October 31st

Off to the park with no idea what to expect.
Oh... a bird!!! Oops. It's going to be one of those days before even getting into the park.

However, once in the park it was a relief to see nature busy at food hunting. This was the most interesting and Halloween-appropriate bird, the rusty blackbird. There was a cluster of them out on the point. They had nothing to worry about from above as they blended into their surroundings to perfection. I had seen a rusty blackbird once before but never like this.

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Still around

There's no way to know for sure that any birds are going to be around. It's a fun day when there are a few special friends doing nice things.

The little palm warbler was certainly cooperative.

Tree Boss, the redbelly woodpecker.

I came around a corner and saw the hermit thrush. This was a first. It had caught and was eating a bee.

Back to my favorites at this time of year, kinglets. They may stay a while longer. If there are bugs, there will be kinglets.

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Back into the park

Dining is easier while perched on a fence. Smart chickadee.

Of course that's not always possible, so hanging out is fine too.

Holey tree, good for bugs for the nuthatch.

High-stepping palm warber.

Another sapsucker, not the Library bird.

Loved this.... pretty yellow rump,

And then it took a bath.

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More gold sweetness

I hope that it turns cooler with a good wind and this sweet prothonotary gets the migration message. Hanging at the Library isn't natural,... but it sure is fun. Down, up, in between, bug food, people food, a real urban adventure, but all this bird has to do is head west on 42nd street, see the river and keep on going.

Perch on chair backs and survey the area.

The prothonotary wasn't the only bird in this space. A sapsucker was working the Library trees.

Four hundred pictures shot, time to head uptown. In the park I saw a flock of kinglets working the baseball field, waited for them to chomp closer (the field is fenced off), when suddenly a bluejay flew down, silently, attacked one of the kinglets, flew off, (not with a catch). All kinglets vanished up into the trees. I could hear them, but not see them. It was a real stealth attack, maybe territorially motivated.

The bluejay should meet this critter, West 69th street.

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