Extralimital - pale falcon brings excitement on a wet and gloomy day - 13 Dec 09

Around noon today, Tony Lauro found a large pale falcon hunting over the fields between Sound Avenue, Hulse Landing Road and Route 25A in Calverton near Riverhead (Suffolk Co.). Hugh McGuinness and I beat our way through the Sunday traffic and ever worsening rain to find Tony and a small crowd of Long Island birders looking at the falcon perched on a tall powerline pole. It was a fantastic looking (1st-year?) bird, very pale gray bordering on white. The falcon made a couple spectacular dives in pursuit of Mourning Doves and had apparently been doing this for a while. The tentative identification made by Tony and endorsed initially by all of us was a pale-morph GYR FALCON.

However, some felt that subtle aspects did not quite fit our expectations for a Gyr but more on this later. Our elation was short lived when we got a better chance to study the legs, which had been obscured in most viewsby the tops of the poles or by the bird's tail. Little-by-little we realized that it likely had leather ankle bracelets and this was confirmed as it came into land after one of its sorties. Drat! An escaped falconry bird. Tony Lauro took the disappointing news with grace and most folks soon headed for their cars to escape cold and unrelenting rain. Hugh and I lingered for a bit trying to get photo-documentation of the offending leg ornaments. Over the next 20-30 mins we witnessed a couple more flights including an amazing high speed streak right over the farm buildings were hiding behind. Escape or not, this is one fast bird!

Hugh first raised the possibility of a hybrid, possible a Gyr x Saker cross, rather than a pure Gyr, based on the sleeker profile and noticeably pale head. From on our collective but very limited experience, we also considered the constant activity of the bird to be a bit unusual. Was the bird really big enough to be a Gyr, even a male? Shouldn't it be hunting ducks rather than doves? Obviously these are subject criteria and as has been mentioned before, identification of hybrids (there are several popular combinations) is difficult. More research is clearly needed. The yellow rather than blue feet may also indicate a hybrid assuming that the aging is correct. There are two lessons here, first that large falcon ID is not necessarily straightforward and second, that birds need to be studied carefully; even something as seemingly obvious as the presence of leather straps around both legs may not be revealed immediately.


Anyway, we all enjoyed the bird tremendously and thank Tony for not only getting the word out immediately but for staying on the bird to make sure we all saw it - a true gentleman!

Greenland White-fronted and Canada Geese - 12 Dec 2009

Between errands I checked some of the fields around Bridgehampton, Mecox, Wainscott and Sagaponack for flocks of geese. In general, the numbers seem a bit low but perhaps the current cold spell will change that. The highlights of my search were two geese of Greenlandic origin. The first was a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, seen with c.250 Canada Geese in a field off Wainscott Hollow Road. There is some controversy about the field ID of eastern North American and Greenland populations but to my eyes, the bird shows characters attributed to the Greenland subspecies including a bright orange bill and heavy belly barring. It was quite aggressive, constantly snapping at any Canada Goose that came near and managed to keep a goose free zone around itself much of the time. The geese were feeding on freshly harvested maize on the east side of the road and the white-fronted seemed particularly adept at lifting the flattened steps to uncovered discarded cobs.

Shortly before that I found a marked Greenland-origin Canada Goose at the small pond in the apple orchard off Horsemill Lane in Mecox. This bird was banded as part of an exciting project studying the recent and rapid colonization of western Greenland by Canada Geese. This expansion is believed to be to the detriment of the nesting Greater White-fronts which are smaller and easily displaced from optimal nesting areas. The Canada Geese originate and return to the Atlantic coastal states of North America, whereas the white-fronts winter in western Europe, primarily Ireland and Scotland.

The individual I saw today (marked with a yellow plastic collar and leg band with G24 in black letters) is apparently an adult male that was first captured near Isunngua in western Greenland ('Lake T') on 17 July 2008. He (and for once I can justify using a pronoun to describe a goose) was not reported in the winter of 2008/09 but has already been sighted by Shawn Deuel in the Sagaponack area (9 and 27 Oct 2009). I'm not sure how many birds were marked by the project in the summer of 2008, but the team marked 118 Canada Geese and eight White-fronts in the summer of 2009. Finding these birds on the wintering grounds offers a fantastic opportunity for birders in New York and neighboring states to contribute to this important research.



You can read all about the project here.

Kittiwakes and Little Gull off Montauk Point & extremely late Northern Rough-winged Swallow in Deep Hollow - 29 Nov 2009

The largest number of 'small, non-Laughing' gulls that I've seen out here in a while were off Montauk Point (Suffolk Co.) this morning.There were more than 300 Bonaparte's Gulls with at least 45 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES (max count for single sweep, 50:50 ads:1st winters) and a striking 1st-winter LITTLE GULL. I counted only 15 Laughing Gulls, a very low number for this date. I arrived at slack tide which was probably not ideal as the many of the gulls stopped feeding around 10 am and either settled on the water or flew northward into the center of Gardiners Bay. Many of the Red-throated Loons also took to the air and headed in the same direction. Other than these gulls, I couldn't pull out any other birds of note. Plenty of loons, eiders and scoter but no alcids yet.

At Deep Hollow, the CACKLING GOOSE continues on the south pasture and has been joined by an adult SNOW GOOSE. Whilst looking for through the geese I noted a swallow flying low over the pasture, sometime alighting on the fences. Initially the light was really poor (straight into the sun) but eventually I got good looks confirming that it was a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. Exceptionally late from a coastal standpoint. It soon disappeared but later I relocated it over the ponds on the north side of Rt 27. Needless to say I thought about but quickly ruled out, Brown-chested Martin - a more outlandish but not entirely unreasonable possibility given the recent sighting from MA and the late fall bird from Cape May NJ a few years back. Otherwise, passerines seemed few and far between today despite the glorious weather.

Black-legged Kittiwakes and male King Eider off Main Beach in East Hampton - 28 Nov 2009

The South Fork of Long Island was buffeted by strong WNW winds (22-36 mph) this morning as the front pushed out yesterdays wet weather giving blue skies by late morning. I seawatched for an hour and a half (8:38-10:08 am) from Main Beach in East Hampton and noted a good showing of BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES (28 total) and assortment of waterfowl passing offshore headlined by a full adult male KING EIDER flying east. A 2nd winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL briefly joined the regular species feeding in the surf as the tide dropped. The kittiwakes passed westward in small groups mixed with Bonaparte's and Laughing Gulls. Here's my tally:

Red-throated Loon - 46
Common Loon - 9
loon sp. - 12
Northern Gannet - 595
Brant - 3
Canada Goose - 8
Wood Duck - 2
Mallard - 1
Green-winged Teal - 3
Greater Scaup - 1
Common Eider - 9
KING EIDER - 1 (ad. male flying east)
Long-tailed Duck - 42
White-winged Scoter - 49
Surf Scoter - 55
Black Scoter - 865
dark winged scoter - 380
Hooded Merganser - 12
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 28 (6 ads & 22 juvs)
Bonaparte's Gull - 80
Laughing Gull - 36 (mostly ads)
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 (2nd winter)
Herring Gull - 60
Great Black-backed Gull - 45
Ring-billed Gull - 75

Continuing Gannet flight - 27 Nov 2009

The seabird flight this morning was headlined by an unbroken eastward stream of Northern Gannets, along with two flocks of Atlantic Brant totaling 60 birds, my f.o.s. Iceland Gull (an immaculate 1st winter) and Common Goldeneye. A 1 hr count (9:40-10:40 am) logged the following:

Red-throated Loon - 120 (most flying east)
Common Loon - 16
Northern Gannet - 1,452 (all ages, majority adults)
Great Cormorant - 7
cormorant sp. - 14
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 1 (ad.)
Laughing Gull - 1
ICELAND GULL - 1 (1st winter, west along surfline)
Atlantic Brant - (33 & 27 east)
Common Eider - 2
Black Scoter - 70
Surf Scoter - 5
White-winged Scoter - 20
scoter sp. - 75
Common Goldeneye - 2
Long-tailed Duck - 9

With the exception of a PEREGRINE over Hook Poind, there was little of note at Hook, Sagg Mains and Mecox Inlet. No sign of the Cattle Egret reported last week from the farms in Mecox.

Being thankful for Parasitic Jaeger, Kittiwake and loons: 26 Nov 2009

This morning I seawatched from a number of spots between Amagansett and Montauk Point. Flat calm and overcast conditions made for excellent viewing. The unusual dispersal of COMMON EIDERS is still much in evidence, with birds (sometimes in their hundreds) at every stop. Perhaps as a consequence, there were relatively few eider over the reefs at the Point. Alternatively, the absence of food in the traditional areas explains the western shift in distribution. Loons were also very much in evidence, with a nice flight of Red-throated Loons along the ocean until mid-morning. Squadrons of Northern Gannets pushed east in the direction of Block Island with almost no feeding activity. The CACKLING GOOSE continues on the pasture at Deep Hollow as does the adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the shore of Fort Point Bay. No Horned Grebes yet nor Razorbill - perhaps still a little early.

