Couldn't wait for May

My recent computer problem hasn't been the only issue slowing down my writing, but the other reason is actually a good thing.

Every year, around May 15th, I've participated in the New York City Birdathon. The primary purpose of Birdathons is to raise money for and awareness of the plight of bird species, both locally and globally. Celebrations are organized by different conservation groups and birders of all skill levels spend a day trying to observe as many species as possible. Some people raise money, some just do it for fun. Over the last several years I've been part of a team called the "Wandering Talliers" and, while we've raised a bit of money for the cause, it occurred to me that we've also burned a lot of gas. I haven't done the math, but we probably didn't contribute enough money to offset our carbon contribution, so this year I've decided to do the Birdathon on bicycle.

I outlined a reasonably easy route for the big day but realized that I needed to do more cycling ... a lot more cycling. Much of my free time has been spent getting my legs in shape as my final trip will be around 40 miles, plus any walking at my various destinations. So, enough with the excuses, this is a rundown of belated posts for the last week of April.

Saturday, April 19th, Ridgewood Reservoir

Eric Slayton of the Wildlife Conservation Society was a guest trip leader at the Ridgewood Reservoir. We started the morning relatively late, by spring birding standards (9AM), but made some nice observations.

While waiting in the parking lot for people to arrive, I heard the twitter overhead of my first Chimney Swift of the season. Yellow-rumped Warblers were still the dominant Wood-Warbler and dozens were seen or heard foraging for insects. There were also a decent number of Palm Warblers around and Steve spotted a Yellow Warbler feeding, uncharacteristically, on the ground. Eastern Towhees were heard singing their singsong, “Drink your tea” from various locations down below the running path within the basins. A pair of Savannah Sparrows were spotted perched within a patch knotweed on the south side of basin #3.

Thick, caterpillar-like catkins released from large Eastern Cottonwoods at the north and east sides of the reservoirs are scattered along the pathways. The few crabapples trees spread around the 50 acre site have begun to blossom. The deep, pink buds will transform into bright, white flower clusters.

At the end of the trip, we were saying our goodbyes in the Highland Park parking lot on Vermont Place. There’s a narrow stretch of grass between the asphalt and the guardrail along the edge of the road. Several House Sparrows and starlings were feeding in the grass. Suddenly, a kestrel appeared, flying low across the lot, landed on one of the sparrows, then flew across the road with it held tightly in its talons. It perched on the top of the chainlink fence that surrounds basin #3. The sparrow was still struggling and a pair of robins flew into an adjacent tree to harass the small falcon. After a moment or two, he flew down into the basin and out of sight.

Ridgewood Reservoir, 4/19/2008
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Double-crested Cormorant
American Kestrel
American Coot
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Common Grackle

Other common birds seen (or heard):
Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow

Sunday, April 20th, dawn at Ridgewood Reservoir

I left the apartment at 5AM to get to the Ridgewood Reservoir by sunrise. Unfortunately, New York City Transit had other plans for me and delays on the subway had me arriving 30 minutes after the sun came up. I was leading a trip for the Brooklyn Bird Club and planned to scout for any unusual birds before anyone arrived. Oh well.

The cold, gray, foggy morning wasn’t idea for birding. Overnight, east winds blowing across the region stymied any expectations for a fallout of Spring migrants. There were some nice additions to the slow influx of warblers. We spotted some more Yellow Warblers, Black-and-white Warbler numbers had increased and a Prairie Warbler caught our attention with his trilled, rising, chromatic scale. One of my favorite little, hyperactive birds, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, also made appearances in a few places around the reservoir. At only 6 grams, these tiny bird’s thin, barely audible, “speee, speee, speee” song could easily be mistaken for the sound of one of their insect meals.

Swallows have begun moving through or returning to the city parks and several were seen flying over the central basin’s lake. Among the small mixed flock was at least on Northern Rough-winged Swallow. One of the two brown swallow species seen during the migration, the rough-winged is distinguished by his “dirty” throat. The other species, the Bank Swallow, has a clean, white throat with a dark band across the chest. This was the first rough-winged recorded at the reservoir.

When I returned home I had an email from David La Puma. He had also been at the reservoir and we spoke briefly before he went off in another direction.

“Hey Rob,

It was great to run into you and your group today. I had a pretty decent day with the highlight being a female Summer Tanager foraging along the overgrown trail between Res 1 and 2. [...] Otherwise many Palms, Yellow-rumps, a couple of Yellows, B-G Gnatcatchers, and lots of R-C Kinglets. N. Rough-winged, Tree, and Barn Swallow and about a dozen Chimney Swifts over Res 2. Also an American Coot I think may have been new for my list (I don't recall it for last Fall, but I have to check my notes).”

Summer Tanager! Unlike the Scarlet Tanager, the Summer Tanager’s breeding range is south of New York City, so they are rarely seen during migration. Occasionally, individuals are thought to overshoot their destinations and end up in some of our city parks. They don’t usually stick around very long and this one wasn’t seen again.

Ridgewood Reservoir, 4/20/2008
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American Kestrel
American Coot
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Summer Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

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

Monday, April 21st, dawn at Coney Island

In 2006 Shane, Sean and I took on the entire state of New York as our birding backyard. It was, personally, an incredible learning experience, but exhausting and expensive. I don’t think I’ll be doing it again any time soon. This year, Shane has decided to concentrate his birding efforts in Brooklyn. He is trying to see how many species he can tally within the city’s most populous borough. He won’t reach his unofficial state record of 342 species but, knowing Shane, it will be an impressive number.

Shane picked me up in front of my place about 30 minutes prior to sunrise. We were headed out to Coney Island and wanted to be on the fishing pier by sun up. Beginning at the boardwalk adjacent to Keyspan Park, the pier stretches nearly 400 yards south into Coney Island Channel. The peninsula of Sandy Hook is on the western horizon and Breezy Point is to the east. Beyond Ambrose Channel, and on the distant horizon, is the Atlantic Ocean. Shane was hoping to find at least one Black Scoter off of Coney Island to complete the scoter trio. He had already seen white-winged and surf scoters within the confines of Brooklyn’s borders.

It was much colder than I had expected. The wind was blowing out of the northeast and it was downright blustery. As I was walking up towards the end of the pier I heard the high squealing calls of a raptor. I looked up and spotted a pair of Peregrine Falcons on the steel tower of the old parachute ride. They were copulating. The male then flew off in the direction of the Verrazano Bridge.

Doug was home from school for the holiday and joined us a short time after we began scanning the water. There were small to medium-sized flocks of cormorants and Common Loons migrating north throughout the morning. We also spotted three migrating Merlins flying across the open water. They had no doubt been following the coast, reached the end of the peninsula at Sandy Hook, then crossed the bay into Brooklyn. On the bay side of Breezy Point, several hundred Northern Gannets were diving for fish. It’s not unusual to observe flocks of gannets on the ocean, but it was the first time I’d seen a large gathering on the north side of the Rockaway Peninsula.

