A most exciting morning in Prospect Park, from Lookout Hill's south face to the skies over Prospect Lake, 3 BALD EAGLES sightings commanded the views.
A mid morning text message from Doug Gochfeld placed the first Bald Eagle, flying in from the south, making a rare perching on Lookout Hill's south side. Later , Mary Eyster came along and both birders watched the large form take off, circling the sky over the Lake .
After an cell phone alert went out to Twitter, Rob Jett reported back on two BALD EAGLES! He was watching around 11:40 an adult and a juvenile over the Lake as well.
While I was mentioning this to my coworkers in the work truck , it reminded my coworker Mark Anthony in telling me he saw a Bald Eagle on January 7th , during "Mulchfest" of Xmas trees, [while i was driving the pickup truck :( ] , an adult flying over Park Circle's "Lion Tamers" entrance where Mark was working the chipper.
Whether this may look like a wintering Bald Eagle in Kings County, it is more likely that today's strong cold front with its gusty northwesterly winds pushed eagles through, as upstate water bodies froze over and fish are harder to find. New Jersey's coastal swamp and marshes (or maybe even Maryland's and Delaware's )beckons..
One other note of interest. While I was waiting and watching from the west Lakeshore, eating chinese food from its tray in my left hand, I spotted a large raptor flying along Ocean Avenue, at a distance of 1/3 of a mile. I watched the bird fly southward and its shape puzzled me as the wind took it on a ride. The best guess was a Red-shouldered Hawk but I also am inclined towards a Goshawk.The big bird flew behind the large apartment building on the corner of Ocean and Parkside Ave before doubling back and out towards Flatbush, disappearing behind the tree line. It was tough holding on to my chinese food though......
So a heads up for this Un-Id raptor.
On a mid afternoon fruitless search and wait for any more eagles, Bobbi Manian and I looked and walked along the south side of the Lake where the large flock of COMMON GRACKLES continue to roam , this time up in the big trees, at least 200 birds total on both sides of the south Lake drive.
See Bobbi's photo
I rather have an eagle ! ;)>
PS.. 2 Pied Billed Grebes are back after their absence yesterday. 40 Northern Shovelers in circles.....make you dizzy...
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NYState Birds Listserve posting from Rob Jett:
Subject: Brooklyn Eagle...
From: Rob Jett
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:00:16 -0500
...the bird, not the newspaper.
I received a text from Doug Gochfeld this morning that he was looking at an adult Bald Eagle in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The bird was circling Prospect Lake. I rushed into the park, but by the time I got to the lake it was nowhere to be found.
After about a 35 minute lakeside vigil I headed back across the
park, eagle-less. I ran into Doug near the Maryland Monument and we
stood talking for a few minutes. From that location there is an obstructed view of the lake, so when we saw all the gulls and geese take flight, we hurried down Wellhouse Drive towards the commotion. As we passed the Peninsula Meadow, to our left, we spotted a juvenile Bald Eagle flying towards us. I should note that the eagle seen by Doug earlier was an adult.
The raptor continued flying above us and over Lookout Hill. About 3 minutes later, as we walked to the edge of the lake, we observed a second Bald Eagle soaring over the lake. This one was an adult bird and likely the same individual Doug spotted earlier as he noted that it was missing a flight feather on its right wing.
It appears that there has been an adult Bald Eagle hanging around
Brooklyn since last Fall. Peter Dorosh posted a photo of one seen in Bush Terminal late last October (not far from Green-Wood Cemetery). Joe DiCostanzo spotted one in Green-Wood Cemetery on a Thanksgiving stroll. Marge Raymond photographed one in Green-Wood Cemetery while leading a tour on December 7th. Subsequent to that there were several unsubstantiated sightings in the cemetery by landscape workers, but then someone photographed it on January 6th and post the image
here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/coy_koi/6648619059/in/photostream
Anyway, I realize that Bald Eagles aren't a super-rarity, but to have one
hanging around Brooklyn is kinda cool.
Good birding,
Rob
The City Birder Weblog
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From Adam:
Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY
Jan 18, 2012 1:25 PM - 3:25 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Comments: windy, not too cold, clear
29 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) X
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) X
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 2
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) (Anas rubripes x platyrhynchos) 1
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) X
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 35 approx count
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 10 approx count
American Coot (Fulica americana) 15 approx count
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) X hundreds
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) X
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) X
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 10
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 4
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) X
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 5
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 1
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1 near Wellhouse
Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 1 also near Wellhouse
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) X
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) X
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) X large flock of hundreds
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) 20
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
