Great Backyard Bird Count Kicks Off
Despite the cold weather I made a quick spin around the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and Prospect Park Lake for the Great Backyard Bird Count. My best birds were a Northern Pintail that’s been hanging out in the lake and one male Bufflehead, both the first reported in new York State for this count. The wind off the lake was bitterly cold so I didn’t stay out long, but I did tally 22 species and close to a thousand individual birds (mostly gulls and geese):
- Pied-billed Grebe (Prospect Lake)
- Canada Goose
- Mute Swan
- American Black Duck (Prospect Lake)
- Mallard (Prospect Lake)
- Northern Shoveler (Prospect Lake)
- Northern Pintail (1 M, Prospect Lake)
- Bufflehead (1 M, Prospect Lake)
- Ruddy Duck
- Ring-billed Gull
- Rock Pigeon
- American Crow (1, Prospect Lake)
- American Robin (BBG)
- Northern Mockingbird (2, BBG)
- European Starling
- Song Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco (BBG)
- Northern Cardinal
- American Goldfinch (BBG)
- House Sparrow (BBG)
The snowed in park is absolutely gorgeous and surprisingly easy to get around in. The snow has hardened enough that you can walk on it. If you can, try to get out in it before it melts.
