Vesper Sparrow @ Prospect Park 10/19

This morning, around 11:30, I saw Peter's post that a Vesper Sparrow was in the enclosure by the ball fields in the park. I said to Shari, "Wanna go to the park?" "I can't, I'm working." "Take lunch," I said. That was persuasive enough and with a 1/2 hour we were at the ball field. As soon as we got there a flurry of juncos rose up out of the grass and flew into a tree.

It is amazing how many sparrows can hide in the grass, especially since this is part of the outfield for the baseball diamond, so the grass isn't particularly high, and even more so since it is relatively sparse and is being reseeded, which is why it is enclosed (and which is why there are so many sparrows). So I figured this bird wasn't going to be a slam dunk like the Snow Goose last week. Rob Jett was already there and he pointed out both a Red-tailed Hawk in a nearby tree and Merlin in a tree much farther away, explaining that these 2 hawks, plus a murder of crows in the park, were making the sparrows very skittish.

A few Chipping Sparrows popped out of the grass, as well as a few Savannah Sparrows. The juncos kept flying back and forth from the field to a couple of trees nearby. Peter came by and the four of us slowly walked the perimeter of the fence. And then, as if out of nowhere, the Vesper Sparrow popped out of the grass and perched on the fence. My first reaction was, "That is big sparrow!" It gave us a good look, flew down to the grass, then back up to the fence again, before flying down again to feed and hang around a small tree branch that was in the grass.

And then, "lunch hour" was over. Vesper Sparrow is a life bird for both Shari and me. Later, I saw that a 2nd Vesper had been found in the enclosure and still later a 3rd in the "sparrow bowl" a little bit to the north. Still, you only need one to add it to your life list.

Later in the afternoon Shari & I walked down to Pier 1. Nothing new there today.

Lists:
Prospect Park 
Notes:     Ball field enclosure.
Number of species:     8
Red-tailed Hawk     1
Merlin     1
Northern Flicker     1
American Crow     18
Chipping Sparrow     5
Vesper Sparrow     1
Savannah Sparrow     5
Dark-eyed Junco     100

Pier 1
Number of species:     9
American Black Duck     2
Mallard     3
Double-crested Cormorant     2
Ring-billed Gull     2
Herring Gull     2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     3
Palm Warbler     1
Swamp Sparrow     1
White-throated Sparrow     5