Your best bet for parking during the week is at the Alley Pond Environmental Center, located on Northern Blvd. just east of the Cross Island Parkway in northeastern Queens. There is legal parking by the car dealership and on tiny 234th St. - where a trailhead puts you close to the Western Tanager area - but chances of getting a spot there during the week will be small. Alley Pond Golf Center also has parking spots, but it's on the north side of the busy road and I don't recommend that.
>From APEC, walk east on Northern. There is a trailhead just past the bridge that crosses over Alley Creek. Follow that trail, marked by blue blazes. Eventually, that'll put you on a berm that goes east (with a newly constructed pond on the left). At the end of the berm, turn right (south). On the southwest corner of the trail T-intersection are a number of trees that have berries (Eric said crab apple). This sounds like where Eric first saw the tanager. His later sighting was in similar trees further south, about 50 feet before a little trail that goes off to the right (there are signs indicating the restoration project and herbicide application). He put a log in the trail at the sighting location. Also, look at any of the now bare tall trees, among Robin gatherings. The tanager was seen, high up, in such a tree near the trail T-intersection (tree on the north side of the berm). Also, look for 2 Orange-crowned Warblers in the brushy area on the east side of the trail, just south of the berm. Steve Walter -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
