Great Cormorant in Prospect Lake;other good stuff to report

An irregular visitor but still rare GREAT CORMORANT  spotted by Steve Nanz this morning is a good bird for Prospect. Perched on the western snag of Three Sisters Islands in the lake, the juvenile bird with its prominent white belly stuck out like a sore thumb.This is likely the third or fourth bird of the last decade though I have yet to check the ebird records.

There's still movement of sparrows in Prospect through at vastly reduced numbers. The usual suspects visited the Rink Green roof, Butterfly Meadow and south lake shore by the western coves.But during the latter search spot, a late BLACKPOLL WARBLER appeared .

In the Sparrowbowl , the nickname for the vale between the Picnic and Tennis Houses, a lone NASHVILLE WARBLER moved around in the back edges of the fenced off area with new plants.Also YELLOW RUMPED WARBLERS in obvious circles of the park as I worked thru.

While I was away leading the BBC weekend trip, reports of good birds , namely at the BBGarden. The Native Flora section continues to illuminate its reputation despite its small plot. In the grassland section Saturday, Bobbi Manian spotted EASTERN MEADOWLARK; Dale Dyer reported ORANGE CROWNED WARBLER & PURPLE FINCH in the old flora section.

Last during my Brooklyn absence, Jeremy Burnworth emailed me a photo of VIRGINIA RAIL outside an apartment on Ocean Parkway yesterday just south of the park. See the photo. Unfortunately, its difficult to pass along info from the remote areas of New Jersey on top of being busy birding and leading my group.

lake list http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25558536