Shirley Chisholm Magic

      Don't let the vastness of grass fool you, Shirley Chisolm State Park is such a wonderful place with wildlife hidden within. Today I had a number of delightful surprises, I am never disappointed in my visits here. It's such a great opportunity to see not only the coastal birds and ducks, but the grassland specialists.

    Also, that cold snap from a week ago, today I was very much overdressed and in far too many layers on this gorgeous day.

On my way to Shirley Chisholm SP, I stopped at the Canarsie Pier. Since I was on my bike, I just birded from my bike while riding around the edges of the pier. Saw this common loon down some kind of crustacean,

YUM!

I was flagged for my exact count of 6 fish crows at the pier. 
Then, as I was packing up to leave, a flock of 50+ fish crows flew in and descended upon the southern end of the pier! It was a very cool sight, I love crows!

At Shirley Chisholm, I stuck to the Penn Mound, and glad I did!
This great blue heron got my attention because it made its, what I could only imagine what a dinosaur sounds like, vocals. IT just strutted its way to where it would take a nice afternoon rest, as it was still there exactly where I left it, right before I left.

Along the shore, at the first coastal overlook, past the parking lot, I spied these two greater yellowlegs, who were joined by 3 killdeer, a green-wing teal, mallards, gadwall, and of course, brant.

I spotted this female harrier up the path I was walking. I rarely see sitting harriers, especially in trees. So this was a treat. I remained at a distance and on the path, but she had other plans.

Off she went, but this would not be the last we crossed paths.

Speaking of crossing paths...
If not for being on this path, I'm not sure I would have had the pleasure of seeing my first Brooklyn American Pipits. This is my first time seeing these birds here, in the past, I have only heard them, as they flew overhead.

In the same family as robins, these grassland birds get their name from their call. And as you can see, are perfectly adapted to life in the grasses. They even kinda crouched down as they walked.

In total, there were 5 birds and I was so happy the cyclists doing circuits there didn't come by as I was admiring these little nuggets.

As I made my way down and around Penn Mound, I found the Northern Harrier from earlier, clearly on a mission.

Nothing is more impressive than watching a raptor stop its flight on the dime to pursue prey.
A dive into the grasses after something...

She rises from the grasses with a vole in her talons. A perfect little meal for her.

She flew off with her prey to grasses nearby to eat.
Harriers are grassland specialists. They spend a good deal of time on the ground and even nest on the ground. Their faces are owl-like, and like owls will hunt by way of their ears, listening for small mammals and birds hiding in the grass. Just an amazing creature.

I then was fortunate enough in that she decided to land in shorter grasses. I was able to watch her consume her prey. I decided that this was just the perfect way to end an outing. Very thankful for the wonderful sights out there today!

Tis the Season for Birds

     Winter is fair game for birding, always. The only cons are truly: shorter days and cold. The pro's make it fully worth it: less crowds of people in the natural spaces, lots of winter birds, weird ducks, and a serious boost to happiness. Its easy to get into some kinds of moods and bad headspace, being indoors, and the fresh air, topped off with a helping of bird, really raises my serotonin levels.

    At the start of December, I came down with Covid, it went from 0 to 60 pretty fast. I know I am fortunate that it came and went, but I made sure to take it slow and not do anything recreational until I felt fully at 100% and testing negative. So that stole away 2 weeks for me and my husband as we had to keep the kid home, take care of each other and her, and pretty much keep to our home. I now work out in my mask, because it is literally the only time I didn't wear one so I figure that must be where it came from.

     And then, toss in the holidays, most of my birding happened in the second half of this month. I am grateful for any time I can get out. So I did some birding before work last week, and got in some birding yesterday. My year list is lower than I'd ever like it to be, but I have a world of birds ahead of me always, so I'm not going to get caught up in a numbers game.

One day I went to the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center, and I counted my lucky stars for catching a glimpse of this male ring-neck pheasant foraging in and out of the grasses. It was a fairly quiet day.

But then I went the following day and the place was covered in black-capped chickadees, a few species of sparrow, and cardinals. Insane how overnight a place can change!

A small sprinkle of savannah sparrows were a treat! I also saw a decent number of swamp sparrows who kept to the reeds.

Vibrant male cardinals were feeding upon the seeds left on the grasses. This winter they didn't mow, which is great because it means lots of food and hiding places for birds, plus a deterrent for people to just walk all over the fields and run their dogs across them like their own private dog run.

Seems to always return here, an Eurasian x American Wigeon Hybrid.

Here, here is sandwiched between a female American wigeon, bottom, a male American wigeon, top, and a mallard out on the water, beyond.

He seems to have someone's attention.

You watch these chickadees peck FURIOUSLY on twigs... and the payoff is very nutritious, energy-rich food!

Yesterday, I went to Baisley Pond Park. Most of the pond was frozen, but it had exactly what I was looking for: My fellow redheads.
These ducks always come to this pond, and honestly, don't really see them much else. Apparently, they were also a year bird for me too.
In addition to the redheads, there was a single drake canvas back too, the lighting was horrible, but it was a nice surprise that oddly was not a year bird for me.

Gadwalls are often just regarded as plain brown ducks. But if you can get zoomed in, their details are so beautiful.

Also, apparently, Ring-neck ducks were a year bird for me too.
Dang, I really did not get out much this year, it seems.

Ruddy duck showing off their rudder-like tail.

Where there is sweetgum, there are birds dangling on their seed balls.
An American Goldfinch was feeding with a scattering of black-capped chickadees.