March 20th Spring Arrives; first of season Prospect reports

Today at 1:32, the earth passes through Spring Equinox when the day equals night .

Happy Spring !

( we welcome it, especially after a late winter deluge of northeasterners)

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Hilight today was a PINE WARBLER in the pines below the north side Terrace Bridge (west Lullwater); first official spring warbler migrant, though it was seen 2 hrs before the equinox ( so I fudge it a little ;)> )

List

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/20/10
Number of species: 32

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Wood Duck 2 drake f/o Terrace Br
American Black Duck 3 lake
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) 1
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 44 lake
Ruddy Duck 83 lake
Great Blue Heron 2 f/o LP #249
American Coot 4 lake
Herring Gull (American) X
Great Black-backed Gull 3 lake
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Downy Woodpecker 2 breeze hill
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Terrace Br path
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 1 Terrace Br path
Carolina Wren 1 wellhouse, carrying nest material ( spring can't start soon enough) ;later west lullwater pine grove
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Terrace bridge
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird 1 Wellhouse
European Starling X
Pine Warbler 1 Terrace Br underpath, west lullwater pine grove ;FofS "spring" warbler
Song Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 2 --1 West Island benches, 1 west lullwater pine grove shore
White-throated Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 12
American Goldfinch 3 formerly feeders site
House Sparrow X

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


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From Rafael:

SITE: Prospect Park
DATE: 20 March 2010
OBSERVER: Rafael Campos R
With great expectations after several days of nice weather, I went to PP for my weekly walk.No much, but I saw at least 1 Eastern Phoebe, & 1 Northern Flicker. A sign of the upcoming migration?
The RTHA was sitting on its nest in Nelly`s Lawn. No much waterfowl in the lake, and surprise, only 1 sps of gull.

Here is the birds recorded today:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck (1 male, upper pool)
Ruddy Duck
Great Blue Heron (2 flyovers Long Meadow)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot (4)
American Herring Gull
Rock (Common) Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Norther Flicker (2, Vale)
Eastern Phoebe (1, behind Music Pagoda, singing)
Blue Jay
American Crow (1)
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch (1, Vale)
Carolina Wren (1, behind WellHouse)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1, Lookout Hill)
Hermit Thrush (1, Vale)
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European (Common) Starling
Fox Sparrow (1, Vale)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (6, Vale)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Brooklyn is good birding!!!


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From Mike Yuan:

beautiful morning on the 1st day of spring
Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 5
Mallard 20
Northern Shoveler 25
Ring-necked Duck 1
Ruddy Duck 62
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot 5
Ring-billed Gull 10
Herring Gull 7
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 15
Mourning Dove 7
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 4
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 5
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 70
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 55
Fox Sparrow (Red) 2
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 28
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 11
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 29
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 12

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From Rob Jett:

Date: March 20, 2010 8:49:24 PM EDT
> Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park , 3/20/10
>
> Location: Prospect Park
> Observation date: 3/20/10
> Number of species: 35
>
> Canada Goose X
> Mute Swan 2
> American Black Duck X
> Mallard X
> Northern Shoveler 12
> Ring-necked Duck 1
> American Coot 5
> Ring-billed Gull X
> Herring Gull (American) X
> Great Black-backed Gull 1
> Rock Pigeon X
> Mourning Dove X
> Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
> Downy Woodpecker 2
> Hairy Woodpecker 1
> Northern Flicker 1
> Eastern Phoebe 1
> Blue Jay X
> Black-capped Chickadee X
> Tufted Titmouse X
> White-breasted Nuthatch X
> Carolina Wren 1
> American Robin X
> Northern Mockingbird X
> European Starling X
> Fox Sparrow 2
> Song Sparrow X
> White-throated Sparrow X
> Dark-eyed Junco X
> Northern Cardinal X
> Red-winged Blackbird X
> Common Grackle X
> House Finch X
> American Goldfinch 3
> House Sparrow X
>
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

March 19th Prospect

From Larry Zirlin:

Subject: eBird Report - Prospect Park , 3/19/10

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/19/10
Number of species: 30

Canada Goose 100
Mute Swan 6
Mallard 75
Northern Shoveler 8
Ring-necked Duck 1 Drake Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck 90
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Coot 10
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull 112
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 17
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 7
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2 Peninsula
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Feeders
American Robin 150
European Starling 100
Song Sparrow 17
White-throated Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Northern Cardinal 15
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 35
House Finch 1 Feeders
American Goldfinch 1 Feeders
House Sparrow 30

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

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From Orrin:

Bright male Wood Duck on Japanese pond, some song sparrows

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kingsboider note: Feeders are finished for the season.Thanks to all who donated seed this past winter. Till early December.......

