Are we there yet?

Japanese Magnolia bud

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Yesterday I took a slow bicycle ride around Prospect Park. My route was an indirect meander from the north end of the park, through the woodland trails, along the edges of the meadows and ending at the lake.

Recent wind direction and temperatures were (unfortunately) typical of this time of year. I missed out on the first, very brief south winds and migrant push. Actually, I think it was more of a nudge than a push. I haven’t seen my first Pine Warbler of the season yet and was hoping to locate one today. I did not.

Red-breasted Nuthatch and Black-capped Chickadee tussling

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

At the Vale of Cashmere somebody has placed a scattering of shelled sunflower seeds on the five bulky, stone balusters surrounding the pond. White-throated Sparrows, chickadees, titmouse and cardinals (the expected winter suspects) were busy eating or storing the seeds. One selfish cardinal attempted to claim a baluster as his own but unrelenting chickadees were way too fast to be intimidated or chased away. Of the other winter visitors, at least two sapsuckers and one Brown Creeper remain in the park. A flock of boisterous crows near Flatbush Avenue were mobbing some unseen predator. I assumed that it was a Red-tailed Hawk until I heard the shrill, sustained “kee-ya, kee-ya, kee-ya” of a Red-shouldered Hawk. Rather than chase down the hawk I followed him with my ears as he flew towards the north end of the park. During the most recent Christmas Bird Count I believe a record number of Red-shouldered Hawks were recorded within New York City.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

The cold temperature and heavy, gray overcast sky overwhelmed most of the subtle signs of spring. Patches of daffodils radiated from isolated pockets at the park’s woodland edges. Phoebes hawking for insects along the edges of the lake and Lullwater were the only apparent avian sign of spring migration. On Prospect Lake an approximate total of fifty Ruddy Ducks and Northern Shovelers remain of the several hundred that overwintered. I checked the Long-eared Owl roost and, after spending 76 days in Brooklyn, he appears to have headed back north.

Daffodil pistil and stamens

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Another migratory observation was of dozens of Song Sparrows now present in the park. There are always some Song Sparrows residing in the park but in recent days their numbers have noticeably jumped. I watched one at the edge of the Lullwater behaving in a way that I’ve never observed. He was sallying, with fluttery wings, a short distance into air, much like a phoebe hawking for insects. I assumed that he was feeding on small clouds of flies that are now visible around the area. When I returned home I read in “The Birder’s Handbook” that he was more likely displaying for a nearby female. Other hormonally transfixed birds were Fox Sparrows performing their sweet, melodic warble from perches along the Lullwater and the Peninsula.

- - - - -

Prospect Park, 3/25/2006
-
Northern Shoveler (Approx. 25, Prospect Lake.)
Ring-necked Duck (11, Upper pool.)
Ruddy Duck (Approx. 25, Prospect Lake.)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Mobbed by crows & calling near Vale of Cashmere.)
Red-tailed Hawk (1 on Ravine nest.)
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1 female, Vale. 1 male, Peninsula.)
Eastern Phoebe (6, between Lullwater and point.)
American Crow (Approx. 12 mobbing hawk.)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1, Vale of Cashmere.)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1, Vale of Cashmere.)
Brown Creeper (Ravine, near Lower pool.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (4, Terrace Bridge.)
Northern Mockingbird (Peninsula Meadow.)
Fox Sparrow (3, Vale of Cashmere. 4, Lullwater.)
Song Sparrow (Common.)
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Common Grackle

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee (Common.), Tufted Titmouse, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Fordham hawks update

Rose with rat and banded leg

(Photo credit - Thomas Raj)

I received the following update from Chris Lyons regarding the Red-tailed Hawks nesting at Fordham's Rose Hill campus. He also included the above photo taken last year. It shows that Rose was banded at some point in time. Chris is checking with Chris Nadareski, Wildlife Biologist and Peregrine Expert for NYC Department of Environmental Protection. He may have banded Rose the year she nested on a fire escape. It's a long report but, as always, I enjoy Chris' writing:

"Coming in to work this Monday (3/20), I was eager to check out the nest on Collins Hall, because it was on 3/21/2005 that I first saw Rose sitting regularly in the now-abandoned tree nest by the library. The previous two weeks, I'd seen plenty of evidence that they were serious about this new nest, and watched them add a fair bit of material to it; Rose ripping slender flexible branches from oak trees, and Hawkeye snipping fresh green shoots from coniferous trees. Hawkeye, it seems to me, has a particular fondness for adding this type of branch to the nest, a normal behavior of nesting Red-Tails that he takes to extremes. Last year, somebody got a shot of the old nest from a cherry picker used to prune the campus trees, before Rose had laid her eggs. The bottom of the nest was heavily lined with evergreen branches, perhaps 20 or more, of varying lengths. The theory is that they help control feather mites, since the incubating female can't do much preening to keep those little buggers in check. If this theory is correct, Rose should be having no problem with feather mites.

Rose (?) earlier this month

(Photo credit - Richard Fleisher)

I'm hoping this added insulation will mean that the eggs won't be adversely affected by the pigeon spikes the nest was built on, as may have happened last year with Pale Male and Lola's unhatched clutch. Though building-nesting Red-Tails are not so rare as was once thought, this is only the second nest I've heard of that is built on pigeon wire, and almost certainly the first nest Hawkeye and Rose have built on pigeon wire.

