Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Saturday, June 20th, A Memorial to Jean Bourque: Nature of Floyd Bennett Field

Jean Bourque from the 2009 BBC centennial party, ( photo by Suzanne Ortiz)
Chief Interpretive Ranger Rick Jenkins, NYC Audubon Susan Elbin Dir of Conservation, Ron Bourque, BBC Peter Dorosh & BBC President Rob Bate at the Milkweed dedication site. (photo by jess schulman )

BBC Trips Chair Peter Dorosh speaking  (photo by Jess Schulman )

Ron Bourque digging the hole for dedicated Milkweed plants



List of birds and plants 
( plants identified by Marielle Anzelone , NYC Wildflower week director;list courtesy of Lenore Swenson)


BIRDS:
1-Mallard
2-Double-crested Cormorant
3-Glossy
Ibis
4-Willet
5-Laughing Gull
6-Herring Gull
7-Great Black-backed   
BBC trips Chair Peter presenting the memorial plaque to Ron Bourque  (photo by jess schulman )
Gull 8-Common Tern 9-Rock Pigeon 10-Mourning Dove 11-Chimney Swift 12-American Crow 13-American Robin 14-Northern Mockingbird 15-European Starling 16-Cedar Waxwing 17-Yellow Warbler (h) 18-Savannah Sparrow 19-Song Sparrow 20-Red-winged Blackbird 21-American Goldfinch 22-House Sparrow
PLANTS: Black Cherry White Mulberry Gray Birch Cottonwood Bayberry Winged Sumac Common Blackberry Dewberry Multi-flora Rose Virginia Creeper Asiatic/Oriental Bittersweet Common Mullein Sheep Sorrel Field Garlic Early Goldenrod Common St-John's-Wort Yarrow Yellow Wood Sorrel Hawkweed sp. Spurge sp. Spotted Knapweed Red Clover Japanese Knotweed Deptford Pink Black Medic Queen Anne's Lace Daisy Fleabane Japanese Brome Black-eyed Susan English Plantain Indian Hemp Silvery Cinquefoil Common Milkweed White Campion Butter-and-Eggs Horsenettle White Clover Path Rush Deer Tongue Grass Poverty Grass Hair Grass Poa Grass sp. Switchgrass/Panicum


Ron Bourque speaking along side Rob Bate , BBC president




Insect list ( courtesy of insect leader Steve Nanz )



Dogbane Beetle -  Chrysochus auratus



Delicate Cycnia -  Cycnia tenera


Grapeleaf Skeletonizer -  Harrisina americana




• Diptera (Flies)

Flower Fly -  Toxomerus sp.

• Hemiptera (True Bugs, etc.)

Small Milkweed Bug -  Lygaeus kalmii
Several species of Leafhoppers - Cicadellidae

• Hymenoptera (Ants_Bees_Wasps_Sawflies)

Yellow-faced Bee -  Hylaeus sp.

• Coleoptera (Beetles)

Red Milkweed Beetle -  Tetraopes tetrophthalmus
Red-necked Cane Borer -  Agrilus ruficollis

• Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies)

Double-banded Grass-veneer -  Crambus agitatellus
Grapeleaf Skeletonizer -  Harrisina americana
Delicate Cycnia -  Cycnia tenera

• Neuroptera (Antlions_Lacewings_Allies)

Ant Lion -  Myrmeleon immaculatus

• Arachnids

Crab Spider - cf. Misumena vatia

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Fwd: Brooklyn Bird Club walk East End Long Island

Leader Eric Salzman and Eileen Schwinn



-----Original Message-----
From: ericsalzman
To: Eric Salzman
Sent: Sun, Jun 14, 2015 12:29 pm
Subject: Brooklyn Bird Club walk


I've been out of action for a few days now with sprained ankle but I had committed to doing a Brooklyn Bird Club walk on Eastern Long Island specialties and, rather than call it off, I'll called Eileen Schwinn to see if should could help out. She and her husband Fritz were just in Iceland (!) with friends but she came back this week and was willing to pick up the slack. She organized this walk (which I have done in past years) a little differently, starting at EPCAL (ex-Grumman) which is the best site on Long Island for grassland birds -- notably Grasshopper Sparrow and Meadowlark. We intended to complete the day by going to Hunter's Garden, Bicycle Path and then, if any time remained, to go down to the shore. But on the way into Hunter's Garden one of the cars got stuck in soft sand and had to be rescued by Hampton Bays Rapid Recovery, the which put an early end to the day.

