I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.----Vincent Van Gogh
This summer-like delightful evening along the south shore of Prospect Lake proved fun and satisfactory, with a comic occurrence and a few nice birds to enjoy.
Most of the action from my 7 pm walk took place on the "hammerhead peninsula", my name for the strip of land shaped like an anvil situated between West Island and Three Sisters. There are two trash strewn phragmite choked coves, with tonight's eastern cove the better place to be. As I walked around the cove, a FIELD SPARROW flew out from the phragmites to the opposite shoreline, where I watched it awhile. Then-- swoosh-- an immature RED-TAILED HAWK flew over me to pursue a squirrel that hopped high very near a startled picnicking couple, suddenly taken back by this big bird that swooped so low to the ground , then pulling up before flying away over that couple , then perching above the Field Sparrow spot. I tremendously enjoyed that moment while most people simply didn't see this wonderful action packed scene. [ It was crowded tonight ]
So I walked back to that spot to see the perched hawk much closely. It had a metal leg band of which I couldn't make out the serial number. Then it flew away towards the Peristyle. But then something else caught my eye wallowing in the mud. It's a foot long SNAPPING TURTLE ! As it moved slowly for the water, it flushed a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH , where the warbler landed in mud section, peppered with trash. It was a classic looking bird, and joining it , a SWAMP SPARROW , both birds within inches of each other, like a tag team.
Migration can be beneficial either in morning or evening. The evening though would be less numbers, but who cares? If just a few birds matter and great natural moments happen, makes any evening worthwhile and enjoyable.Its not long till the fireflies come out.
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| My cell photo of Bloodroot in the park today |
Prospect Park--Prospect Lake, Kings, US-NY
Apr 9, 2013 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
22 species
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 6
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X few
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 30
Great Egret 1 Duck Isl
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 3 Sisters Isl
Red-tailed Hawk 1 had a metal leg band , undetermined #
American Coot X
Ring-billed Gull X
Eastern Phoebe 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
American Robin X
European Starling X
Louisiana Waterthrush 1 south shoreline . cove
Palm Warbler 1
Field Sparrow 1 south shoreline cove
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1 south shoreline cove
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle X
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13695021