However, it may not be the first nest they've constructed on a building. Still trying to find some way to confirm that Hawkeye and Rose are the same Red-Tails that built a nest on an apartment building fire escape on Creston Ave. in the Bronx, only few blocks away from Fordham. They successfully hatched young there in 2004, only to have their young taken away, and the nest dismantled, due to fears that some local kids might harm the chicks (or try to make pets of them). Studying pictures of the Creston Ave. female, I'm almost convinced it's Rose, but still trying to find out if that female was banded. Rose has a silver metal band on her right leg--and there's a good chance Chris Nadareski banded the Creston Ave. female. Reading the numbers on the band would be very difficult, but far as I'm concerned, if I can confirm that female was banded, it's almost a certainty that it's the same female sitting on Collins Hall right now--and no reason to think she changed mates in the interim.

Rose (?) earlier this month

(Photo credit - Richard Fleisher)

If this can be confirmed, it means these two built a nest on a fire escape adjacent to a tiny Bronx park in 2004, then in an oak tree next to a university library in 2005, and then inside a triangular pediment on top of a different university building this year. If they succeed in getting young off this spring, they'll have performed one hell of a hat trick. Three different nests, three sets of eyasses (though they didn't get to see the first brood fledge), in three consecutive years. Pale Male may have consistency and longevity on his side, but Hawkeye and Rose win the prize for versatility and flexibility.

But first, they've got to get this year's eggs laid and hatched. I saw strong evidence over the course of this week that Rose has started laying her clutch. On Monday morning, I saw Hawkeye in the nest--possibly giving her a break, assuming she spent all night sitting on an egg. Later, I saw Rose there--it's fairly easy to tell them apart, if you can get a good look at the head of the incubating bird. Rose's head is a much richer brown.

On Tuesday, I saw Rose on the nest in the morning--later in the day, I saw both of them out of the nest--and then they copulated on the steeple of Fordham's University Church, an 1845 Gothic Revival gem, and long a favorite perch of theirs, which is right next to Collins Hall. Nobody seemed to mind them doing this--I was probably the only human present at the time who even noticed. But I couldn't help wondering if this church wedding meant that divorce was now out of the question for the pair. Not sure what canon law has to say about this."

Fordham University Church

(Photo credit - Sean MacCarthy)

"As is usually the case with these situations, it's often difficult to tell if either bird is sitting in the nest. I don't think it's necessarily that they're trying to hide, either--it's just that you can only see them if they stick their heads up for a look around, or if they're sitting in such a way as that their tails stick out over the edge of the sticks, or if they get up for a stretch, or to turn the eggs. Judging by how often I saw one or the other in the nest, I'm pretty sure there are some eggs by now. However, if Rose isn't finished laying her clutch, they may be delaying serious incubation, to keep the eggs from hatching too far apart. This delayed incubation can make it tricky predicting a hatching date, and had me seriously confused last year.

As of today, I'm pretty sure Rose has been in the nest all the time, with Hawkeye standing guard when he's not hunting. It was fairly warm at lunchtime, and there would have been no danger in leaving one or two eggs unattended for a bit, but she was sitting faithfully all the same. So maybe there'll be hatchlings around a month from now, or maybe it'll be a bit longer--and maybe not at all, of course. I hope they laid enough branches on top of those spikes. It was on 5/9/05 that I first saw two white fuzzy heads poke up out of the old nest. They were about a week old then, I estimated. Hawkeye and Rose seem to be working on a very similar schedule this year, but it's a very different situation. Here's hoping for a hat trick."

Meet the Ravine hawks

Ravine nest long view

(Photo credit - Rob J)

This afternoon I only had about an hour to spend watching the ravine Red-tailed Hawk pair. I brought my spotting scope with me.

It seems silly but, as I think back to previous year’s hawk nest vigils, I remember each species of tree that I used as my front row seat. The first year I had a hefty log to use as a seat at the base of a Norway Maple. The following year Big Mama and her mate chose a European Beech north of the zoo for their nest. I chose the trunk of a mature Black Cherry tree that came down during a storm. Each year the pair seemed to move higher up and, in 2004, they built a nest in the penthouse of a towering Tulip tree on Payne Hill. That season I found my best seat yet on a wide, sloping buttress at the base of an elm tree. The following year I gave my behind a rest as “my“ hawks didn’t breed. This year I’ll be monitoring the ”new“ Red-tailed Hawk family from the base of a huge oak tree.

Ravine Red-tailed Hawk male?

(Photo credit - Rob J)

As I walked up the hill towards ”the spot“ I heard a grey squirrel squealing an annoyance call. That usually means one thing and I scanned the trees for a predator. I spotted one of the red-tails perched in an oak about fifty yards south of the nest. With my bins I saw the head of his (or her) mate seated on the nest. I brushed away the leaf litter and old acorns at the base of the oak and plopped down. The sky was overcast for the hour that I monitored the nest so I couldn’t take any decent photos. I think I also arrived after their lunch break as both hawks were inactive from 1:30pm until about 2:15pm. At that time the hawk that the squirrel was concerned about took flight and made ascending circles over Quaker Ridge while gradually sliding north.

Ravine Red-tailed Hawk female?

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Last year I remember a few aggressive encounters on Payne Hill between the two pairs of hawk. Perhaps the Ravine pair won out in a territorial dispute that drove Big Mama and her mate to search for a new domain. Today was my first real introduction to the hawk pair with the penchant for pine trees. The light was terrible and I didn’t notice any distinguishing characteristics on the perched bird and all I ever saw of the other was her head.

