Monday, November 30, 2009

BBC Website inquiry : Lost parrot

The Brooklyn Bird Club received this inquiry yesterday.Though the bird scooted 10/24, and i presume the location is nyc ,if you see it here, call.

From: Lois Gram Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:22:53 -0500

To: info@brooklynbirdclub.org

Subject: Still Missing: African Grey Parrot

Please help me find my lost African Grey parrot, Zoë. She escaped from her pet carrier at the intersection of East 47th Street and Second Avenue on Saturday, October 24th at 3:30 PM. Zoë was last heard on Third Avenue between 57-60th Streets on November 25th. If you know of her whereabouts or have heard her please call Lois at (212) 750-5053.Reward offered for her safe return.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

November 29th Prospect reports ; BBC walk

On a day known more for some quality than quantity, I led the Brooklyn Bird Club walk with 14 people having a good time outside on this gorgeous day. With things quite slow in the early part of the walk that started at Bartel Pritchard Square, a few early good moments surfaced, all with south Lookout Hill involved.

On the middle or mid slope south path, a Red-tailed Hawk cooperated nicely, perched on a dead broken limb for all to see. At the bottom, along Lamppost 249, we delighted in watching an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW worked along the shrub edges , finally entering the chain link compound for the new picnic area. And ORANGED-CROWNED WARBLER did it again ! Although first seen in the phragmite edges by a multiflora shrub before hiding deeper in, it eventually sprung out and flew into the mulberry between the Magnolia trees and Ginkgo grove, the fourth straight day it appeared. Only several birders saw it since it was moving quite quickly and elusively.

Later noted sightings included Ring-necked Duck with a pair of Buffleheads in the Upper Pool; and another American Tree Sparrow on the horse path above the Boathouse;2 Wood ducks, each at Three Sister Islands and north Lullwater.

total # species 40

American Tree Sparrow profile: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Tree_Sparrow/id

Orange-crowned Warbler profile:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orange-crowned_Warbler/id


trip leader: peter

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 11/29/09
Number of species: 40

Canada Goose X lake
Mute Swan X lake
Wood Duck 2-drake on Three Sisters; drake north Lullwater
American Black Duck 3-2 lullwater
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X lake
Ring-necked Duck 1 drake Upper Pool
Bufflehead 2 , mixed pair Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck 75 lake
Pied-billed Grebe 2 lake
Great Blue Heron 1 Upper Pool
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 f/o upper pool
Cooper's Hawk 1 f/o rink
Red-tailed Hawk 1 perched south lookout hill
American Coot X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull (American) X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X lookout
Brown Creeper 1 lookout south
Carolina Wren 1 boathouse
American Robin X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing X lookout
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 well drive /lamppost 249 (rare)
American Tree Sparrow 2-- LP 249; Boathouse (uncommon)
Fox Sparrow (Red) 1 lamppost 249
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X lullwater
Northern Cardinal X
House Finch X
American Goldfinch X butterfly meadow; lullwater
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)

*************************

From Stanley Greenberg:

WINTER WREN behind the Wellhouse .

*************************

From Rafael Campos:

Site: Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Date: 29 November 2009
Observer: Rafael Campos R.

After those gusty winds, adding more cool air to the Metro area, today was a great day to go birding. And PP is close to my house in Park Slope.
I arrived about 8 am, walked towards the Vale, and nothing but starlings, pigeons & house sparrows. At the Vale, 1 Song Sparrow was actively feeding, and out of nowhere came 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker. And that were all the birds at the Vale. Rick's Place, Midwood, and the Nethermead were empty. At the Lake, was the only place I saw some activity and numbers, mostly gulls & waterfowl (the usual suspects!!).

A quick visit to Lookout Hill, no birds, but the pools were a surprise because I saw 1 male Ring-necked Duck, and 1 pair of Buffleheads.
On my way back, the Vale was a little more active (11:15 am), and I recorded there Juncos, WT Sparrows, WB Nuthatch, YB Sapsucker.


