Christmas Gifts

 I took off some time before Christmas to prevent stress and anxiety and I can tell you how that just didn't at all go according to plan. I did the typical Christmas things, bake some cookies (far less than in years past), stand in line for two hours at a covid test site, before they opened in hopes that I could be the first person in (and out), plans to give the house a through cleaning, and maybe, just maybe squeeze in some birding.

Well, all was moving along smoothly, I got in my birding and added two more year birds to my year list and arrived home to commence the cleaning and then we learned the kiddos class had a kid who tested positive. So now my stress, anxiety, and my need to make other people happy and putting their happiness and satisfaction over my own went into hyper drive. After some ugly crying by yours truly, we decided its best for our Christmas to just be us three in our home, a second year in a row.

So now all that has passed and it is a quiet day, and while the kiddo naps, I can share the little bit of nature I got to myself, my very favorite kind of gift all year round.

I arrived to Owl's Head Park in Bay Ridge to find a yellow-bellied sapsucker. A delightful little woodpecker who despite the cold I was feeling felt like a good sign. If the sap is flowing there may be some insects and maybe some food for the bird I came here to see.

I searched for a good 15-20 minutes among the trees in the area folks kept reporting it in. And I was just about to leave when I saw a flighted out and back from a low branch.
Bingo!

An Ash-throated flycatcher was being reported for a number of days, a week plus at this point. Looks similar to a great crested flycatcher, with cinnamon wing and tail feathers, whiter throat and more pale yellow of the belly, this stout little bird is a denizen of dry places like the southwest.

This bird was actively catching food while I watched it which meant it moved about a lot.

I love when they fluff up their head feather, another notable feature of this bird and its closely resembling family member, the great crested flycatcher.

Instead of catching anything in flight (although these birds so primarily eat spider, who also do not fly), this bird was diving into the leaf litter below its perch and coming up with unidentifiable things that it tossed back and swallowed as I watched.

One of my favorite features of birds that tend to catch insects on the wing are those whiskers which are modified feather that serve the same purpose as mammalian whiskers.

That feathery crown with the sideways glare, perfection.

I headed next, and briefly, to Bush Terminal Piers Park hoping to see a gull who was unlike many of the others. DO you see it?

A black headed gull (without its black head- they only have that for their breeding plumage) is easy to spot when you can the group and see those bright orange-red legs!
The wind was whipping and cold, so I only briefly enjoyed the view.

I did get to see a few gorgeous American Black Ducks. I love their chocolate brown feathers with that denim blue blaze. 

Often mistaken for a female mallard, they are not. One easy way to tell is to take a look at that blue blaze...

If this were a female mallard, that blue would be bordered by black and white on both sides, so this bird is showing us that he is a Black Duck.
We also know it is a male or drake because of its yellow bill, females have an olive colored bill.

And he is also showing us that he is ready for his closeup!

Wish us luck as we now try to make our way through a week of having to keep the kid home because her class is closed. Thankfully she BEGS to go outside and outside is probably one of the more safe places for us to be and get out our energy. The parks and birds within will be our saving grace this week!

Henslow's Sparrow

    This past week I had the opportunity to work out of Green-Wood Cemetery where it just so happened a cool bird was hanging out. So OF COURSE I got there early, saw the bird and marveled. A Henslow's Sparrow hung out for nearly a week in Green-Wood Cemetery (perhaps its still there, who knows) and has been quite reliable in its location and the fact that it can be seen. 

Normally a denizen of wet grasslands and prairie where it is damn hard to find, here it is in the (short) grasses of the cemetery.

Normally quite secretive, this bird is said to be fairly worry-free along its migration route as it did it's thing amongst an adoring small group of its biggest fans.

Little is known about this bird in the winter as its fairly silent and secretive in its winter range. SO I'll consider this life bird a special one, I can't imagine seeing this species too often as grasslands are hard to come by and even in this short grass, you could lose sight of this bird.

In the spring and summer this bird primarily eats insects but come winter it switches over to a diet of seeds.

My favorite thing about this bird was its behavior, even in the shortest of grasses, it was very mousy and burrowed through the smallest of blades.

It was also fairly cold this morning, so this bird had gone borb a fair number of times.

The patterns and colors on this bird were absolutely stunning.

Serious borb content right here.

most of the time, this little bird was busy just shoving food it found in its mouth.

ohmmygoff, haff ya haff fifh seeth?! Isso goo! ohmmmm nom nom nom!

thif seed, iths delishisth!!

