Raptor Wednesday

Sunday began chill and damp. We started in Prospect and saw this Merlin.

A Red-tailed Hawk flew over Prospect Park West in Windsor Terrace and landed here. As we got even closer to Green-Wood, a Red-tailed landed on the big radio tower at the school complex. It may have been the same bird.

Nearing 5th Avenue, a Sharpie scythed the sky.

Now seated outdoors–the weather had warmed and our sitting brought out the sun–at Chilo’s across the street from Green-Wood. A young Cooper’s.

Fifty minutes later, an adult Cooper’s. (In season, Chilo’s is also a great place to watch Chimney Swifts at work.)

Incoming! Traci pointed to a Buteo heading our way.

In bright sun, the view-screen of the camera is hard to see, so it wasn’t until I got home that I saw the detail here. This isn’t the expected Red-tailed Hawk.

Long, pointy wings. Heavily-streaked. B’gosh!

Had anybody else seen a Swainson’s locally, I wondered as I checked ebird. Why, yes, they had. (I don’t subscribe to email or text rare bird alerts.) This might well be the same juvenile seen for a couple of days on the Staten Island waterfront at the beginning of January. On Sunday, it was first reported in Green-Wood and then found along the coast hanging out near the recycling facility, South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and the federal torture center, all areas your raven-spotters will know are not particularly accessible.

So having the bird fly almost directly overhead, that was nice.

I also wrote this up on Medium as part of my Brooklyn Raptor Observatory series.