The Kingsboidet wishes you a year full of hope,good health and memorable moments in boiding.
Let's pray for 2021 as a healing year and closer ties with life back to nolmacy.
Cheers
KB
A newsboard for reporting bird sightings, happenings & announcements,miscellany in north Brooklyn and the 3 main central north Brooklyn green regions : historic Prospect Park, Brooklyn Botanic Garden & north half of Kings County, & Greenwood Cemetery.A service for Brooklyn birders and visitors. Also note: Conservation issues & miscellany posts.
The Kingsboidet wishes you a year full of hope,good health and memorable moments in boiding.
Let's pray for 2021 as a healing year and closer ties with life back to nolmacy.
Cheers
KB
“Glory to God in the highest and on earth PEACE and goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).
As a devout Roman Catholic, I dwell on the rich symbolism of my religious faith the wisdom spoken in the New Testament. There is the great commanment that is the golden rule to our neighbors ".. do unto others what you would have want them to do unto you."
And what does that rule have to do with my feeders? Well,plenty of symbolism there. Like the gift of the Christ child, we reciprocate with gifts to each other in whatever form. My feeders is my gift to birders and strangers, and neighbors who come to watch birds. And birds gift us with their beauty of color and personality; Or just being in the presence of birds and the surrounding solitude is nature's gift to us as well, How or what we receive out of our enjoyment of the scenery depends on the individual.
Since the feeders been up,it warms my heart to see a multitude of people from the elderly to little children delight in those feeders. The joy it bring is immeasurable.
But its important that we not keep our enjoyment and delight to ourselves,to hold our Sense of wonder within.We should share it ! How we do this? Simply. We keep each other company,with respect -regardless of skill level-- and converse warmly about happenings and bird stories,however it goes. But its equally important to be humble.
One of the drawbacks since birding become so competitive is the danger of elitism and egotism. Those without knowing it can become innately self focused, exclusive and downright petty: we start looking for the high clouds instead of the good earth below where beginner birders and ordinary people!e live. That's what " Good will " means in the Christmas refrain spoken by those angels that divine holy night. We treat each other warmly and respectfully and we will be remembered well after we leave this good earth. We'll have peace as well when we show compassion to our fellow beings and neighbors. More people will remember compassion kind hearted people than unkind folks.
On this Christmas Eve,lets remember that sentiment to be kind and respectful to all.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Following up on Dan Smith's report of Iceland Gull on Prospect Lake,I went for a go see. And the result was pure luck and irony thanks to a timely Peregrine Falcon raid.
In midafternoon I'm standing on the lake western shore close to the rustic shelter, looking at a mass of gulls. I focused on the close ones as I didn't bring my scope because I have Christmas shopping to do later. With binoculars it's hard to pick out the distant rare gull without black wingtips.
Then all the gulls flew up into a frenzied mess. I knew it was raptor time.
Searching for the hunter,I found my bird,a well defined grayish blue falcon called a PEREGRINE FALCON.The bird swooped from the west thru the gull mass and chased a few gulls as I tried hard to stay with it; I was amazed I did for awhile. I figured no Iceland well I got a beautiful falcon instead. On the contrary.
As all the gulls settled back down the ice,I looked for my target gull hoping to get lucky. The irony was this: the ICELAND GULL was not on land ,but by air. I happened to look up by lucky chance and here's an all white gull flying right over me! It's the ICELAND! WHOOHOO! The wings looked so clean.
I followed thru my bins --like I did successfully with the Peregrine-- the Iceland over the Lake till it disappeared, a tinier hazy blob over Duck Island on Prospect Lake's southeast section. Gulls massed over there and likely the Iceland Gull joined them.
For me how I got so lucky with the gull directly over me? As I tell friends: the quest of getting a good bird comes down to where you are,being in the right place and looking in the right direction( like up 👆)
On an additional note I ran into Marc Brawer on Well Drive. Two good boids he found .Along the Peninsula lake shore just beyond the drive,an AMERICAN WOODCOCK flushed. Furthermore as it rains it pours the saying goes, in the same general area,Marc found by the mudflat within the phragmites a RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Three good birds at days end is pretty darn good.