Prospect March 18th inc Orange crowned warbler

Hilight: Orange-crowned warbler west side lullwater above terrace bridge per rob bate

list from Rob Bate

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/18/10
Number of species: 35

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Ring-necked Duck X
Ruddy Duck X
Great Blue Heron X
Red-tailed Hawk X
American Coot X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
Hermit Thrush X
American Robin X
European Starling X
Orange-crowned Warbler X
Fox Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
House Finch X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

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

Prospect reports

Hilights: Brant, Ring-necked Duck, Wood Duck, Tree Swallow ( FOY) , Eastern Phoebe ,Peregrine Falcon

From Larry Zirlin:

Hi Peter.
A dozen Brant in the lake.

Best,

LARRY ZIRLIN
http://birdsandwords-larryz.blogspot.com/


Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/17/10
Number of species: 34

Brant 12 In the lake
Canada Goose 100
Mute Swan 7
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 100
Northern Shoveler 31
Ring-necked Duck 1 Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck 89
Great Blue Heron 1 Flying across lake
Red-tailed Hawk 3 Two flying over Terrace Bridge, one in tree by
Boathouse
American Coot 10
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 11
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Lullwater Trail
Downy Woodpecker 4
Blue Jay 7
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Feeders
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
American Robin 120
European Starling 220
Song Sparrow 11
White-throated Sparrow 30
Dark-eyed Junco 5 Feeders
Northern Cardinal 15
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 17
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 65

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

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From Alex Wilson:


Begin forwarded message:

> Location: Prospect Park
> Observation date: 3/17/10
> Number of species: 46
>
> Brant 30 (Flew in to Lake 11:15.)
> Canada Goose 150
> Mute Swan 6
> Wood Duck 1 (Drake, Upper Pool.)
> American Black Duck 6
> Mallard 100
> Northern Shoveler 25
> Ring-necked Duck 1 (Drake, Upper Pool.)
> Ruddy Duck 80
> Great Blue Heron 2
> Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (Juvenile, perched near Boathouse pool.)
> Red-tailed Hawk 3 (At both nest sites, copulating in the
> Ravine.)
> Peregrine Falcon 1 (On BBG tower.)
> American Coot 10
> Ring-billed Gull 15
> Herring Gull (American) 30
> Rock Pigeon 15
> Mourning Dove 15
> Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
> Downy Woodpecker 8
> Eastern Phoebe 1 (Upper Lullwater trail west.)
> Blue Jay 10
> American Crow 5
> Tree Swallow 1 (Flyover seen from bridle path north of
> Boathouse.)
> Black-capped Chickadee 10
> Tufted Titmouse 4
> Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 (Together in pines along upper
> Lullwater trail.)
> White-breasted Nuthatch 6
> Carolina Wren 1
> American Robin 100
> Northern Mockingbird 3
> European Starling 100
> Cedar Waxwing 5 (Upper Lullwater.)
> Fox Sparrow (Red) 4
> Song Sparrow 15
> Swamp Sparrow 2 (One was singing from west shore of Lake.)
> White-throated Sparrow 60
> Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 30
> Northern Cardinal 30
> Red-winged Blackbird 60
> Common Grackle 35
> Brown-headed Cowbird 5
> House Finch 8
> American Goldfinch 10
> House Sparrow 25

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From Orrin Tilevitz:

BBGarden sightings

Peregrine falcon on usual perch, top of FDNY radio tower.
Junco, one flock, newly arrived in north end
Song sparrow, many singing
White-throated sparrow, many
American robin, many
Blue jay
European starling
Mourning dove
Mallard duck, several in Japanese pond
Canada goose, 1 flock flyover
Northern cardinal, several


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From Eddie Davis:

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/16/10
Number of species: 26

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Ruddy Duck
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-capped Chickadee (Lookout)
Brown Creeper (Lookout)
Carolina Wren (Lookout)
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (Terrace Bridge)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Feeders)
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch (Terrace Bridge)
American Goldfinch (Feeders)
House Sparrow

brief notes from the field March 16th

From Peter

Prospect Lake:

Ring-necked Duck (drake), Northern Shoveler ( 40 +) , Ruddy Duck ( 60 +), Buffflehead ( drake), usual regulars

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From Matthew Wills :

Greenwood cemetery

Walking in Green-Wood today, I heard and saw a male belted kingfisher at the Crescent Water. A Cooper's hawk was over head and then perched near the 5th Ave gate. A red-tailed hawk sat on the edge of Little Drummer Boy nest.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

From Anne -Katrin:

Prospect Park

Wood Duck spotted this morning on the Lullwater to the north side of the Terrace Bridge. He was hanging with a pair of swans .10 swans on the watercourse early morning today.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

From Elyse Taylor:

A warbler was reported at the Lily Pool bridge. ( wood bridge over Binnen Falls, west of the boathouse).From the description of it, it sounds like an Orange-crowned warbler.

--Kingsboider

Storm damage in Prospect Park

Below is a link to the Prospect Park Alliance website that shows tree damage which was pretty significant:

http://www.prospectpark.org/about/press/storm_damage_info?preview=1&psid=0&ph=7018&o5943=

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A storm's aftermath Prospect March 14th

I was more curious about the massive storm's impact upon bird species or what might have been pushed down unto the lake. I didn't see anything rare which was my hope, but the lake was quite choppy. Ruddy Ducks and an uptick of Northern Shovelers was all I could observe.

