Linnaean Society participants had an interesting and exciting day of birding. We thought our sighting of an Olive-sided Flycatcher and 8 Common Ravens flying and soaring over the park were exceptional highlights. We were constantly entertained by an assortment of warbler species, woodpeckers, Scarlet Tanagers and other passerines. Then Alan had an idea that birding The Environmental Center area might bring more variety to the trip. His hunch was correct. Alan spotted a Western Kingbird. We observed that bird through two different scopes. Eventually, we walked to an area which afforded us an excellent and definitive identification of this bird. We were a very happy group of birders.
Species List
Birds Canada Goose Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Semipalmated Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Double-crested Cormorant Great Egret Snowy Egret Osprey Cooper’s Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Western Kingbird Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Carolina Wren European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Veery Swainson’s Thrush American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow House Finch American Goldfinch Baltimore Oriole Red-winged Blackbird Northern Waterthrush Black-and-white Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal
Registrar: Lori Lam Participants: 5, cancellations due to weather Weather: Some light rain early AM, cloudy, 60’s F, slight breeze Birds Species: 45
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Mute Swan Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird American Oystercatcher Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Whimbrel Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Tern Royal Tern Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Osprey Northern Flicker American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Eastern Kingbird Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Carolina Wren (h) European Starling Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Northern Mockingbird Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow House Finch American Goldfinch Field Sparrow Song Sparrow Eastern Towhee (h) Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Cardinal
Butterflies Orange Sulfur Cabbage White
Dragonflies Common Green Darner Black Saddlebag Glider species
The Horticultural Walk originally scheduled for Saturday, August 11, 2018 was rescheduled to Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 due to a violent storm. This walk into the world of plants was most educational and fascinating. We learned about the various strategies flowering plants use for seed dispersal, including wind, animal dispersal and mechanical dispersal from touching the plant. Ferns produce spores, which are dispersed and grow into new ferns. Not all vines smother plants the way Porcelain Berry does. Poison Ivy is an important food source for migrating birds, with high levels of fatty acids they require for migration. It winds around the trunk but does not grow further into the crown of the tree. The fruit of the Poke Weed is source of carbohydrates for birds. We learned that plants can create galls around larva deposited on their leaves, and the galls are specific for each plant. Sneeze Weed was a source of “snuff.”
Plants, including trees, have interesting survival strategies. Bald Cypress form knees for support in areas that are subject to water damage, but not in drier areas. Milkweed leaves are hosts for Monarch larvae and are hosts for the eggs of the Lacewing on their stems. Mugwort is invasive and does not provide food for insects. The green covering on the Pool is Duck Weed, one of the smallest flowering plants. It does not flower every year. It can also reproduce through asexual reproduction. It shades the Pool and prevents invasive plants along with Watermeal, which is even smaller. Overgrowth can cause oxygen depletion. Ducks love these plants. Burdock is a biennial. Its seeds have hooks which stick, and this led to the discovery of Velcro.
Ferns are interesting. Christmas Fern is an evergreen most of the year. Its spores are densely packed on the back of its fronds. Sensitive Fern’s spores are on separate, thick stalks. In any case, the spores are released, and more ferns grow. The park is planting a native tree, River Birch. This tree sheds bark to prevent alien growth. The London Plane Tree also sheds bark, more than the Sycamore Tree, which has a thicker bark. Trees that reproduce quickly are the Hackberry and the Sweet Gum. The tall Tupelo Tree with its lovely flowers loses its lower branches. We saw lichen growing on the base of a tree. Lichen is a symbiotic association between algae and fungi. The fungi break down nutrients for the algae, which produces sugar for the fungi.
More fun facts: Sweet Pepperbush retains its stigmas on its raceme after the fruit is formed. Blue Lobelia reproduces on its own, but the Cardinal flower, which resembles the Blue Lobelia does not. Jewelweed is an annual, and new Jewelweed grows every year. Touch it, and it might suddenly shoot out its seeds. Wineberry is non-native, is edible, but not as tasty as Raspberry or Blackberry. It spreads easily. Multiflora Rose spreads out and is an invasive shrub. Our native rose species do not spread out and are not invasive. Virginia Knotweed is native. Japanese Knotweed is non-native, deliberately planted and invasive. Sweet Bay Magnolia is native. The following is a list of some of the plants we studied while on the walk in C. P. We explored the plant life around the Pool and the beginning of the Loch.
Species Lists
Plants White Wood Aster Woodland Sunflower Green-headed Cone Flower Sneeze Weed Smart Weed Broadleaf Plantain Poke Weed Hackberry Virginia Knotweed Japanese Knotweed Dandelion Porcelain Berry Poison Ivy Virginia Creeper Oxalis, Yellow Wood Sorrel Tulip Tree Hackberry Tree London Plane Tree Sycamore Tree American Holly River Birch Sweet Bay Magnolia Sweet Gum Tree Bald Cypress Tulip Tree Staghorn Sumac Spotted Joe-Pye Weed Wineberry Milkweed Multiflora Rose Native Rose shrub Duck Weed Watermeal Common Burdock Asiatic Day Flower Turtlehead Blue Lobelia Cardinal Flower Bone Set Late Flowering Thoroughwort Jewel Weed Pickerelweed Woodland Goldenrod Lichen
Birds Mallard Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Green Heron Blue Jay European Starling American Robin House Sparrow Northern Waterthrush Yellow Warbler Northern Cardinal
Undaunted by swarms of hungry mosquitoes, we persevered and managed to cover both the West Pond and the south end of the East Pond, plus the Raunt and Big John’s Pond. Despite the flooded conditions caused by recent heavy rains, we did manage to accumulate a few migrating shorebird sightings along with a good number of local breeding passerines and herons and terns.
