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