Common Teal at Brookville Park Again

I was lucky on February 18th to find a Common Teal which is the Eurasian form of Green-winged Teal. It was the second time in two years I found one at Brookville Park in southeast Queens NY. This was even an earlier date than last years find, which was on March 1st. You can find last year's post here which details some of the nuances in separating Eurasian from American Green-winged Teal. Below are a couple of photos showing both forms.

Drake Eurasian Green-winged Teal on the left with 1 drake and 2 hen American Green-winged Teals on the right.

Drake Eurasian Green-winged Teal on the left with drake American Green-winged Teal on the right. Note the horizontal vs vertical stripe.

Tags: Brookville Park, Common Teal, American Green-winged Teal, Queens

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Wordless Wednesday

Tags: Wordless Wednesday

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Banded Ring-billed Gulls B5TH and BKKC

On February 27th, I observed and documented two banded Ring-billed Gulls at Baisley Pond Park in Queens. That same evening I reported the information to the banding station in Quebec Canada where there is an ongoing research program on the ecology of Ring-billed Gulls. The next day, I received word from Professor Jean - Francois Giroux who sent me information about both birds, which were both banded in Quebec, Canada. The photos I got are not the greatest quality as I digiscoped both subjects at a fair distance. However, the photos were able to aid in verifying the codes.

This bird with band code BKKC shows 3 entries in Quebec and my report was the first US entry in the summary of re-sightings.

The second banded RBGU was banded in 2009. My report will be the first re-sighting entry for B5TH. As I have noted in previous reports of banded birds, documenting such data is very important to researchers who are then are able to map out the movement of these individuals as well as flocks they might be roving with.

Tags: Ring-billed Gull, BKKC, B5TH, Queens

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Banded Ring-billed Gulls B1XK and BMJM

Last night, I reported two banded Ring-billed Gulls to the banding station in Quebec Canada where there is an ongoing research program on the ecology of Ring-billed Gulls. Both birds were documented on Sunday 2-15-15, while studying gulls in Brooklyn and Queens NY.  This morning, I received word from Professor Jean - Francois Giroux who sent me information about both birds, which were both banded in Quebec, Canada.

Banded Ring-Billed Gull B1XK (B = Blue the band color)

Banded Ring-Billed Gull BMJM (B = Blue the band color)

This banding program, is a joint effort conducted by researchers from the University of Quebec in Montreal CA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts DCR as part of a study on the dynamics and movement of Ring-billed Gulls in NA.

My sighting of B1XK, is the 2nd US entry in the summarized history of this bird and gives us an idea on how these birds move seasonally. My report of BMJM, is the 1st US entry in the summarized history with the other 3 reports all coming from Quebec Canada.  Keep an eye out for these and any other banded RBGUs, your observation could be the next entry. Our reports of banded birds such as these Ring-billed Gulls are invaluable data to the researchers.

Tags: Ring-billed Gull, B1XK, BMJMQueens

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Breakthrough In The Evolution Of Beaks In Darwin's Finches

Apparently the genetic code behind the evolution of beaks in Darwin's Finches was found according to Journal Nature which published an article on February 11th. The article, referenced the research conducted by Leif Andersson from Uppsala University in Sweden and a team who sequenced the genome of 120 birds belonging to the 15 species of Darwin's finches.

Tags: Darwin's Finches

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Kings of New York

If you got to this page looking for "King of New York" featuring Christopher Walken, one of the coolest cats ever to grace Hollywood screens, then my apologies but don't leave so quickly. The Kings I am referring to are the winged celebrities that showed up in New York, in 2014. By winged, I mean birds - A Cassin's Kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans) found on November 15th by Kai Sheffield and refound by Clemmens Glasser and a Couch's Kingbird that might have been around as long as the Cassin's Kingbird but only reported by Gabriel Willow on December 25th, after obtaining photos of the bird from his friend Zack Winestine.

Couch's Kingbird in the West Village Manhattan NY

Both these birds set the birding communities abuzz and many people from far and near made the twitch to get these birds on their life, state and county lists. If you think I am overstating the excitement caused by these two visitors, you only have to look at some of the media coverage that they got. The Couch's Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii) due to the fact that it is a 1st state record and very likely where it was first observed (Jane and Washington Streets in Manhattan) got more coverage with many reports like the one by CBS. It was also reported that my favorite Game of Throne actor Peter Dinklage was also observed asking about and was shown the Couch's Kingbird. Now, that would have been a coup to have gotten his photo for my "Birders in the Field Album."

Cassin's Kingbird at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn NY.

So what's the big deal about these two birds? Well, for starters they do not belong here. Cassin’s Kingbird, is a breeding flycatcher in northern and central Mexico and the western United States. This is a bird whose distribution is determined by its preferred elevation range. Although most of the breeding population in the United States is in south and central California, Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas, Cassin’s Kingbird also breeds regularly in southern Nevada, southern Utah, southeastern Colorado, southeastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, southwestern South Dakota, and extreme western Kansas and Oklahoma (Tweit and Tweit 2000).

Couch's Kingbird

Couch's Kingbird is, a permanent resident throughout the central and southern portions of its range. In Texas and northeast Mexico Couch’s Kingbird is an irregular migrant; with some individuals wintering in the south especially in colder winters and most frequently from the northernmost parts of the breeding range. (Brush 1999, Lockwood and Freeman 2004). Lockwood and Freeman 2004 further characterize the Couch’s Kingbird as a common to uncommon summer resident in the lower Rio Grande valley and locally uncommon further north in the South Texas Brush Country.

Cassin's Kingbird

So by now the picture becomes a bit clearer on all the hubbub over these two Kings of New York.  The Couch's Kingbird, is a 1st State Record (meaning the first time it has been recorded in the state) and the Cassin's Kingbird is a 2nd State Record, the first one found by my good friend Andrew Baldeli on October 13th, 2007 on Gloucester Avenue off West Lake Drive in Montauk Long Island.

Nope, it was not a Kim Kardashian Milk Shot do over; it was better - a Couch's Kingbird

If you are a birder in New York and have not seen either of these birds as yet, I suggest you make an effort to do so. They have been around long enough for you to have by now planned a trip to NYC. If chasing/twitching is not your thing, that is fine but think of the story you would be able to tell in years to come about your quest to see the Kings of New York. Now, if that does not tempt you, I don't know what will.

Tags: Couch's Kingbird, West Village Manhattan, Cassin's Kingbird, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City

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Backyard Birding - A Hardy in January

It was the last day of the year and I decided I would go out and pickup some bird food for my feeders as I was getting down to my last few bag of Sunflower seeds.

As I stepped out to check on the feeders, I caught a flash of yellow/orange as a bird flew off the feeders heading towards a row of shrubs. Obviously my presence startled it. I did not have my bins but my initial impression was an Oriole. After fetching my bins, I searched and found the subject hiding in the Pines.

It was a Baltimore Oriole, I aged it as a 1st fall male and after waiting patiently, I was able to see it well once it came back to the feeders and birdbath.  I was excited to see this bird on the last day of the year and wondered if it would stick around for January 1st. As it happened it did; I picked it up after returning from birding in Manhattan (more on that in another post), making a stop at home before heading to Brooklyn.

For my yard records, December 31st was the latest sighting of a Baltimore Oriole and January 1st is the earliest. Fitting for my first post of 2015.

Tags: Baltimore Oriole, Backyard Birding, Queens

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