On the Upper Pool , both the pair of Bufflehead and three Wood Duck were holding their own, braving the storm's fury.

More preoccupied about all the tree damage I saw, I say it was very extensive..A very busy week for sure cleaning up the mess. :(

P.

List

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/13/10
Number of species: 22

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X lake
Wood Duck 3 --2 drake , 1 hen Upper Pool
American Black Duck 4 --3 lake;1 Upper Pool
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 43 lake ( # up)
Bufflehead 2 pair Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck ~60 lake
American Coot 3 lake
Herring Gull (American) X
Great Black-backed Gull 1 lake
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Downy Woodpecker 2 feeders
Black-capped Chickadee 1 feeders
Carolina Wren 1 calling near Maryland Monument
American Robin X
European Starling X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 6-2 feeders, 4 west island phrags
Common Grackle 4
House Sparrow X

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

too much rain....

Obviously, all this hard rain and strong wind puts a real damper on birding.....good for the soil and plants , but bad for the trees...we might see a few down...be careful out there....

--Kingsboider

brief notes + Prospect wet March 12th

A few notes:

---The tentative date for the birdathon planting financed by last year's birdathon will be May 22nd. When the date nears a few weeks before, I will communicate details and request registration of volunteers to determine how much equipment I need to borrow from the Volunteer department (Prospect Park Alliance)

---Today, I restocked the feeders with the last seed from the last bag. The feeders will be drawing down its winter season, hopefully for another two weeks .Suet may last a little beyond that. After that, the feeder season will close. I have no desire to maintain it afterwards beyond winter ; the feeders intent (besides the joy of watching birds) was only to provide for winter stressed birds. With spring approaching, blooms and emergent insects will provide the necessary nourishment.Furthermore, feeders have to be taken down to prevent "addicting" migrating birds which must-- against time-- rush towards their breeding grounds. So enjoy them when you can.

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Todays sightings:

From Peter:

In this dreary wet weather , an uplifting sight on the Upper Pool provided a good moment. A trifecta of duck species worth watching: Ring-neck Duck, 3 Wood Duck, and Bufflehead. One , two,and three were the numbers starting with the lone Ring-necked in the pond's middle; 2, a pair of Bufflehead , though not together, and 3 Wood Ducks-2 drakes and one hen , hugging the back shore by the submerged tree branch.

Of note also, though not a duck, was a decent sized flock of feeding Brant, tight knit on the ballfield adjacent to Parade Place at the Parade Grounds.

Quiet all around, obviously this large storm system is having a measurable impact upon bird species everywhere. Stay dry and watch some good movies... unless you truly are a bad weather birder. Its worth the effort.

Kingsboider

Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/12/10
Number of species: 27

Brant ~ 68 feeding on Parade grounds eastern field
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Wood Duck 3 -2 drake, 1 hen Upper Pool
American Black Duck 2 West Island
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 17 Upper Pool
Ring-necked Duck 1 drake Upper Pool
Bufflehead 2 pair Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck 70 lake
Great Blue Heron 1
American Coot 4 lake
Ring-billed Gull 450 on the ballfields . wet delicacies ;worms ?
Herring Gull 30
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Downy Woodpecker 2 feeders
Black-capped Chickadee 1 feeders
American Robin X
European Starling X
Song Sparrow 2 feeders
White-throated Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 3 --2feeders ,
House Finch 2 feeders
American Goldfinch 2 feeders
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Prospect March 11th

From Rafael Campos:


Date: 11 March 2010
Site: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY
Observer: Rafael Campos
Time: 10:30 am - 1 pm

The big surprise today was that I did not find any
Ring-necked Ducks at the pools, only 1 pair of
Buffleheads, Mallards & Canada Geese. The pair
of Red-tailed Hawks are doing a good progress with
their nest around Nellie's lawn. I saw only 1 of them.
Nothing rare, but the numbers of Song,&
White-throated Sparrows have increased, and so the
American Robins. Just 3 Fox Sparrows, and 1 Hermit
Thrush.

The birds:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck (1 m; upper pool)
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Bufflehead (1 pair, upper pool)
Ruddy Duck
Great Blue Heron (1)
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon (1, perched, tower)
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker (1 pair)
Blue Jay
American Crow (1, Grand Army Plaza)
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch (2)
Hermit Thrush (1)
American Robin
European (Common) Starling
Fox Sparrow (3)
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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From Peter


Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 3/11/10
Number of species: 20

Wood Duck 1 drake Lower Pool
Mallard X
Bufflehead 2 pair Upper pool
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Downy Woodpecker 3 feeders
Blue Jay 1 lullwater
Black-capped Chickadee 1 feeders
Carolina Wren 1 seen 3/9 feeders area
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 below Terrace Bridge
American Robin X
European Starling X
White-throated Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
Northern Cardinal 8 feeders area
Red-winged Blackbird 4 feeders
Common Grackle X lake perimeters
House Finch X feeders
American Goldfinch 2 feeders
House Sparrow X

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