Later, while on the clock and completing one of our activities for work... we accidentally stumbled upon the group observing the bird and I helped my other colleagues also get their lifer Henslow's Sparrow!

And to round out all the cuteness, the Quaker parrots were being extra cute. Poor bird at the top had no snuggle pal.

All the pairs. So damn cute.

Toddler Twitch?

     I met my good friend Christine for some outdoor time, hoping to see some birds, get some fresh air, use our cameras, and keep a toddler busy. We met at the Marine Park Salt Marsh and we were already off to a great start, a super whiny, tantrum-throwing start. In the back of my head, I also knew an American Bitterns was here yesterday, would we be in such luck to be graced by its presence today?

    The annoying toddler behavior continued, even until the green bridge that brings you to the trail loop. The kiddo was acting super clingy and whining at the look of any person that past us by. It's been a while since we've seen a rare bird together because as I was talking to Christine, minding my kiddo, and looking at birds, I immediately pressed pause on my story and honed my eyes on the bird that just flew in...

AN AMERICAN BITTERN! It landed so close to us just behind some grasses, and disappeared as I wrangled my child into a position that made me feel she is secure enough for me to attempt some photos. But as bitterns do, it disappeared under our noses.
We changed positions and took a post further away and watched it cross directly in front of where we once were to dart into some grasses. I was kind of sad to not get a photo, but more feeling so fortunate to have seen one, but also have it fly right in front of us.

But then it darted back out (again, in front of where we were earlier) but continued to walk toward our new post. And did that bittern thing.

Bitterns stand quite erect, relying on their plumage to help them blend into reeds and grasses. Their eyes point downward, so when holding their head like this, they can just fine see where they are walking.

But when a bittern is not in the grass, doing its bittern thing, it looks a little silly. And yes, I giggled a lot.

What is important to note here, aside from getting an amazing unobstructed view of a normally secretive bird is that whenever we are about to see a really good bird, the kiddo throws a fit of some kind. And she did that here. And then as we saw the bird, she went into this pleasant angelic mode, delighting the other birders who also joined in on this sight. The kid has a sixth sense for birds, I know it!

We kept going, and now the kiddo decides that she doesn't want to be in the stroller but rather push it, herself. 
The good news is, it slows us down so we can actually look at things. Slowed us down enough to time this encounter just right, we watched this male ring-necked pheasant dart across the freshly mowed field.

I bet he is wondering where all that grass went.

A few small patches were left on the field, so he grass patch hopped until he reached the un-mowed portion of the place.
The toddler pushed her stroller for about a 1/4 mile, on the gravel trails, which is no easy feat and will hopefully sleep a long hard sleep tonight after so much activity in the Salt Marsh today.

The Eagle has Landed

     I headed to Green-Wood Cemetery last Friday and enjoyed a lovely fall morning that felt more like a summer morning. Much was quiet on the migrant bird front, but there was still plenty of sparrow to analyze and sift through. And for a baby-free outing, I could reallllly slow down and digest every sparrow I spied, which felt so great to do. 

A pair of wood duck were swimming on the Sylvan water and along with a flock of Canada goose. The geese started to amble on up the grassy hill along the Ravine Path to feed. Then all of a sudden the two ducks took flight and out from the hill, the geese came flying back down to the water. Something spooked them...

A Bald Eagle many who call, Rover, because his leg band reads "R over 7," flew in from above, low, looking to perch and that he did! A bird so large would for sure cause that kind of a stir!
I love this head on look at birds of prey, you can see that binocular vision that helps them be precise and amazing predators.

This bird is showing 4 year plumage, which apparently between 1.5 and 4.5 years can vary a bit in their stage appearance, looking more like a 4.5 year old these days but truly a touch younger than that.

When you have an itch and you have talons, I suppose one needs to be very careful.

A sign that winter is on its way, despite the near 80 degree temps, dark-eyed junco are filtering in.

heard a tap-tap-tap above my head to see this little downy just going about its day.

The late fruiting trees are just a smorgasboard for the robins! They are also going through that shift in diet from summer worms and insects moving on to the fall and soon winter berries that will sustain them when the ground is frosty.

I also love how these berries match their bellies.

The warblers moving along the ground with the juncos and other sparrows are mostly palms, bobbing their tails as they go.