For nearly an hour the hawk incubating the eggs sat motionless while staring off to the west. I sat nearly motionless staring off to the north, at her. There was a cloud of insects flying around in front of the nest. She snapped at one of the flies. That was the extent of her activity while I was observing. I wondered if she was thinking about her future family. Do hawks daydream and if they do what would it be? Maybe she was using her acute vision to follow the movements of a distant rodent. Perhaps she wasn’t thinking of anything, but merely meditating on her eggs. I pondered these world-changing issues until my butt told me it was time to leave. As I was standing I briefly stumbled and flushed a woodcock. Apparently, the entire time that I was watching the hawk nest, he was sitting camouflaged in the dried leaves about two yards to my left. He took off, wings twittering, flashing me his rusty, rear then disappearing near the Lower Pool.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) male flowers

(Photo credit - Rob J)

- - - - -

Prospect Park, 3/24/2006
-
Red-tailed Hawk (2. One on nest, one perched nearby.)
American Coot (2, Lower pool.)
American Woodcock (1, Quaker Ridge.)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee (4 or 5 in Ravine.)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2, Ravine.)
Brown Creeper (1, Ravine.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (4 or 5, Ravine.)
Fox Sparrow (1, Ravine.)
American Goldfinch (Several in Sycamore near Litchfield Villa.)

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Hawks and willows

Crocuses

(Photo credit - Rob J)

At lunchtime yesterday I took a run into Prospect Park. I was looking for a way to get a clear view of the Ravine Red-tailed Hawk nest. When I arrived a hawk was sitting on the nest, although all I could see was an obstructed view of her head. From the opposite ridge I located a spot at the base of an oak tree that looked really good. It affords a view through the trees and it doesn’t appear that it will be blocked when the trees leaf out. Next time I’ll bring my scope and digiscope some photos of the nest.

Ravine pine tree nest

(Photo credit - Rob J)

I don’t know this pair of red-tails very well and have given them only passing notice over the years. They nested at the top of a conifer within the Quaker Cemetery (in Prospect Park) in 2002. When 2003 rolled around they decided to move a short distance north, to the top of a conifer in the Ravine. They’ve continued to use that nest every year. I sat for about 15 minutes and didn’t see any interactions between her and her mate. I had limited time so I left and walked over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I’ll spend more time starting this weekend.

Forsythia (Forsythia spp.)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

The garden’s collection of pussywillows and willows are at a beautiful stage of growth. Their fuzzy buds are opening to reveal tiny, multi-colored florets. I was especially captivated by the Black willow. Crocuses are blooming in large patches along the west side of the garden and Forsythias are moments away from a brilliant, yellow explosion.

Japanese Pussy Willow (Salix gracilistyla)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Black Pussy Willow (Salix gracilistyla var. melanostachys)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

I decided to exit the garden from the north gate. That way I could walk into the park near Grand Army Plaza and check the forest leaf litter for American Woodcock as I headed home. They’ve begun migrating and some have already started courting. Woodcocks are strange looking birds with eyes placed farther to the back of their head than the front. During courtship the males make a nasal “peenting” call that always makes me smile. Their brown, black and rust cryptic plumage make them virtually disappear in dried leaves. Years ago I almost stepped on one but noticed it when my boot was about six inches from the motionless bird.

There is a fenced off area on Payne Hill that had extensive leaf litter. In past years I’ve found as many as four woodcocks in that spot. Unfortunately, people have cut holes in the fence and use the area for illicit activities. The underbrush and leaf litter is now almost non-existant and the soil badly compacted. I was grumbling to myself about the problem as I walked parallel to the fence. I hoped that I might find a woodcock in the drift of leaves that have piled up at the base of the fence. I wasn’t even looking through the fence when, from the corner of my eye, I noticed a small orange ball. A woodcock was standing behind the fence in a bare patch of soil, probably wondering where all the leaves went. I called Sean on my cellphone and sat down on the grass so that I wouldn’t scare the bird. After we watched him for a few minutes I crawled up to the fence and shot some photos through my bins. They aren’t very good photos but you get the idea of the unique look of this bird.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) on Payne Hill



(Photo credit - Rob J)

Another interesting observation today was of dozens of male American Robins passing through the park. I'm sure many of them will also establish breeding territory in Prospect Park. As sweet as robins seem I've seen many brutal territorial fights between the males once the females arrive.

- - - - -

Prospect Park, 3/21/2006
-
Ring-necked Duck (11, Upper pool.)
Bufflehead (2, Upper pool.)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, sitting on Ravine nest.)
American Coot (2, Lower pool.)
Killdeer (Long Meadow.)
American Woodcock (Payne Hill behind fence.)
Eastern Phoebe (3, the pools.)
American Crow (3.)
Black-capped Chickadee (Common.)
Tufted Titmouse (1.)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (3, Midwood.)
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (3.)
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch (3, Rick's Place.)

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mallard, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Robin (Common.), European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird

Green-Wood Cemetery hawks update

I just received the following optimistic report from Marge regarding another set of Brooklyn Red-tailed Hawks:

"Hi Rob
 
Joe Borker and I went birding today in Green-Wood. We had some nice early migrants: Pine Warbler (very bright plumage, gorgeous) and Phoebe. The Pied-billed Grebe is still on Sylvan Water.
 
