The week of December 9th through the 15th was marked by a couple of days of mid-week thunderstorms. Gusting winds tapered off by Friday.
Throughout Brooklyn, many birders were preparing for Saturday's annual Christmas Bird Count by scouting their respective areas, getting a feel for what might be around and, especially, looking for any rarities. While I lead teams at Floyd Bennett Field and adjacent habitats, I did spend time in Green-Wood Cemetery on Friday making sure that recent rare birds were still present. If they weren't observed on the official day of the count, at least they would be asterisked sightings for what is known as "count week".
I managed to find an Eastern Phoebe which had been feeding around the edges of the Dell Water. In addition, a Baltimore Oriole that has been sticking close to a berry filled Yew tree was still present. Finally, our young Red-headed Woodpecker was easily found in his favorite Horsechestnut tree on Hemlock Avenue.
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Eastern Phoebe
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Baltimore Oriole
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Red-headed Woodpecker
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The abundace of our overwintering sparrows has increased slightly. The results of the annual borough-wide census showed that Green-Wood Cemetery is hosting the largest number of Dark-eyed Juncos of all the locations. Compared to last year at this time, the cemetery's visiting Fox Sparrow number is much better. American Goldfinches, however, have suddenly decreased in abundance. I'm not sure why.
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Fox Sparrow
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Finally, two to three hundred American Robins were seen through the week. Most were feeding within a pair of large American Holly trees on Forest Avenue. They were alternating their diet between Holly berries and Common Persimmons. A stand of persimmons along Alder Avenue was still holding onto a feast of sweet fruit only about 100 yards to the north of the hollies, on the other side of Forest Ridge.
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American Robins waiting for an opening at holly trees
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I'll try to get into Green-Wood as much as possible this week, but current forecasts looks like several days of terrible weather.
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