Thursday, March 31, 2016

warm day Prospect

A hard workday for me but some reports from friends continue to find RED THROATED LOON, PINE WARBLERS and WOOD DUCKS ( that I found) in Prospect.

The highlight is the continuing RED THROATED LOON in Prospect Lake. Janet Zinn along with her out of town guest found the Loon right off the Peninsula thumb, the 5th consecutive day the bird stayed put in the lake.

PINE WARBLERS are another mainstay, reported in two different locations. First report at 11:01 from Kathy Toomey noted two Pines at The Lullwater Cove path. Later , Janet Zinn's observation of the 5 WOOD DUCKS at Lower Pool, along the Isthmus shoreline under the Rhododendron bush found one more Pine Warbler on that back path.

Shane Blodgett found the first of season BLUE GRAY GNATCATCHER today in Prospect.see link
.
https://twitter.com/Aplomadokestrel/status/715577979850604544?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjc18y&refsrc=email


Fwd: ridgewood reservoir duck report





-----Original Message-----
From: Tinsley Perky <deartinsleyperky@gmail.com>
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Mar 30, 2016 1:43 pm
Subject: Re: ridgewood reservoir duck report

Hi, ducks persist in good numbers, not quite as many and alas no teals. Yesterday, maybe 20 ring-necks, 24 redheads and 8 or so ruddys.

Also want to thank the P Park bird feeder tenders for much pleasure for birds and birders alike!

On Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 7:50 AM, <prosbird@aol.com> wrote:
Finally

Very nice!

Great to see teals and redheads anytime!

P.





-----Original Message-----
From: deartinsleyperky@gmail.com
To: Peter Dorosh
Sent: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 11:01 pm
Subject: ridgewood reservoir duck report

Hi, wanted to share my highest duck count so far at the reservoir, over 80 ducks, about even between ring necks and redheaded ducks, 4 ruddy ducks and first I have seen; 5 green winged teal. (sorry poor quality photos attached for documentation purposes).

T






@tpreston87: Rusty blackbird at owls head top of hill m.twitter.com/tpreston87


Fwd: ridgewood reservoir duck report





-----Original Message-----
From: Tinsley Perky <deartinsleyperky@gmail.com>
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Mar 30, 2016 1:43 pm
Subject: Re: ridgewood reservoir duck report


Hi, ducks persist in good numbers, not quite as many and alas no teals. Yesterday, maybe 20 ring-necks, 24 redheads and 8 or so ruddys.

Also want to thank the P Park bird feeder tenders for much pleasure for birds and birders alike!



Fwd: Early Morning Bird Walk - Sunday April 3 at 8am



From: michele dreger <msdreger@yahoo.com>  


Subject: Early Morning Bird Walk - Sunday April 3 at 8am

 
First Sunday in April Bird Walk will meet at 8am at the Boathouse in Prospect Park.

Bring your binoculars and get ready for a great bird day.  Spring migration is just starting. There have been sightings of Pine Warblers around.  We should see a number of arriving species.  Phoebes, Flickers and kinglets are in town. 

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Michele, Eni, Vinnie and Neal

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Rtloon

Red throated loon continues,center of calm Prospect lake

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Prospect Bloodroot bloom


Photo by D.Waring


Fwd: Green-Wood Cemetery this morning





-----Original Message-----
From: Orrin Tilevitz <tilevitzo@yahoo.com>
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Mar 29, 2016 10:49 am
Subject: Fw: Green-Wood Cemetery this morning



In an hour or so I must have seen a dozen pine warblers.  Also a golden-crowned kinglet, several phoebes, and a couple of flickers.




Rt loon prospect latest

Prospect RED THROATED LOON continues,bet. Duck island & Peninsula thumb 445pm

so far in March

 Prospect is seeing the typical species we expect in March , a tally of 71 species so far. PINE WARBLERS are the first warblers ( 5 seen this am by Karen) , along with Flickers, EPhoebe,Brown Creeper, some Kinglets, Wood Duck and so on.

Theres no report today of Red Throated Loon this morning.

