Then there were three

I just received the following e-mail from Alex Wilson. His discovery in Prospect Park has some interesting implications.

From: Alex
Date: April 12, 2007 2:43:02 PM EDT

[ ... ] On another note, I thought you might be interested in some Red-tail doings I observed yesterday afternoon in the north end of the park. I watched a pair of immature hawks involved in what appeared to be nest-building behavior. The location is a pine (Austrian, I think) on the east edge of the [drive] [ ... ]. The “nest” tree is bare most of the way up, with only a brief, flat crown. I’ve seen hawks regularly in the vicinity, but this time, from the Vale, I noticed one carrying something flying into the tree, followed shortly by another. I walked up the stairs from the Vale and found a Red-tail with barred tail perched just beneath the crown of the tree. Then I realized there was another bird fussing around deeper within the foliage. I couldn’t see it well, but at one point it was definitely pulling bark or twigs. The first hawk flew out and perched in the pine grove across the drive, while the second bird continued its activities. It finally pulled off a fair sized twig, flew out of the tree, made a small circle and returned to the same spot, where it deposited the twig. I noted it was also an “immature” bird. Over the course of about an hour I watched the birds fly in and out a couple of time, at one point soaring over the meadow together, perching on a large apartment building on PP West, and doing a tumble where they almost clasped talons. Each time they returned to the same tree.

I’m not altogether sure what to make of this. There was no large mass in the tree, so maybe they just started, perhaps having been displaced elsewhere, or maybe it’s juvenile learning behavior. I guess first time nesters often have difficulties, and maybe these birds are trying to figure it out. Maybe they couldn’t get started until the dominant locals were busy with their own nest? Maybe it’s a false alarm, but the birds certainly seemed to be a pair, and there’s only one reason to pile twigs in a tree. FWIW, the apparent female was rather pale in the face, and the interest in a pine suggests a possible relation to the Ravine birds. Anyway, it might be worth checking out.

Best,
AW

I know that tall building very well. There are only two along Prospect Park West and one was a favorite perch for Big Mama and Split-tail. If it's the same pale-headed juvenile that I've seen in that vicinity for the last year, I have some photos of her.

Pale-faced female near the Vale of Cashmere

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Red-tailed Hawk updates

Marge just sent me an e-mail regarding Big Mama and Junior in their new digs at Green-Wood Cemetery:

Date: April 9, 2007 5:43:13 PM EDT
Subject: GWC Red-tails
 
I went to the cemetery with my son today to monitor the red-tails. Mama is sitting on the nest. Using the car as a blind is great. I watched [Junior] bring in fresh nesting material and a real cat & mouse type of scenario with a squirrel. [Junior] dropped off the nesting material and immediately  quickly flew right across the top of my car and nearly caught a squirrel. My son was amazed at his speed. The squirrel went off the limb and onto the trunk of the tree and froze there. [Junior] would try to flush him off the trunk. Obviously, the trunk makes it difficult for [him] to attack the squirrel.   [Junior] would just sit on the limb and wait for the squirrel to move so that it made it more advantageous for him to strike. Certainly if it went on the ground or on a limb a kill was inevitable. The squirrel kept moving around the trunk and [Junior] kept hopping from limb to limb and trying to fly onto the trunk. It was quite the scene to watch. Then I saw him land on the ground, but didn't see him fly away with a squirrel, so I assumed the rodent got away. I did see him return again with more nesting material later on after I left and went to see the owl.
 
Marge

I also received an e-mail from D. Bruce Yolton of "Urban Hawks". Apparently, NYC hawk blogs have proliferated almost as much as the Red-tailed Hawks. He informed me of another annual nesting pair in Queens. There is a wonderful story about "Mama" and "Papa" on the NYC Audubon website. Jeff Kollbrunner has a great website with regular updates on this Briarwood, Queens pair.

-Check out his incredible live nestcam-

Common Gull (European) in Marine Park, Brooklyn

Note: this posting was updated in 2024 to reflect current taxonomic changes regarding the "Mew Gull". It is now recognized as two distinct species - Common Gull and Short-billed Gull. Despite my description in this posting, the bird we observed in Marine Park is now called a European Common Gull.

A Mew Gull was spotted in Marine Park, Brooklyn, on Easter Sunday. A widespread gull in Europe, there are 3 or 4 confirmed records in New York State. Fortuitously, it was spotted by Angus Wilson, a respected birder and chair of The New York State Avian Records Committee of the New York State Ornithological Society. He also has his own great website with a wealth of information on seabirds.

Sean and I went out at at sunrise to try and quickly locate it and leave in time to get to work.