Shortly after Doug arrived, he spotted a lone, dark sea duck flying from west to east. The bird passed directly in front of the pier, then dropped into the water where we had perfect views of Shane’s third scoter. That made him very happy. It’s not so much that Black Scoters are difficult to observe along New York City’s coast, they are just rarely seen in Brooklyn’s waters. We packed up our scopes, then made a brief stop in Prospect Park before going our separate ways.

Warbler diversity had noticeably increased in the park’s woodlands, with both Northern and Louisiana Waterthrushes present. On Prospect Lake, a mixed flock of Barn and Tree Swallows skipped back and forth across the south end of the water. The bright headlamp on one bird caught our attention. It was a Cliff Swallow. A rare, but regular visitor, they nest north of the city, as close as Harriman State Park.

Tuesday, April 22nd, late day in Prospect Park

I made a late day run into Prospect Park to check on Alice and Ralph’s nest. It was an hour long bore-fest as I sat and watched the back end of Alice sitting in the nest. She eventually stood up to stretch and look around. Perhaps she was getting hungry and was scanning for an inattentive rodent. I shot a short piece of video. It's a little boring, but it gives you an idea of what she looks like:

As I was leaving the park, Scott called me on my cellphone. He and Peter were near the south end of Prospect Lake where they had briefly spotted a Yellow-throated Warbler. Edith Gorum and Isabelle Conte had observed the bird early in the morning, but it hadn’t been seen since that time. The Yellow-throated Warbler is another species that breeds south of New York City, but is occasionally seen during spring migration. In the short time since I’ve begun birding, there seems to have been an increase in sightings of this boldly patterned songbird.

By the time I made it to the south end of the park, the light was beginning to fade. Peter and Scott had been scouring the edge of the lake but were unsuccessful in relocating the bird. I looked across the roadway at a stand of oak trees near the Vanderbilt playground. Their branches were laden with clusters of dangling flowers and the treetops were illuminated by late day sun. I told the guys that I wanted to check the other side of the road and walked away.

There were several Yellow-rumped Warblers and a single Pine Warbler probing the flowers for insects, but no yellow-throated. I walked a few yards north, towards the playground and saw Eddie Davis entering the park. Peter had texted him about the bird and he came right over. He had never seen one so I began describing the bird’s markings when I noticed some movement in a low oak branch behind Eddie. I continued, “It looks just like that bird” and I pointed to the Yellow-throated Warbler in the tree several yards away. It may seem obvious, but the late, great Marty Sohmer told me that if a group of people are searching, unsuccessfully, for a bird in one place, go somewhere else and look. While Eddie was watching the warbler, I called Scott. We were quickly joined by him, Peter, Ed Crowne and Shane (who Scott had called on his cellphone). This is an animal that needs to be seen to appreciate its unique beauty. Like neon gas within the glass tubing of an electric sign, his golden-yellow throat feathers seem to be internally illuminated.


Thursday, April 24th, dawn in Prospect Park

I rode my bicycle into Prospect Park at around 5:20AM. It was still dark as I coasted to a stop at the base of Lookout Hill. American Robins were singing for, seemingly, everywhere. If there were other birds singing, I probably would not have heard them over the din of "cherrio, cherrily, cherrio, cherrily". By 5:45 the robins had begun to wane and some of the local birds, cardinals, titmice and mourning doves, were starting to sing. At 5:55, I heard my first warbler. It was a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I slowly made my way along the path on the south side of Lookout Hill, stopped frequently just to listen. The weak warbling trill of the Palm Warbler could be heard leaking through the wall of Yellow-rump songs.

The number of singing birds had increased only very slightly. I still have about a week to go until the full scale audio assault of migrating songbirds. Until then, I’m content to enjoy each day’s new sounds and the accelerating greening of the city. Cherries and dogwoods are nearing peak bloom and the early flowering trees, such as the elms, have begun to drop their fruits.

After about an hour in Prospect Park, I rode home and was picked up by my friend, Orrin. We drove into Queens to do a little birding and to look for a pair of Great Horned Owls. The winds had been out of the south all night, so I expected to find an increase in songbird migrants. Songbirds diversity and abundance hadn’t changed much, but we did manage to locate the owls and their offspring. I won’t reveal their location, so please don’t ask and don’t take it personally if I ignore any requests for directions.

We added Black-throated Green Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak to our growing list of spring migrants.

Prospect Park, Alley Pond Park, other 4/24/2008
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Green-winged Teal
Red-tailed Hawk
Greater Yellowlegs
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
American Goldfinch

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

Saturday, April 26th, Green-Wood Cemetery

Everything is turning pale green and pink. Elms are dropping their coin-shaped, green fruits, willows are releasing their long, fuzzy yellow catkins and the wind is liberating pink petals from cherry trees.

Our neighbor let us borrow her car to run some errands. She said we could take our time because she didn’t need to use it for the rest of the day. We decided to drive over to the cemetery, so I brought along my scope and bins. My plan was to drop by Big Mama and Junior’s nest to see how the incubating is coming along, then look around for images of pink and green.

I focused my scope on the Red-tailed Hawk nest at 2:48PM. Big Mama was sitting on the nest, facing north. At 2:56 she began to stir, then stood and stepped up onto the western-most edge of the nest. She bend way down into the bottom of the nest and appeared to be pulling on something. Incubating Red-tailed Hawks don’t always finish a meal and sometimes leave partially eaten prey in the nest. She looked as if she was eating, but at 2:58 she appeared to be taking very tiny bits of food and leaning down into the nest, as if she were feeding a chick. Woo hoo! Big Mama and Junior have a hatchling. By 3:02PM she was finished and sat back down on the nest. My photographs don’t show any white, fuzzy heads yet, but I’m fairly confident that she was feeding at least one offspring.

I was so excited that I called Marge. She told me that she would begin keeping an eye on the nest. That was enough excitement for me, so I packed up my tripod and walked down the hill to the car. We drove around looking for fallen cherry petals until we came to the Dell Water, a tiny, rectangular pond shaded by willow trees. The breeze had blown an impressionistic palette of elm keys, willow catkins and cherry petals on to the surface of the water. At this time of year I always look at the random designs formed by flowers and seeds at the edges of curbs and sidewalks. This was the first time that I’ve seen those patterns in water.

