Lucky Duck

     It was a good weekend to rack up waterfowl. The temperatures on Friday made it into the 60's, and then by Saturday night, dropped back into the teens, and stayed there. I hate the cold, but I won't let it get in my way-- plus they say exposure to lower temperatures for a prolonged time helps with how we metabolize fat-- so the cold can't be all that bad...
     On Saturday, I headed out to Baisley Pond Park in Queens with my good friend Jeffrey and Christine. We got some great birds for our year and life lists.
     Today, I headed out to Point Lookout in Nassau County for the first time ever, wow, it's totally a place I want to visit once again...
     In the end, I am up to 63 species for the year, adding two life birds to my list over the last two days.

Super windy and cold... and white birds in bright light makes for alright photos. Ross' goose with Canada geese.

Smaller than a snow goose, with a much more stubby bill.

But, like all geese- has a taste for all things grass.

This pond was full of ring neck ducks-- so many of them all at once!
I counted at least 20. And got flagged for it on eBird.

Also, tons of redheads! Also got flagged for reporting 30 of them.

A welcome surprise, a bald eagle- way up high. The group of gulls on the pond alerted us by all taking flight at once. This eagle was barely visible to the naked eye.
But, this eagle must be a frequent visitor as I stopped by today and watched it swoop in at eye level making all the gulls and geese take flight all at once. It was pretty awesome.

Jeffrey and I headed back to Brooklyn and birded by car in Floyd Bennett Field. The most exciting thing we saw was this female lesser scaup getting attacked by a greater black-backed gull. Who dropped on it,  pushing it underwater- then grabbing it with its bill by the head, trying to pick it up.
It was pretty brutal looking, but she lucked out in finding a small covered area under the pilings to hide under...

The gull was persistent though, circling the area. I suppose when you are hungry and desperate.

Today, at Point Lookout, I saw some amazing birds- but the first obstacle was parking. It's very limited here. I found a 2 hour spot near the main drag then walked the desolate street down to the beach opening on Ocean Blvd.

The harlequin ducks alone are worth the trip here, holy cow, they are handsome birds.

Both look good for greater scaup!

Male and female harlequin ducks.

These birds love to swim and feed in the waves where they crash into the rocks... where the mussels are growing on the rocks in large numbers.

All these ducks, the harlequins, scaup, eiders, and long-tailed ducks-- they are all divers. It's very common to see them one moment and the next, they disappear below the surf.

All the while I observed these ducks, gun shots rang out, loudly in the background as the water closer to the marsh is open for hunting. 

The long-tailed ducks are some of my favorites. They were diving, flying, and vocalizing with their funny little call. 

Long-tailed ducks, despite their plucky little size, can dive up to depths of 200 feet. Bad Ass.

Added bonus, seeing 4 Bonaparte's Gulls!

Smaller than all the other gulls, they were swimming in the surf closest to shore. The best part was when a big wave would hit- sometimes they'd be able to ride it out. Or if their timing was poor, they'd have to take flight and expose the bright orange feet.

When a big wave hit the ducks, like this long-tail, they'd just dive in.

A surf scoter, one of two scoter I saw (the other, a black scoter). Scoter, also a diving duck.

And then... Among the common eiders...

A king eider!
A much more fancy bill, grey behind the head, makes them much more different than the common males (mature birds are white with the green bills) and females (the chocolate brown birds).

He was quite far (at the end of the Jetty) with this group-- and it was cloudy, so taking clear pictures, pretty hard. So, truly, I'd love to visit here on a less grey afternoon.

Before leaving, I watched another gull-duck encounter. This time, a smaller ring-billed gull challenged a smaller bufflehead. But only after its small, mollusk meal. 

I kid you not when I say, I out loud cheered this Bufflehead on, who I am fairly sure made it off with its prize.

I got there at just the right time- at arriving, I was watching these ducks happily feed. By time I left, everyone was getting in place for their afternoon siesta. It was such a privilege to view all these birds this weekend, all of them super impressive and braving the cold like they are from the Arctic or something...

South Brooklyn Birding

     In working yesterday, I had an entire morning to myself to bird. I took myself down to the Salt Marsh, Floyd Bennett Field, and Gravesend Bay to do some birding. It was SO MUCH WARMER than the last week. I even spent some time with my gloves off! Wow, what a treat!
     Speaking of treats, I ended at Gravesend Bay so I could drive up Bay Parkway and get to the Hand Pull Noodle and Dumpling House, because $5 for a delicious noodle soup is so wonderful. Anyway, being a Monday, it felt like I had most places to myself and that is something I very much enjoy.

