Conservation note NYS Smart Growth Bill (for NYS, yes !)

http://bbcnewsboard.blogspot.com/2010/07/nys-smarth-growth-bill-needs-governors.html


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Skimmer sighting Prospect Lake 7/8

From Stephen Addinall:

Hi peter,


1 Black Skimmer this evening at 8.35 straight through

and off in the same direction as last night.

Cheers

Steve

Black skimmers nite out 7/7 + a "phantom" Raccoon; today's brief sightings

In the highest total seen since the 6 flyovers seen June  17, 2005 ( on a BBC bat walk led by Paul Keim),  three different flyby's of BLACK SKIMMER making up 6 birds were seen by Eric and Stephen Addinall and myself ( catching the last 5) between 7:30 and 8:30 in the evening. 3 swung low over the Lake surface, feeding for a moment before departing northwest; about a minute later , 2 more higher up went the same direction.

The all time record is 16, seen in a single line low flyby along the west shore of the lake  during the evening ( obs.PD,JL) on May 4th, 1997.

Other night sightings: BC Night Heron, Grackle,Barn Swallow, Chimney Swift

and for some humor:

When I was leaving the park after the Skimmer flyshow, I noted a white plastic bag being lifted out of a trash can near West Island..It was sort of ghostly  looking until I realized that a "shadowly" Raccoon had the bag in its teeth.When it saw me, it promtly dropped the bag as the Raccooon tediously perched on the fence...funny animals, yaknow?

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This morning:  an immature Red tailed hawk on the
ground by the Pine Grove  ( Long Meadow east / 
water fountain)(PD obs)

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from Janet Schumacher:

I saw the Peregrine fly into the BBG tower from the

north this morning at 7:15 am Probably hoping for a 

grab-and-go pigeon pickup from Wendy's.

Prospect Bat walk reminder 7/9 eve

Friday eve walk marks the last spring/early summer agenda trip for the BBC calendar: Always an interesting pleasant walk for nocturnal creatures.--Kingsboider

Friday, July 9th, Evening Prospect Park Bat walk  

Meet 7:45 PM at the 9th Street park entrance (Lafayette sculpture)

Trip Leader: Paul Keim

Brooklyn Botanic Garden eve presentation 7/8

Douglas Tallamy --an entomologist--wrote a fantastic best selling widely acclaimed book that I owe about the importance of restoring nature with native plants and the insects that feed on them. He is speaking at the BBG Thursday eve. see below..

Bringing Nature Home with Doug Tallamy  Thursday, July 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Book signing to follow. With as many as 33,000 species imperiled in the U.S. alone, it is clear that we must change our approach to gardening and landscaping if we hope to share space with other living things. Join author and ecologist Doug Tallamy to learn about the key role native flora must play in the restoration of our landscapes. Only by supporting a large, healthy diversity of insects that coevolved with native plants can we keep herbivores in balance and our gardens aesthetically pleasing. Dr. Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants received the Garden Writers Association’s 2008 silver medal. $12 member, $17 nonmember. Advance registration recommended but not required. To register, call 718-623-7220 or visit bbg.org/classregistration.

For more classes, talks and tours with the experts focusing on plants that support local wildlife and regional character, visit bbg.org/nativeplants.

July 5th Prospect report

From Steve Addinall:

Hi peter,

Not much to report from Monday although we did
see another tern. Approx. 12:40 either a Common or
Forsters Tern appeared very briefly and flew over the
 west edge of the lake and continued in a NE direction
out of sight. Although i didn't see it long or close enough
to make a positive ID I thought it was interesting to note
which way it headed.

On the same walk I also had singing black and white warbler
and 2 chipping sparrows. In the evening I watched the lake
from the rustic shelter until dark hoping to see a Nighthawk
but no joy. Just 2 night herons, 1 great egret, 1 green heron,
 4 crow sp. (American?) and lots of chimney swifts in the gloom.

COOL thoughts to think about in this "yeeech" Heat wave.....

As we all wilt, its probably helpful to visualize cool thoughts along with your ice tea.

One cool thought is thinking about the fall when much cooler northwest autumn winds whoosh thru and places like Cape May come to mind. This fall, one of my oldest birding friends Glen Davis will be leading a Brooklyn Bird Club weekend in mid-September. Glen started birding at age 8 and has been living in Cape May for 12 years now. I remembered the great old days when I was following this young kid --after pre dawn pickups at his Midwood home-- all over Prospect Park during spring migrations (we both set a personal best of 27 warbler species in one day including Lawrences and Golden-winged Warblers, many Hooded as well thanks to Glen's hearing), a good eye birder like me following a master ear birder at age 8 thru his teenage years before he left for college . Cape May weekends  with Glen and my other oldest birding friend Paul Keim were a blast with the three of us: two very experienced birders with a sharp eared youngster going all out for those birds. Sort of like a motley crue....memories of those cool birding days kind of helps mentally to counter this yeech heat.  Anyway, Glen ( and still a BBC member 30-ish emeritus :)>  ) has been a winner of the Cape Island NJ World Series of Birding champ for many years with his team ( also a winner in 2010)

here's his picture, second from the right :  http://tinyurl.com/32xvgtb

Cape May trip details

http://brooklynbirdclub.org/trips.htm#92

Stay cool....

---Kingsboider

July 2nd Prospect re-turn-ing terns and skimmer ; BBG/ GWC report

 report from John Ascher

Hi Peter,

After we met today (Fri) Chaoyan and I went to the Lake and
saw two Least Terns (one was there only briefly) and a
fly-by Black Skimmer.

I heard a Wood Thrush at the Quaker Cemetery.

John

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report from Orrin Tilevitz

BBGarden and Greenwood Cemetery

BBG this morning: red-breasted nuthatch, a song sparrow, and a few singing warbling vireos

Greenwood cemetery yesterday (7/1):

black-crowned night heron
great egret
warbling vireo
house wren
baltimore oriole
barn swallow (many)
northern flicker
chipping sparrow
song sparrow

July 1st Tern,tern,tern........

When I received  news this late afternoon that the  LEAST TERN was  feeding over Prospect Lake, i was quite satisfied that my bold prediction yesterday came true of it coming back.. But , it went even better : there were TWO LEAST TERNS out in the middle of the lake, one of them ventured close to the West Island shelter.

But the tern drama didn't end there. I came back about 45 minutes later to the lake and though I didn't see the Least terns, I spotted three terns along the north shore ( along Well drive). FORSTER TERNS, three sticking close to each other, gracefully flew along the shore before heading out in that direction, over Lamppost 249.

Hot afternoon on the water drama, hot action with a reTERN of rare species for the park. (excuse my bad pun)   ; )

--Kingsboider

List ( bet 4 and 5 pm)

Least Tern ( 2)
Forster Tern (3)
Red-tailed Hawk ( above Peninsula meadow)
Eastern Kingbird ( over southwest lake)
Barn Swallows
Canada Geese ( many)
Mallard
Laughing Gulls (3)

Least Tern continues 7/1

Rob Bate just reported ( via 3:30 text message) to me that LEAST TERN is being seen over the west side of Prospect Lake, same locale as yesterday .This is a rare species for the park. I guess my prediction was right it would come back...( habits die hard...)

---Kingsboider