BBC Walk - 19 Feb 2022 - Prospect Park

leader Peter Dorosh
5 members

Feeders

https://ebird.org/checklist/S103128173

Park wide

https://ebird.org/checklist/S103053475

After Hours Sunset Walk at Shirley Chisholm State Park February 6

Eastern Meadowlark photo'd by Charles Tang

 Leader Adelia Harrison

This evening walk was a special program hosted by the wonderful outdoor educators of Shirley Chisholm State Park Ciara Scully and Tiffany Yeung. It was a rare opportunity to be on the grasslands after the park closes well after sunset. We started at 2 pm for some daylight birding. It was a beautiful day. Cold but sunny with little wind. We hiked up to the top and got a perfect Eastern Meadowlark perched on the tippy top of the tree. We then hiked down to the path along the water to look at ducks, gulls and shorebirds. As the sun sank in the sky the horizontal light made the ducks on the water look especially stunning, with a Common Goldeneye's head a dazzling emerald. Along the trail we also got four American Tree Sparrows and a Fox Sparrow. For the second part of the hike, after the park closed we again ascended onto the grasslands. We were treated to three different plumages of Northern Harriers, a female, a juvenile and a grey ghost who was hunting until the sun disappeared. I started a new checklist just as the sun was going down and that list had only three species, the grey ghost Northern Harrier, a Red-tailed Hawk and some Savannah Sparrows. Sadly, we did not see any species of owl, including the Snowy Owl that has been present there recently. But overall, the evening yielded 38 species. We hope to do more partnership events with the staff at SCSP.

American Tree Sparrow photo'd by Charles Tang

American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Robin

American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)

American Wigeon (Mareca americana)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Brant (Branta bernicla)

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

Common Raven (Corvus corax)

crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.))

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)

Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)

Gadwall (Mareca strepera)

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

Great Blue Heron

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

Hooded Merganser

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Peregrine Falcon

Pied-billed grebe

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-throated Loon

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)

Sanderling

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Winter at Jones Beach State Park and Point Lookout February 5

 

Yawning Snowy Owl photo'd by Charles tang

Leader Adelia Harrison

Hi Peter

I wish there was an easy way to get a day list out of eBird! 

The attached photos have the names of the photographer in the file name for crediting.

Recap:

We had a full trip with a waiting list for a full day at Nickerson Beach, Pt Lookout, and Jones Beach. Although sunny, there was an unrelenting, biting wind for the entire day that made it hard to hold our scopes or take photos, not to mention being all around unpleasant. Nonetheless we had 12 fearless birders whose enthusiasm and good spiritedness overpowered the lousy conditions.

We got to see TWO Snowy Owls. A female at Nickerson, and a male at Jones Beach. The female kept opening her mouth as though she were yawning and we all are wondering what that was about. Was she trying to cough up a pellet? Charles has a great photo of it.

At Pt Lookout on a western jetty there was over 1,000 Dunlin who kept lifting up into the air and moving as a single entity like murmurating starlings. It was incredible. Mixed among them were probably dozens of Purple Sandpiper and just a handful of Black-bellied Plover. There were also over 100 Long-tailed ducks at Jones Beach West End. We only had a few Black Scoter and just one White-winged Scoter and only one Common Eider. Five Harlequin Ducks have been at the jetty at Pt Lookout all season and they did not let us down.

Many people had multiple lifers. The Harlequin Ducks especially were lifers for several in attendance.

Harlequin Ducks  photo'd by Terry Kim

List:

American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Common Loon (Gavia immer)

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)

Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

Sanderling (Calidris alba)

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)

White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Black-bellied Plover  photo'd by Barbara Schelkle

flying Long tailed Ducks photo'd by Barbara Schelkle