When we were exiting the cemetery, I had to stop and watch the resident Monk Parakeets for a few minutes. There was a small group of them feeding on the grass at the west side of the main gate. If it weren’t for their constant vocalizing, I wouldn’t have noticed another flock feeding above them in a horsechestnut tree. The lime green leaves of the tree were nearly a perfect match for the bright green wings and upper feather of the parakeets. They nibbled on the tree’s buds and guarded small sections of the tree regarded as their own. Would that be considered “nipping it at the bud”?













Sunday, April 27th, dawn in Prospect Park

The morning was cold, gray and drizzly, but sometimes bad weather brings good birds. Just as I experience during my last pre-dawn visit, the chorus of early day song was dominated by American Robins. On the Peninsula, I parked myself beneath a singing House Wren and tipped my head so I could hear the birds in the treetops a little better. The lighting was terrible, but I was mostly interested in just listening.

Yellow-rumped Warblers were still the dominant Wood-Warbler and their varying warbles and trills rolled through the woods like a sine wave. It seemed like there was a secret signal that the members of the flock would pass along. The volume would slowly rise up from one end of the Peninsula woods, just as it was gradually dying down at the opposite end. It was hypnotizing.

At 6:40AM I left the Peninsula and began winding my way along the Lullwater, through the Midwood and up to the Vale of Cashmere. I ran into a woman name Hillary near the Donegon Oak monument at the north end of the zoo. The nearby Vale of Cashmere is a natural amphitheater that is isolated from much of the surrounding park. Hillary is a very petite woman and doesn’t feel comfortable being there alone early in the morning so we went together.

We had been standing at the edge of the ornamental pool for several minutes when I spotted movement within a Weeping Higgin Cherry tree. The fountain-like shape of the tree forms a “Y” and near the 11 o’clock point was a Hooded Warbler. I had the impression that the bird had just awaken as it sat preening its yellow and olive feathers among the pink flowers. After he was finish preening he began flying about, foraging among the flowers and stopping periodically to serenade us with his loud, rich "ta-wit ta-wit ta-wit tee-yo."

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Back up again

Computer's repaired and I am in the process of restoring all my documents from the back-up. Before I get to the updates, the following images are for the gentleman from Georgia that I spoke with on the running track this evening. These Great Horned Owl youngsters were photographed last week in one of our city parks. Mom and dad were perched in trees on either side of the pair. I'm not sure if the adult photographed is the male or female.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Beginner birding

I'm pretty certain that any posting that follows my squirrel experience will be a letdown, no matter how hard I try, so just consider this a segue to something better down the road.

Occasionally, I receive copies of new publications to review. With a few exceptions, they are reference guides of various subject focus and scope. Unfortunately, I don't always have the time to give them the detailed write-up on this blog that they desire. I'm a little burned out after an early morning birding tour at the Ridgewood Reservoir, but feel compelled to mention one new book that will become available at month's end. It's part of the "Peterson Field Guides" series and is entitled "The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America", by Bill Thompson III.

This is a great beginner field guide. In my opinion, it's not just for kids. Adults who are interested in birds and birdwatching can also benefit from the book's straightforward, simple style.

The book is easy to carry into the field as the author has taken the species that are found in more typical field guides and distilled them down to 200 of the most common species. Each bird's plate has tips to help remember that bird, as well as, a balloon with an interesting note about that species. The introductory chapters contain a description of basic gear, identification tips, honing ones skills, "manners" and species habitat preferences. There is even a small checkbox and space at the bottom of each plate for noting your first sighting of that species. Four important pages that precede the plates, and is frequently overlooked in some guides, is entitled "Be Green: Ten Things You Can Do For Birds."

When I was a child, my parents gave me a series of guides by naturalist and author Herbert Zim. My collection of Golden Guide pocketbooks included "Bats of the World", "Dinosaurs", "Fishes", "Fossils", "Insects", "Planets", "Reptiles and Amphibians" and "Rocks and Minerals." Those compact, simple guides created a lasting impression and helped mold my appreciation of the natural world. Bill Thompson III, a long time writer for Birdwatcher's Digest, has created a guide that, like Zim's Golden Guides, has the potential to not only introduce a new generation of kids to the wonders of nature, but also some adults who have just begun to open their eyes to our avian friends. I'm still trying to decide which one of my many nieces and nephews gets my copy. I'll probably just have to buy a few more.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Is that a squirrel in your pocket or are you...

Since I’ve been watching nature and keeping a journal for 10 years, I sometimes go out with my binoculars and camera presuming predictability. Then there are times when an experience stumbles across my path and reminds me of the unforeseeable nature of life. Late yesterday afternoon was one of those times. I went into Prospect Park with a mental list of simple expectations, did not find any of them, but came home with a slightly greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world.

I started by heading directly to Alice and Ralph’s nest. In two weeks, we should be seeing signs of hatchlings and Alice is spending most of her time on the nest. Occasionally, Ralph will deliver food to her and I wanted to take a photograph of the two together. Just as the last time I was monitoring the nest, there were several Palm Warblers walking passed me as they foraged in the forest’s leaf litter. There were also Hermit Thrushes, lots of robins, kinglets and Brown Creepers very close to where I stood. I didn’t want to move the camera for fear I’d miss an exchange at the nest. That exchange never happened, so I packed up my gear and headed to Grand Army Plaza.

I “knew” if I trained my camera on the top of the “Soldiers and Sailers” monument for long enough, I’d be able to get a good photograph of one of the local American Kestrels. Not long after I had set-up and focused my camera, I spotted a kestrel flying in from the north. It circled the monument once, then perched on the corner of a building on Plaza Street. Their usual perch on the monument is less than 100 yards from where I stood. The Plaza Street location is three times the distance. Her mate joined her on the cornice a few minutes later. Neither bird ever took a seat on the statue directly in front of me and eventually took off flying down Prospect Park West. I packed up my tripod and began walking home along Park Drive.

Near the Meadowport Arch, my friend Ed pulled up along side me on his bicycle. I told him about the kestrels as we continued walking south along the edge of the roadway. When we approached the intersection near 3rd Street, I noticed a very young squirrel walking near the curb. It was heading directly into the road, which was buzzing with rush hour traffic, runners and cyclists. I blocked his path with my boot and nudged him back away from the road. There is a narrow strip of woodlands parallel to the road that borders the Long Meadow to the east. It is the same stretch of woods where Big Mama raised her first brood of hawks in 2002. The young squirrel moved slowly, but seemed determined to walk into traffic. Finally, I bent down, picked it up by the scruff of its neck, carried it back into the woods, and placed it behind a black, wire fence.

I thought that would be the end of the story, but the confused little squirrel was tiny enough to step through the openings in the fence and head back towards the road. This time, though, when I blocked his path with my boot, he began to climb my leg. Ed was laughing, but I didn't know what to do. When he got to the top of my pants, he tried to push his way into my coat. The sun was going down and he was cold, so I let him climb into my pocket. He curled into a ball and promptly fell asleep.