We saw the usual red-tail activity. Three hawks circling around. We have the one lone red-tail hanging around all the time. We went towards Ocean Hill and the old nest and we watched a red-tail bring in new nesting material. We found him/her sitting in the nest. WOW.. something we havent seen. This is promising. We don't believe a mated pair is there now, but we are keeping our fingers crossed something good may happen.

You may want to come in and take a look at these red-tails to see if you can ID any of them.
 
Any news of Big Mama?
 
Marge"

I might have time this week to pedal over to the cemetery and check things out. I'll keep you posted.

Long Island's east end

Looking east from Shinnecock Inlet to Montauk Pt.

(Photo credit - Google: "Google Earth" is so cool!)

Yesterday Shane, Doug and took an early morning drive from Brooklyn out to the east end of Long Island. Our primary goal was to locate a Yellow-headed Blackbird that has been seen in recent days. The bird has been lingering among the flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, grackles and cowbirds at the horse farm in Montauk. From that location our strategy was to work our way back west stopping at various ponds and coastal habitats.

We had an auspicious start to the day when, within ten minutes of parking at the horse farm, I spotted the blackbird. At around 7:30am it was flying with a single Red-winged Blackbird from Roosevelt Park on the north side of the road towards the horse farm. It was never relocated after that point.

At Montauk Point it was a bit sad to see that the teeming rafts of wintering waterfowl had mostly dispersed, although there were still some small mixed flocks of scoters remaining. At the overlook next to the concession building a dauntless kestrel was attempting to stay perched in powerful north winds. The gusts persisted for the entire day making viewing on the bay side of the east end downright frigid. One of the highlights from the bay side was a Red-necked Grebe seen from Culloden Point. Still primarily wrapped in his winter plumes we could see patches of rusty red feathers on the sides of his neck.

Across from Montauk Lake inlet, in Block Island Sound, we scoped a distant flock of eiders. When the flock took flight there appeared to be many more individuals than we had originally presumed. We estimated that there were likely five thousand birds present.

Osprey on nest

(Photo credit - Rob J)

The last time I visited Hook Pond there were thousands of geese present. Yesterday all that remained were several Mute Swans. Continuing west we made a quick stop at Napeague where we found an Osprey already checking out his (or her) nest near Cranberry Hole Road. Along the beach at Sagaponack was a flock of 90 to 100 Bonaparte's Gulls. For the second time in less than a month Shane located a Black-headed Gull among the more common seabirds. Also at Sagaponack Lake was a breeding plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull. There was nothing noteworthy to report at Mecox Bay and we drove off towards Shinnecock Inlet.

Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris)

(Photo credit - Steve Nanz)

From the base of Ponquogue Bridge we spotted several American Oystercatchers, my first for the year. In the bay, midway between Shinnecock and the main land was another large flock of Common Eiders. While we were parking the car at the inlet we spotted the flock streaming south, through the inlet and out over the ocean. The only other observation of interest at this location was a pair of “Ipswich” Sparrows nibbling on grass seed near the parking lot. From the inlet we drove slowly along Dune Road hoping to locate a bittern. We struck out on that account but did spot a Clapper Rail scurrying around in the grass next to the road. I stepped out of the car for a better look and he dove into a hole in the grass and, as they often do, completely vanished.

"Ipswich" Sparrow



Note the new feathers coming in on its forehead
(Photo credit - Rob J)

- - - - -

Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe (Culloden Pt.)
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (5.)
Great Egret (5.)
Brant
Gadwall
Northern Pintail (Roosevelt Park.)
Common Eider
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Osprey (Napeague. On nest near Cranberry Hole Rd.)
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel (Montauk Point.)
Peregrine Falcon (Dune Road.)
Clapper Rail (Dune Road.)
Killdeer (6 or 7, Horse farm.)
American Oystercatcher (4, Shinnecock.)
Black-headed Gull (Sagaponack.)
Bonaparte's Gull (90-100, Sagaponack.)
Ring-billed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Sagaponack.)
Great Black-backed Gull
Hairy Woodpecker (Horse farm.)
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird (Horse farm.)
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher (Montauk.)
Savannah "Ipswich" Sparrow (2, Shinnecock Inlet.)
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Horse farm.)
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, American Crow, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, House Sparrow

Marching towards Spring

Multiflora Rose

(Photo credit - Rob J)

March is an odd month in New York in that it lies somewhere between the dusk of Winter and the dawn of Spring. While teasing signs of Spring’s reawakening begin to appear, the cool, dormant months linger like an ice cream headache.

My friend Alex just sent me a reassuring e-mail about the Ravine hawk’s nest:

“Hi Rob. Maybe you heard this from Shane, but it seems clear that the Ravine nest is active. On 3/15 there was a bird sitting in the nest at 7AM; I spent about twenty minutes in the area and it didn’t leave during that time. I checked again in the afternoon and it was still on the nest. As I watched, another hawk (adult) came down to the nest. It may have brought material or food; I couldn’t see clearly enough to be sure, but it looked like there was a hand-off. It flew off quickly, leaving the other bird sitting in the nest.“

As soon as I read his note I grabbed my bins and bicycle and headed into the park. I am not very familiar with this pair as I’ve spent most of my time over the last few years following Big Mama and Splittail. This other pair has chosen nest sites that are difficult to monitor. For the second year their nest is at the top of a very large pine tree in the Ravine. When I arrived I put my bins on the nest and saw the head of a Red-tailed Hawk looking down at me. The location is surrounded by many mature deciduous tree and once they leaf out it will be impossible to watch the family. I feel a little better now knowing that at least one of our resident pair of hawks is nesting. I’ve spotted another pair several times outside of the park perimeter and above 8th Avenue in Park Slope. Most buildings in the neighborhood are only three or four stories tall. There is one tall apartment building on President Street where I last saw one of the hawks but have been unable to find any signs of a nest.

Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

I was surprised to find that the Long-eared Owl is still present in the park. I thought that he would have headed north by now. Most of the Northern Shovelers that overwintered on Prospect Lake have departed with only a couple of dozen remaining. Ruddy Ducks have also started to leave. Of the ones sticking around many of the males have acquired their deep rusty-brown feathers and sky-blue bills. I spotted my first Eastern Phoebe of the season near the Fallkill Falls. This unassuming little flycatcher is the symbolic front runner of the northbound migration. I smiled at the sight of this tail-pumping bird and muttered ”Yeah“. He responded with a squeaky, ”FEE-be“.

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

(Photo credit - Steve Nanz)

Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos were some of the land birds I noticed practicing their spring melodies from exposed perches. The trilling call of the juncos reminded me that the similar sounding Pine Warblers should appear in force within two weeks. Early arriving male Common Grackles have staked nesting claims in conifer stands around the park. Their loud, metallic ”kh-sheee“ song competed with the repetitive ”konk-a-reee“ of nearby Red-winged Blackbirds

American Elm (Ulmus americana)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

I noticed that Cornelian Cherry shrubs have begun to flower. Forsythias shouldn’t be far behind. Other flowering plants that I noticed today were American Elm, Red Maple and Pussywillow. Maybe Sunday I’ll take a walk over the the Botanic Garden for more flower photos.

- - - - -

Prospect Park, 3/16/2006
-
Wood Duck (1 male, cove near skating rink.)
Northern Shoveler (approx. 24.)
Ring-necked Duck (13, Upper pool.)
Bufflehead (3, Upper pool.)
Ruddy Duck (approx. 24.)
Red-tailed Hawk (2; 1 hunting over Quaker Ridge, 1 on Ravine nest.)
Merlin (1, Nethermead Meadow.)
American Coot (approx. 12.)
Ring-billed Gull
Long-eared Owl (1.)
Hairy Woodpecker (1, Lookout Hill.)
Eastern Phoebe (1, Ravine near Fallkill Falls.)
White-breasted Nuthatch (3.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1, near West Is.)
Hermit Thrush (1, near Fallkill Falls.)
Fox Sparrow (Fairly common.)
Swamp Sparrow (1, near West Is.)
White-throated Sparrow (Common.)
Dark-eyed Junco (Fairly common.)
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch (3, near Rick's Place.)

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mute Swan (2.), American Black Duck (3.), Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow (A few dozen.), Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Pussywillow (click image for larger size)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Road Trip to Rochester

I’m sorry for such a late report, it’s been a weird week. That said, here’s a brief rundown of our 24 hour run to Rochester and back.

New York State

(Photo credit - Google)

What began as just a couple of us driving up to the Rochester area ended up as seven people in two cars. We were hoping to locate several boreal species that are unlikely to be found within the five boroughs of NYC. Our target species were Tundra Swan, Golden Eagle, Northern Hawk Owl, Bohemian Waxwing, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll and Evening Grosbeak. In addition, we would try to find a vagrant Varied Thrush that has been reported in Webster County Park, along the shores of Lake Ontario.

I’ve never been to that section of New York State and looked forward to exploring the mostly flat, farmland habitats, marshes and lakes.

Brook in Selkirk Shores State Park

After picking up a friend of Sean’s in the Syracuse area we headed farther north. Our itinerary was to bird along, Baum Road in Hastings, Hagen Road in Boylston (also Frazier Rd.; Maltby Rd.), Tug Hill/Ontario Lake, Selkirk Shores State Park in Richland (and the north end of Cayuga Lake), Derby Hill, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Cayuga Marsh and Webster County Park, Webster. We would end our road trip in Lyndonville where a Northern Hawk Owl has been residing for most of the winter.

European Larch (Larix decidua)

Larch new growth

We were four for eight by the time we began driving back to Brooklyn at 9:00pm. It may sound like the 24 hour trip was unsuccessful, however, there was one incredible event that more than made up for the missing birds.

The time and conditions were such that huge numbers of
Snow Goose had begun migrating north throughout the morning hours. For 7:00am until approximately 9:30am skeins of Snow Goose were moving across the sky of North Oswego county. It was an amazing spectacle to see seemingly unending threads of geese streaming from one end of the horizon to the other. At one point we passed a farm field that appeared to be covered by snow. We pulled off the road and watched the mass of white snow morph into a honking, flapping mass of feathers. There were several locations during the morning where we stopped the cars just to marvel at the swarms of geese. Towards the end of the day the masses of Snow Geese were supplanted by huge flocks of Canada Geese.

Skeins of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens)

Check out this interactive Snow Goose migration map.

And, by the way, my nemesis bird, the Golden Eagle, continues to evade me.

- - - - -

Rochester, NY, 3/11/2006
-
Red-throated Loon
Great Blue Heron
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
American Coot
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Shrike
Horned Lark
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Eastern Bluebird
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

In Memoriam



While on a marathon, 1,000 mile birding road trip yesterday I received some very sad news. Arleen O'Brien, friend and naturalist, passed away at home. She was extraordinarily enthusiastic about birds, nature and life in general. You may want to take a look at her website, "Bird Joy". Well known around the New York City birding community, she will be missed.

