Prospecting for Waterfowl

So on Sunday I went to Prospect Park in Brooklyn for the first time. I was headed for the annual raptorfest. It was really hard to find, and we got totally lost. Along the way we some great birds. On Prospect Lake, there was a flock of 7 RUDDY DUCKS. In a tree in the same spot where I first spotted the ducks, there were a few RUBY CROWNED KINGLETS. I saw lots of them throughout the day. These birds numbers usually reach thier peak around the 20th, so they aren't much to brag about now. Around that time I also saw a BLACK and WHITE WARBLER, which may be the last of the season. From that point on I didn't see much at all. Then, we got directions and followed them. This led us to a path next to an isolated part of the lake.There was a flock of dabbling ducks feeding there. I didn't think much about it, until I saw that some of the ducks had patches of white on thier sides. Looking closer at the ducks, I saw a head pop up. It was unmistakable. With its distinctive white stripe on its face I knew what it was. It was a BLUE WINGED TEAL! Life bird number 163! And there was also at least 2 more birds in the flock and 3 NORTHERN SHOVELERS. When we got to raptorfest, the only wild raptors I saw were RED TAILED HAWKS. When we left, the last bird I saw was an AMERICAN COOT hunting near a flock of MALLARDS. The day was good with birds of prey being traded for waterfowl.

Species List

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Blue Winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Ruddy Duck
Double Crested Cormorant
Red Tailed Hawk
American Coot
Rock Pigeon
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Black and White Warbler
White Throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red Winged Blackbird (heard)
House Sparrow

Slow Birding

On Sunday I went birding in the Ramble in Central Park. It was could and it sometimes drizzled a bit. My first stop was the Matinence Meadow. There I found a flock of about 15-20 CEDAR WAXWINGS. There was also a large flock of sparrows on the ground, consisting of HOUSE,WHITE THROATED, and SONG SPARROWS. Then, a female AMERICAN GOLDFINCH joined the flock. As I was looking at the flock of waxwings, I spotted a BROWN THRASHER. Other than that, I saw a PALM WARBLER, which I would see several of throughout the day, a BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER, and several flocks of migrating RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS. There wasn't mcuh to find anywhere else. I found a thrasher and a mixed sparrow flock at Duck Island, but other than that, not much. As we were about to leave I spotted a BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER on a tree. Then I noticed a second bird nearby. A fellow birder identified it as a PINE WARBLER. Just before we left, I saw a mixed flock of sparrows near a sleeping man. Looking throush the flock, I found a PALM WARBLER and a RUBY CROWNED KINGLET. This wasn't a very great day due to SW winds.
Here is my species list

Mallard
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Chimney Swift
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Song Sparrow
White Throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red Winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total Number of Species: 22

My Northeastern Life List

Hey Birders. Just want to show you my life list. I really am a good birder, seeing more than 100 species before August each year. Note that this life list shows all the birds that I have seen in the Northeast. This includes Maine, New Hamshire, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Most of these are from New York.



Snow Goose
Brant
Barnacle Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red Breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey (CT)
Common Loon
Greater Shearwater
Cory's Shearwater
Wilson's Storm Petrel
Northern Gannet
Double Crested Cormorant
Brown Pelican (NJ)
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret (NJ)
Black Crowned Night Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Sharp Shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red Tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
American Oystercatcher
Solitary Sandpiper
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring Billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black Backed Gull
Least Tern
Common Tern
Royal Tern (NJ)
Black Skimmer
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Monk Parakeet
Yellow Billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Snowy Owl
Barred Owl
Northern Saw Whet Owl
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red Headed Woodpecker
Red Bellied Woodpecker
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker (MA)
Olive Sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood Pewee
Willow/Alder (Trail's) Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White Eyed Vireo
Blue Headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red Eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough Winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black Capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red Breasted Nuthatch
White Breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Herimit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue Winged Warbler
Golden Winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut Sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black Throated Blue Warbler
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Black Throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay Breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Black and White Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Mourning Warrbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow Breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White Throated Sparrow
White Crowned Sparrow
Dark Eyed Junco
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose Breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Red Winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark (NJ)
Common Grackle
Brown Headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total: 163..... and counting

Trade a Warbler for a Bunting

On November 25, 2012, I was out with my family inn Alley Pond Park,Queens searching for New York's first ever VIRGINIA'S WARBLER! This bird nomally lives in the western United States, but decided to come celebrate Halloween in New York for reasons unrealated to the hurricane. When we got there, I could see the full extent of Sandy's damage. Unlike many parks, Alley Pond wasn't cleaned up that much, so there was fallen trees and debris everywhere. It felt eerie. They were no people and the only birds I saw were 2 TUFTED TITMICE. I occasionaly heard birds from time to time. When I approached Little Alley Pond, I heard a call that sounded like a small passerine. I went to try to find the bird, but it was inaccessable because of reeds and hurricane debris. I think it could've been the Virginia's Warbler, but I can't deny something else. After all, many birds were pushed north by the hurricane and some were still here at the time. When we were about to turn around, I ran into a female birder. I asked her if she saw the bird. She said no, but she told me that a PAINTED BUNTING had been found near a ballfield. Although I really wanted to look for the bird, my parents said no and we turned back. Just before we got to the parking lot, I saw birders across a ballfield looking at something. I met up with Eric Miller, who discovered the bird. It was a female, hidden in a dead bush. She was beautiful. Even though I think the warbler was better than the bunting, I think it was still worth going there.

Bird Species: 3

Tufted Titmouse
PAINTED BUNTING
Unkown Passerines

On September 29, I went biking in Central Park with my grandfather. I was also on a lookout for any birds. Our first stop was the North Woods. We ran into 2 birders who claimed they saw a red headed woodpecker nearby. They also told me it flew west and was probrably gone. Shortly after that I found a Song Sparrow and a Common Yellowthroat. As is went along a path paralell to the stream, I got some good birds there. There were several spots where I could view the stream and whatever birds were there clearly. At one of them I found a Veery. At another, I found a Swainson's Thrush and a Golden Crowned Kinglet. The kinglet was my first of the season! I also went to a small hill on the way. I thought there may be nothing there. But one of the short trees was swarming with several Cedar Waxwings! As I was leaving the North Woods, I heard a report of a large flock of Palm Warblers at a spot called the Grassy Knoll, which is just northwest of the North Meadow. It took us forever to find it, but we made it. We could hear the birds all around us but we couldn't see them. Then, I saw 2 birds fly into a tree. They were both Palm Warblers. Soon, the other birds showed themselves. There were at least 5 of them. I got great video of one bird that foraged on a rock near me. After that, we did a quick rock to The Ramble, but found no birds there at all. We took a break at the fountain at the southern end of the lake. It suprisingly had a few bird species there. I saw a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker on a tree. As I went to get a closer look at the bird, I spotted something in the corner of my eye. It turned out to be a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. When those birds were gone, I sat down again. When I looked up, I saw a massive flock of Chimney Swifts circling above the fountain. It was amazing!

Here is the species count for today:

Camada Goose
Mallard
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
Blue Jay
American Crow (heard)
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Palm Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
White Throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Total: 25 species

Mean Teen Birding Machine Blog Introduction

Hey birders! I'll make 2 posts a week. One will be about a past birding experience, and the other will be about one that happened recently. Occasionally, I will post rarity chases, which are some of the epic chases of rare birds I've done around New York City.Happy Birding!