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.