Here's the complete annotated list:

Wild Turkey - EPCAL
Turkey Vulture -- several overhead at EPCAL
Red-tailed Hawk -- several overhead at EPCAL
Killdeer -- Lewis Rd, E. Quogue (on the way back home)
Mourning Dove
cuckoo spp -- overhead at EPCAL, species not determined
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker -- in the woods leading to Hunter's Garden
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher -- EPCAL
Eastern Kingbird -- EPCAL
Red-eyed Vireo -- singing in severl spots
Blue Jay
American Crow -- EPCAL
Tree Swallow -- EPCAL
Bank Swallow -- EPCAL
Barn Swallow-- EPCAL
Black-capped Chickadee (heard)
White-breasted Nuthatch (heard)
House Wren -- EPCAL, Line Road
Eastern Bluebird -- Line Road
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird -- EPCAL
Brown Thrasher -- EPCAL
Cedar Waxwing -- Line Road
Ovenbird -- road to Hunter's Gardeen
Blue-winged Warbler -- (heard at EPCAL)
Common Yellowthroat -- road into Hunter's Garden
Pine Warbler -- road into Hunter's Garden
Prairie Warbler -- EPCAL
Eastern Towhee -- EPCAL
Chipping Sparrow -- several places
Field Sparrow -- (heard at EPCAL)
Grasshopper Sparrow -- several at EPCAL including one carrying food
Song Sparrow -- heard only
Northern Cardinal 
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark -- heard only
Common Grackle -- EPCAL
Baltimore Oriole -- EPCAL
American Goldfinch

Eileen also reports that she has heard Eastern Whip-poor-will singing in the Oakdale area of East Quogue and, even more exciting, Chuck-will's-widow singing on Old Main Road north of Quogue Village.

Eric Salzman

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

June 5th - June 7th Spring Weekend: Mianus River Gorge, Fahnestock, Shawangunk: a journey to the lower Hudson River Valley

Leaders :Peter Dorosh ( Friday, Sunday); Ryan Bass ( Saturday)




Barred Owl, photo by Sandy Paci

Birding Sites: Mianus River Gorge, Ward Pound Ridge Preserve, Hosner Mountain Road (East Fishkill); Clarence Fahnestock State Park (hike bird all day Saturday) ; Shawangunk Grasslands, Doodletown 1777 Trail ( Harriman State Park )




Wood Thrush on nest , photo by Sandy Paci
Upland Sandpiper Blue Chip Farm
Pileated Woodpecker Fahnestock State Park
Common Raven 
Great Blue Heron 
Turkey Vulture 
Black Vulture 
Canada Goose 
Mallard 
Red-shouldered Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
American Kestrel 
Killdeer 
Rock Pigeon 
Mourning Dove 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 
Barred Owl Mianus River Gorge
Chimney Swift 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 
Belted Kingfisher 
Downy Woodpecker 
Hairy Woodpecker 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 
Northern Flicker 
Willow Flycatcher 
Great Crested Flycatcher 
Eastern Phoebe 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 
Acadian Flycatcher 
Eastern Kingbird 
Yellow-throated Vireo  
Warbling Vireo 
Red-eyed Vireo 
American Crow 
Blue Jay 
Tree Swallow 
Cliff Swallow nest colony at Hosner Mountain Road, East Fishkill 

Cliff Swallow nest, photo by Sandy Paci
Purple Martin Barn Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Tufted Titmouse Black-capped Chickadee White-breasted Nuthatch 
Brown Creeper
House Wren 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
American Robin 
Eastern Bluebird 
Wood Thrush 
Veery 
Gray Catbird 
Brown Thrasher 
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
Cedar Waxwing 
Prairie Warbler Ward Pound
Worm-eating Warbler Fahnestock,Doodletown
Yellow Warbler 
American Redstart 
Black-and-white Warbler 
Ovenbird 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Cerulean Warbler Fahnestock,Doodletown
Louisiana Waterthrush 
Blue-winged Warbler 
Northern Parula 
Hooded Warbler Doodletown
Siberian Iris ( non-native)
Kentucky Warbler Doodletown
Scarlet Tanager 
Grasshopper Sparrow Shawanagunk Grasslands
Chipping Sparrow 
Savannah Sparrow 
Song Sparrow 
Field Sparrow 
Eastern Towhee 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 
Northern Cardinal 
Indigo Bunting Ward Pound
Baltimore Oriole 
Bobolink Fahnestock, Shawanagunk Grasslands
Red-winged Blackbird 
Common Grackle 
Eastern Meadowlark Shawanagunk Grasslands
Brown-headed Cowbird 
House Finch 
American Goldfinch 
House Sparrow 

87 species

Other notable: Wood Turtle (rare), plus host of butterflies and dragonflies,wildflowers


Ian,Ryan,Kellie,Monica,Jillian,Marc,Karen,Chris,Kathy, Sandy on the Fahnestock trail