A Few Choice Warblers and others at Doodletown and Sterling Forest, NY

Several members of the Brooklyn Bird Club went up to Doodletown, NY yesterday looking for for Hooded, Cerulean and Golden-winged warblers. Anyone of these would be a life birds for me. First it was hot..Oh, did I say it was hot. It was, but everyone persevered and sweated and one even lost the souls of their boots and started a new fashion trend of duck taped boots. The name Doodletown is said to be Dutch which means "dead valley", or Dood Dal. The English added the suffix town later.

Right out of the car we saw a pair of cuckoos (I think yellow billed but I might be wrong). We saw Scarlet Tanagers, Indigo Buntings and Great Crested Flycatchers soon after hitting the trail. We heard the calls of Cerulean, Hooded, Blue-winged and several others. The Cerulean Warblers were so hard to see even though we heard them calling all around us.


Cedar Waxwing

Male Indigo Bunting

Male Scarlet Tanager

We met a couple of people coming down one of the trails who said they saw a Hooded and Worm- eating warbler up there... Oh yes and a Timber Rattle Snake on the left side of the path. We never saw the rattlesnake but a ways up the trail we heard a Hooded calling persistently and close by. After a few looks we spotted him throwing his head back singing loudly. Mike set up his scope and we all got to see him close up. (Thanks Mike) What a beautiful warbler!


Male Hooded Warbler

Male Hooded Warbler preening

Nearby Peter who had been to Doodletown 2 weeks prior showed us the nest cavity that a Pileated Woodpecker had carved; very impressive. But alas no woodpeckers to be seen or heard. It remains a nemesis for me.

The trunk was at least 8-10 inches thick and the hole was so perfectly round! (They must have excelled in geometry)

When we turned around and were heading back down we heard a Cerulean calling persistently also. All eyes were on the trees and he was finally located. Again thanks to Mike's scope we had good looks at him. These pictures are not the clearest but he was pretty high in a tree.

We had close looks at some 17 year-old cicadas.

Next we headed to Sterling Forest State Park and a lunch break. We all stocked up for water and off we went to find the coveted Golden-winged Warbler. Now I said it was hot in the morning but it was nothing like the exposed, shrubbery covered, open hillside with the sun bearing down on you even with a breeze. However the quest for the Golden-winged was worth it. We heard Cerulean, Blue-winged and Prairie Warblers and saw the Prairie but no Golden-winged. We headed down the hill but a few stayed a little further up the hill. A man we had met earlier motioned us closer. The Golden-winged had been spotted. Before long we found him on a mid-level branch at the edge of the woods. It was easily spotted with the binoculars but I could not find him in my camera lens. Finally, I held my camera in the area where the warbler was and to see what would happen. So did I get him...

Six pictures later he was in three, and two were clear enough to blow up and post here. He is a pretty boy. Unfortunately a few of our group missed him. So these are for you. I know it is not the same but I hope you enjoy a look.

Thank you Tom for leading, Dennis for organizing and all the drivers; the trip it was great.

Rusty Blackbird

Prospect Park, Brooklyn has been reporting a rusty blackbird for a week or so. A Saturday walk in the park allowed me to see this unrusty looking black bird. I missed it earlier in the morning at the Lilly pond. But I saw a report on Peter Dorosh's blog: Prospect Park Sightings & North Brooklyn that it had been sighted at the other end of the park in the Vale of Cashmere. Since my car was up that way I leisurely walked there. I saw lots of sunning turtles and a Yellow-rumped Warbler, the first warbler for the season for me. Yes, spring is coming.

I sat on one of the benches and watched the chickadees, titmice and other small song birds feed on some seed that someone had put out. I saw a grackle first and for a moment thought that was the black bird before realizing it was too big. Then I saw a black bird in the swampy pool digging through the leaves. It wasn't until another birder came and confirmed for me that yes, that is the rusty blackbird. Unlike most birds the male is more rusty in the non breeding season. If you caught his back in the right light you could see rows/stripes of rust on his back. Well I'll be. Sure enough there was the rust. His female counterpart is a slate color during breeding season.

"Its mine don't even think about it"

You can see the rust on the back, side and flecks in the face

Yum

"Three sunning turtles and a mallard on a log" (to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas) somtimes I get too carried away...

Finding a Timberdoodle

During a week off I spent time sleeping and birding. I had briefly seen an American Woodcock at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn but I really wanted a closer look and a picture if possible. After an hour of looking in an area where I had briefly seen one the week before, I found none. My daughter and I were tired at this point and headed home. However, I was not ready to give up. I later drove back into the cemetery and parked in another area where woodcocks had been sighted. Well, after another hour of checking under every pine and low bush in the area, no Timberdoodle to be found. BUT as I was driving, just a very short distance away I looked over... Could it be a woodcock just sitting under a tree? Sure enough. I used a few headstones as blinds as I moved closer trying not to upset it too much.

"I do see you with my 360 degree vision"

Doesn't it look like a bunny rabbit without the ears?

Actually it's large eyes being so far back on its head has a purpose. It gives the woodcock a 360 degree field of vision.

It's long bill is also interesting. It uses it's bill to probe in the ground for earthworms and other invertebrates. Its made of bone and muscle. In fact the bird can actually open its beak while its in the ground allowing it to grab juicy earthworms to eat. It's rough tongue helps it with this.

Later in the week there was a woodcock walk out at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at dusk. We arrived at their singing grounds, an open grassy area near the edge of brush and woods. We hoped to see the males perform their mating dance. We heard lots of buzzy "preents." and even saw 6-7 males but no dance. Apparently there were too many males and they had not worked out their pecking order so they did not dance.

If you are lucky enough to see their mating dance you would have to be there at dusk or dawn when the male woodcock preents and then takes off into the air making another sound; sounded like radio static. Then is descends in a zig zag pattern making a chirping sound. (which we didn't see).

Looking for woodcocks, timberdoodles or whatever else you want to call them was fun. Another sign that spring is coming slowly and so are the birds.

Signs of Spring...even if it was flurrying...

I took a walk in Prospect Park, Saturday the 16th of March, hoping to see the Varied Thrush. No thrush for me but I saw some subtle signs of spring.... even if it was flurrying

Spring buds

A Ruddy Duck turning ruddy. Love the blue beak

A male Hooded Merganser cruising for females

He was putting on quite a display. He would rear up hood elongated, lean back and make this croaking noise. I had never heard them make a sound before.

This is him on the wild side... What's not to love Ms. Merganser???

That got her attention

My mother called from CT to say there were three Robins in her backyard Friday. Maybe Spring is on the way... even if it is snowing today.