Today list:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan (2, Lake)
Wood Duck (1 male, Lullwater near the Audubon Center)
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck (1 male, Upper Pool)
Bufflehead (1 pair, Upper Pool)
Ruddy Duck (Lake & Upper Pool)
Great Blue Heron (1, Lullwater)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Merlin (1, flew over Nethermead,~10 am)
American Coot (Lullwater, Lake)
Ring-billed Gull
(American) Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Vale, Midwood)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1, Vale)
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee (1, Vale)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1, Vale)
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow (1, Vale)
White-throated Sparrow (abundant)
Dark-eyed Junco (1 Wellhouse; 3 Vale)
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Saturday, November 28, 2009

November 28th Prospect

I must be on a "hot" streak. For the third consecutive day, I sighted the ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.I can't explain it, the luck I have had with this not so easy to get warbler. A couple years ago, I never had the luck of getting several reports I received of this then elusive warbler;this year, it must be about eight times ( at least), starting with a spring sighting way back then in Ohio's famous Magee Marsh region. Perhaps, as I lead the club walk tomorrow (Sunday) in Prospect, I might be lucky a fourth straight day. I'm thinking of carrying a horseshoe for luck ( if it works).

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 11/28/09
Number of species: 21

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 5 lake
Wood Duck 1 drake lullwater
Northern Shoveler 18 west island
Ring-necked Duck 1 drake near west island shelter
Bufflehead 1 drake near west island shelter
Ruddy Duck 75 lake
Pied-billed Grebe 2 lake
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2 phragmites adj west island shelter
American Coot 4 lake
Ring-billed Gull 125 lake
Herring Gull (American) 45 lake
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 wellhouse
American Robin 2 peninsula
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 slope area behind wellhouse
White-throated Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird 2
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Friday, November 27, 2009

November 27th Prospect, the day after the big feast

The Day after Thanksgiving required some exercise walking to shed those extra pounds . I met up with Mary and we took a long birding walk through Prospect, ending at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

It looks like I am becoming fast friends with the ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.For the second straight day,I spotted the little warbler ,this time up slope between the Well house and Lamppost #249 (behind the giant Ginkoe tree grove). It was with a bunch of birds in the weedy ,mostly multi flora shrubs; I saw it gleaning insects from a tree creeping English Ivy.After getting Mary's attention on the bird, we saw it fly away towards a Sycamore Maple, chasing a Blue Jay ! Weird...

That spot was the hottest spot this raw ,cold ,windy morning, at the middle path the base for much our birding activity.Here's what we both saw there: 4 Woodpecker species, HAIRY,DOWNY,RED-BELLIED,YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER;CAROLINA WREN;WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH;RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET ;TUFTED TITMOUSE and BLUE JAY besides the rare warbler.

This day after, it wasn't much the concern with what birds there were but simply getting out instead of sleeping on the couch all day long as a stuffed potato ; a couch "potato" isn't something I am... I need to go birding.

Observers; Peter Dorosh , Mary Eyster
Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 11/27/09
Number of species: 34

Mute Swan 6 lake
Wood Duck 1 drake lullwater
American Black Duck 3 --1 binnen pool;2 lake
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X lake
Ruddy Duck 75 lake
Pied-billed Grebe 5--2 lake;3 lullwater
Great Blue Heron 1 lake; flyaway
Red-tailed Hawk 2- over boathouse/lily pool
American Coot X lake
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 4
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Downy Woodpecker 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Hairy Woodpecker 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Blue Jay 3 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Black-capped Chickadee 1 boathouse
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Carolina Wren 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 terrace bridge
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
American Robin 2 boathouse
European Starling 100 boathouse
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Eastern Towhee 1 male boathouse slope path
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 20 --8 terrace bridge ;12 south middle Lookout Hill , path
Northern Cardinal X
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Nov 26th Happy Thanksgiving ! (+ a Turkey Trot Prospect List)






From the Kingsboider wishing you all a safe and wonderful holiday!




Trivia

How the Turkey Got Its Name
*
There are a number of explanations for the origin of the name of Thanksgiving's favorite dinner guest. Some believe Christopher Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India, and believed the bird he discovered (the turkey) was a type of peacock. He therefore called it 'tuka,' which is 'peacock' in Tamil, an Indian language.
Though the turkey is actually a type of pheasant, one can't blame the explorer for trying.
The Native American name for turkey is 'firkee'; some say this is how turkeys got their name. Simple facts, however, sometimes produce the best answers—when a turkey is scared, it makes a "turk, turk, turk" noise.
*
Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears. They can also see in color, and have excellent visual acuity and a wide field of vision (about 270 degrees), which makes sneaking up on them difficult. However, turkeys have a poor sense of smell (what's cooking?), but an excellent sense of taste.

