Earth Day April 22nd ; Prospect

Today is Earth Day ( albeit a wet one for Brooklyn)

 

All strangley quiet in these parts, most notable I saw was NORTHERN ROUGH--WINGED SWALLOW with BARNS and a few TREE SWALLOWS over Prospect Lake. Warblers are absent for most ; I presume most birds are keeping west of the park or bypassing for the most part .. ( reminds me of the Almond Joy candy bar commercial years ago: "Sometimes you get the nut, sometimes you dont..." )

 

A pair of  WOOD DUCKS at the new rink shoreline.

 

Here are some Earth Day qoutations:

 

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.
Neil Armstrong

 

We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody.
R. Buckminster Fuller
 

***

 

From Adam :

 

( yesterday's report)

 

Hi Peter

Also had a very slow day yesterday.

A.

Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park, Apr 21, 2012

Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY
Apr 21, 2012 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Comments:     somewhat windy, partly cloudy
29 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  X
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  X
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  1
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  X
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  X
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  1
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  3
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  X
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  10
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  3
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  8
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  40
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  10
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  4
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  X
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  X
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  X
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/)

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From Rob Jett:

Peter,

Below is my Prospect Park species list for Saturday. Like most birders, Heydi, Paige and I thought that the overnight South winds would bring some new migrants into the park, so we began our birding at dawn. While we did manage to see a few first-of-year species, for the most part it was a pretty quiet morning. The recent abundance of Hermit Thrushes had been reduced to just a single sighting. It was pretty much the same for Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Two new warblers for us for the year were Common Yellowthroat (seen in the Vale of Cashmere) and Yellow Warbler (Three Sisters and the Ravine). Also saw our first swift for the year (there had been previous sightings reported this past week). House Wrens have arrived with at least four seen or heard. Savannah Sparrows were spotted at Breeze Hill, the South side of the lake and Lookout Hill. Maybe we'll see a fallout with the next round of South winds ... and hopefully that will happen on the weekend.

Good birding,

Rob

**********

Prospect Park, Kings, US-NY
Apr 21, 2012 6:29 AM - 10:29 AM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
51 species

Wood Duck (2.)
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck (7.)
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (1.)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (2.)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot (1.)
Laughing Gull (3.)
477265617420486f726e6564204f776c
Chimney Swift (1.)
Northern Flicker (3.)
Blue-headed Vireo (1.)
American Crow
Fish Crow (4.)
Tree Swallow (4.)
Barn Swallow (5.)
House Wren (4.)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2.)
Hermit Thrush (1.)
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher (1.)

Louisiana Waterthrush (1.)
Black-and-white Warbler (2.)
Common Yellowthroat (1.)
Northern Parula (2.)
Yellow Warbler (2.)
Palm Warbler (2.)
Pine Warbler (1.)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (15.)

Eastern Towhee (4.)
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow (4.)
Swamp Sparrow (2.)
White-throated Sparrow
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch

Other common species seen (or heard):
Mute Swan, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Robin, European Starling, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow