Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Fwd: Bush Terminal


From: roberta.manian@gmail.com
To: Peter Dorosh
Sent: Tue, Jun 30, 2015 11:46 am
Subject: Bush Terminal


Hi Peter,

Bush Terminal added 7 species in June, bringing total to 90.   New species were Green Heron, Yellow-crown Night-heron, Turkey Vulture, Forster's Tern, Cedar Waxwing, Chimney Swift and Northern Rough-wing Swallow.  A lone osprey has been hanging around, but not showing any interest in the platform.  

The park is getting more use as the weather improves but the birds don't seem to mind.  The worse problem is people walking on the rocks between the two pools at low tide.

b.

************

Photos from Gus Keri at Bush Terminal today




Sunday, June 28, 2015


4 Black Skimmer passed thru from over 3 sisters ,out northwest corner Prospect Lake 8:29 pm
 

Friday, June 26, 2015


3 Black Skimmers Prospect Lake. 8:45 Pm


June 30 Planets Jupiter and Venue is rare conjunction

Hope for clear skies!

The convergence of Jupiter and Venus culminates on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 with a CLOSE CONJUNCTION of these planets! At their closest approach, these two planets will be SO CLOSE, only 1/3 of a degree, or 20 arcminutes apart! This is close enough to fit inside the same field of view of binoculars, or a telescope at low power! (A typical small scope at 30x can show the entire Moon, which is 30 arcminutes across, larger than the separate between the planets on this night.)

Through the eyepiece, you can see a crescent Venus, along with Jupiter and Galileo's moons (Ganymede to the east, and Europa, Io, and Callisto to the west, as seen at the time of evening twilight, eastern USA time zone). Keep in mind that a telescope will present an inverted image, so this view will appear upside down through a scope.

Contact your local planetarium, observatory or astronomy club to find out if they are offering a telescope program on that night. If they are not, request that they do so! This is a very rare event that no one will want to miss!


(source Facebook )

Thursday, June 25, 2015


Great crested fc alder ave. Per Orrin GWCemetery
 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

BB Garden

From Orrin

Unfortunately for this juvenile Coopers, sitting on the ground in front of a weeping beech (15 feet from the camera) and being mobbed by blue jays, not in the same place. 



Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Tonight BBC program

This evening is the Brooklyn Bird Club program.

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

Seth Wollney talks about his science project on Urban Ponds that recently and successfully funded by private donors and a generous grant from CUNY .


Monday, June 22, 2015

Fwd: today's birds

Greenwood Cemetery


-----Original Message-----
From: Orrin Tilevitz <tilevitzo@yahoo.com>
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Jun 22, 2015 12:34 pm
Subject: Fw: today's birds


Here is a bad picture of the raven, which was being mobbed by robins and orioles near the Samuel Morse monument, and then took off and flew south, chased by the mobbers.

Anther notable sighting was an eastern kingbird at the Valley Water.

The mallard duckling probably is about a week old, and given the turtle population at the Sylvan Water is living on borrowed time.

 




Common raven morse tomb pix to follow.GWCemetery.per orrin
 

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Summer solstice

Summer began at 12:38 pm.


Friday, June 19, 2015

Followup on Seth Wollney's urban pond experiement fundraiser

https://experiment.com/u/wNBeIA

Don't forget, he's speaking for the Brooklyn Bird Club this Tuesday at the Grand Army Plaza Great Public Library.



Singing blackpoll warb persists gwcemtery lupind path per orrin
 

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Butterflies in Prospect

Seen yesterday in Butterfly Meadow during the BBC volunteer outing

MONARCH
TIGER SWALLOWTAIL
BLACK SWALLOTAIL


Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Fwd: Two new families





-----Original Message-----
From: guskeri@aol.com
To: prosbird
Sent: Wed, Jun 17, 2015 12:32 pm
Subject: Two new families

Hi Peter,
 
Here are few pictures of the two new families in Prospect Park. 

A family of Swans with 6 babies and a family of Wood ducks with 3 babies.
The Wood Duck pictures are not clear because of the distance but I could count 3 babies sitting on the island in the Upper pool with the mother by their side and the father on a branch above them.
 
The Hummingbird's and the Hairy Woodpecker's nests were empty with no evidence of any activity. I hope it means the babies have fledged successfully. 
 
It was a beautiful day for birding walk in the park.
There are more pictures on my Facebook page.
 Feel free to download any picture you like from my Facebook page any time.
 
Gus

Fwd: nysbirds-l digest: June 16, 2015



NYSBIRDS-L Digest for Tuesday, June 16, 2015.    1.