*
Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys, however, can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground.
*
Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees.
***********************
A short "turkey trot " into Prospect this morning (while a "Turkey Trot " race 5 miler was in progress) didn't produce any of those celebrity birds for which this day is known for , but rather an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER still lingering around. I first saw the bird quickly fly into a bush in front of the Wellhouse, before it took off for the phragmites along the lakeshore.About 20 minutes later, I again saw the Orange-crowned quite well for a long time, feeding on the mugwort and ground cover in the Peninsula Sumacs, on the left side if you stood on the lawn. Quite a "hungry " little fella.
^
Another keen observation was seen on Three Sister Islands: right where the Great Blue Heron was perched on a tree branch was a higher up adult Red-Tailed Hawk perched on a snag ,towering over the heron. I guess the Great Blue is "thankful" he is a bigger bird and not any potential delicious meal. Speaking of food, I'm off for my holiday at my sisters. Have a thankful meal and good holiday memories.
^o^
^o^
"Kingsboider"
^o^
^o^
List
Orange-crowned Warbler- Wellhouse to phragmites to Peninsula Sumacs
also there Song Sparrows,WT Sparrows, Tufted Titmouse, 3 Cardinals ( Wellhouse)
On lake
86 Ruddy Duck
about 8 Northern Shoveler
Mallards,Canada Geese
2 Greater Black-backed Gulls, Herring, Ringbilled
Three Sisters : Great Blue Heron, Red-Tailed Hawk,Pied-Billed Grebe
Duck Island : Great Blue, Black-crowned Night Heron, Pied-Billed Grebe
Peninsula: Sharp-shinned Hawk ( also obs Glenn Davis)

November 25th Prospect

Noted sightings: Orange-crowned Warbler ,White-crowned Sparrow

From Orrin:

From Park Circle around the lake to the left, then across Breeze Hill, out to Empire Blvd & Flatbush Ave, and through BBG.

Not much out

Mallard duck
American black duck
Ruddy duck
Northern shoveler
American coot
Great blue heron (2, BBG)
Ring-billed gull
Downy woodpecker
Tufted titmouse
Black-capped chickadee
White-breasted nuthatch
American goldfinch
White-throated sparrow
Song sparrow
Mourning dove
European starling
American robin
House sparrow
Lots of squirrels, some airborne


*******************

Peter's 11/24 report:

Slow days are here ,heading towards winter and holidays keep us preoccupied. I'll cherish whatever flies ,even a Turkey....:)>

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 11/24/09
Number of species: 19

Mute Swan X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X lake
Ring-necked Duck 1 drake Lake on 11/23
Bufflehead 1 drake lake
Ruddy Duck X lake
Pied-billed Grebe 1 lake
Great Blue Heron X lake
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2 duck island
Red-tailed Hawk X
American Coot X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull (American) X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
European Starling X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 4 near wellhouse
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

PS. I received a secondhand report of 3 Baltimore Orioles still present in the BBG.See yesterday's posting of where, today though in surrounding trees next to Ilex Macrocarpa.

++++++++++++++++

From Alex Wilson:

Begin forwarded message:

> Location: Prospect Park
> Observation date: 11/25/09
> Number of species: 46
>
> Canada Goose 50
> Mute Swan 9
> Wood Duck 1
> American Black Duck 5
> American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) 1
> Mallard 100
> Northern Shoveler 15
> Ring-necked Duck 1 (Male, Upper Pool.)
> Ruddy Duck 80
> Pied-billed Grebe 4
> Great Blue Heron 4
> Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
> Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
> Cooper's Hawk 2 (Adult perched south of Lake; flyover at
> Lily Pond.)
> Red-tailed Hawk 3
> Merlin 1
> American Coot 15
> Ring-billed Gull 100
> Herring Gull (American) 40
> Great Black-backed Gull 4
> Rock Pigeon 30
> Mourning Dove 15
> Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
> Downy Woodpecker 5
> Hairy Woodpecker 1
> Blue Jay 10
> American Crow 8
> Black-capped Chickadee 6
> Tufted Titmouse 8
> White-breasted Nuthatch 5
> Brown Creeper 2
> Carolina Wren 4
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 (Wellhouse Drive phragmites.)
> American Robin 2
> European Starling 100
> Orange-crowned Warbler 1 (In phragmites between
Wellhouse and 249, then back across drive, 11AM;
forty minutes later at Lookout butterfly meadow.)
> Eastern Towhee 2 (Heard on Lookout; female behind Boathouse.)
> Fox Sparrow (Red) 5 (Including some singing at lamppost 249.)
> Song Sparrow 6
> White-throated Sparrow 60
> White-crowned Sparrow 1 (Immature, Terrace Bridge
NE corner, coming to birdseed on the path under the bridge.)
> Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 20
> Northern Cardinal 20
> Red-winged Blackbird 2
> American Goldfinch 15
> House Sparrow 20

