It's Cold.

     The last week has been bitterly cold. I don't like it. But I don't let the cold hold me back from doing things. I managed to bike through the cold to work last week and birding isn't so bad either-- you just have to have gear that makes you comfortable in it all- thankfully I think I have mastered having a birding wardrobe that keeps me happy in winter.
     Today I went to Floyd Bennett Field and the Marine Park Salt Marsh. There was a white fronted goose seen yesterday (and today) and I was not able to secure it. Instead I saw other things and wasn't stuck inside all day-- so that is a win in my book!

Ring-billed gulls, hunkered down in the snow on the shore at Floyd Bennett Field.

At the community gardens, White-throated Sparrow (this guy), song sparrow, and cardinals were foraging in the grassy patches.

I went to Marine Park hoping to see the white fronted goose. After much bush-whacking, having my eyes poked by shrubs and grasses, losing my lens cap (and having to back track to find it), and falling on my ass- I figured that I'd get to where it (maybe) was last seen and it wouldn't be there. So I turned around and enjoyed other things- like a double northern harrier flyover and a song sparrow feeding on seeds in the snow.

I enjoyed this little bird - so...

I enjoyed watching this guy topple over to grab seeds. Birds are extra floofy in the winter - not because they are fat (birds can't afford fat- that would literally weigh them down-- and flight is important), but by puffing out their feathers, they can keep a layer of warm air between them and the cold. It's why poofy jackets are very comfy in the cold.

In getting back to the green bridge, the tide began to rise, so water began to appear between the ice, and therefore birds appeared too.
A nice surprise was this black-bellied plover.

The snow didn't seem to stop this bird.

And, success- looks like this plover caught itself a polychete worm! Yum!!

And of course, then the gulls saw and got jealous. The plover managed to wolf if down and fly off with just the tail end of the worm hanging out its mouth.

You know it's cold when the brackish/salt water freezes!!

One of two grebe species I saw today. I saw a horned grebe at Floyd, and this one, a pied-billed grebe at the marsh. 

Not a bird.
I saw a lot of mantis oothecas, and while many will make it through to sporing, when they will hatch-- these oothecas could be a very vital source of food for birds later in the winter.