I spent the next 30 minutes standing at the side of the road, talking on my cellphone to a New York City 311 operator. Apparently, after 5PM all city agencies, Animal Care and Control, wildlife rescue departments, department of parks, etc., are closed for the evening. The operator recommended that I take it home and call again in the morning.

The young, male Eastern Gray Squirrel seemed perfectly content in my coat pocket as I searched the apartment for a small box and a towel to line it. He stayed curled up while I fashioned a temporary home, searched the Internet for information and made a few phone calls. I learned that they get cold very easily, so I placed a heating pad underneath his box. Eventually, I received a phone call from a woman at the department of parks. She seemed irate and told me that I should have left him in the park. I explained that I was only following the instructions of the 311 operator, plus, he would have been run over by a car had I left him. She explained (incorrectly) that it had my scent and that is why it was following me. The woman made several other, silly, uninformed statements, which I ignored. All wildlife rescue organizations that I checked said, in fact, not to leave a baby squirrel out after dark. They need to be kept warm and, at first light, returned to where they were found. If the mother is alive, she will find her offspring.

My alarm went off at 5:50AM. I wanted to be in the park when the sun came up and spend 2 hours waiting for momma squirrel to show up. It was 40 degrees, so I filled a bottle with hot water, stuck it inside of a sock and put it in the box with the tiny squirrel. Once in the park, I went to the exact spot where he found me and looked around for any squirrel dreys. I didn't notice any so placed the box at the base of the largest tree, opened the lid, then walked back several yards to watch. The little guy walked out of the box, and then slowly started to climb the tree. He got about 10 feet up, then turned around and returned to the box. I waited 90 minutes, but there were no signs of any other squirrels in that area. There were some in the tree near the 3rd Street playground, quite a distance from where I found him and on the other side of the road. I walked over to the box and he was curled up on the water bottle, shivering. I picked him up and he climbed my arm, up to my neck and buried himself in the collar of my fleece jacket. I felt terrible and called the city’s 311 service again. This time a man answered the line. His terse response was, “The city doesn’t deal with orphaned squirrels or pigeons.” Thanks, and you have a nice day, too.

Bobby Horvath is a wildlife rehabilitator who I’ve written about in the past. I called his number and spoke with his wife, Cathy. She gave me a lot of very good advice, so I headed home with the little guy still wrapped around my neck. I put him on the kitchen table on top of a heating pad set to low. He drank water from an eyedropper, licked some peanut butter from my finger, but didnt care for the apple that I had sliced for him. By 8:30AM, I reached a squirrel rescuer who is located in Manhattan. He was heading out of town, but said that he would wait for me if I could come right away. I put the cardboard box with the comfortable blanket inside of a canvas bag and placed my tiny, gray ward inside.

The train I got on was very crowded, but I found a spot in the last car that wasn’t too bad. I was nervous about the squirrel getting out, especially when I felt him squirming around between the bottom of the box and the canvas bag. He had gotten out of the box. I cupped my hand around him, hoping that he would feel the warmth and stay put. Every few minutes, he would move around. I noticed a woman seated to my side, intently watching the bag and had visions of him popping out, scampering up my sleeve and all the people around me heading for the hills. Thankfully, that did not happen and I made it to the squirrel rescuer without incident.

The man was very kind, said the baby squirrel looked healthy and fed him some formula from a plastic syringe while I was still present. He explained that Eastern Gray Squirrels live about three years. There are many dangers in city parks, but sometimes mothers just die and the young panic, leaving the nest in search of food. The future for my overnight visitor, fortunately, looks good. The rehabilitator said that I could call him next week for an update on the little guy.

Like all animals, squirrels are cute and cuddly when they are young, but I need to stress that they are still wild animals that belong in the wild. If you ever find a baby squirrel, hawk, mouse, whatever, do the right thing and call (in NYC) 311, or your local animal shelter. Here is a link to resources in the New York City area. While I don't endorse caring for a wild animal yourself, here is some very good emergency care instructions for squirrels.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

New Bird Report Link

My friend, Brooklyn Bird Club president Peter Dorosh, has created a blog of bird sightings in Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I've just added a feed of his postings in the sidebar for quick reference and easy access.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

BIrds are on the move

Today was the first day since last year's migration that I observed what could be termed a "fallout" in Prospect Park. Last weekend there was a reasonable variety and abundance of migrant songbirds in the park. By Thursday, many of those individuals had departed and there was very little bird activity. The overnight change was profound.

I was scheduled to lead a Linnaean Society field trip today in Prospect Park. I'm guessing that, due to rain forecasts, many people chose to pull the covers over their heads and go back to sleep. Bad choice. The three people who showed up, plus two people from Queens who joined me later in the day, made the right choice. We tallied 68 species of birds and one Red Admiral butterfly.

In the sky above the park, there were some obvious signs that birds were on the move. Early in the morning, we spotted a flock of four Great Egrets. Later we spotted three separate Great Blue Herons, a small flock of cormorants, a single Common Loon and two Turkey Vultures.

On the ground, Hermit Thrushes were seen in every wooded area that we visited. Towhees were seen or heard in several locations scattered through the park. Pine Warblers have gone from a couple here and there, to a couple of dozen. Thursday, I observed two or three Palm Warblers, today they were virtually commonplace. To get an idea of the palm's abundance, at one point I counted six within a tiny, open patch in the Midwood. Yellow-rumped Warbler numbers had increased, but were still relatively low, at least for yellow-rumps. There was a single Louisiana Waterthrush foraging along the edge of the water in the Ravine. We also counted a lone Blue-headed Vireo. A birder acquaintance that we spoke to very briefly when we started our walk tracked us down in the Ravine. She excitedly told us that she observed a Hooded Warbler in the Midwood. Unfortunately, we were not able to relocate the striking, yellow and black songbird.

One unusual, early sighting was of a Northern Parula. It was singing and feeding among a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers on the Peninsula Meadow, near the edge of the lake. The flock was foraging within a hophornbeam tree that has sprouted long, dangling, yellow catkins. According to "Bull's Birds of New York State", this would be an extreme inland date. April 27th 1994 is listed as the previous date. (*I was just informed by a friend who is a biologist at the AMNH, that NYC and Long Island are, technically, coastal, not inland.)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet numbers have also increased. So far this spring, Golden-crowned Kinglets have outnumbered ruby-crowneds by, I'm guessing, 5 to 1. A good number of both species have arrived, but ruby- crowns seem to have caught up. We also counted two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.