“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.”

Gilda Radner

Road Trip

A group of us are leaving tonight at 1am (technically tomorrow, I suppose) for a one day trip to northern New York State. Call us crazy but, by the time we arrive home Saturday, we will have covered close to 1,000 miles. We're hoping to locate several species that we wouldn't normally find around NYC. I hope to come home with a memory card filled with photos.

More hawk info from the Bronx

Since I've been unable to locate any active nests in Prospect Park I can at least enjoy the process vicariously.

"Subject: And still curiouser (more Red-Tail nests on buildings)
From: Christopher Lyons
Date: 3/6/06 3:44 PM

'Bronx hawk gets empty nest on Mom's Day'

After reading the Daily News article linked to this entry, I did a [map] search:

Bronx hawk nest locations

(Photo credit - Google)

The geographic proximity of the Creston Ave. fire escape nest from 2004 does make me wonder if that pair was sufficiently bothered by the abduction of their chicks to try moving east in search of a new territory for 2005. But it's not as if there's any shortage of Red-Tails in The Bronx, so it could just as easily be a coincidence. There was at least one immature Red-Tail hanging around the campus in Summer of 2004, but no way of knowing if that youngster made it to maturity, let alone whether or not it was Hawkeye or Rose.

And in fact, there have been many more attempts by Red-Tails to nest on buildings than we tend to realize, because we only hear about the successes.

As far as the Cathedral is concerned, I saw two Red-Tails (one immature) perched on the Cathedral in July of 2004. There are also peregrines and kestrels nesting in that general area. But I'm not sure how successful that nest was. Probably there are many failed attempts we never hear about, and maybe some successful ones as well.

Nest on Collins Hall

(Photo credit - Prof. Richard Fleisher)

No matter how many precedents one may cite, Hawkeye and Rose are still exceptional. The first pair known to have given up a successful nest-site in a tree for an unproven nest-site on a building.

Still wondering why all the reports of building-nests, successful or otherwise, are from New York City. Is it happening in other cities as well, and we're just not hearing about it?

Another photo of Rose & Hawkeye's nest

(Photo credit - Prof. Richard Fleisher)

Saw Hawkeye and Rose perched together this morning, on the large crucifix atop Martyr's Court. They both flew off shortly after I spotted them. I got the impression I had just missed witnessing some highly inappropriate copulation. (g)"

A big thank you to Prof. Fleisher for the use of his photos. Check out his webpage here.

Prospect Park Red-tailed Hawks

I just received the following e-mail from Alex Wilson. Apparently my pessimism regarding the resident hawks was a bit premature. I'll keep you posted.

"Subject: red-tails
From: Alex Wilson
Date: 3/6/06 8:50 PM

Hi Rob. Thought you might be interested in Red-tail doings last Friday, 3/3. I twice saw hawks flying into the top of the tallest pine on the hill immediately south of the Ambergill, I’m guessing this is the site of the Ravine nest I’ve heard of, though I never knew exactly where it was. On the second occasion the bird was carrying nesting material, including a ribbon or caution tape or some such that trailed behind it. It stayed in the treetop for several minutes, though I couldn’t see what it was doing; only the top of it’s head could be seen, and I suppose the spot is all but invisible come leaf-out. Shortly thereafter a Red-tail came down to the old nest in the Tulip Tree on Payne Hill. It only stopped briefly, but definitely sat down in the nest for maybe a minute before flying off. It didn’t bring or remove any material. I initially thought I was seeing a particular pair of adult birds, but eventually I had three in sight at one time, low over the general vicinity. Not sure exactly what to make of it all, but I wouldn’t write off park breeding yet. I watched a Red-tail nest in the north end of Central Park in ’04 that ran weeks behind the 5th Avenue birds. I guessed it was a second attempt after an early failure; perhaps the window of opportunity is still open…

Best,
Alex

Looking for owls

Willow & blue sky

(Photo credit - Rob J)

Shane picked me up at first light yesterday. We were determined to locate some owls. In particular, we were looking for Barred Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl. There are some habitats around the five boroughs where owls are rare, but regular winter visitors. Barred Owls are very rare in New York City. I’ve only observed one. It was in Prospect Park over the winter of 1999/2000 and he stuck around for about two months.

Our plan was to begin our search in the Bronx at dawn then, if we struck out, we’d head up to Croton Point Park. I have a couple of requests before I continue. Roosting owls are sensitive to disturbance and easily stressed. I would assume that individuals residing around New York City have a lot to contend with so it’s important to be respectful. If you decide to search for owls keep your groups very small. If you locate a roosting owl, remain quiet, stay a reasonable distance away from the bird and limit your stay to only a few minutes. Keep in mind that owls have incredible hearing and that, even when you think that they are counting sheep, they will have one eye slightly cracked to watch you. Finally, it’s considered improper by many folks to post the location of an owl roost. With that in mind, this report will be rather short.

Over the years and through word of mouth many NYC birders have learned where to look for owls in the Bronx. It almost takes the fun out the hunt when one knows exactly where to search. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the Barred Owl and saw-whet owl were not where we expected to find them. We drove up to Croton Point hoping for another chance.

When we arrived at Croton and a screech owl, that had been roosting in one spot all winter, wasn’t located I began to feel a bit pessimistic. At each location we scoured the base of every conifer for white-wash and pellets but found none. I’ve been told that Great Horned Owl nest at Croton Point Park but over all the years that I've birded there I’ve never found one. Today my scoreless streak ended and we got to observe one of these huge owls sitting on her nest. It wasn’t one of our target species but it was still a great find. We checked out a couple of other spots in the area then decided to go back to our starting place.

