Solitary at GWC

Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) (1)
- Reported Jul 16, 2025 07:15 by Z .
- Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6523083,-73.9904281&ll=40.6523083,-73.9904281
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S260355555
- Comments: "In the muck at Dell water, lil brown/white sandpiper, nice white spectacles. Would have taken pic if i knew it would be flagged. Ask RJ, he's got some pics ;P"

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" Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot,the only home we've ever known"

                                                                            --Carl Sagan

rare date for Blackpoll warbler in July Prospect

Either a "floater " ( unattached male) or actually breeding male ?..

a good sighting...in any case

Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jul 15, 2025 07:37 by Forrest Wickman
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S260189573
- Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Flagged for date: Such an odd date that I'm not sure whether to put "late" or "early" or "dispersing," especially because it was a breeding male, and singing. According to eBird, only the second year this species has ever been recorded in Prospect Park in July, with the only previous reports being from "NYC Bird Report Data" in July 1998. Even more weirdly, it was a breeding male, and singing? On Hammerhead. Photos. Audio also available."

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" Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot,the only home we've ever known"

                                                                            --Carl Sagan

First fall Louie waterthrush

Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) (1)
- Reported Jul 15, 2025 10:40 by Mike Wilper
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S260109415
- Comments: "At the upper pool. Poor photo to come."

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" Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot,the only home we've ever known"

                                                                            --Carl Sagan

Night life of bugs and moths event in prospect park July 18th. Brooklyn Bird club

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1YpD7jpnjW/

Night-fliers! Join Matthew Wills in a celebration of National Moth Week by exploring the wild world of nocturnal insects in Prospect Park. We’ll set up both UV and incandescent lights to attract moths, beetles, flies, and other insects to sheets where we can examine them closely. Meet just to the right inside the 5th St./PPW entrance to the park at Litchfield Villa.

 

Friday, July 18, 8:30-10pm (more or less). Rain will cancel: rain date, Saturday July 19, 8:30pm

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

Hoodie on the lake

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) (1)
- Reported Jul 10, 2025 10:45 by Chris Miller
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S258734854
- Comments: "Flagged for date and location. Juvenile or adult female. Alone between the peninsula and music island. *Photo to come"

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

BAEA GWC

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) (1)
- Reported Jul 09, 2025 11:00 by MCHL ____
- Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6523083,-73.9904281&ll=40.6523083,-73.9904281
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S258442088
- Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Distant dark raptor. Long wings and flat posture. Difficult to discern in person, ID'd from photos."

--

" Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot,the only home we've ever known"

                                                                            --Carl Sagan

This year's Fireflies abundant!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BH2Na32xU/

Also helps no pesticides or herbicides .. 

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

Tremendous find in prospect : Short-billed Dowitcher at duck island

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) (1)
- Reported Jul 07, 2025 10:42 by Ant Tab
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257834059
- Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Flagged for date on the county level but extremely rare year-round at this location (fourth record on eBird). Found by Forrest near Duck Island."

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) (1)
- Reported Jul 07, 2025 10:37 by MCHL ____
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257836599
- Comments: "Awesome find by Forrest. Medium shorebird with long bill. Line from eye to bill. Dark cap, dark brown speckled back and speckled rusty-tan underside. Dull yellow legs."

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) (1)
- Reported Jul 07, 2025 10:20 by karen o'hearn
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257831893
- Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "Awesome find by Forrest!!!  i have sad little cellphone pix.  Forrest & Tripper have actual pics."

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) (1)
- Reported Jul 07, 2025 09:18 by B F
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257829056
- Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "Seen with Forrest, who found it.  Photo"

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) (1)
- Reported Jul 07, 2025 08:22 by Forrest Wickman
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257840984
- Comments: "Patch bird! Extremely rare in the park (only the fourth record on eBird, per Ant), though common elsewhere in the county (if a little early—flagged for date), and even more unusually, it was just … on the ground. (The last report I'm aware of was last August, when Doug G reported some flyovers in the midst of Hurricane Debby.) Just W of the gazebo near Duck Island, on the SE corner of the lake, and it stayed put the whole time I was there, even as others walked within a few feet of it. (Presumably this was an early "fall" migrant and it's just resting—it didn't seem to have any obvious health issues.) Photos."