Sparrows were also seen in a greater variety and abundance than early in the week. There were several Savannah Sparrows feeding on the grass at Payne Hill, the Nethermead Meadow and a tiny strip of grass behind the Nature Center. We also counted a few Field Sparrows and small flocks of Chipping Sparrows. Swamp Sparrows were observed throughout the park from the time we entered at Grand Army Plaza until the time we all departed. They were feeding on the ground in such varied habitats as the Vale of Cashmere, the woods of Payne Hill, the Midwood, the Lullwater and the Peninsula Meadow. Early in the morning, I watched one singing from a perch at the top of a stubby, leafless shrub in the Vale of Cashmere. At the time, some locations seemed to me unsuitable or incongruous for a Swamp Sparrow, and then I remembered something my friend Pete told me. Last year at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, I second-guessed my identification of a bird because the habitat was "wrong". He pointed out that, "On migration, all bets are off." When a migrating bird is hungry and tired, they'll stop to feed, regardless of the neighborhood.

After meandering from the north end of the park to south, we returned to the Vale of Cashmere. Our final bird of the day was a Rusty Blackbird calling (singing?) from within a Weeping Higgin Cherry Tree. The parks department hasn't yet turned on the water for the ornamental pond and fountains. This has created the perfect muddy, leafy puddle for a hungry rusty. It was a rare treat for me to spend time listening to their rusty-hinge vocalizations. The sound was reminiscent of the Blue Jay's "rusty clothes line" call.

Many of the local species, such as robins and mourning doves, were already sitting on nests. Near Sullivan Hill a Tufted Titmouse flew across the trail in front of us carrying nest material. We followed him to a cavity about 8 feet up in a small beech tree. His mate sat on a perch opposite the nest tree whistling a song of encouragement. The small, gray bird collected bits of moss found on the forest floor for the nest’s base. A dropped a piece just below the cavity’s entrance was suspended on a tiny branch and looked like an emerald green “Welcome” mat.

At some point today my PDA fell out of my coat pocket and I retraced my steps hoping to find it. As Diana Teta and I were walking along the Lullwater, back to the lake, a calling Red-shouldered Hawk flew across the water ahead of us, up the west ridge and disappeared into the woods on Lookout Hill. Unexpected and wonderful, yes, but, strangely, didn't quite make up for my lost PDA. It sucks relying on technology. I know, I know; I used a database to create my day list, a word processor to write this report, an Internet connection to post this online and a cellphone to tell my friends the location of the birds in Prospect Park. It's hard to go back to pencil and paper. Anyone have a PDA they don't need?

Prospect Park, 4/12/2008
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Common Loon (Fly over.)
Double-crested Cormorant (4, fly over.)
Great Blue Heron (3, fly over.)
Great Egret (4, flying together over park.)
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Wood Duck (Male & female, Upper Pool.)
American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck (1, Lower Pool.)
Ruddy Duck
Red-shouldered Hawk (Calling & flying over Lullwater into Lookout Hill.)
Red-tailed Hawk (2.)
American Kestrel (Perched on Bald Cypress at Terrace Bridge.)
American Coot
Laughing Gull (2, Prospect Lake.)
Ring-billed Gull
Belted Kingfisher (Lullwater.)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (5.)
Hairy Woodpecker (3 together in Lullwater.)
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (Several.)
Blue-headed Vireo (1, between Vale of Cashmere & Rose Garden.)
Tree Swallow (1, flying above Ravine.)
Tufted Titmouse (Carrying nest material into a tree cavity.)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper (2.)
Carolina Wren (2.)
Winter Wren (1, Midwood.)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1, Midwood. 1, Endale Bridge.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Common.)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Common.)
Hermit Thrush (~20-30.)
Gray Catbird (2, Lily Pond.)
Northern Mockingbird (1, Meadowport Arch.)
Northern Parula (Singing in hornbeam tree at edge of Peninsula Meadow.)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Fairly common.)
Pine Warbler (Common.)
Palm Warbler (Common.)
Louisiana Waterthrush (1, edge of Ambergill in Ravine.)
Eastern Towhee (Fairly common.)
Chipping Sparrow (Fairly common.)
Field Sparrow (1, Payne Hill. 1 Midwood. 2, behind Nature Center.)
Savannah Sparrow (4, Payne Hill. 2, Nethermead Meadow. 2, behind Nature Center.)
Fox Sparrow (1, singing at Vale of Cashmere.)
Song Sparrow (Common.)
Swamp Sparrow (Fairly common.)
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rusty Blackbird (1, Vale of Cashmere.)
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

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

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Blooms and birds

I walked up to my roof this afternoon to try to catch up on some writing. The weather was overcast, breezy and cool, but I thought that by being outdoors there would be less to distract me (like the telephone or Internet).

I found a place to work that was out of the wind, but before I had a chance to sit down, spotted a Red-tailed Hawk soaring above Methodist Hospital. Three crows were chasing him. He flew in gradually widening circles that eventually carried him over my building and Saint Savior's church. He must have spotted a potential meal to the East, as he suddenly pulled in his wings and plummeted towards Prospect Park. I lost sight of him behind an apartment building on 6th Street, so returned to my folding chair. The sound of squawking crows pulled me away from my task and back to the edge of the roof. The hawk had returned to the air and was heading towards the center of the park. So much for finding less distractions on the roof.

Last Saturday was my first early morning, spring visit into Prospect Park since last year. The movement of migrating songbirds can sometimes be predicted, with great accuracy, by monitoring weather patterns. Biologists who study bird migration use Doppler radar to see flocks of birds moving north in the spring. My decision to go into Prospect Park was much less scientific and just based on the date. It seemed like it would be a good time to observe the accelerating changes in sights and sounds around Brooklyn.

I pedaled down West Drive to the Quaker Cemetery then carried my bike up the North stairway on Lookout Hill to the Butterfly Meadow. A Pine Warbler trilling from a mature oak at the North end seemed like an auspicious start. It was overcast and dim, but the lone bird's olive nape and saffron face beamed from his perch in the still bare tree. I heard the lively "tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle" song of a Carolina Wren rising up the eastern slope of Lookout Hill. The cheerful sound of the tiny rust and buff bird is generously shared all year.

After circling the meadow and walking the short path to the upper meadow, I carried my bicycle down the South staircase. My destination was "lamppost J249," which is near the start of Wellhouse Drive.

"J249" refers to the embossed number on a metal tag affixed to a street lamp. The lamppost is next to a natural bowl at the southern base of Lookout Hill. It may not be very creative name, but local birders know where to look if you tell them a rare bird is at J249. The low vegetation and surrounding woods at that spot create a magnet for spring migrants. The woodlands on the hillside from that point, parallel to Wellhouse Drive, and up to the Maryland Monument can be a virtual avian rush hour on a fallout morning in May. Today the sounds along that route were primary from the resident bird species, but a single Winter Wren singing from a low perch was an unexpected addition to the morning's music.