This gull is (was) Sean's nemesis bird. As many times and as hard as he and Joe DiCostanzo tried to locate a Mew Gull that was hanging around Shinnecock for 3 years, they came up empty. Sean became so superstitious that last year, during our big state year, we were forbidden to utter the words "Mew Gull". On our way to Marine Park this morning Sean wasn't feeling very optimistic about finding the bird. We pulled into the parking lot at Marine Park and noticed a guy tossing bread into the air to a flock of gulls. Sean was visibly fired up as we jumped out of the car. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, one of the ring-billed-like gulls just dropped from the sky and hit the ground, apparently dead. Sean had this horrific look on his face, like his jinx had killed the "Mew Gull". I was closer to the bird than him and, kidding around, said, "Hey, it looks like the Mew Gull, but I think it's still breathing". He walked over to get a closer look, made a sigh of relief and said, "Ring-billed, and it's a good thing because I was just about to give it mouth-to-mouth".

"I'm not dead yet"

At first light we didn't find the gull in the Mill Basin area where it was seen late yesterday. However, after we parked the car in the Marine Park parking lot on Avenue U, it flew onto the field right next to the lot from the direction of Gerritsen Creek, across the road. The time was 9:15am. We observed it in this location for approximately 20 minutes, when it took off with a large flock of, primarily, Ring-billed Gulls. We relocated it across the road in the western most corner of the creek adjacent to the nature center. It moved back to the field a little while later, followed by a return to the corner of the creek. When Sean and I were leaving at 10:40am the flock had just taken off again. I followed it in my bins while Sean was packing up his photography gear and it eventually dropped back down into that corner with the rest of the flock.

Click here to learn more about the new classification and splitting of this species.

(All photos by - Sean Sime)

(All photos by - Sean Sime)

(All photos by - Sean Sime)

(All photos by - Sean Sime)

Marine Park location

Another good nature blog

I just came across another good nature blog from NYC. It's called "Bloomingdale Village" and has some excellent photos.

Continuing the search in the cemetery

"Precious Georgie"

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

On Sunday night I studied the map of Green-Wood Cemetery, reasoning that if Big Mama and Junior had built a new nest there was no way that they could keep it hidden from me. I started drawing lines on the map to create search grids. My next step was to compare the Google Earth satellite image to the quadrants on the map. I looked for clusters of trees, compared them to the map and areas that they frequented as reported by the groundskeepers. When I was finished I sent a scanned copy to Marge and we arranged to meet at the cemetery on Thursday morning.

Bishop Ford radio tower

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Thursday arrived with a blast of arctic air and strong winds. By 10:00am we were standing at the edge of the Sylvan Water in a light snow flurry. The weather conditions didn’t bode well for our search effort. Marge thought she saw a hawk coming our way. It turned out to be a Turkey Vulture. I wouldn’t think that they’d migrate in such wintery weather, but, in fact, we spotted a second one a short time later.

We didn’t have enough time (or warm clothing) to crisscross the entire cemetery so I picked a line of quadrants that I felt might be productive. Compared to other nest sites I’ve observed, this first strip of habitat seemed to have desirable features for the hawks. There were lots of mature, towering tulip trees, sweetgums, sycamores and other deciduous trees along the route.

I should have brought a compass along as it is nearly impossible to maintain a straight line in Green-Wood. Every hundred yards I had to refer back to the map and make adjustments to the direction that we were walking. The cemetery was built on a section of terminal moraine so that there are very few completely level areas. The highest point in Brooklyn is within the cemetery.

Once we reached the opposite side of the cemetery I consulted the map to decide which strip of squares we would use to get back to the car. By noon the sky had cleared, but it was still cold and gusty. It wasn’t too bad when we were out of the wind and within the valleys, but I still needed to wear a pair gloves. Unfortunately, one of my gloves dropped out of my pocket somewhere early in our walk when I was checking the map. I made a mental note of where I thought it was and would go back once we were finished.

Magnolia pistil & stamen

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Magnolia bud (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

The sunlit valleys were the only places that we encountered bird activity. It was just too windy out in the open. Juncos and White-throated Sparrows scratched in the leaf litter and woodpeckers drummed higher in the understory. I heard, then spotted a Hairy Woodpecker clinging to the side of a beech tree. Nearby, the brilliant yellow of a Pine Warbler caught my eye. Normally found feeding high in trees, the warbler flew down to the ground in front of a hillside mausoleum. He began foraging within a flock of white-throats and juncos. There were also several Golden-crowned Kinglets moving between the ground and the bases of the trees. Looking like Brown Creepers, the kinglets probed the narrow, vertical ridges in the tree bark for insects.

As we were walking towards the Hillside Mausoleum something occurred to me. I told Marge that we shouldn’t overlook the conifers. Pine trees are an unusual place to find a Red-tailed Hawk’s nest, but so are the sides of buildings and we have both in New York City. There are lots of dense, healthy conifers in the cemetery so it would make our hunt that much more difficult.

