Razorbill flight, Wilson's Snipe in Wainscott - 18 April 2010

Waterfowl, including loons and number of RAZORBILLS were still moving eastward yesterday morning, despite the NW wind. Hugh McGuinness joined me during a 1-hr count from Amagansett (9:05-10:05 am) and we logged the following:

Northern Gannet - 112
Common Loon - 43
Red-throated Loon - 94
loon sp. - 32
Atlantic Brant - 21
'dark-winged scoter' sp. - 95
Black Scoter - 27
Surf Scoter - 42
White-winged Scoter - 2
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Long-tailed Duck - 3
Common Eider - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 491++
Great Cormorant - 1
Laughing Gull - 3
RAZORBILL - 48

Elsewhere, a harrier flushed a flock of 18 WILSON'S SNIPE from the marshy edge of Wainscott Pond (scoped from roadside). The sand flats at Georgica Bay, Mecox Inlet and Sagg Mains were somwhat uninspiring, however, we did find a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW (local FoS) hawking insects over a side branch of Mecox Bay near Horsemill Lane, a lingering pair of COMMON MERGANSER north of Bridge Lane on Sag Pond and a SNOWY EGRET at Sagg Mains.

Inexplicably, we discovered a relatively fresh BEAVER pelt lying on the ground at the end of Horsemill Lane. Naturally, we'd be interested to know where this came from!

I revisited these spots in the late afternoon, finding a CASPIAN TERN and one adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the flats at Mecox and two WILSON'S SNIPE flew over the cow pasture at the Mecox Dairy headed towards the bay. An AMERICAN KESTREL was on the South Fork Country Club Golf Course off Old Stone Hwy in Amagansett. At Shinnecock Inlet, crooning BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES are conspicuous in the marshes and dunes either side of the Ponquogue Bridge. Several pairs of Great Egrets are already sitting on nests on the island to the east of the bridge and a few Snowy Egrets were scattered around the bay. Two imm. GREAT CORMORANTS were roosting on a buoy in the bay, where several hundred COMMON EIDER continue.