Feminist Bird Club Walk- 9/23/17

     I was happy today to join the Feminist Bird Club walk today, put together by Molly- we had a decent sized group, with good spotting eyes, and some good birds. With the time I was on the walk, and then splitting ways, I tallied up just over 51 species. While most of Brooklyn was flocking to Coney Island Creek, we held our ground in the park.
     It was nice to bird with a few others, I usually go solo- this weekend is a social birding weekend as I join a Birding in Peace Tour tomorrow at Green-Wood Cemetery.

After meeting at the dog beach- we headed over to Lookout Hill's butterfly meadow. It had a lot of birdy activity. We saw prairie, parula, blackpoll, black-and-white, Cape May- all in one tree. Then there were American Goldfinch (pictured), feeding on what seeds remain.

And then, that look of "oh, crap."

A Cooper's hawk came out of some low trees and cut right across the meadow- to quiet all the birds, while it perched, visibly in a tree off to the side.

We headed over to the Maryland Monument steps. A red tail hawk sat right over the steps-- so not too many birds to be seen. Be we did get to watch it struggle to remove one clingy down feather stuck over its eye... can't use your talon for that one.

Nope. Still there. And then we watched it trip over its own feet-- this bird was having one of those mornings, for sure. 

A back-lit black-and-whote warbler on the Peninsula. I love their own talons- best for climbing any way up or down a vertical/upside down/right side up surface.

We've been spotted- a pied-billed grebe watches us as we watch it.

Sometimes you have to accept a crappy photo into your life to prove to the ebird moderators that you are not a liar. A hooded warbler was a welcome sight in the vale, after splitting from the group.

Acting very skulky- it was in crap light and on the move- so blurry shots to prove I can make an ID of a bird that is one of the easier warblers to ID... *grumble*

After the hooded warbler satisfied my birding hunger- I had to now satisfy my actual hunger, decided to head to the farmers market at Grand Army for a little nosh.
But not without a look at a darling Eastern Phoebe.

My most FAVORITE thing, is when I can see a bird eye, clearly-- AND capture it in a photo. Normally, you don't get to see great detail of a birds eye- unless its a grackle, or a species where the pupil contrasts greatly from all else. Anyway, I was stoked to see those sweet brown eyes on this bird.

A perfect phoebe!