Red-breasted Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 10
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Egret 1
American Coot 1
Laughing Gull 1
Herring Gull 12
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Forster's Tern 9
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X
Mourning Dove X
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 1 Upper pool
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Nethermead
Blue Jay 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1 Lake
Tree Swallow 6 Lake
Barn Swallow 7 Lake
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Hermit Thrush 1 Lookout
American Robin X
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
White-throated Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Common Grackle X
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18048140
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
