Early this morning Heydi Lopes relocated the Grasshopper Sparrow in Prospect Park. It was still feeding on seeds along the sidewalk opposite the Quaker Cemetery at the edge of the Nethermead Meadow. Peter Dorosh reported that it was still present as of approximately 3pm.
I spent the entire day birding in Green-Wood Cemetery where there was a decent showing of birds. Juncos seemed to be just about everywhere, with smaller numbers of Chipping Sparrows. I probably don't need to mention that siskins were pervasive. The cemetery usually doesn't see many Red-winged Blackbirds, but there were many flocks moving through today with a single Rusty Blackbird seen at the Dell Water. We also spotted a single Lincoln's Sparrow and a pair of White-crowned Sparrows. The buteo flight was considerably less than yesterday, although there were still decent numbers of Red-tailed Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks moving through the area. From our hawkwatch on Battle Hill we also observed a single juvenile Bald Eagle. After lunch Heydi and I decided to focus our efforts on an area in the cemetery called "The Flats", where there is a very good concentration of mature conifers. Near "The Valentine Angel" we heard, then spotted, a flock of 30 White-winged Crossbills. They settled briefly at the top of a spruce tree, then moved across the road leap-frogging along the tops of a few other conifers. They eventually looped back to the North, where we lost sight of them. Despite a loss of 100 or more trees from the hurricane, Green-Wood Cemetery is still the best location in the borough for healthy, mature conifers. I plan on spending a lot of time there this season looking for irruptive species. I'll keep you posted. Good birding, Rob http://citybirder.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