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Mute Swan Gadwall Mallard American Black Duck Ruddy Duck Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Whimbrel Stilt Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson’s Phalarope Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Tern Forster’s Tern Black Skimmer Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Glossy Ibis Osprey Peregrine Falcon Willow Flycatcher Fish Crow Tree Swallow Barn Swallow House Wren Carolina Wren European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow House Finch American Goldfinch Song Sparrow Eastern Towhee Red-winged Blackbird Boat-tailed Grackle Common Yellowthroat Yellow Warbler Northern Cardinal
Butterflies Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Black Swallowtail Spicebush Swallowtail Cabbage White Orange Sulfur Summer Azure Monarch Broad-winged Skipper
We would like to credit David Eib for his discovery and identification of the Double-striped Bluet. This odonate has never been recorded in Staten Island before. Fresh Kills has many butterflies and odonates. The Prince Baskettail, Swamp Darner, Gray Hairstreaks have found a niche in Fresh Kills. We are glad that so many Grasshopper Sparrows are nesting there. We were an enthusiastic group, fascinated by birds and invertebrates. I must not omit the Blue-fronted Dancer, which competed for attention with the Double-striped Bluet. Mount Loretto had its own lovely sightings, such as the Little Blue Heron, Common Wood Nymphs and Little Wood Satyrs. We thank Seth for arranging our visit to Fresh Kills, David for the bluet, Karen for arranging this complicated trip and all the participants.
Species Lists
Birds Canada Goose Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Killdeer Laughing Gull Herring Gull Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Red-tailed Hawk Downy Woodpecker (h) Eastern Kingbird Warbling Vireo Blue Jay Fish Crow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Tree Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swallow Cliff Swallow House Wren (h) Carolina Wren (h) European Starling Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow American Goldfinch Grasshopper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Common Grackle Common Yellowthroat (h) Yellow Warbler (h) Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting
Butterflies Spicebush Swallowtail Cabbage White Summer Azure Eastern-tailed Blue Orange Sulfur Gray Hairstreak Sootywing Common Wood Nymph Monarch Butterfly Little Wood Satyr
Odonates Green Darner Swamp Darner Blue-fronted Dancer Double-striped Bluet Prince Baskettail Black Saddlebags Spot-winged Glider Wandering Glider Eastern Amberwing Common Whitetail Blue Dasher Eastern Pondhawk
Van Cortlandt Park with Ken Chaya – 6/16/2018 Registrar: Anne Lazarus Total No. Species: 19 Participants: 10 Weather: Sunny, calm, 80’s
Our fascinating Van Cortlandt trip introduced us to the world of invertebrates, including the Silvery Checkerspot Butterfly, only found in this park in NYC. The lists of plants, birds and invertebrates and beautiful pictures can be accessed through this link:
Registrar: Lenore Swenson Report: Rick Cech Participants: 10 Weather: Mostly Sunny, 68-70 F, N 4-5 mph Bird Species: 41
It turned out to be a nice day, we were in the field at 9:30 am.
More nectar and activity, though still below customary numbers. No Pierids at all (owing to brood timing). With many good eyes afield, we had 27 species, more than in the two prior years.
It may be time to add Cobweb Skipper to the list of species gone from Pound Ridge; not seen this year and diminishing rapidly at many traditional sites in the area. Dusted Skipper, on the other hand, is doing very nicely for now.
The season was still early (owing to trip date and cold spring). Would have had a much different assortment of species in a week or two. In 2016/17, on June 10 both years, had some later emerging/2nd brood species – Great Spangled Fritillary, Question Mark, Appalachian Brown, and Little Glassywing. This year, had Long Dash, Indian Skipper and 1st brood Harvester.
No bluebirds that I could see this year (others had a couple, but not in usual numbers). A White-eyed Vireo was calling vociferously from the thicket at the end of Michigan Road, and a Red-shouldered Hawk sailed over just before we left.
With Ken, Mike & Seth along, lots of general entomology to boot. See photo gallery (link below). One unusual sighting was a syrphid fly, Microdon abditus (I’m calling it Humpbacked Syrphid Fly), which feeds on larvae in ant nests.
Birds Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Chimney Swift Great Blue Heron Red-shouldered Hawk Red-bellied Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Great Crested Flycatcher White-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Wren European Starling Northern Mockingbird Eastern Bluebird Veery American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Sparrow American Goldfinch Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Eastern Towhee Baltimore Oriole Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Common Grackle Ovenbird Worm-eating Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Yellow Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Prairie Warbler Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting
Mammals Eastern Chipmunk Woodchuck
Herps American Toad Green Frog Eastern Box Turtle Black Rat Snake
Odonates Ebony Jewelwing Fragile Forktail Variable Darner Harlequin Darner Clubtail species Common Baskettail Calico Penant Common Whitetail Widow Skimmer Blue Dasher
Other Insects Golden-backed Snipe Fly Syrphid Fly-Microdon abditus Pea and Bean Weevil Maple Callus Borer Meadow Plant Bug Common Paper Wasp Anchor Stink Bug Bee-like Robber Fly Two-spotted Grass Bug Feather-legged Fly Six-spotted Tiger Beetle Total Species: 11
