Saturday, February 28, 2015

Late morning good action

The brief look I had of Common Redpoll turned into a beneficial longer observation of the winter finch at Lamppost 249 Well Drive picnic tables.

Joshsua Malbin re found my earlier sighting at LP 249 and the COMMON REDPOLL was watched upon as it fed on the ground or in that vicinity by the tables. At least for the first time this late winter,it stayed put longer a day.

Meanwhile , a BALD EAGLE day in the local area. Matthew Wills reported an immature feeding or sitting on the ice at frozen  Bush Terminal Pier Park. Not far from there,one eagle was seen flying over the north end of Greenwood Cemetery. Perhaps it was the same bird.Both text and tweet was 10:13 GWC  and 11:19 am BTPP.

Winter has its good moments, at least for today for some birders.
Subadult Bald Eagle dining on ice off Bush Terminal Park. Per matthew wills



Sent from my MetroPCS 4G Wireless Phone

@KarenOhearn: Redpoll continues. Feeding below birches next to picnic tables well drive prospect m.twitter.com/KarenOhearn
 

@JoshMalbinBirds: Common redpoll refound L249 m.twitter.com/JoshMalbinBirds
 

@tpreston87: Immature bald eagle circling just north of Greenwood main entrance m.twitter.com/tpreston87
 

CORE & COME

On my return homeward,a lucky look on the path of treacherous ice along the west shore of Prospect Lake proved a winner as I spotted a fly in small bird landing in a gingko tree. Despite backlight I got a good yet too brief look at a single COMMON REDPOLL ( CORE). It stayed about 10 seconds beore taking off south. Look for this bird in the birch trees along the shore , the mature River birch with its catkins as Rafael' s photo showed in a previous post. I did not find the bird again despite a search. Look also at the sweetgum trees ,especially by the rustic shelter by the shore near my sighting spot.

In the water, 4 COMMON MERGANSER ( COME)  continue but absent yesterdays Eurasian Wigeon. Instead I found the hen AMERICAN WIGEON and new arrival  three GADWALL ,one drake.

Also of note a single SWAMP SPARROW behind the fence at Well Drive picnic tables or lamppost 249.


Fwd: Yesterday pictures from Prospect Park, Brooklyn; NY





-----Original Message-----
From: ticornis@yahoo.com
Sent: Sat, Feb 28, 2015 3:50 am
Subject: Yesterday pictures from Prospect Park, Brooklyn; NY

 Hi all:
After a little over a month without visiting the park, yesterday (27 Feb '15) I did it.
First the grounds were totally frozen, and so the most of the water areas, except for a little spot on the SW side.  And the action was there.  among the 100s of gull (at least 2 sps), I saw 3 Common Mergansers (see pictures attached).
Near by, I hit the jackpot, with a lonely Common Redpoll feeding (see pictures attached).
The feeders at Breezy Hill were quite active, and the best bird sps were 3 Fox Sparrows.

By the way, with a new PC, I am doing postings on my blog. See them at: ticornis.tumblr.com

Pictures:
1- A view of the frozen Prospect Park Lake
2- Female Common Merganser
3- Male Common Merganser
4- Common Redpoll
5- Common Redpoll


Brief look COMMON REDPOLL along west shoreline Prospect Lake. Flew towards rustic shelter. Lookng
 

Friday, February 27, 2015

Fwd: Common Merganser and other ducks pictures

Note EURASIAN WIGEON



-----Original Message-----
From: guava1950@yahoo.com
To: prosbird
Sent: Fri, Feb 27, 2015 4:35 pm
Subject: Common Merganser and other ducks pictures


Hi Peter,

   I took these pictures at west prospect lake this afternoon.Common Merganser malle



Eurasian Widgeon

Ruddy Duck


More pictures at

Paul Chung

Fwd: eBird Report - Prospect Park--Prospect Lake, Feb 27, 2015

Note Common Mergansers, American Wigeon
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <ebird-checklist@cornell.edu>
Date: Feb 27, 2015 8:36 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park--Prospect Lake, Feb 27, 2015
To: <prosbird@
Cc:

Prospect Park--Prospect Lake, Kings, US-NY
Feb 27, 2015 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM
Protocol: Stationary
14 species

Canada Goose  X
Mute Swan  10
American Wigeon  1
American Black Duck  2
Mallard  X
Northern Shoveler  35
Common Merganser  4
Ruddy Duck  2
American Coot  X
Ring-billed Gull  X
Herring Gull  X
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  1
American Robin  6

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22099234

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Fwd: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Feb 27, 2015

Note COMMON REDPOLL at lamppost 249 ( Well house drive)



-----Original Message-----
From: ticornis  Rafael Campos
Sent: Fri, Feb 27, 2015 12:32 pm
Subject: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Feb 27, 2015

Peter:  A little over a month has passed since I visited the park.  Today most of the park looked like a ghost town.  Upper & lower pools frozen, and lake had only a little section of open water, where all the action was.
My best bird was a single individual of Common Redpoll (photos taken) feeding near lamppost 49.
Other species worth to mention are: Common & Red-breasted Mergansers, Fox Sparrow.