Morning passed and we hadn’t found the nest or seen the hawks. As we approached Sylvan Water I noticed Mike Zablocky scanning the pond with his binoculars. Mike is one of only three or four people who regularly bird in the cemetery. In the past, we frequently crossed paths in Prospect Park but he has given up the park for the more peaceful cemetery. I explained my plan to Mike and he agreed to join us. Marge had to leave so we walked back to her car. After she left Mike and I walked a route that skirted the far end of where I started the day.

We saw another Pine Warbler, but still no hawks. Maybe the strong wind was keeping them grounded. By about 2:00pm we decided to wrap it up, but first I needed to retrieve my lost glove. Mike was very patient as I turned on the wrong paths and ended up on the opposite side from where we should have been. I finally got my bearings and headed towards where I was certain I’d find my glove.

It wasn’t an expensive glove and I had plenty of other gloves at home but, maybe subconsciously I was using it as an excuse to spend more time in the cemetery. After circling for half an hour I finally recognized the trees and headstones. I stepped off the path, and, within a few yards, spotted my black, polar-fleece glove. After I picked it up I turned to face Mike and spotted Big Mama and Junior behind him. They were flying low over the green, patinated roof of Stephen Whitney’s Chapel. We were both too tired to chase them but were glad to know that they were still around.

Mike knew the route back to the main entrance so I let him lead. Knowing that there aren’t any straight roads in the cemetery, I asked Mike to point in the general direction. I suggested the we walk off of the paths and head directly towards 5th Avenue. We had only walked about 20 yards when we spotted Junior flying in from our right. We could see some kind of prey dangling from his feet. Then the unbelievable happened. He landed near the top of a cedar tree directly in front of us. I looked through my bins and saw that he was standing at the edge of a nest and Big Mama was sitting in it. I was overjoyed and then realized that both Marge, Joe and I had passed beneath their nest several times but never noticed it. I tried to take some photos but it was so windy that my tripod was vibrating.

Mike left while I was still fighting the wind and attempting to take a decent photo. On my way back to the bus I spotted Junior again. This time he was chasing a flock of pigeons above the new apartments that had threatened to block Minerva’s view of Liberty. Something suddenly occurred to me. For at least 5 years, Alice and Ralph have been building their nests at the tops of conifers. Like Junior, Alice has an extremely dark face. Junior had been hanging around Prospect Park in 2005 and hadn’t yet developed the signature “red” tail when he began challenging Split-tail for Big Mama’s attention. Ultimately, Junior won, but they didn’t breed until last year, when they took over an abandoned Red-tailed Hawk nest in the cemetery. The nest came down during a winter storm so Junior had to build his first nest from scratch. It’s curious that he would choose the top of a conifer. Could he be one of Ralph and Alice’s offspring?

Big Mama and her nest tree 04/05


(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

There are many Red-tailed Hawks hatched in New York City every year. Compared to truly wild locations the five boroughs have a very limited amount of green spaces that they can claim as their territory. Green-Wood Cemetery would seem to be a very highly prized location. It had been used by a single pair for at least 10 years. Now a feisty young male named Junior is the ruler. It will be interesting to watch the progress of this new dynasty.

-Click here for more info on Green-Wood Cemetery-

- - - - -

Green-Wood Cemetery, 4/5/2007
-
Double-crested Cormorant
Snow Goose
American Wigeon
Hooded Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Ring-billed Gull
Monk Parakeet
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Tufted Titmouse
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Pine Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

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

Searching Green-Wood Cemetery

Cemetery entrance (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

I spent several hours at Green-Wood Cemetery on Sunday. Green-Wood, the second urban cemetery in the country, is the final resting place for many historic figures - famous and infamous. It’s also home to Brooklyn’s largest Monk Parakeet colony nesting on the towers of the Gothic Revival front gatehouse.

Monk Parakeet in Green-Wood

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Big Mama and Junior have still managed to keep the location of their new nest in the cemetery a secret. Joe and Marge spend a lot of time birding there but have been out foxed by the seasoned female and her young mate. They have seen the pair of Red-tailed Hawks throughout the winter and observed courtship behavior but these huge birds have been very discreet when it came to their nest tree. I called Marge and arranged to meet her and Joe to help with the search.

It wasn’t an ideal day for any kind of search. The sky was darkened by a thick veil of clouds. Any perched birds appeared as monochrome silhouettes against the bleak sky.

Our first stop was Sylvan Water (one of the small bodies of water within the cemetery). They wanted to scan the dozen or so waterfowl hanging around that spot. Mixed in with the common ducks were a pair of female Hooded Merganser and several American Wigeons. A Double-crested Cormorant in full breeding plumage had very pronounced tufts protruding from either side of his head. Around the outer edges of the pond were approximately 10 to 12 Eastern Phoebes. As they darted back and forth to snatch insects near the pond, they returned to an interesting array of launch pads; cherry trees, benches, headstones and mausoleums.