Here is my culmulative tally:

Common Loon - 345
Red-throated Loon - 659
loon sp. - 30
RED-NECKED GREBE - 1 (Fort Pond Bay)
Northern Gannet - 3,200+ (persistent flght, the majority heading east into RI waters or beyond)
Great Cormorant - 6 (Fort Pond Bay & Montauk Inlet jetties)
Double-crested Cormorant - 24
Brant - 33 (headed east)
Common Eider - 1,044 (widespread)
Red-breasted Merganser - 42
Long-tailed Duck - 2
Black Scoter - 1,490
Surf Scoter - 1,400
White-winged Scoter - 74
scoter sp. - 300
PARASITIC JAEGER - 1 subad. (flying east, seen from Atlantic Avenue, Amagansett)
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 8 (6 juv. and 2 ad., flying east, seen from Amagansett & Napeague)
Bonaparte's Gull - 28
Laughing Gull - 22
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - 1 ad. (Fort Pond Bay)

GRAY SEAL - 2 (Hither Hills State Park & Montauk Point)
Harbor Seal - 4 (Fort Pond Bay, Ditch Plains & Montauk)

Recent sightings of Pink-footed Geese on Long Island - New or returning?

Waterfowl can sometimes be tracked by noting differences in the patterning on their bills. This was pioneered by Sir Peter Scott and the Wildfowl Trust in the UK in the study of wintering Bewick's (Tundra) and Whopper Swans. I wondered if this same technique could be applied to gray geese, so began looking at the bill patterns of the recent spate of sightings from Long Island and New England. Click on the image for a slightly bigger version. I think we can say that the Pink-footed Goose at Sunken Meadow State Park, Suffolk, is almost certainly a different individual from the bird that spent several weeks in and around Kissena Park in Flushing, Queens during the winter of 2008/09. Whether it can be distinguished from the bird that wintered around Stony Brook (2007/08 and only a few miles east of Sunken Meadow) is harder to discern but needs more study. Likewise, the Montauk bird (2007/08, more than 40 miles further east and coincident with the Stony Brook bird) is fairly similar. I have been images of that bird but will need to dig them out. My thanks to Paul Gildersleeve and Ed Coyle for use of their images.

Two Western Kingbirds near Bridgehampton - 1 Nov 2006

The WESTERN KINGBIRD was still present this morning in Deep Hollow, Montauk (Suffolk Co.), favoring the trees on the eastern side of the horse pasture. The bird disappears from sight at times, so be patient if you go in search of it.

Twenty miles further west in Bridgehampton, I found 2 WESTERN KINGBIRDS hawking insects in the heavily overgrown field on the south side of Daniel's Lane (40.9188, -72.2618). Initially the birds were close to Peter's Pond Lane, a dirt road running down to the ocean access but they later ranged more widely across the field, sometimes appearing to go over the dune on the beach itself. An American Kestrel, increasingly scarce on the South Fork, was in a field off Gibson Lane.

The ocean between Main Beach in East Hampton and Mecox Bay was fairly active with numerous rafts of scoter, several hundred Atlantic Gannets and small flocks of Laughing Gulls. Most of the bird feeding on small bait fish being pushed to the surface by Striped Bass and I was surprised to see that even the scoter were feeding on these fish, thinking that their diet was limited to bivalves, polychaete worms and small crustaceans. However, they could often be seen surfacing with these slender fish dangling from their bills before being swallowed. No wonder the gulls like to pester them.

Numbers of Common Eider seemed higher than usual this far west of Montauk, and I tallied 103 along this stretch. GREAT CORMORANTS were also in evidence, with 16 flying west along the beach front and an immature roosting with Double-crested Cormorants on the sand flat at Georgica Pond. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at Sagg Mains. Tom Burke and Gail Benson noted a PARASITIC JAEGER off Main Beach and another off Montauk Point. They also located the female KING EIDER off Ditch Plains before hurrying over to Bridgehampton for their 2nd and 3rd _Tyrannus verticalis_ of the day.

Western Kingbird, Deep Hollow - 31 Oct 2009

The handsome WESTERN KINGBIRD continues in Deep Hollow near Montauk (Suffolk Co). Look for the bird around the edges of the horse pasture south of Rt 27. This morning it was flycatching from trees on the slope on the eastern (most distant) side and favored the area right of the very obvious bank of solar panels where there is a new fence (41.0543, -71.8945). The kingbird also ventured out into the open field and used the various fences that run north-south as a vantage point from which to snatch flies from the many fresh dung piles. I should mention that Vicki Bustamante refound this bird during the week, after it was first reported by Michael McBrien (per Shai Mitra) last Monday.

At Montauk Point, decent numbers (600++) of Atlantic Gannets continue with some impressive feeding frenzies, presumably over migrating herring. I noted a lingering CORY'S SHEARWATER with one of the feeding groups. Upwards of 350 Common Eider were scattered around Point and were in fact evident at many spots around the peninsula. A female KING EIDER (most likely the bird I found near here last weekend) was in the surf off Ditch Plains (41.039,-71.9105). An immature GREAT CORMORANT was on the jetties at Montauk Inlet and another was in Fort Pond.

Lastly, Patricia Lindsay and Shai Mitra found a (Richardson's) CACKLING GOOSE on Further Lane between East Hampton and Amagansett (40.9622, -72.1599) and it was still there at the front of the Canada Goose flock when I went past at 1 pm.

Ditch Plains: Northern Fulmar, King Eider and much more

I figured the strong onshore winds (S to SSE, 25-30 kts) and wet conditions might bring some seabirds inshore and indeed there were masses of gulls, gannets and seaduck all along the ocean side of the South Fork. By far the largest concentration occurred to the east of Ditch Plains, off Caswells Point. Access is limited along this stretch and so I walked about 1/2 mile east of the trailer park and then scoped from a ladder running up the steep bluff. The main throng was a little distant to study properly but I estimated somewhere between 5,000-7,000 Laughing Gulls, 800 or more Northern Gannets, and good numbers of other gulls. The highlight was a NORTHERN FULMAR that flew along the beach towards the action at or less than 100 yards out. I got scope filling views of this somewhat ratty pale-morph individual. A female KING EIDER was in the surf with a group of Common Eider and was acting suspiciously like the female that spend the last two winters along this stretch.

*** Ditch Plains/Caswells Point, Montauk ***

NORTHERN FULMAR - 1 (pale morph, headed east just beyond surf line)
CORY'S SHEARWATER - 2+ (could well have been more but hard to make out in the distant feeding frenzy and rough seas)
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 3 (all 1st basics)
ROYAL TERN - 3 (2 ad. 1 juv)
PARASITIC JAEGER - 3 (all juvs)
jaeger sp. - 1
Common Eider - 250+
KING EIDER - 1 (fem., first of the season)
PEREGRINE -1 (was perched on bluff then headed out into the mass of seabirds)

*** Montauk Point ***

CORY'S SHEARWATER - 2 (working back and forth over the reef just east of the lighthouse)
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 1 (1st basic)
COMMON TERN - 2
PARASITIC JAEGER - 2
SNOW BUNTING - 2 (on the beach, first of the season)
Common Eider - 600++
Black Scoter - 2,500
Surf Scoter - 200
White-winged Scoter - 150

I encountered Common Eider at almost every ocean vantage point between Amagansett and Montauk Point and would guess that the recent bad weather has moved them around a bit. Laughing Gulls were also everywhere with 500-600 bathing or roosting on Fort Pond in Montauk and a continuous stream of birds going back and forth from the ocean. Despite two visits I couldn't pull out anything more interesting among them. One thing I have never seen before is skiens of scoter, mainly Blacks, flying low over the town of Montauk headed towards the ocean. Flocks were also rounding the Point and crossing Gardiners Bay in a similar direction as viewed from Culloden Point. I wasn't sure what to make of this but now looking at the reports of scoter from inland sites, I wonder if these weren't newly arriving migrants rather than birds that have been here a few days?

Elsewhere, 2 SEMINPALMATED PLOVER continue in Deep Hollow on the southern most pasture, and an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was on the beach at Fort Pond Bay. The restaurant at Montauk Point seems to have closed for the season. I looked for the Lark Sparrow (seen as recently as Wednesday by Vicki Bustamante) but the area was being used for a BBQ (poor choice of day!) and no sparrows were in evidence. Lastly, a SORA was calling from the small freshwater pond below the restaurant.