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Kings, US-NY
Feb 27, 2015 10:45 AM - 1:15 PM
Observer: Rafael G Campos R
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 kilometer(s)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  8
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  X
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)  8
Common Merganser (North American) (Mergus merganser americanus)  3    2 males, 1 female. Photos taken. Lake.
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  1
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  3
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  5
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  X
Herring Gull (American) (Larus argentatus smithsonianus)  4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  5
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  12
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  2
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  7
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  4
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Fox Sparrow (Red) (Passerella iliaca iliaca/zaboria)  3
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  10
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  8
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  4
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  3
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  1
Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)  1    single individual observed feeding near lamppost 49. Visible the yellow bill, red crowned. Photos taken.
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  20

Brooklyn is great birding, despite the cold!!

Fwd: [ebirdsnyc] Brooklyn Bush Terminal to Verrazano - Glaucous Gulls and Ravens





-----Original Message-----
From: steve nanz
To: eBirdsnyc
Cc: Peter Dorosh ; Shane Blodgett
Sent: Fri, Feb 27, 2015 12:48 pm
Subject: [ebirdsnyc] Brooklyn Bush Terminal to Verrazano - Glaucous Gulls and Ravens


Went to Bush Terminal Park with Heidi this afternoon and saw the imm. Glaucous   Gull out on the ice with other gulls. Also saw a flock of Tree Sparrows which   were being eyed by a perched Kestrel. Two Ravens flew in and hung out in the   trees for a while and then flew off but stayed in the general area on the   building tops.    We continued to the Verrazano pull off. Just south of the bridge we spotted   another imm. Glaucous gull. The Bush Terminal Glaucous has been a fairly   reliable bird. I think this may well be a second bird.    Best to All,    Steve Nanz  

Prospect Lake consistent find

6 COMMON MERGANSERS  were reported this after noon in the only water on the lake by Orrin Tilevitz. This morning I spotted four . With the other quality bird , a hen AMERICAN WIGEON among the motley group of waterfowl, its keep this week interesting.

A warming trend is predicted next week, a balmy low forties, upper thirties with rain might open up more water. This time around is usually the waterfowl movement as ducks start their staging and head north.

The feeders isnt offering much except a few FOX SPARROWS but I didnt spend too much time looking .

Live long and Prosper !  ( a tribute to a iconic trekkie)


Thursday, February 26, 2015

Bird seed and feeders

A thank you to Heidi Clevens for donating 20 lbs seed today.

The feeders will come down about the week of equinox when seed runs out.

-kb

Fwd: EFTA (@EFTA_birdday) is now following you on Twitter!

Humbling.....guess everyone knows us by now



-----Original Message-----
From: notify@twitter.com
To: Brooklyn Bird Club
Sent: Thu, Feb 26, 2015 10:25 am
Subject: EFTA (@EFTA_birdday) is now following you on Twitter!




     
Brooklyn Bird Club,
You have a new follower on Twitter.
  Brooklyn Bird Club

EFTA
@EFTA_birdday
An organization focused on bird conservation education and home of International Migratory #BirdDay (IMBD), Día Internacional de las Aves Migratorias
Western Hemisphere · http://www.birdday.org
Follow

Fwd: eBird Report - Prospect Park, Feb 25, 2015


Note continuing Common Mergansers on Lake and Purple Finch at feeders.  I had 2 Purple Finch yesterday

-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Toomey
To: Peter <Prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Feb 25, 2015 11:22 pm
Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Prospect Park, Feb 25, 2015



Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: ebird-checklist@cornell.edu
Date: February 25, 2015 at 11:22:04 PM EST
To: Kathleentoomey@
Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park, Feb 25, 2015

Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY
Feb 25, 2015 2:10 PM - 4:10 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
33 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose  51
Mute Swan  11
American Black Duck  10
Mallard  76
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid)  1
Northern Shoveler  23
Common Merganser  5     Continuing on the Lake, two males and three females.  A pair was also seen about an hour before in the open water by the Boathouse.  These were seen flying toward the north part of the park, so there were possibly seven Common Mergansers in all today.
Ruddy Duck  5
Red-tailed Hawk  1
American Coot  24
Ring-billed Gull  125
Herring Gull  3
Mourning Dove  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Blue Jay  4
Black-capped Chickadee  6
Tufted Titmouse  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
Carolina Wren  1
American Robin  2
European Starling  5
Fox Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  25
Dark-eyed Junco  1
Northern Cardinal  7
Red-winged Blackbird  15
Common Grackle  4
House Finch  1
Purple Finch  1     Continuing at the Feeders
American Goldfinch  4
House Sparrow  20

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22074408

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Upcoming BBC event March 10th

At the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza,presented by Sandy Paci 7 pm

Reminders as the event date approaches.

http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/meetings.htm

Fwd: First Sunday in March Bird Tour 8am

-----Original Message-----
From: michele dreger <msdreger@yahoo.com>

Sent: Wed, Feb 25, 2015 10:10 am
Subject: First Sunday in March Bird Tour 8am

This Sunday is the first Sunday of March.  We will  meet for the walk at 8am.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  Please dress warm and bring your binoculars.  

Last month a reporter and photographer from the NY Post came out and took a walk with us.  Here is the link to the story.



Looking forward to seeing you there.

Michele, Eni, Vinnie and Neil

From bob decandido facebook post

A peek into the Brooklyn Bird Club history in the very beginning.thanks to Bob

Peter Dorosh, Deborah Allen and Robert Bate (and other folks from the BBC) - found the 1912 article and am working on it..."THE BIRDS OF PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN.
No. 8

"Observations on the birds of city parks have yielded surprisingly worth-while results in many different centers of population, notably in San Francisco, Chicago and New York. For instance, in 1906 Chapman (Am. Mus. Journal. Vol. VI) published an annotated list of the birds of the vicinity of New York City in which species recorded from Central Park arc noted by an asterisk (*). These starred birds number in all 153 species, including several exotics which doubtless had escaped from cages."

"For the past six years the birds of Prospect Park, in the borough of Brooklyn, have been pursued tirelessly by a small but keen and enthusiastic aggregation of ornithologists, the 'Bird Lovers Club of Brooklyn.' Throughout this entire period the Park has been visited many times during every month excepting May, June, July, and August of 1911. The average number of visits per month has been 13. Sometimes 20 or even 25 trips have been made, and in one instance only (Oct. 1911) has the monthly number of trips fallen as low as 6. The greater part of this persistent and systematic scouring has been carried on by four members of the Club, Dr. and Mrs. E. W. Vietor, Mr. Edward Fleischer and Mrs. Charles S. Hartwell. Dr. and Mrs. Vietor, in particular, not only have made trips at all seasons, but, moreover, have carefully tabulated the results of their observations each month, and their lists have been posted in the Long Island Room of the Museum. It is to be hoped that eventually a member of the 'Bird Lovers Club' will undertake the task of compiling and publishing a full synopsis of the results, with notes on all the species, and with special reference to the presence of summer residents in winter."

Note Edward Fleischer was the first club president. The Vietors the driving force of the club' s founding on June 5th 1909

Monday, February 23, 2015

Prospect Common Mergansers

Two remained a pair on the Lake west shore.

On Feb 24th. Four seen.


Sunday, February 22, 2015

Fwd: Leslie Albrecht (@ReporterLeslie) mentioned you on Twitter!

Gowanus Canal sighting means there's hope for  improved water quality? See the grebe report posted on my twitter.



-----Original Message-----
From: notify@twitter.com
To: Brooklyn Bird Club
Sent: Wed, Feb 18, 2015 5:22 am
Subject: Leslie Albrecht (@ReporterLeslie) mentioned you on Twitter!



Neat! Photo? MT @pablo_dulce: Pied-billed Grebe on Gowanus Canal at Caroll St. this Things looking up for Lavender Lake @BBCKingsbirds - @ReporterLeslie

     
Brooklyn Bird Club,
You were mentioned in a Tweet!
  Brooklyn Bird Club


Leslie Albrecht @ReporterLeslie
Follow Follow
Neat! Photo? MT @pablo_dulce: Pied-billed Grebe on Gowanus Canal at Caroll St. this a.m. Things looking up for Lavender Lake @BBCKingsbirds
03:22 PM - 18 Feb 15


Reply to @ReporterLeslie
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