Joe and Marge had asked a few of the groundskeepers if they had noticed the Red-tailed Hawks during their daily routines. Some directed them to an area along the terminal moraine that bisects the cemetery. When we finished looking at the ducks and geese we headed off in that general direction. As we were pulling away from the pond I noticed a familiar shape in a towering tree and yelled for Marge to stop the car. There was a granite mausoleum blocking my view so she backed up. Near the opposite side of the pond and up a steep rise was a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a large sweetgum. She parked the car and we walked up the rise to try and determine the hawk’s identification. Before we could get close he took off, flying over the pond, slowly circling and ascending out of view. From his rusty-red tail we knew it was an adult. It was impossible to discern any patterning details but we agreed that he didn’t seem large enough to be Big Mama.

Minerva saluting Liberty from cemetery (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

I haven’t spent much time birding in Green-Wood Cemetery and the few times that I have, someone always lead the way. Unlike most parks, towns or cities, the roads and paths in the cemetery don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason for their direction. Joe was leading the way so I felt like a passenger in the back seat of a car. I had no reference for my position at any moment. A map of the cemetery’s pathways looks more like a complex model of the brain’s neural network than a deliberate set of trails designed to get one quickly from point A to point B. Joe and Marge advised me to give up on trying to navigate by the roads. Instead, they recommended that I use headstones, memorials and mausoleums as landmarks. Perhaps the cemetery’s designers wanted people to get lost as they ambled throughout the facility’s grounds.

It has been unusually cold with winds blowing, primarily, out of the north. For that reason I didn’t expect to find many new spring migrants. One species we located that I hadn’t seen yet this year was a Field Sparrow. He was feeding within a flock of White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and Song Sparrows. It was almost his last spring as, while we were watching, an American Kestrel swooped in from our left, making a very low pass at the sparrows. They narrowly escaped by flying into a small shrub. The kestrel kept on going. We also spotted an Osprey flying over the park on his way north.

American Kestrel

(Photo credit - Rob J)

On Saturday Marge was searching for the hawk nest when a flock of squawking Blue Jays caught her attention. She thought, “a-ha, the hawks” and followed the sound to its source. Peering under the drooping boughs of a dense conifer she expected to see Big Mama or Junior. Instead, she found herself gazing into the fierce, golden eyes of a Great Horned Owl. They stared at each other for a moment then the owl flew off, Blue Jays in tow. I don’t know if Marge was more startled or excited. Either way, she called me on her cellphone and the elation in her voice was infectious. She had never seen a Great Horned Owl in the wild and coming face to face with one is an introduction that she will remember for the rest of her life.

Any owls are extremely rare in the cemetery plus I make it a point not to mention any owl’s location online. However, at nearly 500 acres it’s very unlikely that, if you decided to try, you’d find him. Also, the cemetery’s 24 hour security patrols would ensure that nobody harassed the bird if they did find it (cemetery management has been alerted). We have since learned that the groundskeepers had discovered a dead Great Horned Owl back in November. Whether it was one of a breeding pair is impossible to know, as is how it died because the carcass was disposed of by the groundskeepers.

While we were walking near the old nest site we spotted Junior in the distance. He appeared to be carrying a large rodent in his talons. His crop was distended, meaning he had already eaten. We assumed that he was bringing food to Big Mama as she incubated their eggs. Running as well as we could up a steep slope, we lost sight of him. He appeared moments later, off in the distance, and without the rat. I assumed that he had dropped it. About an hour later we spotted him again. This time he was carrying nest material, which he also dropped. It didn’t make sense to us. Was he just going through the motions and that there wasn’t a nest?

We continued searching in, what seemed to me, a haphazard pattern. I suggested using a grid pattern to systematically hunt down the hawk nest. Joe thought that it would be too difficult to find enough people to commit to that process. He was probably right.

It was nearly three hours into our quest when I spotted Junior perched in the distance on the Bishop Ford Central High School radio tower. One look at his face through my scope and we were certain that it was him. His unusually dark head and cheeks gave him the hooded appearance of a Peregrine Falcon. It seemed like we only looked away for a second, and he was no longer on the tower. Seconds later he was streaming passed us, wings pulled in for maximum speed. He disappeared behind a cluster of trees, then Big Mama appeared. We watched her circling, gaining altitude then disappearing behind the tree line.

As spectacular as his descent from the tower was, Junior’s subsequent disappearance was an act that rivaled Houdini. I was sure that we saw exactly where he went, and when we topped the hill he’d be right there, on the nest or perched in a tree. But he wasn’t. We continued searching until we ran out of steam and went home.

