I birded Alley Pond Park from 10 a.m. -3 p.m. today in the on-and-off drizzle and witnessed an impressive level of activity and diversity of songbirds. The most interesting behavior I saw was a blue jay chasing a Sharp-shinned hawk around. I heard the hawk vocalizing, making a noise I've never heard before. Not the high-pitched kik-kik-kik call but deeper and hoarser; definitely not like or typical of a bird-of-prey call I've ever heard. I saw the hawk land several times in the tree tops and each time a blue jay soon followed driving the hawk off and then pursuing it. I never saw more than one jay. This went on for two to three minutes in the woods east of Turtle Pond. Curious if anyone else will see this in the next day or two.
Birds seen included: Sharp-shinned Hawk Eastern Kingbird Great-Crested Flycatcher Blue Jay Tufted Titmouse Gray Catbird Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Red-bellied Woodpecker Carolina Wren House Wren Northern Parula Yellow-rumped Warbler (many) Palm Warbler Black-and-White Warbler (many) Blue-winged Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Ovenbird (several) Prairie Warbler Yellow Warbler (several) Common Yellowthroat (several) American Redstart Warbling Vireo (several) Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male and female) Wood Thrush Veery American Robin Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher Rusty Blackbird (1-along the edge of Turtle Pond) Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle European Starling House Sparrow Eastern Towhee (several) Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow (many, with quite a few vocalizing) Baltimore Oriole John Turner -- 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/ --