Montauk: Lingering Cory's Shearwater and Common Terns - 18 Oct 09

The combination of a really strong easterly wind (40 knot gusts), tempestuous seas and driving rain made birding, shall we say, a little difficult this morning. First I seawatched from Main Beach in the Village of East Hampton (Suffolk Co.). Good numbers of Laughing Gulls and Gannets were just visible in the gloom as they fed on bait fish some distance offshore. A steady procession of gulls would fly into the beach for a break and then head out again giving some chance to look through them. I got no sense that there was a seabird flight, simply birds moving around as they fed or rested. Highlights were an unidentified JAEGER, 2 ROYAL TERNS and 4 COMMON TERNS.

I then ventured out to Montauk Point, where the weather seemed even worse but at least there was some shelter from the rain at the restaurant. Again, no evidence of a movement but plenty of birds to look at, including an estimated 800 COMMON EIDER and a comparable number of scoter. The highlight was a lingering CORY'S SHEARWATER that made repeated forays through the flocks of feeding gulls and sea duck. Also 2 COMMON TERNS. Red-throated Loons were more in evidence but no alcids or kittiwakes yet.

Three adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were on the beach at Montauk Point. Another adult was on the shore at Fort Pond Bay, where 4 Ringed-neck Ducks and a Lesser Scaup have returned to Tuthill's Pond. Two additional LESSER BLACK-BACKS were on the field off Further Lane in Amagansett, making a total of 6 for the morning. A couple of AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS linger on Hick's Island in Napeague.

Lark Sparrow at Montauk Point - 17 Oct 09

Posted to NYSBIRDS by Hugh McGuinness

Dear NY Birders,

Today I led a small band of intrepid birders for the South Fork Natural History Society on a trip to Montauk Point. Despite the blustery weather we were not disappointed as the day dawned sunny, and remained so for several hours. The fierce east wind had pushed numerous seabirds north of the point and by the time we arrived at 8am, many of them were rounding the point heading to sea. NORTHERN GANNETS, LAUGHING GULLS and BLACK SCOTERS passed in abundance. Just north of the concession stand we found a VESPER SPARROW.

We next headed to Teddy Roosevelt Co Park, where we found a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and a BLUE GROSBEAK among a modest size flock of sparrows that included 5 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS.

At the end of our walk, we received a call from Angus Wilson who had located a LARK SPARROW on the north side of the new bathrooms at Montauk Point, so we returned for leisurely views of this obliging bird. Shai Mitra and Pat Lindsay saw the bird an hour or so after we left, so perhaps the bird will hang around. Angus also conducted an extended, if frigid, seawatch at the point, and he'll probably report his results in his own impeccable style.

At the south end of the horse farm, there were 3 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, one of which could be mistaken for a Baird's, in the KILLDEER flock, which also contained 3 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS.

After my trip was done, Angus and I visited Hither Hills State Park campground where we discovered a brightly-colored DICKCISSEL among the church of House Sparrows on the western loop.

All in all a surprisingly successful day of birding given the weather conditions.

Hugh McGuinness

Slow morning around Montauk Point - 4 Oct 2009

Sunday's weather was wonderful but the birding was a bit slow. In the morning, Hugh McGuinness and I walked the pony trail up the northeast side of Deep Hollow in search of the rare warblers seen the day before but found only a sprinkling of commoner migrants (Magnolia Warbler, American Redstart, Nashville Warbler, Parula, 5+ Palm Warblers, 5-10 Northern Orioles, 2 Winter Wren, 10+ White-throated Sparrows and 3 Eastern Phoebe). Four Blue-winged Teal were on a pool in horse pasture and a migrant American Kestrel tussled with crows. We noted a couple of Solitary Sandpipers on the pools, with another near the cow feeding lot on the south side of the highway. The waters off Montauk Point were placid and spectacularly birdless! A few (c.50) Laughing Gulls, 10+ Surf Scoters, and a couple of distant Gannets were all I could find in about 40 mins of scanning. Given the activity along the beach on Saturday, I was surprised not to see any sterna terns. Did they finally leave with the front? The first skeins of cormorants flying in across Block Island Sound was a sign of autumn. Time to watch out for Great Cormorants. A Merlin hunted around Turtle Cove but had nothing to chase beyond dragonflies. I briefly checked the pools along West Lake Drive, Rita's Horse Farm and Montauk Inlet but saw nothing of note. Maybe next weekend will be more exciting?

Movement of larids, including another good showing of Parasitic Jaegers - 3 Oct 2009

This morning, I seawatched for two-hours from Main Beach in the Village of East Hampton, Suffolk County. As forecast, the rain was heavy and unrelenting but the on-shore winds were not as strong as I’d hoped for. Consequently, the visibility was often limited to a few hundred yards, but occasionally improved revealing many more birds further out. Regardless, there were a decent number of larids moving eastward along the shore, primarily COMMON TERNS, LAUGHING GULLS and RING-BILLED GULLS. Laughing Gulls have been relatively scare on the South Fork so far this fall but now seem to be working their way east, as is typical for Oct and Nov. Perhaps because of the limited visibility, I did not see any shearwaters and surprisingly few seaduck. Interestingly, I re-sighted the albino Common Tern from last week indicating that some of the terns at least are lingering in the area rather than moving through.

The gulls and terns were pausing to snatch slender bait fish (likely sandlance, Ammodytes americanus), which seemed to be quite abundant. With this amount of activity, I was not surprised to see some PARASITIC JAEGERS (conservative estimate of 22 different birds). As with last weekend, this number seems well above average. One hapless Common Tern was chased onto the water by a squadron of five jaegers. That’s when you know it’s time to chuck up your breakfast!

** Main Beach, East Hampton (9:05-11:05 am) **
Black Scoter - 20
Northern Gannet - 38 (mix of ages)
Double-crested Cormorant - 7
Laughing Gull - 910+++
Ring-billed Gull - 370+++
Herring Gull - 60
Great Black-backed Gull - 9
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - 1 ad. (flying on beach)
Common Tern - 410 ++
Forster’s Tern - 18
PARASITIC JAEGER - 22 (16 ads/near ads and 6 juvs)

** Sagg Mains, Bridgehampton **
Forster’s Tern - 20

** Mecox Bay Inlet, Watermill **
ROYAL TERN - 3
Forster’s Tern - 5
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 2
Tree Swallows - 5,000 (massive cloud of birds roosting in the phragmites beds on either side of the inlet)

Unprecedented Parasitic Jaeger flight and N. Fulmar - 27 Sep 2009

The passage of the low pressure system and associated front produced heavy rain overnight and through most of today. With the limited visibility, I opted for seawatching from the shelter of the beach club house at Main Beach in the Village of East Hampton (Suffolk). There were lots of Common Terns and Laughing Gulls feeding offshore, and it soon became obvious that there was a strong eastward push of PARASITIC JAEGERS. Over the next 4 hours I counted close to eighty birds moving eastwards, often in ones and twos but sometimes small flocks (5-11 birds). There seemed to be an equal mix of juvenile-types and adults/near-adults. A few of the adults still had full-length tail streamers. Some of the young bird were quite dark and one was pretty much as dark as they come – dark brown/black like a Sooty Shearwater, with very reduced pale patches on the underwing and no evident flash on the upperwing. Around 11 am, I was joined by Hugh McGuinness and we continued to carefully pick through jaegers. Hugh spotted a storm-petrel moving west very quickly but it was gone before I could connect with it. Around 11:30 am, jaegers started appearing from the west (circling back?) and we clicked off 43 different birds. At the end of the count period, my tally was 88 PARASITIC JAEGERS traveling east, with an additional 16 jaegers left as unidentified, and 43 Parasitics traveling west [presumably duplicates]. Needless to say we looked very hard for the other jaeger species, but saw no convincing candidates and I feel comfortable calling all of these birds as Parasitic.

In addition to the jaegers, there was a trickle of CORY’S SHEARWATERS moving east and whilst watching a trio of birds in the middle distance, a light-phase NORTHERN FULMAR powered up behind them, a rare and pleasing sight from shore! My bird of the day, however, was all white Common Tern that passed up and down the beach several times. This is the first example of an aberrant colored tern I can recall seeing with my own eyes. It’s plumage was an immaculate ivory white and suggestive of a true albino, had a pink bill and pink legs - very striking! We watched it at length as it foraged with other Common Terns, sometimes alighting on the sand. Interestingly, it did not attract the attention from the jaegers nor was it harassed by the other terns. The proportions seemed identical to the other Commons – hence the ID as a Common – but we noted how the bird often _appeared_ larger that the others; a familiar trick of the eye that bedevils observations of white birds.

Once the offshore movement slowed down, I trekked out to Montauk Point but found the viewing difficult in the heavy rain and mist. All of the jaegers I noted during an hour-long watch were moving rapidly from the north side of the Point and they seemed anxious to get out into the ocean proper. Could these birds have traveled down Long Island Sound? At the time of writing, I've not seen reports of jaegers from further west along Long Island and can add that none were seen by Tom Burke and Gail Benson stationed near the Shinnecock Inlet (20 miles southeast) around mid-day. So were where the birds coming from or going to?