In Prospect Park it was easy to keep up with the hawks by bicycling, but the cemetery doesn't permit bicycles. I've got to come up with a better strategy.

Baby Huey in Green-Wood Cemetery

(Photo credit - Michael Zablocky)

- - - - -

Green-Wood Cemetery, 4/1/2007
-
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snow Goose
American Wigeon
Hooded Merganser
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Monk Parakeet
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Fish Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Northern Mockingbird
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
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, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, House Sparrow

Birding Link

Eastern Gray Squirrel in River Birch

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)


A friend wrote to me the other day and asked if I knew of any information on birding in Slovenia. I sent her the link to "Where Do You Want To Go Birding Today?".

I've been using Tina MacDonald's encyclopedic website for many years. For some strange reason I never managed to add it to my links section. Well it's there now.

Oh yeah, and there actually is a fair amount of information available on birding in Slovenia.

Green-Wood Cemetery update

I received an e-mail from Marge earlier in the week. She's been away from the Red-tailed Hawks in Green-Wood Cemetery for a while, but just returned to track them down. Here's her report:

"Date: March 27, 2007 8:02:16 PM EDT
Subject: Greenwood Cemetery Update

Hi Rob,

[ ... ] Now for Big Mama & Jr. We have, as of yet, found no nest. I have witnessed displaying behavior between the both of them such as the impressive aerial displays and talon grappling. I saw Big Mama in a pine tree in the valley between the Hill of Graves & Ocean Hill, Jr. was flying back and forth to her. Joe & I on Sunday saw Big Mama with nesting material in her talons, but she flew out of our sight line and towards the Ft Hamilton side of the cemetery. Joe & I asked a cemetery worker if they had witnessed any large hawks. He told us he saw the pair in the same vicinity mentioned on a small island between the Hill of Graves & Ocean Hill. You will remember that area, that is where Baby Huey flew into the large Linden tree. Joe & I walked around that entire area but could not find a nest. It remains to be seen if they have a nest or they are just going through the motions due to hormonal activity. We will keep monitoring and hoping. They were late last year, but they still had their old nest, which no longer exists. In any event, the good news is that they are still active in Green-Wood.
 
All the best,

Marge"

Red-tailed Hawks and spring changes

I waited until about 2:00pm before walking up to Prospect Park. The position of the sun at that time casts a bright spotlight on the Ravine Red-tailed Hawk nest. Hopefully, I’d be able to confirm any incubation activity.

Alice checking out her nest

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

I set my tripod up near the intersection of two footpaths. There were lots of people strolling in the park due to the unexpectedly clear skies and mild temperature. New Yorkers are rarely shy and a few individuals stopped to ask me what I was looking at. Lucky for them, it doesn’t take much prodding to get me to share my excitement with strangers. I really enjoy seeing the expressions on their faces as they peer through my scope at an animal that most park patrons have only seen in photos.

Alice arrived at the nest about 15 minutes after I set-up my scope. She flew in low from the direction of the Midwood. A few minutes later Ralph appeared. Alice then left the nest and they began to ascend over the woodlands of Quaker Ridge. They circled each other a few time then Ralph, with his feet hanging down, plummeted towards the Ravine. He pulled up at the last minute and perched near their nest tree. His mate didn’t return immediately. It was close to 10 minutes before she returned and, instead of landing directly on the nest, she did something curious. She flew a spiral pattern around the nest tree from approximately its midpoint, ascending to the top of the tree then into the nest. It was almost as if she was inspecting the tree before returning to the nest.

After she landed on the nest she stood at the east edge, looking down. Perhaps I’m just personifying, but it appeared as if she was looking back and forth, with great interest, at something within the nest. She stood looking down for, what seemed like 5 minutes, before easing herself down, presumably on eggs. I tried to stay focused on the inactivity at the top of the pine tree. After a little over an hour I decided to walk down to the lake.

River Birch catkins

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

There is still a nice mix of waterfowl species on the lake, including the male Red-breasted Merganser that was first reported on the 17th. I was standing at the edge of the lake taking photographs of the newly emerged flowers on a River Birch tree. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a duck but ignored it. It wasn’t until I looked up (and he was swimming away from me) that I realized the merganser had been paddling around only a few yards away.

Crocus


(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) and fly

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Some other flowering plants I noticed today were crocuses, daffodils and Cornelian Cherry. When I think back to my postings over the last few years I’ve probably repeated this early progression every year; snow-drops, witch-hazel, river birch, crocus, daffodil, cornelian cherry. As the park’s landscape management office continues to replace invasive, non-natives with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees, I’m sure that my notes and observations will reflect the change. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a place that didn't experience seasons.