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) (1)
- Reported Jul 07, 2025 10:34 by Sean Sime
- Prospect Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6602841,-73.9689534&ll=40.6602841,-73.9689534
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257914243
- Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Park mega and great find by Forrest :) Flagged as rare/early by the filter, but only by a couple of days. Brown shorebird with orange chest, long bill, blackish back. It seemed fine/healthy, and was even feeding at times. But stayed in one spot for at least a few hours apparently."

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

Fireflies life cycle

And how we need to protect them

It's World Firefly Day! So let's talk about what fireflies really need to thrive. 

To truly protect fireflies, we have to think in seasons, not just summer nights. Everyone loves the glow. But fireflies spend most of their lives underground, hidden in the damp soil and leaf litter, glowing softly where almost no one sees.

The firefly life cycle has four distinct stages—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—and each one depends on a different part of the landscape.

🥚 Eggs and early larvae (late summer to fall): After mating, adult females lay eggs in moist soil or leaf litter. A few weeks later, tiny larvae hatch and begin their underground lives.

🐛 Larvae (fall into spring): This is the longest stage. Firefly larvae live in soil, leaf litter, and under logs for 1–2 years, hunting slugs, snails and worms under the cover of darkness. They overwinter in the ground.

🍤 Pupae (late spring to early summer): When conditions are right, larvae pupate, glowing faintly to ward off predators while undergoing their final transformation.

✨ Adult fireflies (early to mid-summer): This is the moment we wait for. Adult fireflies emerge, take flight, and use their light to find a mate (except diurnal species, which use pheromones). Most adults live just a few short weeks, but if conditions were right, they'll have mated and laid eggs.

So what do fireflies need from us?

🌙 Darkness

🌱 Undisturbed soils

🍂 Leaf litter and logs

🚫 No chemicals

🕰 Time

If we want to keep fireflies in our summer skies, we have to protect the quiet, hidden places that hold the rest of their story.

I designed this poster to illuminate the life cycle of fireflies and what they need to thrive!

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

July 7th after sunset southeast sky

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

Flagged RBNU

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) (3)
- Reported Jul 06, 2025 06:05 by Ryan Mandelbaum
- Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6523083,-73.9904281&ll=40.6523083,-73.9904281
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257458818
- Comments: "Heard "noot noot noot"ing, all three seen. Small, stub tailed, black and white face pattern."

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

Happy Birthday to Paul 🎂

Happy Birthday to Brooklyn Bird Club emeritus Paul Keim ,celebrating today. 🥳

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

Happy Birthday to Paul

 A heartfelt Happy Birthday to Brooklyn Bird Club President emeritus Paul Keim 🥳 celebrating today .

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

A kite is back over Greenwood

Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) (1)
- Reported Jul 01, 2025 12:16 by MCHL ____
- Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6523083,-73.9904281&ll=40.6523083,-73.9904281
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S256022102
- Comments: "Unexpected! Between rain showers, caught it from a distance heading Southeast, seen roughly from The Greeter (George Catlin) statue. Lanky raptor with distinctive short front wingtips and striped wedged tail. Images."

"Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the treehouse; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill."

Harper Lee,author To Kill a Mockingbird



   

PUMA in Bush Terminal Park

Purple Martin (Progne subis) (1)
- Reported Jul 01, 2025 07:05 by Nick Dawson
- Bush Terminal Piers Park, Kings, New York
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.6541609,-74.0204451&ll=40.6541609,-74.0204451
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S255943967
- Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Poor photos of female. New patch bird."

--

" Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot,the only home we've ever known"

                                                                            --Carl Sagan