*** Main Beach, East Hampton ***
8:50-13:00, heavily overcast w. persistent rain.

COMMON EIDER – 1 (fem. west with scoter)
White-winged Scoter – 1
Black Scoter – 82 (mostly west)
Surf Scoter – 10
dark-winged scoter sp. - 1
Green-winged Teal – 1 (fem)
NORTHERN FULMAR – 1 (light-phase traveling east w. 3 Cory’s)
CORY’S SHEARWATER – 17 (mostly moving east)
[storm-petrel sp. – 1 speeding west (likely Wilson’s)]
Northern Gannet – 63 (most west, mix of ages)
Laughing Gull – 70
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE – 1 (1st basic, west)
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL – 1 ad. (roosting on beach)
Common Tern – 250++
Forster’s Tern – 3
PARASITIC JAEGER – 88 (east, 50:50 split of juvs to ads/near ads, 43 traveling west).
Jaeger sp. – 16

*** Montauk Point ***
14:05-15:05, heavy rain with limited visibility.

COMMON EIDER – 2 (fem types)
White-winged Scoter – 28
CORY’S SHEARWATER – 6
GREAT SHEARWATER – 1
Northern Gannet – 12
Laughing Gull – 300++
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL – 1 (ad. flew around Pt.)
Common Tern – 250
Roseate Tern – 2
PARASITIC JAEGER – 9 (mix of ages)

*** Maidstone Golf Course, East Hampton ***
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL – 1 (ad.)

*** Further Lane, East Hampton ***
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL – 1 (ad.)

*** Gerard Drive, Springs ***
Common Loon – 6
Northern Gannet – 4

Additional stops at Napeague Bay (Lazy Point), Hither Hills, Montauk Inlet, Star Island, Rita’s Horse Farm Pond and Deep Hollow did not yield anything of note.

Black Terns congregate in Napeague Harbor - 30 Aug 09

The BLACK TERN show continues in Napeague Harbor (Suffolk Co), viewed from Lazy Point on the western side of this shallow bay. The Black Terns - a nice mix of molting adults and birds in smart juvenile/formative plumage – were dip feeding all over the bay and roosting on the shellfish hatchery floats at the north end along with several hundred Roseate and Common Terns. The latter two species appeared to be feeding on the ocean and flying back and forth over Route 27. I kayaked across the channel so as to get a better look at the roosting birds and made several single sweep counts, with a maximum of *261 * Black Terns. I only noted a single Forster's Tern in the mix and a handful of Least Terns. A basic-plumaged COMMON LOON flew overhead into Gardiner's Bay and a scattering of shorebirds around the bay included 8 WESTERN WILLET.

There was a good ocean swell at Montauk Point, left over from yesterdays storm, but relatively few birds. I noted a single CORY'S SHEARWATER, 5 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS and a paltry 10 Laughing Gulls (presumably this will build as we enter the fall). Small groups of Common and Roseate Terns ranged widely but did not form any significant feeding congregations.

Three WHITE-WINGED SCOTER flew past the Montauk Inet and 6 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 2 Semipalmated Plovers, and 2 Black-bellied Plovers joined 18 Killdeer on the fields at the Deep Hollow Ranch on the south side of the road. The pond on the north side is brimming (no shoreline) but I noted 4 Green-winged Teal and 2 Green Heron in the vegetation. I checked several wooded and scrubby area but could find no evidence of any passerine migration.

Tropical Storm Bob stirs up the terns - 29 Aug 09

There seems to be a major eastward flight of terns and other larids along the ocean side of Long Island today, presumably brought about by the heavy rains. Winds were moderate swinging around from the S to the E during the middle part of the day. I seawatched from Main Beach in East Hampton (Suffolk Co) late this morning. Visibility was limited to a few hundred yards but there was enough movement very close inshore (and overland) to keep it interesting. A 1-hour tally (11:40-12:40) produced:

Wilson's Storm-petrel – 5
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - 1 juv.
Laughing Gull – 6
Common Tern - 1,423
Forster's Tern – 19
Roseate Tern – 326
Least Tern – 265
Black Tern – 11

Andy Baldelli (via Hugh McGuinness) also watched from Main Beach earlier in the morning and I believe he logged 6 PARASITIC JAEGERS, numerous Wilson's Storm-Petrels and Black Terns - again all going east fairly close to shore.

In Napeague Bay I counted 200+ BLACK TERNS but there could easily be more as it was impossible to scope properly in the driving rain. There were also a few Roseate and Forster's Terns. This seems to be one of the best spots for Black Tern in the fall. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was on the Maidstone Golf Course and in only a few minutes of looking skyward, I noted several hundred terns flying out of Hook Pond and back onto the ocean. Like observers to the west, I am currently puzzled by the numbers of Roseate Terns (mix of adults and juvs) in this eastward movement as the bulk of the local population is already east of these watchpoints. Perhaps they had moved south offshore and are now spinning back up to avoid the worst of the weather?

Whimbrels at Mecox Inlet - 16 Aug 2009

This morning (7:15 - 9:00 am) I scanned the extensive sandflat at Mecox Inlet (Watermill, Suffolk Co.) from the overlook on the eastern side. A good number of shorebirds and terns were present, including 2 WHIMBREL which flew in around 8:15 and single a BLACK TERN. Here are my approximate totals.

Forster's Tern - 25
Common Tern - 30+
BLACK TERN - 1
Least Tern - 40+
Laughing Gull - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 10
Lesser Yellowlegs - 3
Western Willet - 6
Eastern Willet - 2 (fresh juvs)
WHIMBREL - 2
Short-billed Dowitcher - 15
Ruddy Turnstone - 4
White-rumped Sandpiper - 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 200+ (mix of ads and juvs)
Least Sandpiper - 160
Sanderling - 220
Black-bellied Plover - 20
Killdeer - 2
Piping Plover - 10
Semipalmated Plover - 60

CRESLI Whalewatch off Montauk - 19 July 2009

This morning I joined the whalewatch run by Artie Kopelman and his team of CRESLI volunteers. We ran south of Montauk Point through good seas and quickly found some extremely cooperative whales. A mother/calf pair of Humpbacks and at least seven Fin Whales. The whales were actively feeding in surface water and performed admirably. There were fewer seabirds that I expected based on reason tallies from the previous CRESLI trips and from shore-based observations, but still the trip produced a nice tally and again with excellent views.

Cory's Shearwater - 113
Great Shearwater - 270
Sooty Shearwater - 13
shearwater sp. - 1
Manx Shearwater - 1 (on return, less than 1 mile from Point)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 410
Northern Gannet - 4
Monarch butterfly - 4 (offshore migrants)

Shearwater congregations off Montauk Point - 18 Jul 2009

This evening, a mixed feeding flock comprising 171 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 46 GREAT SHEARWATERS, 1 SOOTY SHEARWATER, 2 MANX SHEARWATER and 3 NORTHERN GANNETS were directly south of the bluffs at Camp Hero near Montauk Point (Suffolk Co.). A similarly sized flock was actively feeding east of the Point but conditions were a bit too hazy to make out much beyond the Cory's and Greats.

A quick stop to look at Rita's Pond, revealed 12 Killdeer, 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Least Sandpipers and a fresh juvenile Glossy Ibis (presumably hatched on Gardiner's Island, where the species may nest). A young Cooper's Hawk flew over the pond, chased by an angry flock of grackles.

Evening shearwater flight, Amagansett - 3 Jul 2009

There was a nice flight of shearwaters off Amagansett (Suffolk Co.) this evening. During a 1-hour count (6:48-7:48pm) I clicked off the following:

CORY'S SHEARWATER - 442
GREAT SHEARWATER - 14
large shearwater sp. - 17
SOOTY SHEARWATER - 1
MANX SHEARWATER - 1
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL - 22
Northern Gannet - 7
Laughing Gull - 2

A large ocean sunfish (mola mola) drifted east fairly close to the shore but was unseen by the beach goers. The gannets and Sooty Shearwater were traveling west, everything else was headed east, with some of the Cory's pausing to raft for a few minutes directly offshore.

Storm-petrels, jaegers and lingering loons - 21 Jun 2009

It rained off and on all morning but the visibility on the eastern tip of the South Fork was much better than yesterday. I seawatched from several spots and it was a case of 'boom-or-bust', meaning it was reasonably birdy in some spots and completely dead in others. Highlights included four Parasitic Jaegers, my first Cory's Shearwaters of the season, good numbers of Wilson's Storm-Petrels off Amagansett (but oddly nowhere else) and some very late Red-throated Loons.