Pied-billed Grebe (click to enlarge)


(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

I decided to walk around the lake, counter clockwise, towards the skating rink. The sun was low in the sky and casting a warm, golden hue on the east side of the water. At the small cove on the south side of Three Sister’s Island were two Pied-billed Grebes. One bird remained hugging the edge of a patch of phragmites that bordered the shoreline. The other bird was swimming slowly between her and where the cove opened out into the lake. It was as if he was patrolling that tiny patch of water. At one point, when he was at the opening of the cove, he faced the other bird, opened his stubby, little wings, tilted them forward and emitted a moaning, “cowp, cowp, cowp”. He was courting her! I couldn’t believe that he allowed me to observed from so close. Pied-billed Grebes are usually very shy but I guess the pull of the breeding season was stronger than his fear of me.

Twelve years ago my friend Jerry and I discovered a Pied-billed Grebe with one chick in the lake near the skating rink. That was the last time any have nested in Prospect Park. Considering the large number of paddle-boats in the lake during warm weather, I’m amazed that any would have chosen to stay in Prospect Park.

On my way out of the park I stopped in the Ravine. It was 6:20pm and Alice was on the nest. I walked around the area again looking for a better viewing perspective, but didn’t find any. At about 6:30pm Alice began to call for her mate with a high-pitched, chirping whistle. I guess she was either hungry or needed to stretch. She called several times but, by the time I left, Ralph hadn’t returned to relieve her and take over the incubation duty.

Daffodiles in the Midwood

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

- - - - -

Prospect Park, 3/25/2007
-
Pied-billed Grebe (7 or 8, Prospect Lake and Lullwater.)
Double-crested Cormorant
Brant
Ring-necked Duck (6.)
Bufflehead (2.)
Red-breasted Merganser (Male, Prospect Lake.)
Ruddy Duck
Red-tailed Hawk (2, one on nest.)
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Breeze Hill.)
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe (4-6.)
White-breasted Nuthatch (3.)
Carolina Wren (Singing near lamppost J249.)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Fairly common.)
Hermit Thrush (1.)
American Robin (Abundant.)
Fox Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
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, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, American Crow (2.), European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Hawthorn - bud and thorn

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Bufflehead

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Planting trees at Dreier-Offerman Park

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

This morning John, Peter and I worked with a group of people planting trees and shrubs at Dreier-Offerman Park, near Coney Island Creek. We arrived a little earlier than the rest of the group and did some light birding at the park. After lunch we also checked out the coast of Coney Island near the Brooklyn Cyclone's "Keyspan Park".

Dreier-Offerman Shoreline (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

The most obvious seasonal change was the increase in abundance of robins. They were all over the soccer fields, baseball fields and undeveloped grassy areas. There were also several Killdeer flyovers (one flock was 7 birds), as well as, one foraging in the grass between the recreational fields. On the coastline facing Staten Island we observed a fair number of Bonaparte's Gulls flying back and forth. A Common Loon close to shore had nearly completed the transition to breeding plumage. In the weedy underbrush that borders most of the park, were several decent sized mixed sparrow flocks. I heard Fox Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows and juncos singing. The trilling songs of the swamps and juncos made me think of Pine Warblers and spring migration.

Bird's nest fungus - Nidulariaceae (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

We worked through the morning then drove the short distance to "Nathan's" in Coney Island for lunch. It felt weird to eat a Nathan's hotdog before the start of baseball season. After lunch we took a short stroll down the boardwalk and out on to the fishing pier to scan the bay. There was an odd looking bird sitting on a jetty east of the pier so we walked down the beach to get a closer look. Along the way we spotted our first Laughing Gulls of the season. Three were sitting in the sand among a flock of Ring-billed Gulls. The adult Ring-billed Gulls are looking really sharp with bright white head feathers, crisp red orbital rings and matching gapes. John spotted several Purple Sandpipers on the third stone jetty east of the fishing pier. We counted them, then recounted and came up with 19 individuals. With all the recesses between the boulders it's quite possible that there were many more. I checked my records and it was the largest flock of purples that I've seen in NYC.

Located slightly south of the Verrazano Narrows, Dreier-Offerman Park is along a route that would seem to make it ideal as a stopover for migrating birds. It's at the large end of a waterway funnel that leads north into the Hudson River. I've only been to the park a few times but each time was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of birds. Perhaps with today's plantings and future restoration projects it will become even more attractive to migrating birds in need of food and rest.