I ran into Glen Davis and Scott Whittle near the lamppost and we spent a few hours birding together in the park.

A small flock of swallows were gliding back and forth above the lake. They were primarily Tree Swallows, but there was also one Barn Swallow and a pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallows sharing the lake.

The remaining male Ruddy Ducks that overwintered on Prospect Lake have nearly completed the transition to their breeding palette; rich, rusty red body feathers and azure blue bill. The small flock seems to spend most of its time sleeping, presumably saving energy for their imminent departure. Near Duck Island, a male and female Blue-winged Teal made a rare stop off in the park. They were feeding along the edges of a clump of phragmites. Nearby, a Black-crowned Night-Heron was napping on a log at the island's shore. Another migrating wading bird that we saw along the park's waterways was Great Egret.

Phoebes were virtually everywhere in Prospect Park. Flycatching from any available perch, near the ground in open fields or high in the woodland canopy, the only constant was the bobbing of their tail.

There were six Pine Warblers in the Peninsula woods approximately six more were dispersed throughout the park. We also tallied one Palm Warbler in the Ravine and several Yellow-rumped Warblers in various locations. It's exciting to observe the gradual seasonal change in songbird diversity and abundance, but in about two weeks you might have occasion to see a birder or two lowering their binoculars in disappointment and muttering, "Just another yellow-rump."

Near Nelly's Lawn, at the North end of the park, a Turkey Vulture soared overhead nearly at tree top level. Rocking from side to side, the huge, black prehistoric-looking bird rode the thermals across the park's central ridge and drifted east, towards the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. After a short break for lunch at home, I also drifted over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Star magnolias have created a snowy explosion of white at the Magnolia Plaza. Most of the other species of magnolia trees are several days from full bloom. Slits in their swelling shoots reveal the edges of raspberry, pink and white pedals preparing to emerge. Apricots and willows are also flowering. Concealed by a wall of rhododendron and overlooked by most visitors, the garden's lone Black Willow was still blooming. Near the willow I spotted a small cherry tree that looked like the "mystery" tree in Prospect Park near Grand Army Plaza. It was labeled "Prunus 'Okame' (P. Incisa x P. Campanulata)." The "Hanami" festival has already started at the garden, but there is still a week to ten days before the climax of color from the Kanzan Cherry trees along the Cherry Esplanade.

Northern Mockingbirds have returned to the garden with the expected, verbose fanfare. I'm still baffled why some individuals add hawk or falcon calls to their vocabulary. It may lure a female mockingbird, but it could also end that particular mockingbird's career. Also, their preferred territories at the garden seems to be among the forsythia shubs that dot the lawns at the South end of the garden - which is just below an antenna tower regularly used as a perch by our local raptors. I guess most Northern Mockingbirds choose not to imitate hawks, because their populations seems to be doing just fine.

Finally, if you haven't already started, it's time to listen to your bird song recordings. Knowledge and recognition of bird songs creates another dimension to the nature experience that make it even more enjoyable. With the right tools, it's easier to learn than you might expect. The best learning tool is the Peterson's "Birding By Ear" and "More Birding By Ear" series. From the Northeast/Central disk sets I recommend that folks birding around NYC create a compilation of the following tracks from the BBE and MBBE series:

1 - Sing-songers
2 - Warbling Songsters
3 - Wood Warblers & a Warbling Wren
4 - Warblers: Buzzy
5 - Warblers: Simple
6 - Warblers: Two-Parted
7 - Warblers: Complex
8 - Empidonax Flycatchers

04/05, Prospect Park & Brooklyn Botanic Garden
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Pied-billed Grebe
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Brant
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Northern Mockingbird
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
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, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, American Robin, European Starling, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Prospect Park

At around 4:00pm on Thursday, I walked across the Long Meadow with my tripod slung over my shoulder, heading into the Ravine. I had 90 minutes to look in on Alice and Ralph, as well as, check out any recent migrant arrivals. Late afternoon sun illuminates the exposed side of the Red-tailed Hawk nest making for easy observation and better photos. It's even more helpful if the subject is cooperative, which is hit or miss.

As I approached my viewing area, I noticed a woman walking towards me. She wore olive-green parks department issued garb and carried a clipboard. When we were a couple of yards apart, she commented that she could have used my scope few minutes earlier as there was a pair of Wood Duck on the pond. The woman worked for the park as their volunteers coordinator. I introduced myself and offered to show her the hawk nest through my scope.

I couldn't tell if the nest was empty or if Ralph was sitting on the eggs. He is much smaller than Alice and easily disappears within the nest's deep bowl. As the woman was staring into my scope, I spotted our resident red-tails flying together above the Ravine. I told her to stay focused on the nest. Through my bins I watched Alice lower her legs, shorten her wingspan then, like she was riding an elevator, gracefully descend to the edge of the nest. Ralph followed, but only stayed for a moment before flying towards the Nethermead Meadow.

The young woman was thankful for the well-timed hawk experience and was talking to me about something before departing. I was only half listening as I looked over her shoulder and into the woods. There was an interesting, dark bird several yards behind her that was being chased by a Red-wing Blackbird. When she left, I tracked down the bird, which turned out to be a Rusty Blackbird. There were a pair of the matte, black birds that foraged alony the edge of the Lower Pool by flipping over leaves, looking for insects. Rusty Blackbirds were never common in Prospect Park, but recent surveys revealed that their populations have dropped precipitously. Check out this website.

When I was leaving the park, I ran into Peter, who had just gotten off work. I told him about the rustys and walked back to help relocate them.

We found the Rusty Backbirds right away, and stood talking in the woods behind the Lower Pool. Within a few minutes, a mixed flock of songbirds began moving through the area, among them was my first Palm Warbler of the season. Kinglets, woodpeckers, a nuthatch, two species of warbler, chickadees, titmice, and a small flock of sparrows surrounded us as they foraged for insects and seeds. It felt like we were under siege; a portent of the spring invasion that I look forward to every year.

04/03, Prospect Park
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Wood Duck
Ring-necked Duck (8, The Pools.)
Bufflehead (2, Upper Pool.)
Red-tailed Hawk (2, Ravine.)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker (5.)
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (approx. 25.)
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper (3.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing (15-20.)
Pine Warbler (1, Ravine.)
Palm Warbler (2, Ravine.)
Fox Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rusty Blackbird (2, northeast edge of Lower Pool.)
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

Other common species seen (or heard.):

Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Robin, European Starling, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Bronx update

I received an email from Rich Fleisher with the latest updates regarding "Rose" and "Hawkeye" at Fordham University's campus. You can view all of his Fordham hawk photos here.


