Look up!

     Spring migration is in full swing! Spring also is finally here, I'm fairly sure we shouldn't see snow again till next winter (but then again at this rate, you never know). I walked into my backyard, which happens to literally be Green-Wood Cemetery, where even the memorials tell you to look up to the trees. Warblers were plentiful, mockingbirds gave chase to anyone in their territory, nests were being built or tended to, and songbirds hunted insects that buzzed through the air. On the ground, even some of the cold blooded folks were out and about, frogs dove back into the water around ponds as I moved about. The Dell Water had flooded over with all the rain we had, but it was also alive with many birds, frogs, and insects - I saw many of my birds in this small area alone today.

What most of my pictures end up looking like... or really blurry.

"What'chu lookin' at, Bub?!" Says the expression on this blue-headed (solitary) vireo's face.

A Northern parula feeds on some flowers. 

Indigo bunting- blurry, but dang, that blue is fabulous!

All up to this point, were taken on Vine Ave... Now onto Southwood Ave:

A chipping Sparrow confrontation. 

A Red-bellied woodpecker with his prize - you can actually see his red belly, which gives him his name. Red-headed woodpecker was already taken, and supposedly one also resides in Green-Wood.

Onto the Dell Water:

A blue-headed vireo. 

Egrets are always so good at looking good.

Under the flowering trees.

Louisiana Waterthrush 

This common yellowthroat was following the water thrush along the flooded shoreline.

Prairie warbler makes himself look so dainty on such a tiny perch.

Black-throated blue warblers may be my personal fave, they are easy to identify, for one, and they are always so handsome!

Like I said, handsome!

An ovenbird foraging along the flooded shore.

Ovenbird from below - he got me good too. They appear and act very thrush-like, but they are in the warbler family.

Prairie warbler singing above the Dell Water's shore and looking absolutely vibrant! 

They made such cute little squeaks too! And yes, I'm still in Brooklyn, NYC!

You really don't see them unless you look closely and are quiet. There are actually two frogs in this photo, can you find the other??

Now I know what this great egret is after, frogs!

One of the many mockingbirds who chased out the water thrush.

A Northern flicker has a nest with a gorgeous view, I wonder how much they pay in rent... 

The rear-end of a chestnut-sided warbler.

At the Dell Water were also black and white warblers, palm warblers, belted kingfisher, robins, catbird, grackle. Since the heavy rain, and it also looks like they have done recent mulching, a lot of the birds are on the ground and easy to view as they forage either in the mulch or the flooded shore of the water. 

Now, on my way home, I stopped on the corner of Vine Ave and Cyrpress Ave, where I ran into some birders on my way in who said they saw a hooded warbler here...

Another oven bird.

I love "the look." This tree he was in was very umbrella like and when under it, it surrounded you. It was also flowering so there were a lot of birds coming and going, foraging among its branches.

Now this, I think is some sort of thrush, but I am having trouble with an exact ID.... thoughts? (Finding out it is a Veery)

...and then this guy showed up! A first for me, the hooded warbler!

A great way to end my little trek through Green-Wood Cemetery.

     I hope everyone has a chance to get out a take in the world around them. It's amazing how a little bit of quiet observation can open up a whole bunch of hidden discoveries.