Just a quick note about today's bird flight from the perspective of Floyd Bennett Field. It was one of the birdiest days at this location that I can remember in a very, very long time.
I led a trip for the Linnaean Society and it was clear from very early that the overnight winds brought in a huge number of passerines. In addition, there seemed to be a near constant stream of raptors with accipiters topping the list for abundance. It was interesting to note that, for whatever reasons, most appeared to be moving WNW not south. During the early morning there were hundreds of birds (mainly yellow-rumps and robins) passing overhead or dropping into the community gardens or North 40. Yellow-rumped Warblers were ubiquitous, with my best "guesstimate" being easily a couple of thousand seen or heard. Sparrow numbers were noticeably way up from last weekend, the highlights being a Vesper Sparrow and Clay-colored Sparrow. Both were seen along the berm at the east side of the field opposite Aviator Sports and the soccer fields. Hurrah for cold fronts! Good birding, Rob ********** Floyd Bennett Field, Kings, US-NY Oct 19, 2014 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 6.0 mile(s) Comments: Linnaean Society trip led by me. Strong NW winds overnight followed by strong WNW to N winds gusting to 20 mph. Mostly just birded gardens, Ecology Village and North 40. 62 species Brant X Huge number of migrating flocks. Canada Goose X Double-crested Cormorant X Osprey 1 Northern Harrier 8 Huge raptor flight most of the day. Sharp-shinned Hawk X Approx. 20 - 25 Cooper's Hawk X Approx. 15 - 20 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Immature, flying over North 40 and grassland. Red-tailed Hawk 3 Killdeer 4 Flying off field on north side of community gardens. American Woodcock 1 North 40 trail. Laughing Gull X Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull X Great Black-backed Gull X Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X Mourning Dove X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker X Northern Flicker X American Kestrel 6 Huge raptor flight most of the day. Merlin 2 Peregrine Falcon 2 Eastern Phoebe X Approx. 15. Blue Jay 5 American Crow X Tree Swallow 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 2 Winter Wren 1 Heard in community garden. Carolina Wren 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet X Ruby-crowned Kinglet X Abundant. Hermit Thrush 4 American Robin X Gray Catbird X Northern Mockingbird X European Starling X Cedar Waxwing X Common Yellowthroat 3 Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Palm Warbler 30 Yellow-rumped Warbler X Abundant, best estimate is approximately 2,000 individuals. Chipping Sparrow X Clay-colored Sparrow 1 Field opposite Aviator Sports and soccer fields. Photo to follow. Field Sparrow 2 Vesper Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow X Song Sparrow X Swamp Sparrow X White-throated Sparrow X White-crowned Sparrow 5 Dark-eyed Junco X Northern Cardinal X Indigo Bunting 1 Red-winged Blackbird X Brown-headed Cowbird X House Finch X Pine Siskin 6 2 flyovers, 4 perched in tree near Return-a-Gift Pond. American Goldfinch X House Sparrow X View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20280990 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) http://citybirder.blogspot.com @thecitybirder -- 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/ --