This little dunlin looks dwarfed in this odd perspective shot...

Only a few (very) small areas of water were available at the Salt Marsh, and they were crowded with waterfowl and shorebirds.

A red tail hawk low, near the green bridge area of the marsh.

Red tails are a bird I never, ever, EVER get sick of. They are big, they are powerful, and this one, especially large which makes me think this is a female. How beautiful is she?!

And those talons are no joke!

A few Canada geese flew over from the golf course-- it appears the greens are good on the course! You can see that napkins are not mandatory at the Marine Park Golf Course. 

That same hawk from earlier, we met again as I walked back. And I am not upset to encounter her a second time. And then it made perfect sense why the fence line of the marsh approaching the green bridge was quiet.

I encountered a frozen muskrat on one of the paths-- the first time I have seen one at the salt marsh. I bet once someone finds that, it will be a very valuable food source.

A little song sparrow kicks up some snow as it make a B-line to some seeds a good samaritan sprinkled on the side of the path by the green bridge.

I arrived to Floyd Bennet Field's Hangar B lot to some raptor action-- a Northern Harrier was not happy about a peregrine near where it was hunting.

Attempted to report this banded Peregrine. I can only make out two letters on each band.

This falcon put on quite the show too. It flew up and down the shore causing all the birds to stir before flying out over the bay where it did some aerial acrobatics with a second peregrine.

I also found a small group of horned larks on one of the runways and viewed an Eastern Meadowlark flying across one of the runways. AND I got a few distant common goldeneyes, some good birds to start off 2018.

I was hoping to see purple sandpipers at Gravesend Bay. The tide was high-ish and the water and rocks frozen. Not Ideal for a little bird who looks to feed on those rocks. Instead I was treated to gulls walking on (frozen) salt water.

And mostly ring-billed gulls, but they are still cute. How adorable is this one?!
A good morning out, before we get an icky sleety-rain this evening.

Fox Sparrows and Friends

     I was able to layer up and walk into Green-Wood Cemetery this morning, hoping to see some winter birds. The snowscape in the cemetery was beautiful. So much of the snow untouched, and perfect for exploring tracks and other evidence left behind by wildlife. The headstones made for some really amazing drifts with the winds we have been having, one moment you are on grass, then next steep is into a 1.5ft drift of snow.
     Birds were seen in pockets near ket plants where there were berries, seed pods, cones, and even better, fallen seeds with exposed grass. Green-Wood also put out a few feeders which I saw were not busy, only one was being utilized and it was by a punky group of jays.
     I was happy to see so many Fox Sparrows, they are my favorite so today we feature them, mostly, and a few other little birds.

My walk had been relatively quiet until I finally saw a group of flitting wings. I was pleased to find a group of 11 or so fox sparrow feeding in and below this tree above the Valley Water.

Fox sparrow breed in the Northern Parts of Canada and the West. In winter, they can be common feeder birds.

This one cardinal was hanging out with the group, also feeding on the seeds of this little shrub.

Normally during their breeding season, they feed primarily on insects- in winter they make a switch to small seeds and berries.

They are named Fox Sparrows for those red fox colors. In the East our birds are the "red" subspecies- in the west there is a "Sooty" and "slate-colored" subspecies. 

Larger than the other sparrows in the area- many a birder would refer to these birds as "chunky."

Safety in numbers- these birds are sought out by predators like hawks and merlin that all frequent the cemetery.

I love these beautiful little sparrows!

I always find blue jays so damn hard to photograph. They are too smart- far away is too close for them- and they do a darn good job of making it hard to get a clear shot.

There is no denying these common, noisy birds are really beautiful, no matter how common and annoying they can sometimes be! They are my raptor finders, so I love 'em!

A Northern Mocking bird keeps warm near the Crescent Water.

Some melt water on a mausoleum roof provides freshwater for a dark-eyed junco to enjoy. Most water sources are frozen solid at this point. 

I love how this tiny little junco kicks up the snow on its landing!

I did, in this Junco frequented area, find some evidence of a junco who may not have made it. I made, and narrated (sorry), a short little video of the amazing predatory evidence I found in the snow. My guess is this was a Coopers Hawk versus a Junco- due to the length of the tail and small wing span, and the nature of it capturing a small songbird- make me go the Coop route- plus they are always in the cemetery...

One last sparrow, a song sparrow, feathers fluffed, one foot pulled in and sitting in the sun-- all in a days work to sat warm when its only 11 degrees outside.