Thursday evening 6/4 , Rob Jett presents the Brooklyn Bird club evening program of "Red-Tail Hawks in Brooklyn" , at the Prospect Park Litchfield Villa just inside Prospect Park West avenue and 6th street, in the conference room starting at 6:30 social, 7 pm start.
see the link:
http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/meetings.htm
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Now for Prospect Park sightings>
After torrential rains overnight, look what came in: MOURNING WARBLERS and rare ALDER FLYCATCHER...and a LINCOLN SPARROW . And the place to be ? PENINSULA SUMACS. In the heavy undergrowth starting from the sumacs, located along the Well Drive, to the Terrace Bridge, MOURNING WARBLERS , at one count, a male and at least one females, maybe 2 , was a revelation in that sumac area, mostly at its eastern section. You would need to know the song for this skulker ( I know, i waited the whole lunch hour in my vain attempt). You have to get lucky sometimes...
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From Alex Wilson:
Some late migration was evident today in
Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, especially
around the Peninsula. A rather elusive
ALDER FLYCATCHER sang repeatedly,
first from the edge of the woods, then
moving along the Lullwater edge,
without my actually seeing the bird.
I ran into Ed Crowne who had stopped
for a MOURNING WARBLER in the
brush at the base of the Peninsula where
he’d also heard the Alder, though it did
not sing again for us at that point. The
Mourning was more cooperative, singing
and calling as it moved across the path to
the strip along the Lullwater bend heading
towards Terrace Bridge.
I returned to the Peninsula after 9:00 AM,
where Doug Gochfeld eventually found an
Empid at the edge of the sumac grove singing
an abbreviated version of the Alder song that
seemed distinct enough from the Willow
Flycatchers also in the vicinity for us to assume
it was the same bird heard earlier, though I
still didn’t get much of a look at it. The Mourning
Warbler had also returned to its original
spot, and Doug proceeded to pick out another,
somewhat drab, female skulking nearby. After
I left he reported what he took for a third
individual, a brighter female, making for
three in one spot, and serving to support the
notion that the Mourning Warbler’s perceived
scarcity is as much a matter of its habits and
late passage as of rarity per se (I had one at
Owl’s Head Park on 5/31 as well.)
Also notable for the date was a male
Ring-necked Duck, seen today on the Lake,
but almost certainly the same bird that lingered
through May, mostly at the Upper Pool. That
would mean it’s mobile enough to move between
the bodies of water, but one may wonder what’s
keeping it here, as the species usually departs
the park by the end of April.
Good birding,
Alex Wilson
Brooklyn
Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 6/3/09
Number of species: 51
Canada Goose 150
Mute Swan 6
Mallard 35
Ring-necked Duck 1 (Drake on the Lake with Canada Geese and
Mallards; presumably the same that has lingered through the spring,
mostly at the Upper Pool.)
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 3 (Flying around together over the Peninsula,
calling.)
Black-crowned Night-Heron 4 (Including one on the Long
Meadow, early AM.)
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Laughing Gull 4
Herring Gull 30 (Mostly on the Long Meadow.)
Rock Pigeon 35
Mourning Dove 10
Chimney Swift 15
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 5
Alder Flycatcher 1 (Heard singing re-be repeatedly as it
moved around the periphery of the Peninsula meadow around 7:30 AM,
seen briefly when refound by Doug Gochfeld later in the morning.)
Willow Flycatcher 3 (Including 2 singing at the same time on
the Peninsula.)
Eastern Phoebe 1 (Binnen Bridge.)
Great Crested Flycatcher 2 (Lookout butterfly meadow.)
Eastern Kingbird 4
Warbling Vireo 8 (Regular nesting species, heard throughout
the park.)
Red-eyed Vireo 6
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2 (Upper Pool.)
Barn Swallow 7
House Wren 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 (Together in bare branches above
Peninsula woods.)
Wood Thrush 1 (Heard.)
American Robin 40
Gray Catbird 15
European Starling 100
Cedar Waxwing 35
Yellow Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 5
American Redstart 4
Mourning Warbler 2 (Singing male at the base of the
Peninsula, first noted by Ed Crowne; later a female was glimpsed
nearby, ID'd by DG.)
Common Yellowthroat 3
Chipping Sparrow 1 (Singing at south end of Long Meadow,
likely on territory.)
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 8
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Common Grackle 15
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Orchard Oriole 1 (Adult male, base of Peninsula.)
Baltimore Oriole 10
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 50
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From Doug Gochfeld:
Sent: Wed, 3 Jun 2009 1:46 pm
Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park , 6/3/09
Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 6/3/09
Notes: Didn't get to the Park until 9:00 AM, so a pretty good morning
considering that.
Number of species: 40
Canada Goose X
Great Blue Heron 1 Flyover, Terrace Bridge area
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Laughing Gull 5
Herring Gull 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Chimney Swift X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Alder Flycatcher 1 Peninsula, maybe 2.
Willow Flycatcher 4 Peninsula, a couple of them giving variant
songs/calls.
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 2
Red-eyed Vireo 8
Barn Swallow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
House Wren 4
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 30
Yellow Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 7
American Redstart 8
Mourning Warbler 4 Three together (1 male, 2 females) in Peninsula Sumac
Grove, and one female along the water between the Terrace Bridge and the
Peninsula.
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 2
Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Peninsula Sumac Grove
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 1 Peninsula Meadow area
Baltimore Oriole 8 Probably more
American Goldfinch 2 Pair, Peninsula Meadow
House Sparrow X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
