A nanosecond after I snapped this picture, a falcon flew by, whoosh, and into the trees at left. I think it was a Merlin. If it was, it would have been my second of the day.
The winter birds are moving in: Coots, kinglets, sparrows, ducks. Still some warblers around. I was surprised that I only found 4 robins. Where have they gone? And no Wood Ducks either--I know they're there but they weren't evident.
Not so many Gray Catbirds either. A couple of weeks ago when there were so many that I got exasperated because every time I saw movement in the bushes it turned out to be a catbird, a fellow birder said, "And soon they'll be gone and you'll miss them." So far, no.
In all, it was a satisfying few hours, 44 species in all. The complete list:
Prospect Park
Canada Goose 53
Mute Swan 7
Mallard 32
Northern Shoveler 7
Ruddy Duck 4
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 2 Duck Island and Upper Pool
Merlin 1 F/O ball fields
American Coot 4
Ring-billed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 30
Mourning Dove 7
Belted Kingfisher 1 Lullwater
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 4
Eastern Phoebe 7 Six at ball field enclosure, 1 on Breeze Hill
Red-eyed Vireo 1 Lookout
Blue Jay 12
Black-capped Chickadee 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 1 MD monument
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 5
European Starling 3
Northern Parula 1 MD Monument
Magnolia Warbler 1 Wildflower Meadow
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1 Upper Pool
Palm Warbler 3 Ball field enclosure
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 3
Eastern Towhee 1 Lookout
Savannah Sparrow 4 Ball field enclosure
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 30
Northern Cardinal 2
Common Grackle 2
Purple Finch 1 Female, Lookout, Butterfly Meadow
American Goldfinch 3 Butterfly Meadow
House Sparrow 20
No comments:
Post a Comment