Re: [nysbirds-l] Possible Re-sighting of Little Egret and Laughing Gull RFI

[Arie Gilbert]

Shai {et al}, Perhaps unbeknownst to you, I amongst a few others have been on the lookout for the Little Egret.  If I had been successful, I would have reported it to the list as I always do with sightings of merit.  So short of reported successes it escapes me how one might determine whether or not folks are trying, or why you have concluded birders are not. Of course, if a bird is not in an accessible location, one's hands are tied. Given the very limited vantage points near to Gardeners park I am not sure what more could be done by fellow birders,  or what you are/were expecting. A stop I made at Captree Island on June 18 to look for this bird was unsuccessful but I was nevertheless rewarded by finding a White-faced Ibis. You as well as others took advantage of my discovery that very day so I was gratified that others were able to see another good bird. That's why I do not understand why there is disparagement of 'chasing' bird reports. You do it.  We all do it.  Why else have a "Rare Bird Alert"? So some chose to bird where they see something of interest, while some ignore places devoid of reports. This makes more sense the further the birds are from you. Who wants to shlep all the way out to any bird if they do not have a reasonable assurance that it will not be a wasted trip? I can sympathize with the reluctance. And not everyone has the same amount of free time! As birders we appreciate those who report to ebird, or on the NY list, or when someone posts to the NY list on behalf of another from their phone call. But what good is it if one is made to feel guilty for actually using that information? I am not at all ashamed of chasing birds, and take umbrage at the suggestion that it is somehow 'less worthwhile' than "pure searching".  Recall that chasing sometimes results in other discoveries AKA the Patagonia Picnic Table Effect.   **Reports Beget Reports** I believe its a bad idea to go down the road of what can be described as "elitist birding" where we criticize others for not birding according to some arbitrary standard: be it that they chase ebird reports, that they are not a 'green birder' replete with concomitant consumption of tofu and wheat grass,  or for their not knowing the difference between juvenal and juvenile.  Not all birders are the same; nor should they be. That's just the way it is. So it is my hope that we can instead **encourage more birders in NYS to post reports of good sightings** rather than bemoaning those who do not conform to some 'standard'.  And not just here in region 10, but all over NYS. I would love to see reports from elsewhere! Finally, I have a kayak and have been exploring the south shore. I have avoided the Captree vicinity due to boat traffic and tidal currents, but now that you have shared your information, I may yet do so. PS I saw juvenile Laughing Gulls at Cupsogue last week, as well as a few Red Knot amongst not much else of note. Not anything like last year at all. Arie Gilbert North Babylon, NY WWW.Powerbirder.blogspot.com  WWW.qcbirdclub.org On 7/30/2015 3:10 PM, Shaibal Mitra wrote: On the evening of Saturday, 25 July, Patricia Lindsay and I boarded the "Moon Chaser" for an old-fashioned Wilson Brothers Band Brews Cruise of Fire Island Inlet. Pat didn't even have her binoculars, but I had mine, and I scanned the marsh north of the Captree boat basin in an effort to find her an elusive Tricolored Heron for her year list. What I found was an egret that strongly reminded me of the Little Egret present at nearby Gardiner County Park in late May: long black bill, flat crown, and an angular nape lacking any visible plumes; and the lores appeared dark, so that the eye through the bill looked continuously dark. I showed the bird to Pat, and also to Holly Wilson and Phillip Camhi, and they all agreed with the impressions just described. Taking my turn with the binoculars again, I watched the bird rise and fly out of sight to the north, revealing all-black legs and bright yellow feet, indicative of an adult. Although the circumstances of our v! iews wer e far from ideal, I have a hard time seeing an adult Snowy Egret with dark lores and and lacking a bushy, rounded nape, and furthermore standing stately and lanky-looking, as this bird had. The passage of two months could account for the loss of the two long head plumes and a shift from orange to yellow foot color. I mentioned our expererience to some local birders but saw little point in posting it unless we were able to nail it down--especially given the disappointingly limpid follow up searches back in May, after the bird first went missing. When I returned to Captree today, I did not find the egret of interest (nor the Tricolor), but I did see something that surprised me: at least three brand-new juvenile Laughing Gulls, well out to the east of Sexton Island, in bad light. For years now we southwestern Suffolk County birders have suspected that Laughing Gulls were breeding in the Captree/Sexton/East/West Fire Island area of Great South Bay, based on the regular early spring arrival here of birds in high breeding plumage, earlier than and inland from our ocean-hugging passage migrants. While pondering these things, a Royal Tern flew over heading east with a begging juv in tow, reminding me that it is by no means too early for juv Laughing Gulls to disperse east from Jamaica Bay. But it has been my impression that fledging there is late this year (I saw no juvs on my twice daily commutes on the Belt Parkway through 21 July). On a hunch, I drove over to Orowoc Lake in Islip, an epicenter of the sort of early spring LAGU activity has been making us curious, and was delighted to see a juvenile Laughing Gull fly in--surely one of the most beautiful birds in the world. So, have folks been seeing juvs around Jamaica Bay lately? Does anyone know of actual nesting evidence in Great South Bay? Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ CSI Tops MONEY magazine’s Best Colleges list for 2015-2016><http://csitoday.com/2015/07/csi-tops-money-magazines-best-colleges-list-for-2015-2016/> -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2015.0.6086 / Virus Database: 4401/10345 - Release Date: 07/31/15