Birding with Friends

     Birding is more than just looking at birds, identifying them, and listing... for me it also serves as a great way to socialize. I have met quite a few folks through birding. There are many friendly faces I say hello to and know there are good people out in the park together with myself, others folks I can join up with and bird together with as we share the latest things we have seen and memories birding has made for us, and some have even become great friends. It has truly been a fantastic way to meet people and has grown into more than just a hobby for me.
     I began my day meeting my friend and colleague Bricken to bird Green-Wood Cemetery. We walked and found her many year birds including indigo bunting, many warblers, spotted sandpiper, and we even enjoyed a pretty boss snapping turtle. After a delicious lunch stop at Baked in Brooklyn, I continued on to Prospect Park where I tried once more for the Prothonotary warbler. There, I ran into The City Birder, Rob and we did some birding together, where we ran into the new leader of the beginner birding walks that happen in Prospect Park.
     The best part is that I logged 80 species over yesterday and today, just within two green spaces in Brooklyn, NY. How amazing is that?! There is SO MUCH wildlife in New York City, it's all around and more is on its way!
Some sights from the day...

Bricken spots our first bird, a Baltimore Oriole! 

This and one other were in a flowering tree right at the main entrance, this one was singing its beautiful song.

An unexpected find, a Forster's tern! Flying a few circles over the Sylvan Water and then off to other places. 

A FOY Spotted Sandpiper on the Sylvan Water. It was then spooked off by a circling red tail hawk.

Saw a few masked crusaders.. um, Common Yellowthroats... This one was chowing down by the bee hives at the Dell Water.

We've been discovered.
A Prairie Warbler observes us as we observe it.

So it seems that yellow ain't terrible camouflage. 

My other favorite sight was not a bird, but this Common Snapping Turtle. Seriously, someone get this turtle a mojito! It will soon be time for these turtle to lay eggs, we did spot a second turtle, so perhaps, love is in the water?

In Prospect Park I rode right over the the pools and headed into the Ravine (after stopping to admire a wood duck) in search for the Prothonotary Warbler who stuck around overnight.

While waiting we were entertained by a Northern Parula (pictured), Oven Bird, Yellow Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, even a Worm-eating Warbler. So we waited.

And waited.

Annnnnnnd waited.

And then finally another birder spotted it. And it was not doing what it has been doing-- being super showy and out in the open. No, it sat in a pile of sticks and fallen branches, down the slope from where we stood. The views were not super-- just that glowing yellow from behind a branch, tipped us off to this birds presence.

A few okay look did happen, but the bird was super secretive.

Best look.... with a branch.

Best look without a branch.
...And then it flew up, behind the hill behind us, before returning to this area again, later.

So rare visitors are cool and all, but I really love a good show of behavior. With Rob, we observed a young red-tail fly in and land on the ground maybe 20 feet from us. Then it jumped onto this stump, with a robin's nest on it. And here is a cruddy picture, but showing the hawk grabbing an egg in its beak!
It then dropped the egg, but didn't drop the act...

Why was this hawk doing this?

The nest is to the left on that stump, seems an oddly placed nest. It definitely grabbed this birds' attention!

Try #2...

And biting the nest- perhaps for balance-- as this whole act was quite... HAWKward.

Don't give me that look- you loved that.

For another try, perhaps a better look would help...

When there are no trees of the right size to get a better vantage-- you sometimes just wing it.
(you can't stop me!)

Perched on the most ridiculous stick about 2-3ft off the ground to get a better look at the nest... after this the bird went to the ground and moved on to other things.

iPhone picture of the aftermath.

I really enjoyed watching this young bird explore, hunt (questionable), and exhibit behavior I never would have imagined a red tail to exhibit.

In making it over to the Peninsula, we had great looks at N. Parula (at eye level, saving my neck), Prairie warbler, Northern rough-winged swallows, (even more) black-and-white warblers, and a FOY Black-throated-blue warbler -- and, oh yeah, even earlier than this we had some high up looks at a yellow-throated vireo up by the Upper/lower pools.
What a great "weekend" of birding for me- super happy for the birds coming back and the temperatures that are on the rise!