Prospect Park Painted Bunting
I made another attempt to see the Painted Bunting in Prospect Park today and had much better views than this weekend. What a fantastic bird.
Prospect Park Weekend
Prospect Park in Brooklyn had two birds that I had never seen before, a Painted Bunting and a Black-headed Gull. The Painted Bunting has been in the park for a week and has become a celebrity. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to photograph. I only got some poor back photographs, that didn’t capture the wonderful bright colors of the bird. Luckily, I did better with the Black-headed Gull. It was very cooperative!
Falcon, Hawk, Owl
Central Park was delightful this afternoon. After visiting the reservoir to see the Ring Necked Duck that’s been hanging around the southeast corner, I found a Peregrine Falcon perched on the south tower of The Eldorado.
Soon after, I found a Red-tailed Hawk in the Pinetum, who was joined by a second hawk. They circled over Seneca Village before moving out of sight.
My last bird of the day was the Great Horned Owl that has now been in the park for three weeks.
Great Horned Owl
At the risk of being repetitive, here are some more photographs of Central Park’s Great Horned Owl. I’m off to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, so you’ll have a break from owl photos for a week! Tonight the owl explored the tree it was roosting in, by jumping/flying to three additional perches before flying out for the evening.
Fun Day In Central Park
My visit to Central Park started with the search for the Western Flycatcher. It was the star of the day. A vagrant from the west coast, it is unclear if it is a Pacific-Slope or Cordilleran Flycatcher. It was photographed by at least twenty photographers, so I decided just to watch it. A fun bird to watch and get to know, even if it looks a bit scruffy. The two species interbreed, so the discussion about “which species this is?”, is really fascinating. See the NY State Bird List for an interesting discussion.
The end of the day was with the Great Horned Owl which was cooperative before and after fly out. It tends to like the tops of bare trees after fly out, which helps greatly while following it after fly out.
Great Horned Owl Stays Two Weeks
The Great Horned Owl which wasn’t found last Sunday, was found mid-week and this Saturday. Today, it was on an open branch giving birders excellent looks. I’m glad it’s stuck around so long!
