Registrar: Gillian Henry
Participants: 17
Weather: 70° F, mostly clear, with mild northwestern winds.
Bird Species: 40
It was a mild, early fall day at beautiful Green-Wood Cemetery, the kind of morning that makes it easy to linger. The rolling hills, old trees and quiet paths make Green-Wood one of Brooklyn’s best places to bird, and it didn’t disappoint.
We didn’t rack up a huge species list, but what the day lacked in numbers it made up for in quality, especially if you like raptors. Several of Green-Wood’s resident American Kestrels put on a show, giving us great looks as they perched and hunted across the grounds. A Broad-winged Hawk passed overhead, a nice reminder that fall migration is well underway. And a few juvenile Red-tailed Hawks kept us entertained as they worked on their hunting skills. There’s something endearing about watching young hawks figure things out, with a mix of focus, enthusiasm, and the occasional miss.
No visit to Green-Wood would be complete without checking in on the famous Monk Parakeets. They were a bit more subdued than usual, but we still saw and heard them flying around their elaborate stick nests near the main gate. However many times you’ve seen them, a flock of bright green parrots in Brooklyn never gets old.
All in all, it was a relaxed and rewarding day: good company, good weather, and some memorable birds.
Not every highlight had feathers. As always, our leader, Rob Jett, knew a spot most of us would have walked right past, and thanks to him we caught the final moments of a Monarch in its chrysalis, the change nearly complete and the butterfly almost ready to emerge. A few hours later, another group passed the same spot and found the newly emerged Monarch sitting beside its empty chrysalis, drying its wings and getting ready for its first flight. It’s always a treat to witness the transformation, and at this time of year, that new Monarch may have a long journey ahead of it, heading south for the winter.
Species
Canada Goose
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Spotted Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Osprey
Cooper’s Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Marsh Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Baltimore Oriole
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Chestnut Sided Warbler
Northern Yellow Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