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

3 Baltimore Orioles still in

3 Baltimore Orioles still in ilex macrocarpa tree in holly section at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, opp conservatory per Orrin

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Christmas Bird Census

Birders:


One month from now is the the official Brooklyn Xmas Bird Census on Saturday December 19th.


Three teams lead the Prospect Park region : me in the southern region, Paul Keim in the northern region , and a third team in Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (there maybe a Audubon Boathouse group , yet undetermined)


There is also a team (or teams depending on # people) conducting the census in Greenwood Cemetery .


If you are interested in being part of the census, please let me know .I am forming my team with a limit of 6 , any additional folks willing to have fun can help out Paul or the garden group which the latter only takes part in the morning.The Prospect count is all day.


You can contact me at prosbird@aol.com


If you wish to bird Greenwood Cemetery ( a great place too), let me know and I will forward your name to Heidi Steiner, who is coordinating Brooklyn's teams.


I am also aware some locales like Floyd Bennett are in need of folks assisting the count there..Let me know if this is intriguing to you and I'll let Heidi or the counters of Floyd know.


For more on Xmas counts, see the attached links:





--"Kingsboider"

Friday, November 20, 2009

November 20th, Prospect

From Larry Zirlin:


7 species of ducks and other water birds. Not very many passerines to be found.

Bird on.

Larry Zirlin

Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 1:33 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park , 11/20/09

Location: Prospect Park

Observation date: 11/20/09

Number of species: 23



Canada Goose 50

Mute Swan 8

Wood Duck 3 Lullwater

Gadwall 1 Upper Pool

American Black Duck 2 Lullwater

Mallard 125

Northern Shoveler 10

Ring-necked Duck 1 Upper Pool

Ruddy Duck 130; 1 on upper pool, balance on lake

Pied-billed Grebe 4-- 3 in Lullwater, 1 in lake

Double-crested Cormorant 1 West side of lake

Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 Duck Island

Red-tailed Hawk 2 Flyover Boathouse

American Coot 12 Lullwater & lake

Ring-billed Gull 100

Herring Gull 10

Downy Woodpecker 1

Blue Jay 6

Black-capped Chickadee 1 Ravine

Northern Mockingbird 1 Boathouse

White-throated Sparrow 20

Northern Cardinal 1

House Sparrow 25

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

November 19 Prospect: one of those slow days....

Stuck all day near the Duck Island during a fish rescue, I stole some casual glances at birds around. Most obvious were three GREAT BLUE HERONS flying together over the water from the island towards the Peninsula. Other than that, whatever I saw from our vehicle is listed below. It did appear on one of my passbys, the boathouse slope habitat looked pretty active.Hopefully, I will get to check on that.

Most sightings near Duck Island or the lake (unless noted otherwise)

--peter


Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 11/19/09
Number of species: 22

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 5
American Black Duck 3 west island
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Ring-necked Duck 1 drake Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck X
Pied-billed Grebe 2--1 lake;1 west island cove
Double-crested Cormorant 1 west island, flyaway
Great Blue Heron 3 duck island
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 immature feeding on mudflat Duck Island
American Coot X
Ring-billed Gull 17 west island
Herring Gull (American) X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Blue Jay 1 boathouse
Northern Mockingbird 1 boathouse
European Starling X
Swamp Sparrow 1 west island near cove apex
White-throated Sparrow 4 west island near cove apex
Northern Cardinal 1


This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)