Bird Joy \'berd-joi/ n

1: happiness and delight stirred by the sights and
sounds of birds  2: a web site that shares the love
of birds and nature in New York City and beyond

Photo by Ron Austing 

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Introduction

This report will be the start of monthly updates following our bird walks together. Below are short, informational sections that I hope you find fun and interesting. Read them at one sitting or digest a couple at a time. After this introduction is a short recap of our early October walk in Prospect Park, which many of you have requested. It includes a list of that day's notable species. Notable is used loosely because, in addition to fall migrants, it also includes common species that simply made us "ooh & ah" for their close views and/or engaging behaviors.

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Prospect Park Bird Walk
October 5, 2004,
New York City, NY

Nature is definitely unpredictable. "Sparrows 101" was the theme I had chosen for our last walk. Instead, Mother Nature chose to play a few tricks. Warblers, flycatchers, and other lovely species topped the chart while only a few emberizidae graced us with brief calls and even shorter glimpses. (You do remember what emberizidae are, don't you?)

Chipping Sparrow by Steve Nanz

Ironically, our group met other regular Prospect Park birders who had experienced the opposite: plenty of sparrows but no warblers -- too funny. Unpredictability is one of the joys or frustrations of birding depending on your outlook. For us, the avian gamut spanned glimpses of darling Black-throated Green Warblers flitting in Eastern Pines; a rare sight of an Olive-sided Flycatcher; to the drama of Eastern Kingbirds mobbing a Sharp-shinned Hawk. The early autumnal colors added to the early morning delights. So did the laughs and camaraderie. Yes, life is good on a Sunday morning in Prospect Park.

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Notable Species in Prospect Park
October 5, 2004
Brooklyn, New York

~ Sharp-shinned Hawk
~ Chimney Swift
~ Olive-sided Flycatcher (Remember the white tufts on its rump sides?), Eastern Wood Pewee, Eastern Phoebe & Eastern Kingbird
~ Northern Flicker (Remember the fun views of numerous, cavorting flickers?)
~ Tree Swallow
~ Black-capped Chickadee
~ White-breasted Nuthatch
~ Blue-headed Vireo
~ Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglet
~ Hermit Thrush
~ Northern Parula, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler & Common Yellowthroat
~ Eastern Towhee, Chipping, White-throated & Song Sparrow

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Sparrow Facts
Emberizidae (sparrow family)

Remember that juncos, buntings, longspurs and towhees are grouped in the emberizidae family. Are you startled, or do you remember my intro? Check out these birds' field marks in your field guides and be prepared to see how the human penchant for taxonomy makes birding a continual head-scratching pursuit (grin).

Eastern Towhee, Female, by Steve Nanz

In the fall and winter when most sparrows are no longer territorial, they often gather in flocks. Many of them forage on the ground. Listen for their telltale scratching sounds as they search for seeds, insects, and fallen fruit in the leaf litter. Watch them jump and snatch seeds from weed heads too. It's a darling sight to see them bend stalks in search of nutritious morsels.

Do you know that House Sparrows, those common street and backyard birds, are not true sparrows? They were introduced from Britain into the United States. The same goes for Eurasian Tree Sparrows found in a very restricted range of Missouri. Both are considered Old World sparrows from the genus Passer.

House Sparrow, Female, by Gaye

You might ask: "So why use the same word sparrow for New World and Old World species?

Well, the early English-speaking colonists applied the name sparrow to the small brown birds they saw when they arrived in the New World.

Why?

Because the small brown birds superficially resembled the sparrows from their homeland, the Old World.

If you think this is all hair-splitting detail, or if you find it amazingly confusing, maybe this will interest you instead.

Look for nesting House Sparrows in the hollows of traffic light posts lining our streets. Considered an aggressive, invasive species, House Sparrows have usurped the cavity-nests of native birds such as Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds. Nonetheless, I've discovered that despite their ways, they hold a soft spot in many hearts. Why? It's difficult to deny the charm of their cheery, chatty songs sung outside our windows.

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A Rare Bird In Prospect Park

A juvenile Purple Gallinule was confirmed on October 13, 2004. Since then, many lucky onlookers have had the chance to see the handsome gallinule feeding atop the Water Primrose mats skirting the Peninsula.

Purple Gallinule, Juvenile, by Steve Nanz

Ironically, in the spring of 2003, I had traveled to Florida and expected to easily find this resident, southern Florida species. The bird had eluded me (and many others). Then, a year and a half later, I had the joy of seeing one in the middle of Brooklyn on my birthday -- ah, the wonderful surprises of a birding life!

The lore about gallinules is that they walk on water. The fact is that they spread their long, thin toes and disperse their weight along the surface of emergent plants such as lily pads, primroses, etc. If you watch carefully, their toes might sink a bit depending on how tightly matted the vegetation. However, if the bird catches a watery opening, it's a comical sight as it flails the vegetation to gain traction.

While this bird gives us a good show on water, it's an incredibly gangly flyer. Its long feet dangle behind and flop above reeds when it comes in for a landing. Despite its ungraceful flight, year-after-year, gallinules show up far from their normal range reaching places as far as California and Newfoundland. One theory, taken from the Book of North American Birds by Reader's Digest (1990) states: "…that birds so reluctant to fly may be equally reluctant to land -- and thus, once off course, wander far into the world's outer reaches." What do you think?

O.K., so what is the status of the celebrity bird? Recently I heard that the handsome bird with the yellowish-green legs and comically large feet might have met its demise. Rumor has it that someone found the bird's feathers in the Peninsula. Despite the news, a few wishful birders continue to look for the gallinule, hoping to see its wonderful field marks and watery acrobatics. Let's hope that instead of ending its life as lunch that the young bird flew south. There it would certainly have a better chance of surviving winter and growing into its adult array of clownish colors.

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Just In Time

Birder's World has a short article on sparrows written by Kenn Kaufman with photographs by Brian E. Small. It is a helpful, pullout that looks at White-throated, Golden-crowned, White-crowned and Harris's sparrows. Look for it in the December 2004 issue, pages 70-72.

For those who want in-depth reading on sparrows, David Beadle and James Rising have updated their research in a photographic guide titled: Sparrows of the United States and Canada (2002), published by Natural World, Academic Press (UK). The book is jam-packed with wonderful photographs and a bevy of information on each species including: measurements, habitat, behavior, voice, similar species, geographic variation, distribution, conservation status, molt, description, hybrids and references. Who can ask for more?

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Next Time

I hope to see you tomorrow for my next walk titled: "Feathered Pals." Early November is a good time to see early winter arrivals and enjoy our resident avian species especially the wee ones including nuthatches, chickadees, creepers...

The Date: Sunday, November 7, 2004 - As always, the first Sunday of the month

The Time: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Rain, snow, drizzle or shine (major storms excluded)

The Place: On the steps of the Prospect Park Audubon Center a.k.a. The Boathouse

The Cost: It's free! (Small binoculars are available for loan.)

Until then, happy birding!

 

"I rejoice that there are owls."
Henry Thoreau

 

Copyright © Arleen O'Brien, All Rights Reserved, 2004

This is a personal web page. However, if you have questions about Prospect Park and the Audubon Center, please click: http://www/prospectpark.org. Or, you may contact me at 718-287-3400 ext. 109. Enjoy the birds! Arleen O'Brien, Education Curator & Senior Naturalist.

I take great care to acknowledge photographers, authors, etc. in this web site. If you notice an error, please feel free to contact me so that I may properly give credit. To do so, click my name.