Field Notes

Top, left to right, Lacebark pine, crocus, snowdrop. Bottom: Paulownia seedpod, snowdrops, sweetgum seedpods.

Prospect Park, Friday morning/early afternoon. Mild weather: overcast early, clearing, little to no wind. Temperature: low 40s by the time I was done, hat off, coat unzipped. I walked half way around the Lake from the south end, and then ran into fellow birder/blogger Rob Jett, the City Birder, on Breeze Hill.  We teamed up to walk through the Lullwater, skirting the Nethermead, over Quaker Hill to the Pools, and then up along the Long Meadow to the Vale of Cashmere.  

Rob’s an ace birder.  This is obvious, but bears repeating: an excellent way to learn more, or see more, is to join forces with someone who is more experienced than you.  As another aside: in general, birders are good people, and I think most would be happy to be asked about what they are looking at, should you be curious. (And if you aren’t curious, just why did you get out of bed this morning?)

By the way, if you happened to run into us, you’d might think: are these devilishly good-looking, long-haired chaps with the similar facial hair related? 

I saw these bird species, several of them called to my attention by Rob: Great blue heron, Canada goose, Mute swan, Mallard duck, American black duck, hybrid duck, Ruddy duck, Wood duck, Ring-billed duck, Red-tailed hawk, American Coot, Ring-billed gull, Herring gull, Rock dove, Mourning dove, Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Red-bellied woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, Blue jay, American crow, Black-capped chickadee, Tufted titmouse, White-breasted nuthatch, Carolina wren, Golden-crowned kinglet, American robin, Northern mockingbird, Cedar waxwing, European starling, Northern cardinal, White-throated sparrow, Song sparrow, Fox sparrow, Swamp sparrow, Dark-eyed junco, Red-winged blackbird, common grackle, House sparrow, American goldfinch, House finch. In addition, there were squirrel, chipmunk (yes, it’s getting warmer), and a sleeping raccoon, its bushy tail just visible in a big tree hole. Rob called that three-needled lacebark pine, Pinus bungeana, for me. The snowdrops and crocuses were blooming above Nellie’s Lawn. A year ago to the day in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the crocuses were getting a lot of attention from bumble bees, but we didn’t spot any today.