Sleeping Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)

(Photo credit - Rob J)

We ran into George Dadone who was also looking for owls. He was with a friend and his young daughter. George was hoping to show them their first owl. Striking out again we began walking back to our cars. At one point Shane look down at the base of a tree and pointed out what seemed to be fresh white-wash. He looked directly overhead but couldn’t find anything. The wind was blowing hard so I visually estimated the angled trajectory and stepped back to scan the branches. It look me a only about a second to recognize the small brown bump on the branch as a cute, little Northern Saw-whet Owl. She was roosting uncharacteristically high in the tree and far out on the branch. The blowing wind was moving the tree and bouncing the owl up and down like a bungee jumper. She didn’t seem to mind. Maybe it helped to rock her to sleep.

Just waking up

(Photo credit - Sean Sime)

Shane retrieved his scope from the car and set it up so George’s friend and his daughter could easily view the owl. I was really happy that Shane and I finally found a saw-whet owl. It made my day, though, when the little girl looked up from the scope, beaming and whispered, “she opened her eyes and is looking at me!”

-Click here for photos of saw-whets being banded-

- - - - -

Pelham Park & Croton Point Park, 3/5/2006
-
Great Blue Heron
Mute Swan
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Horned Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Carolina Wren
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow , Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird

Brooklyn's wild parakeets

Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)

(Photo credit - Steve Nanz)

Many Brooklynites have had encounters with our latest immigrant population - Monk Parakeets. They visit our feeders, forage in the city parks and build huge nests on telephone poles. The best known colony nests on the Victorian Gothic Revival spires at the entrance to the Green-wood Cemetery. Here's a website dedicated to our industrious neighbors:

http://www.brooklynparrots.com/

Fordham Campus Red-tailed Hawks

Chris Lyons has been e-mailing me updates over the last week. It appears that Rose and Hawkeye are back for a second year. Below are his correspondence in chronological order (oldest first). It's a lot of writing but I really enjoy Christopher's reports.


Subject: Re: Fordham hawk status
From: Christopher Lyons
Date: 2/28/06 12:44 PM

I've been putting off sending you a report, but last Wednesday (2/22/06), coming into work, I made an interesting discovery.

Hawkeye and Rose had not been paying any attention whatsoever to last year's nest, as you predicted might be the case. I would see them perching on various structures, but I never witnessed any courtship behavior, or even saw them in the same place at the same time. In fact, I can't even be sure it's the same hawks I'm seeing, though a few weeks back, I got a pretty good look at a bird I'm reasonably certain is Rose.

Anyway, last Tuesday, I looked across the expansive lawn beyond the nest tree, and just right of Martyr's Court, I saw an adult Red-Tail apparently land on Collins Auditorium. Not on some lookout post on top of the building, but (I was pretty sure) below the roof, on a ledge. A suspicion began to form in my mind, and I decided to walk over and investigate. As I got closer, I saw a Red-Tail perched in a nearby tree--probably the bird I'd just seen, so if it had landed on the building it hadn't stayed there very long.

Collins Auditorium is an older building, [..] and a substantial ledge maybe 15 feet below the place where the roof comes to a peak. The ledge is purely decorative, there are no windows overlooking it. The roof hangs out a bit, sheltering the ledge somewhat from the elements. And since rock pigeons do so love to perch on ledges like this--yeah, you guessed it. PIGEON WIRE. And off to the left side of the ledge, a large pile of sticks woven into the wire.

The Upper East Side may have lost its monopoly on Red-Tail nests constructed on buildings.

Although I was pretty sure I saw that hawk land on the building, I had little opportunity to check the nest, and was having some doubts about what exactly I'd seen. I was still not seeing the hawks together, I was rarely seeing them at all, I was never seeing them on Collins Auditorium, let alone the ledge. I can't monitor them from inside the library, the way I did last year, so my opportunities for observation are much reduced.

But today, a co-worker who is also into birding, and who heard about the nest from me, informed me that she saw one of the hawks sitting on the Collins Auditorium nest, just a few days ago. Although Rose could be a month or more away from laying and incubating eggs, it does seem there's a strong chance that a breeding attempt will be made there. Given the bad luck Pale Male and his partners have had with first-year nests on Fifth Ave, I hate to speculate on what their chances of success are. It's still possible this is a false alarm, but as of today, I can state with confidence that a third pair of New York City Red-Tails has at least considered breeding on a human structure.

Question: Is Hawkeye related to Pale Male? Is Rose? Neither bird much resembles him, but that's hardly proof of anything--not sure if Rose looks like any of Pale Male's mates. If they are not descended from the Fifth Ave. clan, and have no experience with nests constructed on buildings, that would mean they spontaneously struck on the same idea. They recognized the potential of the ledge, which was only a short distance from last year's more conventional platform, and the pigeon wire made it easy for them to build there. Whether the nest will prove suitable or not--whether they even use it or not--remains to be seen.

But the really interesting thing to me is that unlike Pale Male, whose first conventional nesting attempt on a tree inside Central Park failed, due to crow harassment, Hawkeye and Rose successfully reared two young last year. Crows have been no problem at all. There is no shortage of suitable trees on campus, if they wanted to change locations. And yet here they are, a year later, trying something new--a behavior their species has only been observed to engage in on a handful of occasions. With no apparent need, and still unproven advantages.