**Amagansett** (6:50-7:15 am)
RED-THROATED LOON - 1 (alt. plumage, flying east)
Common Loon - 1
Northern Gannet - 6
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL - 55

**Montauk Point** (7:55-9:15 am)
Northern Gannet - 17
CORY'S SHEARWATER - 2
PARASITIC JAEGER - 3+ (all subads. seemed focused hounding on Laughing Gulls)
Laughing Gull - 100+
several hundred Common & Roseate Terns

**Amagansett** (10:20-11:20 am)
RED-THROATED LOON - 2 (one alt. flying east and one basic type on water)
Common Loon - 1
Northern Gannet - 7
CORY'S SHEARWATER - 1
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL - 125 (max. count on single sweep)
PARASITIC JAEGER - 1 (sub ad., at times close inshore. Successfully robbed Common Terns and Laughing Gulls but also chased storm-petrels)
Laughing Gull - 15
Eastern Willet - 2

Didn't spend much time looking inland because of the soggy and overcast conditions. A TURKEY VULTURE over Fort Pond and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (3rd summer?) on the Montauk Town beach were the one things of note.

Manx Shearwaters, Wilson's SPs, Amagansett - 20 Jun 1009

The waters off Montauk Point (Suffolk Co.) were shrouded in fog today peventing me from doing any seawatching but by evening the visibility was improved off Amagansett, about 15 miles further east. During the hour before dusk (6:00-7:00 pm) offshore movement was slow but the diversity reasonable.

Northern Gannet - 28
D.c. Cormorant - 4
Common Loon - 2
MANX SHEARWATER - 2 (both zooming west)
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL - 44 ++
PARASITIC JAEGER - 1 subad.
Laughing Gull - 4 subads.

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN -1 (leapt clear of the water a couple of times showing a nice pink belly)

The jaeger set up shop on the ocean to the west of me and every 20 mins or so would lift off the water and go after a Common Tern, successfully on each occasion. The count of WILSON'S STORM-PETREL was very good for this location and likely a significant under-estimate of the real number. Storm-petrels were strung out all along the horizon and seemed to steadily working eastward. Considering the momentus arrival of the 'summer shearwaters' into the regions earlier in the week, I was suprised to see so many storm-petrels and yet log no Cory's or Great Shearwaters. Water temperature might be a factor in this, being a few degrees cooler around the eastern tip of the island compared to spots further west.

Parastic Jaeger and likey Arctic Tern off Montauk Point - 12 Jun 2009

This evening I seawatched for a couple of hours from Montauk Point. There was dense fog along the south shore especially over the low areas around Montauk Village but it was fairly clear on the north side of the point. Good numbers of Common and Roseate Terns, Laughing Gulls (100+) and larger gulls were feeding on bait fish. After a while a subadult PARASTIC JAEGER cruised through, making half-hearted runs at birds carrying fish. Oddly, the jaeger seemed uninterested in the abundant Common Terns, favoring Laughing Gulls and the few Least Terns that were also present. The only tubenose I saw was a single WILSON'S STORM-PETREL that also cruised past once and vanished. Given the limited visibility there could have been more activity further out, as illustrated by the 1st and 2nd summer NORTHERN GANNETS that would briefly emerge from the gloom and then disappear. I have no explanation for the tight raft of 30 CANADA GEESE ridding the chop surrounded by charter fishing boats.

As I was watching an excited group of terns feeding about 150 yards in front of the restaurant, I noticed a smaller 1st-summer type tern among them. It was surprisingly easy to track because of its shorter wings and distinctive 'twinkling' flight style - more like that of a Roseate than a Common. There were one or perhaps two other 1st summer birds in the group and they were clearly much more similar to the Commons that this individual which I suspect was an ARCTIC TERN. The dark bill looked relatively short and the black half-cap was solid across the nape and did not seem to extend as far down the neck as the other similar aged birds. The wing tips were pale with a well-defined black trailing edge visible on the underside. It was difficult to resolve any pattern on the upperside of the wing tips, certainly nothing like the obvious grey/block visible on the adult Commons. Obviously, the ID remains tentative given the distance and the fact that I did not get to see the bird landed when the very short legs become a valuble ID feature. Based on Shai Mitra's observations at Cupsogue, it seems likely that small numbers of Arctic Terns (mostly 1st summer birds) visit the inshore ocean waters off Long Island in June and July and are well worth looking for when an opportunity presents.

Little Gull & Merlin, Montauk Point - 30 May 2009

During the morning the wind shifted from the north to the west giving clear skies and warm temperaures. Activity off Montauk Point was mostly limited to several hundred Common and Roseate Terns with a couple of distant SOOTY SHEARWATERS and Northern Gannets. Whilst looking north of the point from the start of the Money Pond trail, I noticed a group of terns vigorously harassing a LITTLE GULL. The gull has a nearly complete black hood. It was interesting how the terns took such offense to this similar sized bird and would not let it settle on the sea. The gull was dive bombed repeatedly and flew north toward Shagwong Point. Another surprise was a late MERLIN which swished over the dune on the northside. Purple Martins, Bank Swallows, Chimney Swift and Eastern Kingbirds were feeding over the ocean, presumably on insects pushed by the wind. Two lingering Common Eider and a female White-winged Scoter were the only seaduck.

In woods at Camp Hero, I looked in vain for the Blue Grosbeaks that Vicki Bustamante has seen recently but there was a nice collection of breeding species including some very vocal Eastern Wood Pewees and an Eastern Phoebe. A surprise was a COMMON NIGHTHAWK flying low overhead - odd at 11 am but perhaps it had been disturbed from a roost site.

For the first time in a long while, Oyster Pond is open to the ocean (natural) and has an extensive shoreline. Unfortunately, a walk around the pond edge did not yield much. Seven Black-bellied Plovers were the only shorebirds. Ten Red-breasted Mergansers and a male White-winged Scoter (all in molt) were on the ocean near the outlet. With the warm airflow, I kept a sharp eye out for soaring hawks, hoping for a kite but instead only found Red-tailed Hawks (4 ads., 2 imm.), several Osprey and 6 Turkey Vulture. Visits to Third House and Rita's did not turn up anything special, nor did an evening seawatch off Amagansett.

More Sooty Shearwaters - 25 May 2009

Spent the morning on the Walking Dunes and Goff Point, trying to photograph Grasshopper Sparrows. Birds weren't singing much and didn't pose the camera as well as they have in the past. Saw about 8 altogether and one singing Saltmarsh Seaside Sparrow. A Turkey Vulture and female Northern Harrier over the dunes were the only other birds of note.

An hour of seawatching in the evening (6:20-7:20 pm) from Atlantic Avenue in Amagansett yielded the following:

SOOTY SHEARWATER - 7 (moving west, rather than east)
Northern Gannet - 8
Red-throated Loon - 13 (together as a roving flotilla)
Common Loon - 15
Black Scoter - 1 (ad. male)
Double-crested Cormorant - 11

A male Northern Harrier was corsing over the Double Dunes in the evening light. At Accabonac Harbor in Springs, a single RED KNOT was in with the Ruddy Turnstones (85+) and Dunlin (46). This may have been the same individual that was at Napeague Habor on Sunday evening.

Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, Montauk Point - 22 May 2009

There were at least 20 SOOTY SHEARWATERS feeding off Montauk Point this evening, together with a single MANX SHEARWATER. At times, the Sooties were reasonably close to shore (binocular range), joining flocks of large gulls moving from one bait school to the next and it was fun to watch then diving under the gulls. Some 200 Atlantic Gannets, several hundred Common and Roseate Terns and at least 4 Laughing Gulls were also part of the throng. Most of the loons seems to have departed (finally) but a few Commons and Red-throats linger. A lone male White-winged Scoter was off the Point and several Orchard Orioles were singing around the Restaurant.

In Napeague, a Glossy Ibis was seen flying over the main marsh and another was feeding in the small pond where Old and New Montauk Highways split.

Lastly, a late night drive around Napeague (12:30-1:30 am) produced 2 (possibly 3) Chuck-will's-widows calling close to the roadside and at least 6 Whip-poor-wills.

Sidenote: Jim Ash found an Iceland Gull at Lazy Point today (per Hugh McGuinness). Hugh heard singing Marsh Wren and Whip-poor-will near Northwest Creek.

Amagansett Seawatch - 21 May 2009

The wind direction was not ideal this evening but there was some movement on the ocean. A 1-hour seawatch (6:25-7:25 pm) from Amagansett (Town of East Hampton, Suffolk Co.) produced the following seabirds traveling east:

SOOTY SHEARWATER - 5
Northern Gannet - 284
Common Loon - 3
Red-throated - 2
loon sp. - 2
BLACK TERN - 1
Common Tern - 25
Laughing Gull - 1
Dc Cormorant - 2

Typical of the date, the gannets were all sub-adults, most in various degrees of brown.

