February 27, 2009 - approx. 10:30am

In McCarren Park, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the playground:

Aside from the usual pigeons, starlings and assorted sparrows, there was a flock of about 5 tufted titmice, a pair of whom appeared to be building a nest. The five were quite busy, flitting from branch to branch, pecking at bugs in the bark and peeling off bits of white paper or bark (?) for the nest. A few were very vocal, which is what attracted my attention to begin with.

As if the titmice were not an exciting enough spot, an American harrier appeared and perched first on the top of some playground equipment and then some low tree branches. It's appearance was heralded by the disappearance of pretty much all the other birds in the area. It did not seem to be actively hunting, as it ignored a couple of squirrels and some pigeons who were quite near it at times, but it did seem to be perching and scanning. Another mom in the playground who also saw it said that she had heard about the bird, so it must have taken up residence, if only for now. Perhaps it was the same bird who cleared out the backyard a couple of weeks ago?