See the link to get an idea of movement even though in my opinion its low counts for many species.

http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L109516?m=3&yr=cur&changeDate=Set

Monday, March 28, 2016

PP RTLO easter monday

IN this dreary rainy cold morning,RED-THROATED LOON remains on Prospect Lake, close to West Island Rustic shelter at 8:40.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday late afternoon, I spotted a lone LAUGHING GULL on Prospect Lake before it flew away.It might be the seasons first.



Note  The Brooklyn Bird Club Facebook has a video of Gus Keri's sighting of RT Loon.


Ridgewood Reservoir Redheads

On a Facebook post I saw from Gus Keri, REDHEAD ducks still remain at the basin # 2 water reservoir.

I believe I have a map of the reservoir on my blog menu. ( If Not I will add it later)

look at the aerial view of the park below  (The highway at the top  border of the park is the Jackie Robinson Parkway.  Nearest train is the J to Broadway Junction. See the blog "Save Ridgewood Reservoir".


Fwd: RTLO in PP Easter Sunday





-----Original Message-----
From: Rafael Guillermo Campos-Ramírez <ticornis@yahoo.com>
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Mar 28, 2016 12:24 am
Subject: RTLO in PP Easter Sunday

 Peter:

Attached are 2 pictures of the RTLO that I saw today (thanks for spreading the news) in the Lake.

See U in the Park:
      Rafa Campos

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Sunday followup

On my way thru the park around 1:15 for the Botanic Garden the Red-throated Loon was spotted in the lake .The loon was close to the Peninsula shore;on my way back,there was no sign of it,likely taken off.Paddleboats were active.

By the boathouse on the slope,two CHIPPING SPARROWS stopped me in my tracks. In gorgeous breeding plumage;a contrast to their drab winter disposition.

Pine warblers were reported in both Prospect and Greenwood.The prospect bird was singing away according to Karen O'Hearn.

An Easter egg is a loon

A friend remarked that seeing the RED THROATED LOON this Easter morning was how a kid feels when finding Easter eggs.Essentially he's right. How often does one get this species loon in Prospect let alone sitting on the water?

My traditional Easter Sunrise trek didn't look good with heavy cloud cover. Nevertheless I stuck around hopefully .I did some birding at lamppost 249 and heard singing Song Sparrows.Some White throated Sparrows worked the underbrush.Grackles abound as usual. And then after not seeing any hope of the sun's revelation,I walked slowly along the western Lake shore,homeward bound a little tired after the previous late night services .Then my "Easter egg".

Scanning the lake as I have been hoping for that elusive rare species,something whitish waded out of Three Sisters Islands strait.I scarcely believed my eyes but it's no mirage: it's a RED THROATED LOON!. Following thru ,texting as I walked quicker to get to that side of the lake,I re found the slim loon by Duck Island near the paddle boats. After several more Twitter tweets, the quite rare loon --when Common Loon is more likely--settled in at the back channel of Duck Island for multiple bad photos from my cellphone. It's a big deal with this rare species in Prospect Lake. When one event -- the sunrise - didn't occur,another blessing happened.

Delighted at my "egg ", I walked homeward and found some favorite songbird species as well. Behind Three Sisters,in low Tulip Tree branches,14 CEDAR WAXWINGS fed upon dried tulip flowers . I could fill my easter basket with more goodies.

Happy Easter.


http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/email?subID=S28575070



Easter morn red throated loon

Back of Duck Island, resting.very rare for prospect let alone on the water.awesome Easter  egg! Still present at 8:10 am

Easter Greetings



The Kingsboider extends Happy Easter greetings to celebrants and friends. May this day be a special one!

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Fwd: Green-Wood Walk BBC

Leading Matthew Wills



-----Original Message-----
From: matthewwills@earthlink.net
To: ProsBird
Sent: Sat, Mar 26, 2016 10:27 am
Subject: Green-Wood Walk


A cool morning warming up as spring should. There were a dozen of us and we spent about 2.5 hours in the cemetery, passing by all four water bodies. Great views of bright, vocalizing Pine warblers, Kestrel plucking what looked like a sparrow, and a brief Merlin appearance at Crescent Water, which was the most active spot of the morning. Definitely felt like spring with the Phoebes and Pines singing.

