Early Winter Prospecting

These shots are from a trip to Prospect Park on an unseasonably warm day in mid November.  

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Dark-eyed Junco

First time spotted for us.  I think we were so excited we were unable to focus the camera.  New goal for 2012: take a better picture of the Dark-eyed Junco.

American Coot

American Coot's are common on ponds and you'll see them all winter in NYC.  They've got the freakiest little webbed feet.

Mallard

Double Double-creasted Cormorants

Song Sparrow

I like looking at birds in the winter because they get all puffed up like this song sparrow.

Unidentified (Song Sparrow?)

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

On the northeast corner of the park there's a small path that's kind of trashy (literally) but it's not very well trodden and we've seen this woodpecker there several times.  This time happened to be just as the sun was setting so the light was really orange and beautiful.  "Red-belly" is a bit of a misnomer, as this type of woodpecker has a conspicuous red head and very slightly red belly (but you can rarely see it). "Red-headed Woodpecker" was already taken.   

Juvenille Possum

When we were having the Red-bellied sunset showdown some passers by pointed out this possum just off the path.  We thought he was dead at first!  That's just what he wanted us to think...

Birdseed: for, or against?

Prospect Park: October 2011

A couple of weekends ago on one of those beautiful fall Saturday's we found a bird bonanza awaiting us at Prospect Park. After the several slow weekends we had, I thought we missed the fall migration and it would be nothing but Mallards and boring old song sparrows (kidding!) from here on out. Boy was I mistaken! Check out the sweet birds we spotted below.

 We were immediately greeted by this Brown Creeper.  I'd never seen one and was unfamiliar with their wylie maneuverings.  This is probably the best full body shot we got of him.

Brown Creeper