Green-Wood Was So Very Birdy

The cold front that came through Saturday night practically snowed birds. There were so many in Green-Wood yesterday I thought it was the height of spring migration. There were several types of sparrows and warblers, both kinglets, thrushes, lots of Flickers, a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds, one or two Brown Creepers, one or more Woodcock, Jays, Mockingbirds, Phoebes, DC Cormorant, and on it went. And where there were songbirds, there were raptors. While photographing a Great Blue Heron, I heard a falcon. It was a Kestrel and it had clawed a bird, I think a Pine Warbler, and was plucking it in the bare branches. Barely seen through ground cover, another hawk, I think it was an Accipiter, was tearing at something on the ground. Later a Sharp-shinned Hawk caused wave after waver of birds to scatter. That Sharpie, or another, was seen three more times; each time it came up empty on chases. It’s tough being a raptor: you miss your target most of the time. A male Kestrel, perhaps the same one I’d seen hours earlier devouring the warbler, was on top of the gothic gate, up by the Monk Parakeet nests. No Monks at home; the Kestrel checked several holes even though I find it hard to imagine it could take one of the Monks.