Looking north towards Verazanno Bridge (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Coney Island "Parachute Jump"

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

-Click here for the Parachute Jump history-

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Dreier-Offerman Park & Coney Island, 3/24/2007
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Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Great Cormorant
Brant
Gadwall
Canvasback
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Killdeer
Purple Sandpiper
Dunlin
Laughing Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
American Crow
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
Fox Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

Other common species seen (or heard):
Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, American Robin, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow

Fordham Red-tailed Hawk update

Hawkeye on the nest (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Christopher Lyons)

I just received my first report of the season from Chris Lyons, the Fordham hawkwatcher:

"From: "Christopher Lyons"
Date: March 21, 2007 10:04:48 AM EDT
Subject: Hawkeye and Rose--incubation has begun

I've known since early March that Hawkeye and Rose were going to use the same nest as last year--the one inside the pediment on top of Collins Hall, on the Fordham Rose Hill Campus, here in the Bronx.   It was around then that I started seeing fresh pine boughs, and other new material added to the nest, and co-workers told me they'd seen the hawks engaged in pulling branches off trees and adding them to the nest.   I never really thought they'd change the location, after getting off three chicks last year--they have found a spot easily as amenable to their breeding objectives as Pale Male and Lola's 5th Ave. Townhouse has famously been, and they haven't had to deal with people carting their nest away and otherwise meddling with their business--though they had their nest and their chicks taken from them at a nest-site outside Fordham, almost three years ago, as I managed to learn during their last breeding cycle.

Rose on cross (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Christopher Lyons)

Rose and Hawkeye (click to enlarge)

(Photo credit - Christopher Lyons)

Rose typically begins incubation sometime around March 20th, and she's right on schedule this year.  On Monday, March 19th, I saw her copulate with Hawkeye on the crucifix on top of the Martyr's Court dormitory, which is immediately adjacent to Collins Hall.  I'm sure they've been exchanging genetic information for weeks, but this was the first time I'd caught them in the act, and I even got a few (bad) pictures snapped.  Hawkeye had just seen off another Red-Tail, which may have been one of their fledged young, judging by the plaintive calls it made.  Rose was waiting for him on the cross, and they finalized the year's nuptials.  Later, I saw her on the nest. 
 
Yesterday, March 20th, they caught me napping--I went over to check the nest after leaving work, and saw one of the hawks (presumably Rose) squatting high over the nest--in the kind of posture that may indicate she was in the process of laying an egg.  If she'd been incubating a finished clutch, she would have been lower, and difficult to see.  I didn't have my camera out and ready (stupid, stupid!), and it took me a few minutes to set up the tele-extender, which gives me about 18x magnification, with image stabilization.  Out of the corner of my eye, while I hastened to get my equipment up and running, I saw that there were now two hawks on the nest--then one flew off, and the other settled in low.   I managed to get one good shot of the remaining hawk's head, before it disappeared--the dull coloration, and white streaking on the crown clearly indicate that it was Hawkeye, but that's not all--I got pictures of the other hawk, back on the Martyr's Court Cross--and the metal band on the leg (evident when I digitally enlarged the image), along with the richer coloration on the head, clearly proved this was Rose. 
 
So I feel quite confident in saying there must be at least one egg on the nest, and that laying started in the last few days, perhaps even yesterday.  Rose leaving the nest doesn't prove anything, one way or the other--female Red-Tails frequently leave their eggs unattended in the early stages, particularly when they aren't finished laying, since they delay serious incubation until the clutch is finished. 
 
However, I can conceive of no reason why Hawkeye would swoop in to give her a break if there were no eggs in the nest.  He had already seen at least one egg, and his instincts told him it was time to let Rose stretch her wings and preen a bit, while he held down the fort.  Quod erat demonstrandum."

I was glad to learn that the most famous pair of Red-tailed Hawks are back on their 5th Avenue nest. D. Bruce Yolton has some info and great photos on his blog, "Urban Hawks".

More about woodcocks


(Photo credit - John Ascher)

I received the following e-mail yesterday from my friend Peter:

"Date: March 18, 2007 8:05:39 PM EDT
Subject: Woodcocks in Prospect Park

Apparently there was a mini fallout of woodcocks Saturday. Mike Zablocky saw three at Three Sisters Island, we saw four at lamppost J249, plus the ravine edible makes it at least 8. We'll never know the exact number.

A birding friend, John Lloyd, paints Prospect Lake scenery on the Peninsula with another artist friend. The snow kept both artists from their usual Peninsula spot so they moved all their equipment under the big ginkgos between the Wellhouse and the lamppost J249 spot. At about 4:30pm, a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk suddenly swooped down from out of nowhere barely missing the canvas that John's friend was painting. The hawk was pursuing .... guess what?... a sitting woodcock! The woodcock was behind the artists and it flew like crazy out of the woods and over the lake towards Three Sisters! The Red tailed didn't bother chasing.

It seems like woodcocks are prized delicacies for these red-taileds.

Peter"


(Photo credit - Sarah T.)

