Thursday, January 7, 2010

New Year Birds

You might think it is dead out there in the cold, but Brooklyn is alive with birds if you look for them. A pass through Prospect Park today revealed these species: Canada goose, Mute swan, Mallard duck, N. shoveller, Red-tailed hawk, Coot, Herring gull, Black-backed gull, Ring-billed gull, Downy woodpecker, Hairy woodpecker, Red-bellied woodpecker, Rock dove, Mourning dove, Blue Jay, Black-capped chickadee, Brown creeper, Tufted titmouse, White-breasted nuthatch, Carolina wren, Golden-crowned kinglet (!), Am. robin, N. mockingbird, N. cardinal*, Song sparrow, White-throated sparrow, Red-winged blackbird, Am. Goldfinch, House finch, house sparrow, European starling. On the way home across the Valley of the Gowanus, I heard some crows, turned around and saw three harrying a red-tailed hawk. Three more crows joined the mob. The exasperated hawk landed on the tower of St. Agnes Church, Sackett & Hoyt, was dive-bombed, took off, swooped around to land on one of the church's smaller spires. By now it was back to three crows, who took turns diving the raptor. Finally, they all powered off out of sight.

*Update: This must have been the bird homegirl said about as she passed, "That was a pretty-ass bird."

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