There was an UPLAND SANDPIPER at Calvert Vaux Park this morning around 9:00 AM, perhaps brought in by the damp and misty weather. It was on the western-most lawn of the main part of the park. Initially alone, except for a few Killdeer, it was joined by a mix of Brant, Ring-billed Gulls and Starlings. These birds eventually flushed (though I’m not sure why) but the Sandpiper just hunkered down. After the flock returned there was a second flush and I lost the bird. I thought it would stand up again but apparently it flew, as further searching by myself and a few intrepid Brooklyn regulars did not recover the bird. A couple of point-and-shoot photos are posted at:
http://www.digitalmediatree.com/arboretum/upland/ There weren’t a lot of passerine migrants, but Double-crested Cormorant was on the move in numbers, and Northern Gannet continues over the bay. Good birding, Alex Wilson Brooklyn Location: Dreier-Offerman Park Observation date: 4/17/10 Number of species: 53 Brant 100 Canada Goose 20 Mute Swan 3 Gadwall 3 American Black Duck 2 Mallard 15 Green-winged Teal (American) 6 Bufflehead 7 Red-breasted Merganser 5 Ring-necked Pheasant 1 (Heard.) Red-throated Loon 5 Common Loon 1 Northern Gannet 15 Double-crested Cormorant 150 Great Cormorant 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Snowy Egret 1 American Kestrel 1 Killdeer 6 Greater Yellowlegs 2 Upland Sandpiper 1 (On west lawn, 9:00AM.) Bonaparte's Gull 1 (1 in breeding plumage on the dilapidated pier in the bay.) Laughing Gull 10 Ring-billed Gull 40 Herring Gull (American) 25 Great Black-backed Gull 10 Rock Pigeon 20 Mourning Dove 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 10 Eastern Phoebe 1 American Crow 7 Fish Crow 1 Tree Swallow 2 Carolina Wren 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 American Robin 20 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 75 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1 Eastern Towhee 3 Field Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 4 Song Sparrow 5 Swamp Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 4 Northern Cardinal 2 Red-winged Blackbird 20 Common Grackle 3 Brown-headed Cowbird 5 House Sparrow 5 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
