Royal Tern, Cory's Shearwater, Long-tailed Duck, Bald Eagle - 13 June 2010

A brief seawatch this morning (7:54-8:54 AM) from the beach in Amagansett (Suffolk Co.) produced 6 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 8 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, 4 COMMON LOON, 53 Northern Gannet, 1 Laughing Gull and 1 adult ROYAL TERN catching small baitfish just beyond the surfline. The Royal Tern was unexpected with Caspian more likely out here in the spring/early summer, but the bird was quite close and I was able to see that it's red-orange bill lacked a dark tip, was less massive than expected for Caspian and that dark markings on the underside of the primaries were restricted to the tips giving a discrete training edge.

A 1st or 2nd-year BALD EAGLE was soaring over the 'Art Barge' in Napeague mid-morning together with a TURKEY VULTURE. There have been several sightings of young eagles in the Napeague area this spring/summer and so perhaps an individual is attempting to summer locally.

Yesterday afternoon, I tried seawatching from various spots in and around Montauk but had to contend with several heavy downpours and generally hazy conditions. Although there were plenty of gannets (>100/hr), I saw no shearwaters at all. Single WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS were off Montauk Point and Amagansett. Interestingly on the north side of the peninsula, there were 9 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS working the flat water between Culloden Point and Gardiner's Island. I don't recall seeing storm-petrels this far in Gardiner's Bay before. Small numbers of Common Eider linger off the Point and around the Montauk Inlet, where there was also a female LONG-TAILED DUCK. I had seen this bird the weekend before in same area. A 3rd-summer LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was among the ratty subadult Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls loafing around the inlet.