Faunathon: Sandhill Crane, Sooty Shearwater and Stilt Sandpiper - 17 May 2009

Today, as part of the Group for the East End's Annual Faunathon fundraiser, Angus Wilson, Brian Kane and I birded from Montauk to Westhampton. We began in a torrential downpour at 3:30 am and finished
at 8:30 pm listening to AMERICAN WOODCOCK. The undoubted highlight of the day was the SANDHILL CRANE at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton found earlier in the day Claire Borrelli and Amy Simmons. We thank them for their timely report. When we arrived at about 6:30 pm there were more than a dozen birders watching the crane.

For the entire effort, much of which took place in the rain and cold, we recorded 136 species. Here are the highlights.

Montauk Point***
SOOTY SHEARWATER--4
Northern Gannet--200+
Common Eider--1
White-winged Scoter--5
Roseate Tern--100+
Common Tern--1500+
Black Tern--4
Caspian Tern--1
Orchard Oriole--2
***Camp Hero SP, Montauk***
Turkey Vulture--5
***Fort Pond, Montauk***
Bonaparte's Gull--2
Lesser Black-backed Gull--1 2nd year
Roseate Tern--6
***Montauk Village***
Turkey Vulture--1
***Napeague***
Caspian Tern--1
***Accabonac***
Black Skimmer--6
***Amagansett (Atlantic Ave)***
Long-tailed Duck--1
***Georgica Beach & Pond***
Purple Sandpiper--2
Bonaparte's Gull--2
***Swamp Road & Edward's Hole Rd***
Brown Creeper--4
***Sagaponack***
STILT SANDPIPER--1 in near breeding plumage
White-rumped Sandpiper--1
***Shinnecock (Dune Road)***
Common Eider--1
Red Knot--1
Roseate Tern--10
Black Skimmer--3
Northern Harrier--1
***Gabreski Airport, Westhampton***
SANDHILL CRANE--1
Horned Lark--1

In addition to the birds we saw, at least 6 SOOTY SHEARWATERS were inside the inlet at Cupsogue, while one was inside the inlet at Shinnecock.

Hugh McGuinness, East Hampton

Caspian Terns and newly arrived shorebirds at Sagg Mains and Mecox Inlet - 25 April 2009

The cuts at the Sagaponnack and Mecox Inlets (Bridgehampton, Suffolk Co.) have been opened and the water level on the ponds has begun to fall after being high for quite a while. At Sagg Mains (south end of pond) seven CASPIAN TERNS, a LAUGHING GULL and an estimated 800 or so Double-crested Cormorants were on the main sand bar. The impressive number of cormorants implies a large build up of small fish. A number of newly arrived shorebirds were feeding around the muddy edges, as was a gorgeous looking IPSWICH SPARROW. When I checked back in later, the Caspian Terns had moved up the pond north of the bridge and were just visible through a gap off Parsonage Lane. Hugh McGuinness informed me that a similar number of Caspians (probably the same) had been on Georgica Pond on Thursday.

CASPIAN TERN - 7
LAUGHING GULL - 1
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 6
LESSER YELLOWLEGS - 2
EASTERN WILLET - 1
LEAST SANDPIPER - 22
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER - 1
IPSWICH SPARROW - 1

At Mecox, the water is still pretty high but I did note:

LEAST TERN - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 3
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER - 1
Piping Plover - 13
Bufflehead - 26 (no doubt counting the days befor departing)

Virginia Rail at Little Reed Pond, Montauk - 19 April 2009

The birding was pretty slow today on the South Fork of Long Island (Suffolk Co.) - lovely weather but the wind was from the east shift to the south in the afternoon. The three major ponds (Mecox, Sagaponack and Georgica) are full to the brim and essentially birdless. Anyone good with a shovel? An adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK on Daniel's Lane and an AMERICAN KESTREL nearby were the only birds of note in that area.

Out at Montauk, a confiding GLOSSY IBIS was on the small ponds at Teddy Roosevelt County Park (aka Third House). There have been a few sightings this month from the Montauk area, including four ibis seen yesterday evening by Vicki Bustamante alongside Rt 27 at the eastern end of the Napeague stretch. Three WILSON'S SNIPE were also at TRCP. At Little Reed Pond off East Lake Drive there was no sign of the Little Blue Heron seen as recently as Saturday, but I did get fabulous views of a VIRGINIA RAIL which flew across a ditch in front of me and then proceeded to walk around in fairly open vegetation. Three female-type HOODED MERGANSER continue on Little Reed. A couple of PALM WARBLERS were mixed in with a flock of 40 or so YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

Along the ocean beach there was a modest flight of seaduck and loons (see 1 hour count below). As is typical at this time of year, Green-winged Teal and other non-ocean duck were mixed in with the scoter. For the record, I've also included a seawatch count from Saturday evening. It is interesting that Laughing Gulls are still passing offshore, I raise this because I haven't seen that many reports from further west.

**Hither Hills State Park (19 April 09, 12:55-13:55)**
American Black Duck - 6
Green-winged Teal - 34
Greater Scaup - 1
Surf Scoter - 610
White-winged Scoter - 20
Black Scoter - 195
scoter sp. - 320
Long-tailed Duck - 8
Red-throated Loon - 54
Common Loon - 49
loon sp. - 2
Horned Grebe - 1
Northern Gannet - 30
Double-crested Cormorant- 49
Black-bellied Plover - 6
Laughing Gull - 2
Ring-billed Gull - 5
Herring Gull - 20
Great Black-backed Gull - 10

**Atlantic Avenue Beach, Amagansett (18 April 09, 17:20-18:20)**
Anas duck sp. - 2
Surf Scoter - 385
White-winged Scoter - 3
Black Scoter - 585
scoter sp. - 590
Long-tailed Duck - 8
Red-throated Loon - 12
Common Loon - 9
Northern Gannet - 132
Double-crested Cormorant - 2
Laughing Gull - 3
Ring-billed Gull -15
Great Black-backed Gull - 9
gull sp. - 50

TRICOLORED & LITTLE BLUE HERONS continue in Accabonac Harbor - 18 April 2009

Single TRICOLORED and LITTLE BLUE HERONS continue in Accabonac Harbor, East Hampton, Suffolk Co., with the Tricolored sunning itself on the marsh across from the end of Landing Lane (Springs Village) and the Little Blue feeding on the edge of the marsh across the from the mid-way point on Gerard Drive. A WILSON'S SNIPE was also in the marsh at Landing Lane. No sign of the first-summer Black-headed Gull seen as recently as Wednesday. PINE SISKINS continue at our thistle feeder but otherwise there is little evidence of recent landbird migration, at least not this far out on the island. With lingering siskins and White-winged Crossbills all over the region it is going to fun seeing how many actually stay to nest.

Black-headed Gull & Tricolored Heron, Accabonac Habor, Springs - 12 April 2009

Whilst searching the marshes of Accabonac Harbor, Springs, East Hampton (Suffolk Co.) for the Tricolored and Little Blue Herons found earlier in the week by Karen Rubinstein, I noticed a 1st cy. BLACK-HEADED GULL roosting with some Ring-billed Gulls, Dunlin and Turnstones. Karen and Barbara Rubinstein were able to join me and we got good looks at the gull. Later they resighted one of probably two LITTLE BLUE HERONS on the northside of the harbor off Gerard Drive and later in the afternoon I got good looks at the TRICOLORED HERON (quite scarce out here) from Landing Lane this afternoon.

At Lazy Point, in Napeague Harbor, 'Larry' the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was still present and is now in essentially full breeding condition with gleaming white head and bright orange-yellow legs. At Hither Hills State Park I saw my first PURPLE MARTIN of the season and a raft of roughly 1,000 Surf Scoter was gathered offshore. There was good flight of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS today in spite the strong and chilly NW winds and it was interesting to see the flocks working east along the ocean and then cutting northeast, either over the narrow neck of land at Napeague or over the Montauk Peninsula itself. Those I could follow seemed to be heading straight for Rhode Island.

AMERICAN ROBINS were also very much in evidence - by far the commonest bird of the day. There were, for example, more than 350 feeding on the pasture on the south side of Rt 27 at Deep Hollow. Two WILSON'S SNIPE were on the pond at Theodore Rooseveldt State Park and another was feeding on a puddle in the middle of the horse pasture along with 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Lastly, the 1st cy. ICELAND GULL continue at Montauk Inlet.

Blue Grosbeak (Brown Pelican & Black Vulture), Montauk - 5 April 2009

Karen Rubinstein and I went to Montauk Harbor in search of the BROWN PELICAN found earlier in the morning by Jack Passie (see earlier post by Hugh McGuinness) and a BLACK VULTURE seen near Ditch Plains by Vicki Bustamante. Unfortunately, we were unable to relocate either bird. Apparently the pelican gulls were harassing the pelican and it was last seen flying towards the Montauk Inlet. Who knows perhaps it will reappear when some fishing boats return to the dock. On a more positive note we did find the following.

