A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW popped up from the scrub on the previously cleared-now overgrown edge of the boat basin at Calvert Vaux Park today around 1 PM. As I tried to track the bird I was distracted by the calls of two WHIMBRELS, flying east up the creek, and disappearing beyond the tree line on the far side of the park. Earlier in the morning they’d been feeding on the west lawn, retreating a couple of times to the water’s edge along the creek’s mouth. These have been around since at least 9/1 when first reported by Rob Jett and represent a new species for the park list, which now numbers over 200 species.
Also notable was a good movement of BOBOLINKS, with numerous birds passing overhead as well as through the park's grassy areas. The park is also good for insects, today's butterflies including Viceroy, Variegated Fritillary and numbers of Common Buckeye. Good Birding, Alex Wilson Brooklyn Highlights: Location: Calvert Vaux Park, AKA Dreier-Offerman Park Observation date: 9/5/09 Number of species: 57 Red-breasted Merganser 1 (Female roosting along edge of creek mouth.) Great Blue Heron 1 Snowy Egret 2 Green Heron 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (1 or 2, seen on east and west edges of park.) Red-shouldered Hawk 1 (Juvenile flyover, harassed by 4 Kestrels.) American Kestrel 5 (Mostly from local family.) Solitary Sandpiper 1 (Flew out from basin early AM.) Whimbrel 2 (Moving between west lawn and edge of creek mouth in the AM; flying east up the creek, across the mouth of the basin and out of sight at 1PM.) Least Sandpiper 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 Willow Flycatcher 1 Least Flycatcher 2 Eastern Kingbird 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Veery 3 Brown Thrasher 1 Yellow Warbler 6 Magnolia Warbler 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 (Female.) Palm Warbler (Yellow) 1 (FoS, early.) American Redstart 15 Northern Waterthrush 2 Common Yellowthroat 4 Clay-colored Sparrow 1 (Flew up from scrub along edge of basin on main peninsula of park; perched briefly in tree giving clear views.) Bobolink 100 (Flocks of 30 and 20 on either side of main peninsula; one larger flyover flock with several other calling flybys and passovers.) -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Temporary archive: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