"Date: April 1, 2008 2:29:05 PM EDT
Subject: update from fordham

Hi everyone,

Update from Fordham. The process has begun as Rose started sitting on the nest approximately 12 days ago. They are using the same nest as last year but it is much fortified. [ ... ]

Best,

Rich"

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

A new kid on campus

Last year, a young Red-tailed Hawk began spending time around Columbia University's campus. She stuck around and has caught the attention of some of the undergrads. They've given her (or him) the name "Hawkmadinejad" and you can read here exploits here. 

In their March 1st post they write, "Hawkmadinejad is most likely the son of Pale Male, the first raptor bird of NYC..." It's a nice thought, but Pale Male was not the first Red-tailed Hawk or raptor to nest in New York City. Without a doubt, he is the first red-tailed to nest on a building across from Central Park, but that same year I was observing a pair of red-tails in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. In addition, Staten Island, being less developed, probably had its share of nesting hawks. I have nothing against Pale Male, but lots of hawks migrate through the area every spring and fall. Last year there were over a dozen pairs of nesting Red-tailed Hawks in the 5 boroughs, that we know of, so I don't think anyone will ever know for certain Hawkmadinejad's lineage.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Green-Wood Cemetery hawks

I took the B63 bus down 5th Avenue to Green-Wood Cemetery late this morning to check on the cemetery's resident Red-tailed Hawks. Last Thursday Joe and Marge confirmed that Big Mama and Junior had indeed moved into a new nest. We would meet at the main entrance and Joe would drive us over to see the hawk's new digs.

Several Monk Parakeets were feeding along the narrow grass border that parallels the walkway leading to the cemetery's Gothic Revival entrance. The resident colony that nests on the brownstone spires is vocal all year. Now that spring has arrived, they are chattering non-stop, foraging for food, collecting nest material and building or repairing their communal nests. It looked like the avian equivalent of a beehive, only louder. Close by, flocks of Common Grackles have joined the activity, contributing their unique collection of squeaks and squawks to the crescendo of Spring's background music.

We stopped at the "Sylvan Water" pond so Marge could deliver some cracked corn to her charges - the four wayward Snow Geese. They usually come running (or limping) the moment they see her, but today they stayed in the water a short distance from the shore. Marge could not understand why they were ignoring her food offering. After a few minutes, it became clear. There was a young Red-tailed Hawk sitting in a tree next to the pond. The hawk eventually flew off and the geese promptly left the water and waddled over to greet their adopted Mother Goose. "Stumpy" looked healthy despite his amputated foot, but was still smaller than the other three Snow Geese. I noticed that "Mommy" (Marge's name for the original injured Snow Goose) still harasses the little one, so he likely isn't getting as much to eat as the others. Joe mentioned that one of the young geese seems to be showing interest in "Mommy". It is a bit premature, but how weird would it be if Snow Geese began nesting in Brooklyn? Would hunting season be far off?

I heard the trilling song of a Pine Warbler, then spotted the brilliant yellow bird perched in a Magnolia tree next to the car. A second one, a short distance away, was hawking for insects from a pine tree. There were also several Eastern Phoebes ringing the pond. They were launching short feeding sallies from the pond's stone coping, low fence posts, mausoleum roofs and leafless tree branches.

A few minutes after we arrived, Steve and Heidi pulled up next to us. Steve rolled down his window and, with a wide grin said, "Have you seen the pipit?" I thought that he was joking, but, in fact, he had spotted a lone American Pipit feeding in the stubby grass that surrounds the pond. Besides the fact that Green-Wood Cemetery is not a typical NYC location where birders look for these small, brown birds, they are a gregarious species usually seen in the company of other pipits. They are often overlooked during migration, but can frequently be heard making their namesake "pip-it, pip-it" flight call as they pass overhead. The one foraging next to the cemetery pond reminded me of the single Snow Bunting I observed at Gravesend Bay last month. Another lonely arctic bird.

The new hawk nest is about two hundred yards south of last year's nest. Unlike their previous choice (a spindly cedar tree), the base for this year's nursery is near the top of a massive, mature European Elm tree. At the base of the tree is the cemetery's well-known drummer boy grave and monument. In addition to the more substantial base, their new nest is considerably larger than 2007's. Marge and Joe told me that the hawks started work on it last spring, but eventually moved into the cedar tree up the hill to the north.

We parked the car on Linden Avenue and Joe walked me to a viewing spot that he had scoped out last week. On a hill southwest of the huge elm is an unobstructed view of the nest. When we arrived, Big Mama was sitting motionless within the bowl of the over-sized twig and branch structure.

I had a decent view, but the high, harsh midday sun made taking decent photos impossible. At 1:05pm, Junior flew into the nest. He didn't bring any food and just stood over his larger mate, as if he was just checking in. He left after only a minute.

I walked around to the hill on the opposite side and located another vantage point that should allow good views of their hatchlings later in the season.

Big Mama left the nest at around 1:20pm, flying off towards the northeast. There was a brief, unseen exchange of vocalizations between her and Junior. Moments later, Junior flew to the nest to resume incubation duty.

Prospect Park's "Alice & Ralph" and Green-Wood Cemetery's "Big Mama & Junior" appear to be on the same breeding schedule. Barring any unexpected problems, we can expect to see signs of hatchlings during the week of April 28th. Those offspring will be ready for their maiden flights during the week of June 9th.

Green-Wood Cemetery, 03/30/2008
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Snow Goose
Northern Shoveler
Bufflehead
Red-tailed Hawk
Merlin
Ring-billed Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Black-capped Chickadee
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Northern Mockingbird
American Pipit
Pine Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco,Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose,Mallard, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, American Crow, American Robin, European Starling, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Red-tailed Hawk update

When I arrived in the woods at 3:45PM on Thursday, Alice was sitting on her nest in the pine tree. She barely moved, except for an occasional glance beneath her reposed body. When I departed at 5:10PM, she was still sitting on the nest. It was the first time this spring that I've seen either adult hawk spend an extended period of time on the nest. That would indicate that there is probably at least one egg in the nest. If all goes well, we can begin counting down the days towards hatching.

Despite the cold weather there appeared to be plenty of insects emerging. Arriving Eastern Phoebes were hawking for flies from low perches throughout Quaker Ridge. Several were also actively feeding from high in the canopy. I counted a total of ten. A Brown Creeper methodically probed the deep ridges in an oak tree's bark a few yards from where I stood. Small flocks of juncos were foraging their way north through the woods. Several Golden-crowned Kinglets were following along with the sparrows.

I've been fighting off a nasty cold and today I felt well enough to spend some time watching the nest. It was just past noon when I focused my scope on the pine tree. My view is a little better from a new spot I found at the southwest side of the nest.