This is the full list.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk (may have been same juvie x3)
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher (Sylvan Water)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker (flickermania)
Kestrel 
Merlin
Monk Parakeet
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Fish Crow (6, vocalizing as they harried a Red-tailed)
Tufted Titmouse
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Pine Warbler (min. of 5, Valley & Crescent Waters)
Field Sparrow (Sylvan Water)
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird 
House Sparrow

Cheers
Matthew

Pine Warbler flurry

A bit of a PINE WARBLER flurry in both Greenwood Cemetery and Prospect that dispels the latest cold snap hold on overall bird migration. Unseasonable cold temperatures didn't stop Pine Warblers as slow birding was evident today.

Matthew Wills' debut leading the GW Cemetery Brooklyn Bird Club was successful with 5 Pine warblers on his walk. I'm sure even with 33 species reported by him, those Pine Warblers makes the day for walk participants as the first true and welcomed warblers of the early spring season.

I went out midmorning sleeping a little late after a hard work week. After a few bird sightings ,including a bright FOX SPARROW along the Center drive bridle trail,I ventured over to the Upper Pool back view: it's a reliable spot for Pine Warblers. And after a few minutes wait ,one PINE came in and I was satisfied. But wait, a second one came in. Soon, a third PINE joined in ,all three birds in front of me just over the water edge. Off to the shoreline behind the island,three WOOD DUCKS rested .

The Lake seems abnormally quiet these days. Except for a decent number of RUDDY DUCKS, just the interesting  continuing pair of AMERICAN WIGEON were seen next to West Island.

I did see also a high soaring TURKEY VULTURE over Nethermead meadow. It took me a awhile to id it with the bright sky and sun next to it.

3 pine warblers mid AM back view upper pool.



On bbc walk,matthew wills reported 5Pine warblers in Greenwood cemtery


Friday, March 25, 2016

Fwd: Red-Breasted Nuthatch




Sent from my MetroPCS 4G Wireless Phone


-------- Original message --------
From: Carl Biers <
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@aol.com>
Cc:
Subject: Red-Breasted Nuthatch

Hi Peter
In Green-Wood in pines by Spirea Path. Also two Pine Warblers at Central Ave and Myrtle, and Belted Kingfisher at Sylvan Water

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The irony of birding

Yesterday after hearing about Pine Warblers the past two weeks,I pursued with effort a Pine warbler
spotted by Rafael. After the warbler no show my whole lunch hour , then finally on my work time for a very brief look at the bird, it was more funny today how I saw the PINE WARBLER

Near the end of my lunch hour with coworkers at our Picnic Table inside the Tennis House compound, I see a small bird fly down left from the mature Pine Tree outside the iron fence. I looked in an automatic response and see a yellowish bird perched on one of the rebar stakes of a wire fence that closes off a plant area at the Tennis House east iron wrought fence.I did a double take and thought maybe that's a Pine. I had no binoculars with me so I walked over to the fence slowly. Sure enough , its a PINE WARBLER. It flew down to the ground and subsequently searched under some leaves about ten feet from me.The bright warber stayed there for a full minute or so...Go figure.

From Twitter

Pine Warbler. Chip path going up to Butterfly Mead from top of Maryland Mont stairs.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

If not on the first attempt, something better

On my first attempt getting my favorite warbler failed, but getting something rare is often a serendipitous moment. And thanks
with help, I wound up getting the PINE WARBLER later.

After a heads up from Rafael C on his sighting of PINE WARBLER by the boathouse, I ventured over there on my lunch hour.The report was it flew over to the west side where the willow tree was. I didn't luck in. However I ran into Kathy Toomey at the Terrace Bridge and both of us had grand views of an immature BALD EAGLE! I spotted the large blackish raptor soaring low over the Boathouse. It eventually flew towards us , veering to over Lookout Hill.Thinking it was gone for good, imagine our surprise when it reversed course and flew back , over Breeze Hill towards the rink direction. Awesome !

Later in mid afternoon, Kathy Toomey texted me saying she had the PINE WARBLER. It was generally in the same area before , along the Lullwater just past the cove. I watched it for 15 seconds before it took off for the Terrace Bridge .We also saw a RUBY CROWNED KINGLET in the same spot.

