Birds and Blooms

    What a tiring but fulfilling day. It all began with a 5 mile run in Prospect, then after a shower, birding in Prospect, a stroll though Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and then back to Prospect, because, why not! My legs and feet are tired, but I'm happy.
     While I didn't get photos of every single thing, I still have a lot of photos, so I will let them do the talking:

This mornings wondering began with a walk up and down Lookout Hill, where I got a few firsts of the season, like this oven bird. They are warblers but look and act more like a thrush. They are slightly smaller than a robin, and less loud when foraging through the leaves.

Another first of the season, and a favorite- the common yellowthroat.

Isn't he just so darn cute in that little super hero mask? 

And another first of the season for myself, a magnolia warbler. These guys are always up so darn high. Serious neck soreness tonight after all day out.

Another sweet treat, a red-eyed vireo. Also had the chance to run into some other friendly Brooklyn birders which I always love. It's so nice to put faces to the names of folks you see on eBird or in birding communities.

Next stop, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which was in full bloom!

And enter life bird, Bay-breasted warbler. I was very excited to find him in an oak just outside the rock garden. It is so amazing, the cycles of nature. Last week the maples were blooming and full of birds. This week the oaks are flowering and again, were great for spotting birds either eating the flowers and nectar or catching the insects feeding on the flowers.

Oh yeah, the cherry blossoms were AH-MAY-ZING.

Always handsome, cardinals. But I was secretly hoping every cardinal I saw could possibly be a tanager...

A Brooklyn bun hides away in the native plant garden. Eastern cottontails are plentiful in Prospect Park and clearly are also in the garden.

Male Baltimore orioles squabble over things that orioles squabble about. Perhaps territory, as once one retreated, the one who won, I suppose, calmed down.

They are so dang gorgeous.

A robin bathes in a small stream in the garden.

A very sleepy raccoon.

Back to Prospect. I run by this nest every time I am in Prospect, so I had to pull over on my bike and capture it. It's made not of just natural material, but ribbons and strings. Amazing this bird didn't get entangled in making this nest.

Love birds... or love doves? They were preening each other and being, dare I say it, lovey-dovey.

And of course, the black-and-white warblers are the only warblers who don't mind getting close for a (quick) photo-op. I'm not complaining, but I wish others too would be so bold. Love these guys!

Post Work Walk 5.4.15

     After work today I found myself furiously pedaling my bike home to get some quality birding time. I made it to Prospect, met up with some wonderful people and had some good sights. Sights included first of the year/season black-throated blue warbler, yellow warbler, veery, and Northern waterthrush. I also got a lifer, a solitary sandpiper, a very lovely, leggy thing. I could tell upon first sight it was no spotted sandpiper, which is rounder with shorter legs. So that was pretty exciting for me as well.
     As far as photographs went today, the show stopper was a very not shy black-and-white warbler. Sometimes those little birds can be quite bold.

     Also, don't forget, May 9th is the Global Big Day- log your sightings into eBird. On that day I will be leading a walk at the Bronx Zoo Birdathon, maybe I'll see you there!

Remember to Set the Bar Low.

     I had high expectations for this morning, and I did what I always try not to do- go out looking for birds with high hopes. I have my own personal mantra, that if I set the bar low, I will never be disappointed, if anything, I will always be pleased and satisfied. I should have done that this morning.
     Seeing reports around NYC of some lovely new migrants appearing in our area, I was hungry to go out before work today. I even woke up early, ate breakfast on the steps of the boat house (in super warp speed), and trekked about on the lookout for warblers, orioles, and any other new faces.
     As I walked around, running into other birders, everyone had the same reaction of seeing the usual birds, nothing out of the (recent) ordinary. I'm not at all complaining, I had a wonderful and fulfilling morning observing the world - I would have regretted not going out. But despite the no-show(s) of what I was hoping for, I still had some wonderful moments. Enjoy!

A modest mourning dove, foraging among the leaf litter.

I walked the lullwater because in the past, I've had some lovely warblers show up. I guess I couldn't complain when this guy a black-capped night heron landed in front of me on a fallen branch over the water.

The swans are quite aggressive lately. These birds are usually, for mute swans, rather tame. But since they are nesting they have been quite nasty, especially to the other waterfowl.

If you ever have tried to photograph a kinglet, you should only be so lucky to get at least a floofy butt shot. These birds flit and flicker about, never staying still for even half a second.

A picturesque Northern Parula forages on an impressively huge cherry tree over the Children's play area near the Vale. The parula was one bird I was hoping to see, so seeing this and another in this tree, I was happy with. Then another bird I hoped to see, an oriole was muuuuuuuch higher up, foraging on the flowers. The Baltimore oriole and this parula both looked equally gorgeous swarmed by fluffy white flowers.

Usually the park is filled with catbirds, I would think by now. I only saw 3 today, I like them a lot- despite how common they are. They sing beautifully and also do a very good "mew" call, like any cat or catbird would.

Happy to find a hairy woodpecker. Note how the beak is nearly as long as the head? That means hairy woodpecker, downy's have a much smaller beak that is about half the size of their head.

I think this might be my favorite capture- a catbird singing his song on a blooming tree on a beautiful morning.

