I never knew a workday could be so much fun.Two surprise finds late for this season and a very rare sparrow for Prospect , an AMMODRAMUS species, made the work day fulfilling.
On my lunch hour, a walk thru the usual wide perimeter south and west of the Tennis House yielded some birds but it was the baseball field that gave the best bird there among CHIPPING & SAVANNAH SPARROWS. With no fence enclosure this year, the field dugout fences will do. It was at field backstop #2 that I found a late warbler among 4 Chipping Sparrows and PALM WARBLERS : a first year female BLUE-WINGED WARBLER. This bird feeding in the grass; according to the records, it is the second latest fall record, the still latest record Oct 18th, 1966 , observed by legend Prospect birder Olney Raymond.
Then on the work shift, right outside the Quaker Cemetery main gate, another good one for lateness.After picking up some plant compost with my co-worker, I waited inside our electric cart for my co-worker to lock the cemetery gate, a bird flew down in front of me, landing in the mugwort by the bridle trail. I was puzzled and waiting wisely in the cart. The longish bird eventually moved in view and I was shocked. It 's a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO ! Even my coworker whom I called out saw the cuckoo and it's her first (for a non birder). Awesome. The third latest on record , only earlier than October 15, 2002 and October 24th, 2011. But the best is yet to come.
Seeing that it was quite good for sparrows despite not being that birdy for numbers, I refused my typical ride home with the arborist. I told him I was going to look for birds.[wise choice] After another round of the Sparrowbowl which was decent today ( see Elyse's report), I made a beeline for the Breeze Hill Meadow. The dirt mounds were pretty active and I walked slowly along the meadow side of the mounds. Midway along the middle mound, a smallish sparrow popped out unto the mugwort and immediately its bright orange coloration peaked my focus. Dark gray cheek, bright burnt orange swath across its chest with more diffused streaks, whitish bracts down its back as the bird turn, whoa nelly ! its a NELSON's SHARP-TAILED SPARROW! This is an inland race of this marsh sparrow Ammodramus nelsoni and for Prospect , a very rare species . Usually, we get one ammodramus species every few years or longer except one amazing date in mid October ( I think 14th) just 2 years ago when we had two the same day among 15 species sparrows. Be on the lookout , there are good sparrows to find now.
By the way, a flock of about 45 Chipping Sparrows are hanging out to the west of the Tennis House .
--KB
Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY
Oct 11, 2012
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: during workday
26 species
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 seen on ground, very close, yellow bill
Chimney Swift X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 15--12 Long meadow
Eastern Phoebe 4
Blue Jay 6
Tufted Titmouse 2 Sparrowbowl
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Wren 1 Sparrowbowl
Winter Wren 1 Sparrowbowl
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
European Starling X
Blue-winged Warbler 1 1st yr female,seen well on the ground Baseball field
Common Yellowthroat X
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Tennis House, male
Palm Warbler (Western) X
Palm Warbler (Yellow) X common
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Eastern Towhee 1 Lookout Hill
Chipping Sparrow 45 Tennis House west
Savannah Sparrow 5 Baseball field
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 3 Sparrowboal, 2 Wildlfower mead
White-throated Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco 1 Tennis House
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY
Oct 11, 2012 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
32 species
Canada Goose 23
Mute Swan 5
Wood Duck 13- 2 Three Sisters;11 flyover flock Lake
American Black Duck 1
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 19 Lake
Ruddy Duck 8 Lake
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue Jay X
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 West shore lake
Winter Wren 2 Breeze Hill
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Upper Pool
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Upper Pool
Swainson's Thrush 1 LP 249
American Robin X
Nashville Warbler (Eastern) 1 Sparrowbowl
Common Yellowthroat 6
Northern Parula 1 Breeze Hill
Palm Warbler 25
Palm Warbler (Western) X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 7
Black-throated Green Warbler 1 Well Drive
Field Sparrow 1 Breeze Hill
Nelson's Sparrow 1 Breeze Hill (ammodramus nelsoni)
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow 97 Breeze Hill
White-throated Sparrow 30 Breeze Hill, 3 Well Drive
Northern Cardinal 1
Common Grackle 4
House Sparrow X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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Elyse's report
Hi Peter,
Here is my list of bird sightings in Prospect Park.
Elyse
Sparrow Bowl
Nashville warbler
parula
common yellowthroat
Black & white
Black throated blue
Brown thrasher
female scarlet tananger
downey woodpecker
other areas
yellow rumps
palm warbler
magnolia
ovenbird
blue headed vireos
thrushes
Male & female towhees
red breasted nuthatch
rose-breasted grosbeak
numerous flickers