Aldo Leopold wrote a wonderful essay called "Sky Dance". It's about the annual April spectacle of woodcock courtship. It can be found in a collection of his writings called "A Sand County Almanac". Here's an excerpt:

"Knowing the place and the hour, you seat yourself under a bush to the east of the dance floor and wait, watching against the sunset for the woodcock’s arrival. He flies in low from some neighboring thicket, alights on the bare moss, and at once begins the overture: a series of queer throaty peents spaced about two seconds apart, and sounding much like the summer call of the nighthawk.

Suddenly the peenting ceases and the bird flutters skyward in a series of wide spirals, emitting a musical twitter. Up and up he goes, the spirals steeper and smaller, the twittering louder and louder, until the performer is only a speck in the sky. Then, without warning, he tumbles like a crippled plane, giving voice in a soft liquid warble that a March bluebird might envy. At a few feet from the ground he levels off and returns to his peenting ground, usually to the exact spot where the performance began, and there resumes his peenting."

Another good urban nature blog

City Island (click for detailed view)

(Photo credit - Google Earth)

Here's another really good New York City birder's website. "City Island Birds", by Jack Rothman, has a lot of great information about a frequently overlooked section of the city (including by yours truely).

Prospect Park in the snow

Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

The Brooklyn Bird Club held a scheduled walk in Prospect Park today. According to their website, the focus would be early migrants. Mary said that I should mention how everyone "wussed out" because of the weather. Peter and Mary were the only ones to show up and, after a call from Peter, I joined them. It was a great day of birding highlighted by 4 very cooperative American Woodcocks on Lookout Hill.

Peter and Mary were walking past a birdy area in the park known as "lamppost J249". It's a habitat at the southern base of Lookout Hill. As the first elevated landform and forested area encountered by birds flying north across Brooklyn it's always a good spot for birds in the spring. Mary wanted to stop there and look at some Fox Sparrows. While looking at the sparrows she noticed a woodcock sitting in the snow. Moments later she found a second. By the time I arrived, a third was seen. They were all sitting very close together. A fourth was spotted landing several yards up the incline from the trio.

Three American Woodcocks (Scolopax minor)

(Photo credit - Steve Nanz)

I've seen woodcocks before but never so close or for such an extended period of time. The birds were mainly just sleeping and preening but would occasionally walk a few feet or probe the snow for insects. They probably have the most unusual gait that I've ever observed in the bird kingdom. It's difficult to put into words but Sean Sime gave me a pretty good description; "It's as if their feet are independent from their body and that there is a pendulum swinging back and forth inside of their body." Coupled with their cryptic, leaf-litter feather pattern I suppose the wavering completes the illusion of dead leaves moving in the wind. Unfortunately, the strategy doesn't really work against an all white background.

Napping & eating


(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Woodcock walking and feeding

(Video credit - Cornell Lab of Ornithology Macaulay Library)

During the rest of the afternoon we speculated about whether last night's ice and snow storm had forced a large number of migrating American Woodcocks to land in Prospect Park. I surmised that there were probably a lot more of them than we were able to see.

We decided to walk through the Ravine towards the Upper Pool. Several yards passed the Nethermead Arches I stopped Peter and Mary in their tracks. There was a Red-tailed Hawk perched near the right side of the path and I didn't want to scare it off. It was eating something. Mary asked what it was eating. I said, "a woodcock". She chuckled and said, "no really" and focused her bins on the hawk. I wasn't joking, he was really eating a woodcock.

As we left the hawk to eat in peace Peter asked, "so how many woodcocks do you think are in the park today?" Mary responded, "one less".

One less

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Other interesting sightings today were Ring-necked Duck (9), Hooded Merganser (13 females in Lullwater), Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser (rare in Prospect Park), Northern Flicker (4), Eastern Phoebe (5) and Rusty Blackbird (2). A Pine Warbler seen on Breeze Hill is an over-wintering bird, not an early migrant. A Yellow-rumped Warbler spotted by Peter and Mary would, in all likelihood, also fall into that category as they aren’t usually seen until mid-April.

Finally, I was very happy to see "Alice" standing in the nest that she and "Ralph" have been using for the last 4 years. For the sake of the woodcocks, I hope that they are all long gone by the time our resident Red-tailed Hawk's offspring fledge.

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Prospect Park, 3/17/2007
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Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
American Coot
American Woodcock
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

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

Waterfowl of Prospect Park

Here is a mix of waterfowl photos from Prospect Park.

Male and female Hooded Merganser

(Photo credit - Sarah T.)

Northern Shovelers

(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

American Black Duck

(Photo credit - Sarah T.)

Bufflehead

(Photo credit - Sarah T.)

Northern Pintail

(Photo credit - Sarah T.)

Ring-necked Duck (male and female)


(Photo credit - Rob Jett)

Ruddy Duck

(Photo credit - Sarah T.)