Earth Week 2023

     This Earth Week I made sure to spend some time with birds. I had some opportunities after work, and took advantage of work being down the street (and a few blocks) from Prospect Park to take a peep at some local migratory wonders. I am feeling fortunate these days and am excited that these feathered wonders manage to make it in this big city. Here are some of their little faces... from Marine Park, to Prospect, to Green-wood, and back!

Palm warblers may be one of the more common and easy to see warblers, but who is complaining?! Their bright yellow is a welcome addition to the spring palette.
This one seemed to be the welcome committee to the Marine Park Nature Center. 

A typical sight at Marine Park, osprey and large flocks of European starling.

This story is a touch disheartening. This killdeer (photo taken from a distance as to not disturb) is very much exhibiting nesting behavior and likely sitting upon and egg or few. She is nesting in a cleared section of the park that was a burn site a few weeks earlier by who ever really enjoys setting fire to this park - it is on fire often. 
This bird is nesting near an official footpath that even a leashed dog could access her and snatch her eggs. And let's also not ignore the outdoor and feral cat population in this park. Needless to say, less than a week later, she was gone and no trace of a nest.
I wish our parks had more resources to help protect native nesting birds, control the owners of dogs who use this (always on-leash rule) place as their own dog run and allow their dogs to chase wildlife. This park in the last few years has become really abused by its visitors and lack of enforcement, the desire paths that have been carved throughout its landscape just encourage people unknowingly to go off trail into the marsh, the delicate grasslands and trample habitat, deter wildlife from living there, and just treating this place as their own personal photo studio.
Please stay on trails, please treat wildlife with respect, and leash your dogs.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

A quaker parrot feasts on some local fruits on a tree in Marine Park.

At Avenue T and Stuart Street, the red-headed woodpecker is still holding court.

His or her red head has come in quite nicely! Males and females both have the distinctive red head.

They have amazing fidelity to this specific site so they are quite reliable to get a very lovely look at. Just be prepare to look up! Maybe a few head rolls and stretches' to prepare yourself.

A post-work visit to Prospect Park gave me a lovely red tailed hawk pair (this is just one of them), while I awaited a glimpse of the Prothonotary warbler that has been there.

A view is a view! Prothonotary warbler, they overshot their south eastern destination and ended up in the big city.

These gorgeous warblers nest in marshy places just south and west of where we are.

A quick visit to Green-wood bagged me a yellow throated warbler. A look is a look. And these days as a full time employee and mom, I can get by with a subpar picture and a tick on my year list.

But also, this lifestyle helps me appreciate the all around regulars. Isn't this female cardinal stunning?

Walking down a steep slope gave me this level look at a male cardinal foraging in the grass.

One of the two male wood ducks on the dell water. This one kept doing this yawn, not vocalizing, to my ears at least.

He also took a very splash-tastic bath.

I'm just glad my kid doesn't bathe like this.

Lurking among the wood ducks was this prehistoric looking common snapping turtle. I love these reptiles and look forward to seeing them in dell water every year.

Gotta get that nest together! This American robin and a number of other birds can be seen gathering materials for their nests right now.

This blue jay was sunning itselk along the wall of the Dell water. It was a gorgeous sight, I think their blues are just so beautiful, and for once, this blue jay just sat, in the open.
This behavior is thought to help birds control and rid themselves of ectoparasites like lice. I savored this moment because blue jays hate eye contact, with me, at least.

An Eastern towhee doing Eastern towhee things, like foraging in the tall grasses under the leaf litter.

Back to Marine Park on Earth Day proper, a female red-wing blackbird. 

The air at MArine Park is filled primarily with the songs of red-wing black birds.

The songs of the song sparrows are a very close second to the blackbirds in the area's soundscape.

As I was leaving, a pair of ducks flew in. The female was not a mallard. Vibes were pintail and a match! A rare sight for the salt marsh, especially now, a northern pintail hen seems to have taken to this drake mallard.
Spring is heating up, lots of good birds are coming and going, I hope you get a chance to see!