Warm day came too late so perhaps tomorrow we will see migrants .


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Quiet

Not much to report now as the chilly north wind continues to be sort of a barrier to migrants. There was a report of 3 TREE SWALLOWS over at Greenwood Cemetery at the Hillside section where the pond is.Bobbi Manian observed the swallows.

Yesterday , I saw a perched falcon at east Nethermead , turning out to be a gorgeous AMERICAN KESTREL. It stayed there until an annoying BLUE JAY wanted to make some noise. Two days before , a MERLIN at Butterfly Meadow , perched atop the large Sweetgum Tree checked in.

There's a weather forecast of warmer air flow tomorrow.The temperature is supposed to be 68 degrees with a southwest wind...Looks good....maybe the creepers will pass through.http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/new-york-ny/10007/daily-weather-forecast/349727?day=2

On the way home from work,I spotted high above West Nethermead,three soaring GREAT BLUE HERONS. They circled quite a bit.

A single PIED BILLED GREBE remains in western Prospect Lake.

Bush Terminal EUWI

from NYS Birds listserve Sean Sime

Messages

Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:30 pm (PDT) . Posted by:

"Sean Sime" seansime102go

After reading about Nick Bonomo's outstanding find of not one, but two Mew Gulls in Connecticut yesterday I decided  to work the waterfront this morning making stops at Bush Terminal, Gravesend Bay, Coney Island Creek Park and Hendrix Creek. Although there were several hundred Ring-billed Gulls throughout, no rare gulls were among them. Highlights included:
Bush Terminal:Eurasian Wigeon 
Bonaparte's Gull Great CormorantKilldeer
Gravesend Bay:Continuing Gannet show
Coney Island Creek:Horned Grebe (some in breeding plumage)Both loons.
Hendrix Creek:Green-winged TealNorthern ShovelerRuddy DuckWilson&#39;s SnipeKilldeerSwamp Sparrow
Good birding,
Sean SimeBrooklyn, NY

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Fwd: phoebe today





-----Original Message-----
From: Karenohearn@aol.com
To: prosbird
Sent: Sun, Mar 20, 2016 5:46 pm
Subject: phoebe today



Fwd: First day of spring? walk





-----Original Message-----
From: erc310@gmail.com
To: Peter Dorosh
Sent: Sun, Mar 20, 2016 9:06 am
Subject: First day of spring? walk


Greetings, Peter

On a day more like late winter than spring, four of us took an abbreviated walk through the park. We tallied 34 species, including the still present and singing Pine warbler. See eBird list (http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28445317) for complete info.

Best regards, Ed

a very chippy cold first day of spring

Spring's first day isn't what we birders want or expected. The north cold wind does its job stopping migrants heading north. There wasn't much moving out there; however, there were a few notable birds worth appreciating.

I took a tour of Greenwood cemetery with my friend Mary. The high ground ( as most of you might know the cemetery is Brooklyn's s highest point) offered no refuge from biting winds. My intention was the target bird Woodcock. We stalked previous locations known for the upland shorebird but no luck.This is a bird that lands anywhere and often hidden with its camouflaged plumage. Sometimes it takes tremendous luck almost stepping on one.

All is not lost despite the dead zone birding in Greenwood. Mary and I saw our first season EASTERN PHOEBE. And at Crescent Water, the first and elegant GREAT EGRET perched on the stone wall at water' s edge. Redtailed Hawk flew by a few times ; one perched high in a pine in the " south flats" a bird I was impressed Mary finding the almost hidden raptor.

Meanwhile in frosty Prospect , Ed Crowne led a small brave continent for the Brooklyn Bird Club. The highlight and a welcomed bird on this chippy day was PINE WARBLER. Perhaps one is still hanging as it's still an early bird for the park.Ed's list is in the above post.

I happen to visit the park late in the day.The pair of AMERICAN WIGEON still reside at West Island. I read that PIED BILLED GREBE is out on the lake somewhere.

Warmer days ahead that would better suit Spring ( but after Monday )