Calvert Vaux/Dreier-Offerman Park info

Alex Wilson, the gentleman who found the Western Reef Heron at Calvert Vaux Park (a.k.a. Dreier-Offerman Park), sent out a group email regarding the recent announcement by the mayor. I thought it might be of interest to some of this blogs readers:

Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 2:26 pm
Subject: Vaux/Offerman Park Checklist

Starting with the appearance of the Western Reef-Heron and extending to the announcement of $40 million in renovation funding, as well as the unfortunate heron hunting incident, Calvert Vaux/Dreier Offerman Park has emerged as a focal point for a number of issues of concern to the birding community. Last Saturday, 8/4, as I watched a Willow Flycatcher feeding a couple of fledglings I worried that the upcoming improvements to the park may be apt to eliminate the kind of habitat that allows for the surprising number of nesting species at the site. As a matter of basic curiosity I began to assemble a checklist for the park, and it occurs to me that such a list might also be of use in advocating for sensitivity to wildlife during the rehabilitation project. The list is online at:

http://www.digitalmediatree.com/arboretum/vauxlist/

The data comes from a relatively few visits I've made, along with some sightings I've collected from recent observers of the heron. This does not include much information from the best of spring and fall migration, so there should be many species to add. I'm sure there are local observers with longer histories at the site than I have, as well as other birds being seen by the many recent visitors. Im soliciting additional data from the community, which may be posted to the comments on the page, or emailed to me directly. I hope the results will serve to illustrate the impressive diversity that even a small amount of appropriate habitat can support in the urban context.

Thanks for your input.
Alex Wilson
Brooklyn, NY