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.

National Bird Day!

     So, I was planning a Snowy beach walk, but that got scrapped when I learned my office had no heat. Deal breaker- working from home was the way it went. It was pretty darn productive despite a parrot skwalking (loudly) through every phone call and Google Hangout I was on-- but oh, silly me- he was only just reminding me that IT'S NATIONAL BIRD DAY! How could I be so silly?!
     After accomplishing a heck of a lot, even crossing things off my freshly exponentially grown task list for work, I decided I needed fresh air.
     3 pairs of pants, 2 thermal long sleeves, a fleece, all under my jacket, 2 neck warmers, 2 hats, my awesome mitten-gloves, and thermal socks in my Arctic Muck Boots-- after all this talk of this bitter cold-- I was sweating. I was happily warm and the birds and park called to me...
     Prospect was a beautiful winter scene after yesterday' "bomb cyclone," or as I like to call it, a Nor'easter. Yesterday was a windy, snowy mess, today was clear with still some gusty winds- but bearable with the right gear. The sights were satisfying and with a year list to start a new, I was craving any birds I could find!

A ring-billed gull who wasn't looking too hot- came back to check it later and had found it made it's way off.

Most of the lake was frozen over except for two small spaces. Each of these "puddles" was filled with birds. In this one, closest to the shore, there were ring-billed gulls, N. shovelers, American Coots, Canada Geese, Mallards, American Black Duck, Mute Swan, and one little Ruddy Duck. 

Northern Shoveler Drake.

An American Coot with water frozen to its feathers. With the frigid temps, it is not easy out there!

Over the line of trees on The Lullwater bridge flew all these little birds- then this guy came over and perched perfectly. A Cooper's hawk, who just recently flushed the feeder birds. 

#TeamRaptor

Always lovely to see a beautiful adult Cooper's Hawk. I was hoping to see a raptor and this was it, star of the afternoon!

Took a visit to the feeders to see cardinals, house finch, goldfinch, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrows, cardinals, and this guy- a song sparrow.

So super fluffy to stay warm!

Obligatory shot of a male cardinal in a snowy scene.

On the Center Drive was SO HAPPY to see FOX SPARROWS! They are one of my faves, chunky, with that reddish-brown plumage. They are jest beautiful little sparrows.

They were eating something...

This house finch provides a clue as to what they were eating...

A group of re-wing blackbirds and American goldfinch in a sweetgum tree above dropped seeds onto the path below where the sparrows, finch, and mourning doves fed on what they spilled.

Ran into my friend Mary Beth and we discovered a ring-billed gull with a tagged wing.

Oddly, one of my favorite photos of the day!

Crap photo, but this allowed me to get a clear read so I could report the tag. You can report tagged or banded birds on this site: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/bblretrv/
Then, in time, a certificate will be sent to you reporting the tagger, where the bird was tagged, when it was tagged, and any other incidences of it possibly being seen before.

Also, Mary Beth- this bird LOVED your waterfowl feed.... hah!

New Year Birds

     Happy 2018, another year begins with so many things to look forward to, and one of those things is are birds! I am eager to build my 2018 list and this year track not only birds I see, anywhere, but also tracking my list of Kings County Birds.
     I was really hoping to go out on New Years Day to start that list, but those gin martinis from the evening prior held me back and kept me grounded on the couch. So, I went to work a bit early on Tuesday and walked the Coney Island beach for birds. Sounded like a good idea, but the winter, even just having freshly begun has been very cold. And the beach was no exception, combined with the wind, it was not super fun for more than the 15 minutes I spent watching gulls.
     But you do know its cold when you see such sights as the ones below...

All I got were gulls for this walk- and only 2 species. Herring (pictured) and ring-billed gulls, and I saw a far off common loon. 

You know it's cold when salt water is freezing!!! It was high tide at this time, I bet the jetties look pretty amazing at low tide.

Frozen wet sand where dry meets wet.

Herring and ring-billed gulls huddled together, laying low, conserving heat... but there's always that one guy...

.... yeah, that one.
A very cold yawn, for sure-- I have a couple of shots with its mouth open like that-- frozen, much?

The ring billed gulls are quite small in comparison to the herring. They did shuffle about, birds from the back flying to the front of the line, changing places. Perhaps, is this reminiscent of huddling emperor penguins as they shift from the outside to center and back out of their huddles?

Bills tucked in as the wind whips sand and cold air their way.

These birds are so resilient and I admire their ability to live in all types of weather. With snow falling today, I sure hope they are doing alright! 

Happy 2018 and stay warm out there!