Closing out October, Getting into November

     It's been a busy few weeks, so here is a little catch up post!

     We'll cover Prospect, to Floyd Bennett Field, and back north to Green-Wood Cemetery!From a span of a week and a half ago to present! While celebrating my dad's birthday, finishing up training at work, avoiding gross weather, and getting Tim ready for the NYC Marathon- it's been a lot! But all for the best!

A week and a half ago, there was a very cooperative Eastern Meadowlark. Just doing its thing in the neathermead...

It was a real treat when this bird urned to face you, revealing that canary yellow belly with that diagnostic black bib, typical of Eastern Meadowlarks.

Probing its bill into the ground for insects and larvae, this bird remained in the area for a few days, apparently the soil was rich with goodies!

My favorite part of watching this bird- the way it walked through the grass, it reminded me of a chicken. And this is no small bird- but its strutting/running movement didn't seem to match the bird.

Onto Floyd Bennett Field, last Friday, I sought out sparrows. I was very happy to find this individual!

Quite petite, and a grey collar- this is a clay-colored sparrow. A good find! And happy to identify it myself! Sparrow ID can make me second guess and nervous.

In checking out the fields- where I usually find an American Kestrel, I found a slightly larger merlin.

It's poofy-ness at first threw me off, but you can see the dark eye stripes and that small falcon bill.

Always nice to havea lovely photo of a savannah sparrow, no one ever gets upset about that...

Today, I went to Green-Wood Cemetery for Rob Jett's Birding in Peace tours. I went so I could get in some birding, get some great breakfast at Baked In Brooklyn across the street, and then watch my husband run the NYC Marathon an avenue over. It worked out pretty beautifully!

Something I enjoyed was watching hundreds of common grackles move through the air in large groups. One group maybe had close to 150-200 birds, and the cloud of them stretched across the sky! We then saw more, smaller movements of these birds- very impressive!

At the Dell Water we had a great show of birds. I love the Dell Water, it is a place that before moving I'd visit every time I came to Green-Wood. And it never disappoints!
This red tail hawk had all the birds in a tizzy!

I think it had zero interest in catching a tiny bird- because 1. impossible, 2. does this bird eat a tic-tac for a meal?! I think it was just enjoying the warmth of the sun!

... and obviously, the foliage.

A fun bird to see was this Eastern wood-pewee. It was busy fly catching, even though I was actively shivering, there were still insects to eat!

The Pewee even gave us a nicer close look, and vocalized, confirming its identity.

Came up as rare on eBird, as it is a bit late for such a bird. Hopefully it gets a move-on, its cold and the bugs are getting scarce!

A lovely male kestrel showed off for the group, diving to the ground and coming up with what we best-guessed to be a kinglet.

I love the quakers of the cemetery. I miss them, so I was delighted to see them-- they reacted to a Cooper's hawk, who then had a kestrel react to it, everyone was in a bit of a chaotic state!

But then everyone came back, took up their spaces and held their ground.

Love that guy on the upper right! Ha!
Good birding all around, but it is definitely getting colder and the birdscape is changing!