A few places in the news lately yielded good birds,some regular other new.
Bush Terminal Pier Park hosted the continuing KING EIDER early morning . The duck was spotted in the south cove along with Lesser Scaup. The other good sighting is ICELAND GULL there reportedly was in the center cove with the Jetty walls and osprey nest platform. A late report from Joe Borker --looking for the Eider --took a photo of an EURASIAN WIGEON in the south cove.There's been speculation about hybridization of this duck but well see later about that.
A half mile south the Brooklyn Army Terminal pier had the same two species King Eider and Iceland gull.The Eider moved there; and likely the rare gull a second Iceland Gull.
Meanwhile Greenwood Cemetery bored some fruit with exotic winter finches.Two COMMON REDPOLLS were found feeding on Sweet gum tree seed balls opposite the Dell wood path on Dell Avenue,connected to Central Ave. The birds did come down to the ground for great looks by finders Rob Jett and Mike Yuan. In other sweet gums PINE SISKINS are news as well.
Sticking with Greenwood,Ryan Mandlebaum spotted a single RED CROSS BILL in the Dell water/ Crescent water area.
And last ,Brooklyn Bridge Park has been pretty good lately ( its Xmas count found first time count Veery and Lincoln Sparrow). Today an ICELAND GULL found its way there in a gull roost between piers 3 & 5. Pier 1 posts roost is very good for late afternoon returning gulls settling in for the night.
So all good for these venues all on the west Coast Brooklyn: BAT pier,Bush Terminal park,Brooklyn Bridge Park and interior Greenwood Cemetery.
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Attached are the totals for the bird species seen on PP CBC 🏞
cloudy part sunny cold
Prospect Lake was 96% frozen
Highlights or Target /Quality birds are in UPPER CASE CAPTION
54 species
SNOW GOOSE juvenile west shore PP Lake
Canada Goose 311
Mute Swan 4
WOOD DUCK 1 Binnen Pool
Mallard 234
American Black Duck 10
Ruddy Duck 1
Rock Pigeon 72
Mourning Dove 48
American Coot 10
Ring billed Gull 536
Herring Gull 18
Great Black Backed Gull 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Coopers Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Red bellied Woodpecker 23
Yellow bellied Sapsucker 5
Downy Woodpecker 23
HAIRY WOODPECKER 1 Lookout Hill top (SAVE bird, only place reported)
Northern Flicker 3
Merlin 3
Peregrine Falcon 1 perched in tree above Well drive picnic tables
Blue Jay 91
American Crow 38
Black Capped Chickadee 64
Tufted Titmouse 38
White breasted Nuthatch 23
Brown Creeper 3
Winter Wren 7
Carolina Wren 6
Ruby Crowned Kinglet 3
Hermit Thrush 8
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 6
European Starling 194
House Sparrow 116
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 9
RARE species 3 out of every 10 years
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK flyover Wellhouse
COMMON REDPOLL 1 at Breeze Hill feeders
OVENBIRD Vale Cashmere
The ZOOM virtual CBC Kings tally has just finished. Breakdown for Prospect will be later but as it stands
for KINGS COUNTY CBC
135 species birds
48,125 individual birds
Prospect Park had 54 species
The rare species ( 3 x or less in 10 years ) in KINGS CBC circle are as follows
5 KING EIDER
1 RING NECKED DUCK
1 CLAPPER RAIL
1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER
2 ICELAND GULL
1 LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL
1 GREAT EGRET
1 SHORT EARED OWL
1 MARSH WREN
9 COMMON REDPOLL
7 RED CROSSBILLS
1 LAPLAND LONGSPUR
2 LINCOLN SPARROW
1 YELLOW BREASTED CHAT
1 OVENBIRD
Hopefully i'll get a full list from the compilers.
Prospect Park details again later...i need to sleep💤🛌