Bonding Over Birding

     Once life takes us past our days spent in an educational institution, as an adult, finding people to welcome into your life as friends can be tough. And naturalist activities, like birding, have introduced me to many folks. As of late, I have been happy making new connections with people over a similar interest.
     Today took me to Prospect where I met my friend and her friend. I was happy her friend tagged along with us to bird, I hope we got him hooked! We had so much fun, sharing lots of stories and laughs.
     We saw lots of birds like black-crowned night heron, green heron, wood duck, belted kingfisher, black-and-white warbler, palm warblers (with their tell-tale "tail-twerk"), and hermit thrush among many others.
Enjoy a few sights, but more importantly, grab a friend- get out- and explore!

"THIS IS MY TRAIL!" At least that's how this American robin made it seem as he marched with a purpose over to the two hermit thrushes that lurked nearby.

Happy to see not one...

...but TWO painted turtles basking with this group of red-eared sliders. The painted turtles are native, to tell the two apart: Painted turtles lack that red mark on the sides of their heads, have a darker carapace (top shell) with red markings along the margins and the yellow plastron.

Awful photo, but this is my first of the year Northern Parula, which in real life is a gorgeous little thing with wings.

This male wood duck was calling his little whistle call. Everyone thinks that ducks quack, to that I say false... check out the wood duck call, it's so cute and so less harsh than the well-known "quack" of a mallard.

     Before I leave you, please check out my friends contribution to a local Brooklyn Paper - and check out some of the places he suggests, great places to visit!

Brooklyn Birding Weekend

     This weekend was jam packed full of things, baseball games, 5k runs, two birthdays, and fitting some birding in between it all- completely skipping out on any adult obligations like cleaning and laundry. Saturday took me into Prospect Park, where I met up with some fantastic birders who were equally wonderful company- nothing out of the ordinary was seen, but I was so happy to meet some great people and connect over something we are all passionate about. Today took me into Green-Wood Cemetery where I did some "speed birding." In 2 hours I walked from my home to 3 of the 4 water features and getting a fairly decent show that included a kestrel that nabbed a barn swallow on the wing like it was no big deal. Enjoy the weekend show:

Prospect Park had nothing out of the ordinary to show, palm warblers, like this one, were very abundant. I was very happy though, to finally meet up with some fellow birders. I often bird solo, but I also love meeting people because I do learn so much from others. Also, more eyes can allow you to find something that your own two may miss. It was nice to walk around with the two fantastic people I met today, I hope in the future that can happen more - Thanks, guys!

Aside from the abundant palm warblers, also very happy to see black-and-white warblers walking up and down the trees and their branches.

A modest female pine warbler. I saw a few female pines today, they threw me off- because you get so so used to seeing the males which are much more flashy in their more yellow colored bodies. The females are still very beautiful and you can tell they are pine warblers with those white wing bars and that white ring around the eye that connects to a line that goes across the eye.

A great egret finds some buddies to sit on a log with, a bunch of red-eared sliders.

I never get tired of egrets, every time I see one I will always try to get a nice shot... especially in flight, I'm obsessed.

Walked super fast today (Sunday) through Green-Wood. Originally thought this guy was a pine warbler, but then I noticed those streaks on the sides and that arc under the eye-- like the pine it also has white wing bars, but this is a prairie warbler!

A better look at seeing those wing bars. Like every warbler this guy was foraging, flitty, and fast, so I am happy to have gotten some half decent shots to remember this guy by.

I saw another prairie on my way back, but it was so close to the original location of this guy I was afraid to count more than 1 prairie for today. But one is better than none!

This ruby crowned kinglet appeared to be smelling the little flower buds of this tree on the crescent water. It was more likely just catching insects hiding along the branches under the buds and leaves.

He was much easier to hear than see, a brown thrasher, a relative of the mockingbird has some wonderful camouflage. He was (loudly) rustling through leaf litter along the trees on the Sylvan water. A very shy bird, by standing still it did move more to the edge of the shrubs, but never came out - such a very different "personality" than their boisterous mockingbird cousins.

It was also nice to see a Prothonotary in Green-Wood, cannot complain ever about seeing these guys! 

A handsome yellow-rumped warbler also in the same tree, hawking flies and gnats from the air. The males can be quite handsome, there are a lot of these warblers around and its always nice to see one that is particularly flashy.

The prothonotary warbler normally nests in swamps, in tree cavities- they are the only warbler that nests in tree cavities. They nest in the South Eastern United States but during migration sometimes show up in our area, they will most likely not stay around for too long before finding a suitable place to nest- you can see with this map their occurrences through the year, where they show up first in spring, and where they end up settling in for the summer before leaving in early fall.

So handsome with those contrasting violet flowers!

He came down from the original tree I saw him in to forage along the rocks that line the shore of Sylvan water, alongside a swamp sparrow.

You can never have too many shots of these guys! I also found out why they are called "Prothonotary," as it refers to a hood worn by Catholic notaries, apparently lots of early ornithologists in the US were Catholics, as we are all familiar with both Cardinals in Catholicism and the bird, both in red.

     If you are looking to get in an interesting birding experience-- or just to get into birding for the theist time, for this upcoming Migratory Bird Day, I will be leading one of the many walks at the Bronx Zoo's Birdathon on May 9th. The Birdathon is open to both advanced and novice birders, more information on registration and the event itself can be found here, hope to see you there!