South Brooklyn Birding

     In working yesterday, I had an entire morning to myself to bird. I took myself down to the Salt Marsh, Floyd Bennett Field, and Gravesend Bay to do some birding. It was SO MUCH WARMER than the last week. I even spent some time with my gloves off! Wow, what a treat!
     Speaking of treats, I ended at Gravesend Bay so I could drive up Bay Parkway and get to the Hand Pull Noodle and Dumpling House, because $5 for a delicious noodle soup is so wonderful. Anyway, being a Monday, it felt like I had most places to myself and that is something I very much enjoy.

This little dunlin looks dwarfed in this odd perspective shot...

Only a few (very) small areas of water were available at the Salt Marsh, and they were crowded with waterfowl and shorebirds.

A red tail hawk low, near the green bridge area of the marsh.

Red tails are a bird I never, ever, EVER get sick of. They are big, they are powerful, and this one, especially large which makes me think this is a female. How beautiful is she?!

And those talons are no joke!

A few Canada geese flew over from the golf course-- it appears the greens are good on the course! You can see that napkins are not mandatory at the Marine Park Golf Course. 

That same hawk from earlier, we met again as I walked back. And I am not upset to encounter her a second time. And then it made perfect sense why the fence line of the marsh approaching the green bridge was quiet.

I encountered a frozen muskrat on one of the paths-- the first time I have seen one at the salt marsh. I bet once someone finds that, it will be a very valuable food source.

A little song sparrow kicks up some snow as it make a B-line to some seeds a good samaritan sprinkled on the side of the path by the green bridge.

I arrived to Floyd Bennet Field's Hangar B lot to some raptor action-- a Northern Harrier was not happy about a peregrine near where it was hunting.

Attempted to report this banded Peregrine. I can only make out two letters on each band.

This falcon put on quite the show too. It flew up and down the shore causing all the birds to stir before flying out over the bay where it did some aerial acrobatics with a second peregrine.

I also found a small group of horned larks on one of the runways and viewed an Eastern Meadowlark flying across one of the runways. AND I got a few distant common goldeneyes, some good birds to start off 2018.

I was hoping to see purple sandpipers at Gravesend Bay. The tide was high-ish and the water and rocks frozen. Not Ideal for a little bird who looks to feed on those rocks. Instead I was treated to gulls walking on (frozen) salt water.

And mostly ring-billed gulls, but they are still cute. How adorable is this one?!
A good morning out, before we get an icky sleety-rain this evening.