 Brooklyn Bird Club Evening  Presentation    ----------------------------------------------------------------------    

Subject:  Brooklyn Bird Club Evening Presentation  

From: Dennis Hrehowsik


 Please join the Brooklyn Bird Club Tuesday, June  23rd, 7:00 PM for: 

   *An environmental DNA (eDNA) approach to discovering life  in NYC Ponds.*    

*Presenter: Seth Wollney*   

 Location: Brooklyn Public Library  Central Branch  <http://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/central> at Grand Army  Plaza  

  Various human impacts, such as pollution and buildings, can  shape  freshwater pond ecosystems in the urban landscape of New York City.  Ponds  are important centers of biodiversity in cities and benefit humans in  many  ways. At our June meeting, Seth Wollney will talk about his project  to  inventory the biological communities in seven local ponds  using  cutting-edge environmental DNA collection techniques. The data  collected  will lead to a deeper understanding of what humans can do to help  conserve  these important ecosystems for future generations. 

   As a native New  Yorker, Seth Wollney has been a life-long naturalist  exploring the ponds,  woods, fields and beaches of the city. While  passionate about almost everything  that concerns ecology and natural  history, he has a particular interest in  birds, turtles, dragonflies and  moths. He is currently working on his doctoral  degree at the Conservation  Genetics lab at the College of Staten Island, CUNY.  His thesis project  investigates how biological communities found in urban ponds  are impacted  by human activities with a particular focus on painted turtle  ecology and  population biology. In March 2015, he received an Honorable Mention  from  the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship  Program!    http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/meetings.htm      Dennis  Hrehowsik    Brooklyn        ---    END OF DIGEST    

Good News from Seth Wollney...

Seth is speaking for the Brooklyn Bird Club June 23rd and as well leading the June 27th Dragonfly/odonata walk in Staten Island

 (http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/meetings.htm;  http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/trips.htm )

Here's his good news regarding his fundraising drive to study urban ponds ( source Facebook ) and a mentioned to Brooklyn birders....

BIG NEWS, WE DID IT! Thanks to the support of 162 Backers and a generous grant from CUNY, I have raised the $17,000 needed to carry out this summer's research plan on experiment.com! Through everyone's support we will now be able to pay not 2, but 3 undergrad research assistants, purchase field supplies to collect and process water samples, a new multimeter to take water quality readings and some additional supplies needed for my on-going capture-mark-recapture study of local turtles and most importantly pay for the sequencing of our environmental DNA samples!
A special thank you to all the people who have "shared" my many posts over since April, especially, HB West, Sarah Yuster, and Marilyn Zayfert (for some reason, FB isn't letting me tag her) who helped with the PR and spreading the word! An additional BIG THANK YOU to Sandra Paci, Peter D. and membership of the Brooklyn Bird Count who raised money for my effort during their annual Bird-A-Thon in Prospect Park.
Now, there is still time to make a donation at experiment.com/NYCeDNA
I will be publishing a "Lab Note" on the website in the next few days with a longer explanation!
On a special note, I have decided to dedicate this summer's research toBob McAndrew who passed on this spring. Bob was the father of my long-time friend Patrick (and husband to Linda). Bob was the first Backer to make a donation within 2 minutes of my first post promoting this project! Although we had not seen each other since the late-90's, Bob and I continued to maintain a friendship through Facebook! Bob's comments and suggestions on my posting always made me think a little deeper, sometimes reevaluate what I had said or teaching me something I'd never thought of before! My only regret is I had never taken him up on his many offers to come and visit his WONDERFULLY maintained backyard, which he had landscaped in the fashion of an old English garden. This summer's for Bob! We'll keep his memory alive with every turtle we handle and pond sample we take!



Blackpoll warbler singing central ave gwcemtery per orrin
 

Monday, June 15, 2015

Upcoming memorial walk June 20th


A long time member and active conservationist, my first trip leaders with surviving spouse Ron Bourque attending and leading


Some car spaces left 

Saturday, June 20th, A Memorial to Jean Bourque: Nature of Floyd Bennett Field

Meet 8:30 am at the south entrance parking lot, accessible by the Q35 bus http://tinyurl.com/June20thJbourque 
Leaders: Steve Nanz/Jerry Layton (insects, dragonflies, butterflies), Marielle Anzelone (plants, botany), Peter Dorosh (general)
Registrar: Peter Dorosh Prosbird@aol.com (preferred) or 347-622-3559 text only 
Registration Period: June 9th - June 18th 
Note: This trip celebrates the memory of Jean Bourque whose love of Floyd Bennett Field was her great joy. Jean, who passed away in June 2014, will be remembered best for the plants and habitats she nurtured and loved and birds and nature that thrived upon them. This walk will focus on plants, insects, birds and overall nature. This event is celebrated in conjunction with NYC Audubon and the National Park Service
The Q35 bus (which goes to the south Floyd Bennett Field entrance) stops in front of the Target store near Brooklyn College. Nearest train to the Q35 is the IRT to Brooklyn College (last stop.)
Leader profiles: 
Marielle Anzelone http://www.popupforest.org/ , http://nycwildflowerweek.org
Steve Nanz http://stevenanz.com
Peter Dorosh http://prospectsightings.blogspot.com/


Saturday, June 13, 2015


They baaaccck.4 BLACK SKIMMERS Prospect Lake 8:45pm.1 remaining.3 flew out NW