At the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt County Park (Third House) we found a subadult male BLUE GROSBEAK. Otherwise, passerine migrants of any kind seemed extremely scarce. Also in Deep Hollow, the horse pasture on the southside of Rt 27 had 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS with killdeer and Black-bellied Plover. A BARN SWALLOW was coarsing over the ranch pond on the northside of the road. We did see at least 3 TURKEY VULTURES soaring over the eastern side of Lake Montauk. Lastly, the 1st cycle KUMLEIN'S ICELAND GULL was still present at the Montuak Inlet. Large numbers of Common Loons continue around Montauk Point, along with good numbers of Black Scoter. Our thanks to Hugh and Vicki for quickly alerting us to the pelican and vulture.

Little Blue Heron, East Hampton - 29 Mar 2009

An adult LITTLE BLUE HERON, looking distinctly bedraggled and miserable in the drizzle, was on the eastern arm of Hook Pond, East Hampton, Suffolk Co. today. Although widespread in saltmarsh habitat on Long Island during the summer, Little Blue's are fairly scarce on the South Fork, east of Shinnecock Bay. Not much else to report from a quick tour of East Hampton, except for newly arrived Ospreys and Great Egrets in several places and a couple of Turkey Vultures at Napeague.

Seabird movement & Northern Goshawk - 4 April 2009

Today's persistent westerly winds (21-25 mph) produced a nice flight of seabirds and ducks along the Atlantic seafront of the South Fork of Long Island. A one-hour count in the early afternoon (1:30-2:30 pm) from Atlantic Ave, Amagansett, Suffolk Co., logged 9,811 birds - the vast majority flying east. The highlight were my first of the season LAUGHING GULLS, a RAZORBILL and two COMMON EIDER.

Northern Gannet - 770
Red-throated Loon - 145
Common Loon - 9
loon sp. - 9
RAZORBILL - 1
Black Scoter - 2,550
Surf Scoter - 60
White-winged Scoter - 4
scoter sp. -5,350
Long-tailed Duck - 75
COMMON EIDER - 2 (females)
Red-breasted Merganser - 55
Atlantic Brant - 18
Canada Goose - 30
Green-winged Teal - 2
duck sp. - 600+
LAUGHING GULL - 4 (all adults)
Herring Gull - 92
Great Black-backed Gull - 30
Ring-billed Gull - 5

In Napeague, 'Larry' the LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL was still in its favored spot at the narrows between Lazy Point and Hick's Island. On Promised Land Road near the fish hatchery I was treated to spectacular views of an immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK fighting its way into the wind over the strip of pines that runs parallel to the railway. Goshawks tends to get over reported on Long Island, when people to mistake large Cooper's Hawks for Goshawks. What prompted me to pull off the road and get out of the car today was how un-accipiter-like the hawk looked. My first impression was of a small buteo, perhaps a Red-shouldered Hawk rather than a typical accipiter. I encounter Goshawks so infrequently, and often so briefly, that a chance for proper study is a real treat.

Early Indigo Bunting in Springs - 4 April 2009

This morning a sub-adult male INDIGO BUNTING was attracted to seed in our Springs yard. I haven't noticed any other reports from New York State so far this spring. Still have 10 or so PINE SISKIN visiting out thistle seed feeder.

King Eiders and masses of Common Loons, Montauk - 7 Mar 2009

Common Loon was definitely the ‘bird of the day’. I tallied 553 in the Montauk area alone, including 322 loafing and fishing around the mouth of the Montauk Inlet. Seaduck numbers are dwindling but there were still plenty of all three scoters scattered around the usual spots. The drake KING EIDER continues with a Surf Scoter flock, today they were north of the Point and visible from the overlook at the beginning of the Money Pond trail. The three long-staying female KING EIDER were rafting together and seen from the western bluff overlook at Camp Hero. An adult male HARLEQUIN DUCK was also off the rocks here. At Montauk inlet, I found 1 RAZORBILL and the 1st cy KUMLEIN’S ICELAND GULL was near the west jetty and 4 GREAT CORMORANTS were on the towers. A fifth GREAT CORMORANT was in the Star Island marina. These birds are coming into nice breeding condition. On Fort Pond, I noted 2 REDHEAD in the morning but could not find them again in the afternoon. The Canvasback from last weekend seem to have departed. Some 39 RING-NECKED DUCK continue, either on Fort Pond or Tuthill’s Pond.

Thick-billed Murre and sea duck, Ditch Plains/Montauk - 28 Feb 2009

This afternoon, an adult basic THICK-BILLED MURRE was on the ocean off Ditch Plains, just east of Montauk Village (Suffolk Co.) on the South Fork of Long Island. This area (Google Maps 41.0387, -71.9145) can be viewed from access points at the end of Otis Road or the parking lot off Ditch Plains Road (East Deck Motel). The murre favored the outer edge of the surf zone near where the sandy beach gives over to rocks. The human surfers also favored this area and twice I noted the murre paddling around (but alas not hanging ten) between them. It seemed to spend a lot of time underwater and sometimes vanished entirely for extended periods. The murre is still in basic plumage with a neat triangle of white on the throat. From the proportions of the bill it looks like an adult to me. Other birds at Ditch plains included the continuing female KING EIDER, three HARLEQUIN DUCKS (further east along the rocky stretch) and twenty-one PURPLE SANDPIPERS. There were in excess of 100 Bonaparte's Gulls feeding in the surf or among the rocks but I could not find any other species of small gull amongst them.

At Montauk Point, a drake KING EIDER was with the main Surf Scoter flock (off restaurant and SE of lighthouse) and three female KING EIDER were directly south of the Camp Hero Overlook. A fourth HARLEQUIN DUCK (immature male) was at the western end of Camp Hero with some Common Goldeneye. At Montauk Inlet, 2 GREAT CORMORANTS were roosting on the jetty towers and the 1st cy KUMLEIN'S (ICELAND) GULL came into the inlet following the 'Viking Superstar' which had been offshore fishing. As expected for the beginning of March, loon and grebe numbers are climbing with some birds beginning the molt into alternate plumage. A few Common Loons were already quite advanced. I also noticed a color-banded Common Loon feeding in the inlet. In Napeague, 'Larry' the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continues at Lazy Point, favoring the narrow channel between the mainland and Hicks Island.

THICK-BILLED MURRE - 1 ad. basic. (Ditch Plains)
KING EIDER - 5 (1 male and 3 fem. Montauk Pt, 1 fem. Ditch Plains)
HARLEQUIN DUCK - 4 (2 males and 1 fem. Ditch Plains, 1 imm. male Camp Hero)
Canvasback - 15 (Fort Pond, Montauk)
Ring-necked Duck - 3 (Fort Pond, Montauk)
Common Loon - 294
Red-throated Loon - 12
RED-NECKED GREBE - 2 (Culloden Point)
Horned Grebe - 68
Bonaparte's Gull - 150+
KUMLEIN'S (ICELAND) GULL - 1 (1st cy. Montauk Inlet)
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - 1 (Larry, Lazy Pt, Napeague)

Harlequin Ducks at Ditch Plains 22 Feb 2009

For some reason, the birding between East Hampton and Montauk (Suffolk Co., Long Island) was a bit slow this morning, and was not helped by the intermittent rain and generally soggy conditions. The only birds of local that I could find were:

HARLEQUIN DUCK - 4 (2 ad. males, 1 fem and 1 im. male) continue off Ditch Plains.
RED-NECKED GREBE - 2 continue off Culloden Point.
Great Cormorant - 3 ads. Montauk Inlet, 1 ad. Montauk Point, 1 imm. Fort Pond Bay.
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 ad. 'Larry' continues at Lazy Point, Napeague.
Purple Sandpiper - 10 Georgica Jetties, 15+ Ditch Plains, 2 Montauk Inlet.
Canvasback - 9 Fort Pond.
Horned Lark - 2 Napeague.

More on marked Snow Goose at Shorts Pond, 4 Jan 2009

The marked Greater Snow Goose I observed on Shorts Pond (Bridgehampton) - yellow neck collar with RE43 in black letters - turns out to have be a female and was banded by researchers from the Université Laval on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada in August 2008. When captured, this individual was already an adult and so far this is the only re-sighting since it was banded.

You can learn more about the Greater Snow Goose monitoring project and submit your own collar reads by clicking here.

Barrow's Goldeneye, Cackling Geese and other waterfowl, Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton, 4 Jan 2009.

Here is a belated report from Sunday 04 Jan 09 of various waterfowl on the South Fork of Long Island.

