Back Original

Recursive Birding in Prospect Park

This is Never Graduate Week at the Recurse Center. In addition to programming talks, game jams, and the 0xF birthday party, there have been various non-programming events… like a birding trip to Prospect Park.

On a given outing, I generally take a lot of pictures that I’m reluctant to post–I’m still building skills, so many of my photos don’t meet my “quality” bar. But in the interest of offering fellow Recursers a reminder and record of what we saw, I’ve tried to keep at least one photo from every species I was able to get a shot of.

Before grouping up

I arrived early and explored the park a bit before meeting up with the group.

A female northern cardinal sits on a branch, her crest hidden behind a leaf. Northern Cardinal
A male common yellowthroat sits on a branch. Its small round body has a dusky brown back and a slightly dimmed yellow throat; this male has a raccoon-like black mask across its eyes and over its small, pointed beak, with a slight white stripe above its face. Common yellowthroat
A female common yellowthroat perches in profile. It has the same shape as the male, with a round body, a short pointed beak, and a long pointed tail; but it lacks the black face-mask. Common yellowthroat
A black-throated blue warbler, though the blue is not visible; it appears to be in tuxedo dress rather than a suit. Black-throated blue warbler
A catbird perches on the rim of a garbage can. Gray catbird

Boathouse

We met at the boathouse to group up, and managed quite a few sightings without moving. The warblers were in full force in the nearby trees.

Some barn swallows were swooping over the pond as well, but I didn’t manage to catch any of them on camera.

A robin looks out from a corner of the Prospect Park birdhouse. American Robin
A blackpoll warbler on a distant branch, with prominent constrasting stripes. Blackpoll warbler
A Baltimore oriole preening itself. It appears slightly more yellow than orange. Baltimore oriole; yellow due to lighting, age, or molting
A male Wilson's warbler: a small yellow bird with a pointed beak. Its body is almost entirely yellow, but it appears to be wearing a small black cap. Wilson's warbler, in the distance
A difficult-to-identify bird; possibly a brown-headed cowbird. Its gray body and light beak peek up above the leaves. A bird (perhaps a brown-headed cowbird?)
A female house sparrow, perched on the edge of a stone block, and looking downwards. A house sparrow by the boathouse stairs
A male hose sparrow, facing the camera with its mouth open. Its brown and white stripes provide contrast. House sparrow
A magnolia warbler looking upwards on a branch. Its back is to the camera, showing off its white rump. Magnolia warbler
A magnolia warbler in profile, looking at the underisde of some leaves. Magnolia warbler
A male Wilson's warbler on a thing branch, among leaves. A small yellow bird with a pointed beak. Its body is almost entirely yellow, and its wings brown; it appears to be wearing a small black cap. Wilson's Warbler
A female common yellowthroat on a distant branch Common yellowthroat
A female common yellowthroat on a distant branch Common yellowthroat

Setting out

We made our way through the various woods and paths of the park.

American Robin: somewhat larger than the warblers, with a black back and wings, yellow beak, and a distinctive red-orange body. The American Robin is fearless and shameless. They dominate the ground level of the park.
A mourning dove, seen from below and half-hidden by the thick branch it perches on. One eye looks out over the park. While pigeons are the most common bird most of the city, they were relatively sparse in the park. We did see plenty of mourning doves, like this one. More trees, less concrete, I suppose?
A house sparrow perches on a log in an algae-covered pond. Its body is somewhat long; it has a white breast, brown-and-black patterned wings, and a brown head with a gray cap. House sparrow
A downy woodpecker faces downward, ready to peck at a thin branch. It has the distinctive black-and-white body, and red spot on the back of the head, of the woodpecker family. Downy woodpecker
The downy woodpecker peeks out from behind a branch, looking upwards at an indeterminate point. Downy woodpecker
Two turtles in an algae-heavy pond. One is half-submerged in the water, and the other is climbing a log. Turtles
A black-throated blue warbler, still in shade that gives it a tuxedoed appearance. Black-throated blue warbler
A magnolia warbler, seen from below. Its yellow body has a distinctive set of black 'racing' stripes, along with a white rump. Magnolia warbler
A warbler seen in silhouette. In this photo, the short pointed beak, round body, and tail are all indicative of a warbler; but no colors are distinct.
A common grackle perches on a branch, its head arched to the side. Its dark body absorbs almost all light, except for its bright yellow eye. Common grackle
A yellow-rumped warbler seen from behind, easily identified by the characteristic marking. This female is otherwise largely brown. Yellow-rumped warbler, known as a 'butterbutt' for obvious reasons
A black-crowned night heron perches on a group of branches. Its gray back is visible, as are its black cap over an otherwise white face. It points a red eye towards the camera. Black-crowned night heron
A catbird perches among bunches of small white flowers, its eyes mostly closed. Its gray body feathers are slightly poofed; perhaps it has recently preened. A gray catbird taking a catbird nap
A common yellowthroat, seen from below. Only the yellow throat and black mask are visible. Common yellowthroat

Towards the lake

Eventually, we headed downhill towards and around the lake.

An adult robin perches on the edge of a nest, in the crook of a tree branch. The heads of two chicks gape towards the parent. Robin and hungry chicks
The heads of two chicks, along with some white down, are visible above the rim of this robin nest. The adult robin perches on the far rim with a white bag in its beak. Robin removing a fecal sac from the nest
A catbird perches on a small tree branch, its head in a model's 3/4 turn towards the camera. Gray catbird mugging for the camera
A chipmunk perches on a log Chipmunk
A Baltimore oriole perchest among leaves. Under a black head and black-blue beak, its long body is a bright yellow-orange. Its wings and back are black with white stripes. This oriole was filtting around a tree near the lake. He was very obliging to our group, staying in plain sight for several minutes.
The oriole pokes its head into the leaves on another branch.
The oriole looks out to another section of the tree.
The oriole ducks under some leaves and looks up at them.
An osprey in flight. Its wings are fully extended to an impressive span, and light shines through its tail feathers. Its beak identifies it as a raptor: even at this distance, the hook is clearly visible. Osprey circling over the lake
The same osprey in flight.
The same osprey in flight.

All photos by Charles Eckman. All rights reserved.