Curiouser and Curiouser.

* * * * * * * * * *

Subject: Re: Fordham hawk status (correction to earlier email)
From: Christopher Lyons
Date: 2/28/06 1:25 PM

I took another look at Collins Auditorium just now, and my memory was playing tricks on me--it does not have a peaked roof. The roof is flat, but there's a peaked triangular facade-type thingy on the front of the building, and the ledge essentially forms the bottom of the triangle. The nest is well to the left, snugly fitted into one corner of the triangle. I'll take some pictures eventually, and send them on to you, and you'll see what I mean. The building is done in a sort of modest Beaux Arts style, I think--not an expert--and of course the hawks couldn't care less. Form definitely follows function, so far as they're concerned. More ornate structures tend to provide them with more opportunities.

This nest is certainly much higher off the ground than the old one, but probably not as high as Pale Male's, and certainly not half so lofty as Pale Male Jr's suite at the Trump Parc Hotel.

My co-worker isn't sure if she saw a hawk in the nest yesterday, or this past Friday. But she's quite sure she saw it.

I checked my final report on your blog from last year to confirm my recollections--in 2005, fledging dates seemed to indicate that Rose laid her eggs either very late in March, or very early in April.

No way of knowing when they started nest-building this year--and unless a witness to their early labors turns up, I'll never know. Oh well. They know.

* * * * * * * * * *

Subject: Where the nest is
From: Christopher Lyons
Date: 3/1/06 2:50 PM

I found this picture of Collins Hall (originally called Collins Auditorium) on Fordham's website.



If you look at the picture on the right (the one where there's snow on the ground), you'll see the peaked triangular facade I was talking about, and you can sort of see where the ledge is. Obviously you won't see the nest, because it's not there yet.

From this vantage point, the nest is well to the left of the triangle.

I didn't see either hawk today, but I did notice something I hadn't seen before--a fresh pine bough placed in the nest.

It's going to be tougher to observe this one, assuming they go ahead with breeding there. So far, I haven't found any vantage point that permits an unobstructed eye level view of the nest, let alone one that allows you to look down on it. There are two nearby buildings that might allow a better look, but one is a dorm, and the other is the Administration Building, and neither is going to be much use once the trees leaf out, best as I can tell.

I'll have to watch it from the ground, and that's fine, except it will make it much harder to know when (or if) there are any eyasses. I think the picture gives you a good idea of how high up they are this time. I just hope it works out for them.

Sorry your search for active Red-Tail nests in Prospect hasn't panned out so far.

You know, it's not completely out of the question that some of your hawks might consider nesting on a building. It does seem to be the going fashion these days.

* * * * * * * * * *

Subject: Re: Fordham hawk status
From: Christopher Lyons
Date: 3/2/06 5:55 PM

Btw, that triangular facade thingy the hawks built their nest in is called a 'pediment'. More specifically, the nest was constructed on a 'horizontal cornice', underneath a 'raking cornice'.

I figured I better learn the appropriate architectural terminology if I was going to be talking to people about this nest. I kind of wish I was still talking about what kind of tree the nest was in, but it's not my call. Btw, the side of the building they used faces southwest--apparently a preferred orientation for Red-Tail nests.

Digital Photography links

I've added three new links to the sidebar concerning digital cameras and digiscoping. The first one is Steve's Digicams and has the most comprehensive reviews of digital cameras and accessories on the net. The second is Stéphane Moniotte's extensive website for digiscoping and digital birding. And finally, Jean-Sébastien Rousseau-Piot has put together another great site for digiscoping information. His illustrations and photos are also really nice.

More on the smart Barn Swallows

As a follow-up to my Barn Swallow posting, Ben C. sent me a link to a more detailed story. For another article on the ingenious Maplewood HomeDepot Barn Swallows check out the link:

Nesting Barn Swallows Figure Out How To Gain Access To The Maplewood HomeDepot

Rare gull in Prospect Park

Gull flock in front of Duck Island

(Photo credit - Rob J)

When I returned home from my morning appointment I had a voice-mail message from Sean. Apparently, Shane had observed a Black-headed Gull among the common gulls on Prospect Lake. I quickly changed, hopped on my bicycle and headed into Prospect Park.

Black-headed Gulls are rare European visitors that are usually found along the Atlantic coast. Why this particular bird showed up inland is a mystery.

I spent a long time searching, alternately, with Rusty, Steve, Sean and Shane. After three hours I eventually found it coming in to roost off the Peninsula "Thumb". It is associating with the Ring-billed Gulls and moving back and forth between an ice flow in front of Duck Island and the main body of Prospect Lake.

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)


Ring-billed Gull and Black-headed Gull



(Photo credit - Rob J)

-Click here for more info on Black-headed Gulls-

- - - - -

Prospect Park, 3/1/2006
-
Pied-billed Grebe (1, Prospect Lake.)
Northern Shoveler (~30-40. Numbers have recently dropped.)
Hooded Merganser (1 male, 1 female. Prospect Lake.)
Ruddy Duck (~50, Prospect Lake.)
Turkey Vulture (1, flying north over Peninsula meadow.)
American Coot (~20-30.)
Black-headed Gull (1, Prospect Lake near Duck Is.)
Ring-billed Gull (~2000.)
Great Black-backed Gull (3.)
American Crow (6, Prospect Lake.)
Swamp Sparrow (1, edge of Peninsula meadow.)
Common Grackle (Small flock near West Is.)

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow