2 for 2! Another BK Kite!

     On April 14th, I spotted a swallow-tailed kite in Prospect Park Brooklyn. Today on my walk in Green-Wood Cemetery I spotted what I thought was just a regular red tail hawk. On closer inspection as I edited my photos, I saw this was not a red tail but another raptor. With help from some people in the Brooklyn Bird Club, the bird was ID'd as a juvenile Mississppi Kite! Another bird that normally does not venture this far North, some occasional sighting in Southern New Jersey occur.
     The bird was VERY high up, just soaring, I saw very few wing flaps. The heavily barred and long tail paired with the long narrow wings was where I got stumped in IDing this bird. I thank all those from Brooklyn Bird Club who helped me in IDing this bird. This is why I love birding, on my actually walks I always run into people and we talk. And now in some of the online communities that chance to network and find assistance in birding allows for even more chances to meet and talk to some talented people. This is science! Questioning, finding answers, communicating finds with others - I LOVE IT!
     I feel the need to go to another Brooklyn Park and catch another kite sighting....

The above 2 photos are the original - taken over the Dell Water in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY. Sometime between 11:00am and 12:00pm.

Blurry when zoomed in- but that tail really threw me off, along with the wing shape...

A heavily cropped version of the second photo. This Mississippi Kite is a juvenile- the giveaway for this bird, is having those long narrow wings, in which the first primary feather is shorter than all others. 

Serious thanks to the folks communicating on the Brooklyn Bird Club's Facebook page!

Get out there, folks! Make some awesome discoveries of your own and have a fantastic time doing it! :)

International Migratory Bird Day 2014

     Today my husband and I walked through Green-Wood Cemetery today over to where I went one week ago. Birds were much the same, with a few others I didn't see last week, like magnolia warblers, American redstarts, a tanager, and black-throated green warblers. Definitely not complaining, I love seeing all the warblers before they continue up North. We also had a red tail hawk perch up near where we were and the frogs were abundant on the Dell Water.
     Today also happens to be International Migratory Bird Day, most of the birds photographed today are migratory, spending their winter in Central and South America. Something most people don't realize is that the animals living in their neighborhood do not spend 100% of their lives there. Many travel and move about, meaning it is vital not to just preserve habitat in your local area but to also protect habitat in other places, further away- so that wildlife can continue to come back year after year for all to enjoy. We want the birds to keep coming back each year because many species are vital to controlling insect populations, rodents, and helping to disperse seeds of the plants they eat. Heck, a lot of the birds we saw today were on insect patrol, doing some fighter-jet maneuvers in the air to nab flies and gnats.
     It was a lovely morning, worthy of wearing shorts (finally!) and a t-shirt! We were able to get out before the afternoon storms rolled in. Enjoy our sights, from Brooklyn, NY!

Northern Parulas filled much of the cemetery with their calls.

My first magnolia warblers for 2014, lots were foraging on flowering trees.

Magnolia Warbler

Originally I thought yellow warbler.... 

It's actually a female scarlet tanager- I wish the male was around! This is my first NYC tanager- otherwise I have seen them out East on Long Island and wintering in Costa Rica.

Frogs were floating all over the Dell Water

Black-throated green warbler, on the hunt for insects.

A magnolia warbler also gets in on the insect catching....

Black and white warbler foraging in the mulch.

Black throated blue

A young red tail was being mobbed by grackles and mocking birds, it took refuge on the Dell Water

A great view of their binocular eyes, facing forward to hone in on whatever it is they are after.

Check out those talons!

When the hawk flew, the egret who was hunting frogs was not cool with the hawk being near....

A veery

An oven bird

Look up!

     Spring migration is in full swing! Spring also is finally here, I'm fairly sure we shouldn't see snow again till next winter (but then again at this rate, you never know). I walked into my backyard, which happens to literally be Green-Wood Cemetery, where even the memorials tell you to look up to the trees. Warblers were plentiful, mockingbirds gave chase to anyone in their territory, nests were being built or tended to, and songbirds hunted insects that buzzed through the air. On the ground, even some of the cold blooded folks were out and about, frogs dove back into the water around ponds as I moved about. The Dell Water had flooded over with all the rain we had, but it was also alive with many birds, frogs, and insects - I saw many of my birds in this small area alone today.

What most of my pictures end up looking like... or really blurry.

"What'chu lookin' at, Bub?!" Says the expression on this blue-headed (solitary) vireo's face.

A Northern parula feeds on some flowers. 

Indigo bunting- blurry, but dang, that blue is fabulous!

All up to this point, were taken on Vine Ave... Now onto Southwood Ave:

A chipping Sparrow confrontation. 

A Red-bellied woodpecker with his prize - you can actually see his red belly, which gives him his name. Red-headed woodpecker was already taken, and supposedly one also resides in Green-Wood.

Onto the Dell Water:

A blue-headed vireo. 

Egrets are always so good at looking good.

Under the flowering trees.

Louisiana Waterthrush 

This common yellowthroat was following the water thrush along the flooded shoreline.

Prairie warbler makes himself look so dainty on such a tiny perch.

Black-throated blue warblers may be my personal fave, they are easy to identify, for one, and they are always so handsome!

Like I said, handsome!

An ovenbird foraging along the flooded shore.

Ovenbird from below - he got me good too. They appear and act very thrush-like, but they are in the warbler family.

Prairie warbler singing above the Dell Water's shore and looking absolutely vibrant! 

They made such cute little squeaks too! And yes, I'm still in Brooklyn, NYC!

You really don't see them unless you look closely and are quiet. There are actually two frogs in this photo, can you find the other??

Now I know what this great egret is after, frogs!

One of the many mockingbirds who chased out the water thrush.

A Northern flicker has a nest with a gorgeous view, I wonder how much they pay in rent... 

The rear-end of a chestnut-sided warbler.

At the Dell Water were also black and white warblers, palm warblers, belted kingfisher, robins, catbird, grackle. Since the heavy rain, and it also looks like they have done recent mulching, a lot of the birds are on the ground and easy to view as they forage either in the mulch or the flooded shore of the water. 

Now, on my way home, I stopped on the corner of Vine Ave and Cyrpress Ave, where I ran into some birders on my way in who said they saw a hooded warbler here...

Another oven bird.

I love "the look." This tree he was in was very umbrella like and when under it, it surrounded you. It was also flowering so there were a lot of birds coming and going, foraging among its branches.

Now this, I think is some sort of thrush, but I am having trouble with an exact ID.... thoughts? (Finding out it is a Veery)

...and then this guy showed up! A first for me, the hooded warbler!

A great way to end my little trek through Green-Wood Cemetery.

     I hope everyone has a chance to get out a take in the world around them. It's amazing how a little bit of quiet observation can open up a whole bunch of hidden discoveries.