Alice was in the nest, looking out over the ponds and into the bright sunshine. Unlike late Thursday, the woods were nearly devoid of birds. Strong northwest gusts scouring the woods on the west side of Quaker Ridge was the likely reason. At 2:05, the bulky, dark Red-tailed Hawk stood up, straightened her back and stretched. She remained standing until 2:21PM, when I heard her mate calling. Alice took off, flying south. I lost her in the sun, but heard the pair's greeting chirps. After a minute or two Ralph flew into the nest to resume incubation duty. A few minutes later, she called and I spotted her just above the trees near the lower pond. He left the nest and the two hawks circled close together above Quaker Ridge. Carried by the strong wind, they gradually soared out over the Nethermead Meadow and out of my sight.

I packed up my gear and I birded the woods on the east side of the two ponds before heading home. The wind had died down a little and there was a small, mixed flock of songbirds feeding in the woods near the Lower Pool. Among them was my first sighting of a Pine Warbler for the year. Before I left the Ravine I looked back at the nest. At some point while I was looking at the little birds, Alice had returned and was sitting on the nest. Tomorrow I'm going to Green-Wood Cemetery to check out Big Mama and Junior's new nest.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

The mystery blossom & another good blog

Marie, a regular reader of this blog, just posted a short piece on her blog about that mystery early-blossoming cherry near Grand Army Plaza. I've looked at that tree nearly every Spring for the last 12 or more years, but I think this March was the first time that I photographed its flowers. Marie has some great photos of botanics on her blog, so I'll be checking it out a lot now that Spring is here.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Prospect Park update

I had about 90 minutes at the end of the day to run up to the park. I love taking late day photos, especially at this time of year. The sun is still relatively close to the horizon, creating long shadows and gentle, warm tones. I planned to walk up to Grand Army Plaza, check for the kestrel, then walk back across the Long Meadow to the Ravine hawk nest. I figured that, even if I missed both raptors, there's always something interesting to see during the early Spring.

Elm trees have begun flowering and there's a beautiful specimen at the edge of the park drive near Garfield Place. Festooned with black and pink blossoms, some of its lower limbs droop low to the ground. I stopped to take some photographs. As I was examining the branches a tree pruning truck slowed, then came to a stop on the opposite side of the road. "What are the odds", I thought (and possible even said aloud). Fortunately, there was no work order for that elm tree and the truck eventually began to move and continued down the road.

The kestrel didn't visit the "Soldiers and Sailors Monument" during the brief time that I was watching. I did catch a glimpse of him northeast of the plaza, flying over a building near Vanderbilt Avenue. On my way to the Ravine, I scanned through flocks of robins and starlings that have gathered to feed in the grass along the meadow. I had just passed a stand of pines on the east side of the field when dozens of robins suddenly took flight. Some landed in the few trees that dot the edges of the meadow, others just kept going. One of the birds must have sounded an alarm because, moments later, a large Cooper's Hawk cruised passed. She was less than six feet off the ground and wove a path between a pair of River Birch saplings, around some budding magnolias, then across the road and into the trees that surround the Vale of Cashmere. The speedy hawk passed a few people sitting on park benches, but they either didn't notice or weren't impressed. Sometimes it takes an extraordinary effort to get a New Yorker's attention.

I thought that fleeting experience was going to be the highlight of my walk because the subsequent time that I spent at Alice and Ralph's nest was uneventful. Neither hawk made an appearance.

As I was exiting the park at 5th Street, I heard the high, thin whistles of Cedar Waxwings. They are gregarious birds that are usually easy spot as they rarely travel alone. There were about 50 birds in this flock, the largest I've seen in Prospect Park for a long time. They were perched in a maple tree on the south side of the park entrance above 4 unidentified fruiting trees. Birds always ignore the abundant, bright red fruits of these trees throughout the winter. It isn't until the early Spring that birds finally begin to eat them. Perhaps it takes 3 months of fermenting on the tree for them to soften and become digestible. The waxwings gradually got up their nerve and began decending to the fruit trees. Soon flocks of robins joined the feeding frenzy and the trees that had been decorated soley with bright, red fruit ornaments were accented with splashes of yellow, olive, orange, rust and gray. In that brief moment in time, those small, leafless Spring trees became more colorful than any Autumn trees I've ever experienced.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"

Woodcocks and robins at the reservoir

Friday night was going to be a full moon, so I decided to go back over to the Ridgewood Reservoir at the end of the day. The weather forecast called for clear sky and I thought the moonshine would make a nice backdrop for observing the woodcock courtship.

I arrived about an hour before sunset and strolled around the running path for about 20 minutes. Red-winged Blackbirds have just returned and the reeds that surround basin #2's lake were ringing with choruses of "conk-a-ree, conk-a-ree". American Robins have also returned and invaded the reservoir in astonishing numbers. There were so many vocalizing birds present that I heard them well before I saw them. Along the grass hillside parallel to Highland Boulevard, at the edges of the running path, in the parking lot on Vermont Place and perched in nearly every tree, there were robins. Some were singing the familiar "cheerily, cheerio, cheerily" Spring anthem, but most were making nervous "whinnies" and "tut, tut, tuts". Maybe they weren't in the cheery Spring spirit yet because of the cold wind blowing across the top of the ridge.

Much of basin #3's understory is dominated by weedy plants, but there are a few scattered damp, grassy meadows. Before it was too dark, I headed for one near the basin's north half. As I approached the opening a woodcock flew ahead of me. I found a spot at the edge of the grass that wouldn't disrupt the birds display routines. In retrospect, since I've never been a woodcock, I might have unknowingly sat down in center stage.

While I was waiting to hear the first nasal "peent", several dozen panicked robins began scattering through the woods. A Sharp-shinned Hawk had snuck in from the east side of the basin and was cruising through the trees looking for dinner. She made a tight right turn in front of me and continued flying towards the north end of the basin.

At around 6:30PM I heard the first male woodcock calling from an area about 50 yards to my right. There was a curtain of dried mugwort plants between us, so I couldn't see him or the object of his affection. A moment later something landed in the grass a couple of yards from my outstretched legs. It was a woodcock. She glanced over at me a few times, but just went about her business probing the soil for worms. As the forest descended into darkness I caught a glimpse of two or three more silhouettes fluttering to the ground on my left.

The moon didn't rise early enough that it created much illumination within the basin. Even if it did, I wouldn't have been able to see much of the display's climax. The wind had been gusting from the west across the top of the basins. The woodcock's normally vertical flights had been replaced by an improvised horizontal choreography. Several times I saw them rocketing past my seat at the edge of the meadow. I'm surprised that they didn't collide with any trees.

On my way back to the subway I stopped to stare at the brilliant orange-pink moon reflecting off of basin #2's lake. At 7:08PM the Red-winged Blackbirds were still singing and it reminded me of summer's long days.

by Rob Jett for "The City Birder"