At Sag Harbor (Suffolk Co.) a male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was at the southern end of Noyack Bay as viewed from the beachfront park near the intersection of Noyac Road and Noyack-Long Beach Road. The Barrow’s was with 3 male and 1 female Common Goldeneye. Obviously this is a different bird from the female Barrow’s found on the Sagaponack Christmas Bird Count (21 Dec) and relocated during this past week by Hugh McGuinness. I searched for the female on Sunday but was hampered by the windy conditions, and imagine it was out on the bay somewhere in one of the several groups of goldeneye. I recall that on the CBC, the female Barrow’s was found on the more sheltered Sag Harbor Cove, viewable from Noyack-Long Beach Road and Redwood Road.

As an aside, the number of Barrow’s Goldeneye reported from Long Island so far this winter has been very impressive. In addition to the two from Noyack Bay, a female was seen near Cedar Point, Town of East Hampton, on 21 Dec, and more recently a male has been reported multiple times from the East Marion Causeway (Suffolk Co.) on the North Fork, with perhaps a different bird at Bailie Beach in Mattituck reported on 30 Dec. Further west on the north shore of Long Island, a returning male has been seen a number of times at Bayville and Center Island (Nassau Co.) and just a hop and skip across the sound, a female was at Playland, Rye (Westchester Co.) on 27 Dec.

At Shorts Pond (Bridgehampton, Suffolk Co.), there were a large number of geese cycling in and out of the partly frozen kettle pond on the north side of Scuttlehole Road. My maximum count for SNOW GOOSE was a respectable 145, including a collar-marked adult from the Canadian Bylot Island Great Snow Goose banding project. Other waterfowl included 4 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 9 AMERICAN COOT and 5 RING-NECKED DUCK. A Canada Goose with a predominantly white head and neck made an odd sight.

Many of the Canada and Snow Geese were shuttling from the pond to a large pasture (polo field?) just south of Scuttlehole Road and parallel to Hayground Road. Part of the 1000-2000 strong flock lifted up when some farm employees drove across the field in a golf cart and by naked eye I spotted two small geese that I initially took to be brant. However, as soon as I got my bins on them, I realized they were actually a pair of CACKLING GEESE. Unfortunately, I could not relocate them in the dense mass of birds on the ground for a better look. Some 70 HORNED LARK were also in these fields.

Another sizeable goose flock on a field off Beach Lane in Wainscott (Suffolk Co.), included another nominate CACKLING GOOSE and 4 SNOW GEESE. On Georgica Pond, I located a 1st-winter TUNDRA SWAN in an open area with 50 or so Mute Swan and was surprised not to see the 2 adults (parents) that have been in the same spot on my last several visits. Perhaps they were over on Hook Pond or out in a field somewhere?

A trio of ATLANTIC BRANT (found earlier by Karen and Barbara Rubinstein) on Gardiners Bay at the terminus of Springs/Fireplace Road in The Springs (Suffolk Co.) rounded out a cracking weekend for waterfowl on Long Island.

25-26 Jan 2009 -‏ Cackling Goose in Sagaponack, Tundra Swans on Georgica Pond

Yesterday I helped with the East Hampton to Watermill section of the New York State waterfowl count, mostly stopping at ocean access points to count seaduck and loons. Unfortunately there really wasn't movement offshore and numbers were fairly modest. Birds of note found during the day included:

CACKLING GOOSE - 1 with a large flock of Canada Geese in a Sagaponack field off Sag Main Street near junction w Sagg Pond Ct.
TUNDRA SWAN - 3 on Georgica Pond. This family group seems to spend more time on Georgica Pond than nearby Hook Pond.
EURASIAN WIGEON - 1 on Hook Pond. Young male present since December.
WILSON'S SNIPE - 6 on a muddy creek running into Georgica Cove (southside of Cove Hollow Road)
PURPLE SANDPIPERS - 24 on the middle of the three ocean jetties at Georgica.
KILLDEER - 1 Mecox Bay (Bay Lane), relatively scarce in midwinter.

Today we had a flock of 28 PINE SISKIN at our feeder in Springs and a late afternoon visit to Napeague produced 'Larry' the LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL at its usual spot on Lazy Point and a good number of shorebirds on the flats exposed by the low tide: 150 RUDDY TURNSTONE, 190 DUNLIN, 220 SANDERLING and 4 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.

The evergreen berries that seemed to have attracted the Bohemian Waxwing to the community at Napeague Beach have mostly been devored and may explain the complete absence of the waxwing and the Starling/American Robin flock it associated with. I understand the waxwing was looked for repeatedly during the week by Andy Baldelli and others, so presumably it has moved elsewhere. Likewise, the Western Grebe found by Jorn Ake in Amagansett on 9 Jan and seen again by Jorn and several others the next day has not been relocated in spite of intense searching by Hugh McGuinness, myself and others, so it too may have moved, although the beach is so extensive that it could still be in the same general area and should be watched for at any access point between Shinnecock Inlet and Montauk!

19 Jan 2009 - Bald Eagle on Gardiners Island

A few bits and pieces today.

PINE SISKIN - up to 6 on our feeder in The Springs.
COMMON REDPOLL - 1 briefly on the feeder.
BALD EAGLE - adult at south end of Gardiners Island, visible from Gerard Drive and from Promised Land Road. Sometimes perched on 'no landing' signs or flying around making half-hearted attempts to snatch one of the hundreds of ducks it flushed off the pond at the tip.
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - light morph hunting at southern end of Gardiners Is. Probably the bird we saw heading across to Gardiners to Lazy Point on Sat.
CANVASBACK - 5 on Gardiners Bay off Gerard Point.
GREAT HORNED OWL - perched on the top of the trees at the edge of the Walking Dunes.

After looking unsuccessfully for the Western Grebe off Napeague Lane, Atlantic Ave and Mako I ended up at Montauk Pt in the late afternoon. The duck hunters were still there and had clearly pushed the majority of birds quite far out. Anthony's Dovekie was still present below the bluff at Camp Hero swimming widely around in Turtle Cove. A couple of distant razors were the only other birds of note. Gannet numbers seemed down compared to Sunday.

18 Jan 2009 - Dovekie, Thick-billed Murre and other winter waterbirds off Montauk

Hugh McGuinness and I birded the Montauk area today as part of the DEC/NYSOA January waterfowl count. The snow/sleet mix fizzled out by late morning. The relatively windless conditions, heavy overcast and lack of heat shimmer made for excellent ocean viewing. Our highlights included a DOVEKIE, a THICK-BILLED MURRE, 53+ RAZORBILL, 4 RED-NECKED GREBE, 3 KING EIDER, 4 HARLEQUIN DUCK, 2 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, 19 PURPLE SANDPIPER, SNOWY OWL and SHORT-EARED OWL. Common Eider and scoter numbers seemed relatively low compared to previous weeks whereas the numbers of Common Loons and Horned Grebes remain fairly high. The partially leucistic White-winged Scoter first found two weeks ago was still present off the Consession Building. As noted in an earlier post by Anthony Collerton, the BOHEMIAN WAXWING we found yesterday continues on Shore Drive in Napeague and was seen by several parties during the day.

Details of the highligh speces are as follows:

DOVEKIE - single in Turtle Cove. Found yesterday by Anthony Collerton. Turtle Cove is on the south side of the point and today was best viewed from the bluff east of the Camp Hero parking lot.

THICK-BILLED MURRE - Whilst scanning from the concession building Hugh picked out a Thick-billed Murre on the edge of a Surf Scoter flock. Unfortunately it disappeared almost immediately but a couple of hours later what was presumably the same bird was seen again by Shai Mitra, Patricia Lindsay and Dough Futyuma from the southside of the Point and seemed to be heading back towards the north side. Remarkably, Shai et al. saw a second Thick-billed Murre in flight from Culloden Point but we were unable to relocate it later in the afternoon.

RAZORBILL - small groups were noted from vantages at Montauk Point and Camp Hero. A dead Razorbill was also noted floating on Lake Montauk.

RED-NECKED GREBE - One was observed from Gin Beach on the east side a Montauk Inlet and three from Culloden Point.

KING EIDER - at least two females were present off the Point and third was at Ditch Plains.

HARLEQUIN DUCK - A quartet at Ditch Plains comprised two adult males, an immature male and a female.

BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE - Two adults made brief appearances over the scoter flocks at Montauk Point before heading out into Block Island Sound.

PURPLE SANDPIPER - Fifteen roosting on a large bolder at Ditch Plains, two at the Montauk Inlet jetties and two on the rocks below Camp Hero.

At dusk we watched a SHORT-EARED OWL corsing over the dunes bordering Napeague Harbor and were pleasantly surprised when it stooped to dive bomb a SNOWY OWL perched on the top of a small tree.