Results of Spring BBC walk Prospect Park March 21

Leader Linda Ewing

"Lines Written in Early Spring" (excerpt)

I heard a thousand interwoven notes of birdsong while I lay in a grove, where I was enjoying the kind of mood in which happy thoughts remind you of sad ones.

Nature connected my soul to all the beautiful creatures around me—and I felt terribly sad to think about what humanity has done to itself.

poet William Wordsworth

for full poem , see link below:

https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/william-wordsworth/lines-written-in-early-spring













   

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Linda Ewing 
Date: Sat, Mar 21, 2026, 2:51 PM
Subject: Great walk this morning!
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@gmail.com>

We had around 20-25 people join the walk, saw 42 species, and had a lot of fun. The participants were a good mix of old hands (I especially appreciated Rusty's keen eyes) and relative newcomers; several birds were lifers for some, and the osprey (ospreys? seen twice, but most likely the same bird) were FOY for most of us.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead! The list is posted on eBird here:

eBird Checklist - 21 Mar 2026 - Prospect Park - 42 species ebird.org

Let me know if you'd like me to share it with you.

Linda 

Sent from my iPhone

March 14th Will you Dance ? Woodcocks at marine park

Leader Peter Dorosh

Note windy conditions likely factor in no woodcock display.. but a nice social walk with 30 species reported within the 2 hour walk.

Many Thanks to Heydi Lopes for her assistance and checklist..

And to all who showed up for some fun,

Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park, Kings, New York, US
Mar 14, 2026 4:52 PM - 7:38 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.911 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     BBC Walk with Peter
30 species (+1 other taxa)

Brant (Branta bernicla)  23
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  3
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  5
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  3
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)  17
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  11
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  3
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  34
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  3
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  37
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  7
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  1
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)  2
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  5
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
crow sp. (Corvus sp. (crow sp.))  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  7     Flagged for count; one by one count.
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  3
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  11
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)  1     Female type; coarse brown streaks below, white eyebrow.
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) (Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis)  5
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  12
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) (Setophaga coronata coronata)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S309281808

"Lines Written in Early Spring" Summary

I heard a thousand interwoven notes of birdsong while I lay in a grove, where I was enjoying the kind of mood in which happy thoughts remind you of sad ones.

Nature connected my soul to all the beautiful creatures around me—and I felt terribly sad to think about what humanity has done to itself.

poet William Wordsworth

for full poem , see link below:

https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/william-wordsworth/lines-written-in-early-spring













   

March 7th Hempstead/Jones Beach trip list

"How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!"

-- Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Leader Peter Dorosh


   

Common  Eider photo by Fabio Vera

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: D.Evans <
Date: Sun, Mar 8, 2026, 2:36 PM
Subject: Hempstead/Jones Beach trip list
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@gmail.com>

Peter-

What a great and memorable trip!

 

Here are the birds I recorded at each site, with notations if we'd seen them before.

[H] for Hempstead, [J] for Jones Beach.

 

Hempstead Lake State Park

Canada Goose

Great Blue Heron

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Greater Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull (-imm, ID by PD)

Ring-necked Duck

Ruddy Duck

Hooded Merganser

Northern Mallard

Blue Jay

Fish Crow

Song Sparrow

Black-capped Chickadee

Downy Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker.                             Harlequin ducks in fog photo by. Fabio Vera

 

Jones Beach

Canada Goose [H]

Brant

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Common Eider

Horned Grebe

Long-tailed Duck

Black Scoter

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Red-breasted Merganser

Bufflehead

Greater Scaup

Herring Gull  [H]

Ring-billed Gull [H]

Greater Black-backed Gull [H] 

Lesser Black-backed Gull  [H]  --(? not sure about this. My ID based on photo of bird resembling your [H] ID)

American Oystercatcher

Killdeer

Northern Harrier

American Robin

Fox Sparrow

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Rock Pigeon

 

Point Lookout

Sanderlings

Common Eider [J]

Greater Scaup  [J]

Red-throated Loon

Harlequin Duck

Brant  [J]

Purple Sandpiper

Long-tailed Duck  [J]

American Oystercatcher  [J]

 

(Harbor Seal)