Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Cedar Beach Marina (Suffolk County) YES

2015-12-10 Thread Derek Rogers 
Gyrfalcon currently sitting on an osprey platform about a mile west of Cedar 
Beach Marina. 

Best,
Derek Rogers
Sayville

> On Dec 9, 2015, at 4:33 PM, Ken Feustel  wrote:
> 
> Yesterday Sue and I observed a large gray falcon briefly sitting on an Osprey 
> platform in the salt marsh north of the Cedar Beach Marina (CBM). Before we 
> could even get out of the car to look at the bird it dropped off the platform 
> and flew low over marsh before abruptly pouncing on something hidden in the 
> marsh grass. We stayed an additional hour in anticipation of the bird showing 
> itself - which it never did. The light gray back, large bulky body, broad, 
> pointed wings and manner of flight all suggested a Gyrfalcon, but the 
> observation was too brief to be sure. We entered the sighting in E-bird as 
> ”large falcon sp.”. 
> 
> Today a brief stop at CBM in the morning yielded only a Peregrine Falcon on 
> the Osprey Platform. However, we had alerted another birder of the 
> possibility that a Gyr was present, and in the early afternoon we received a 
> phone call that the Gyrfalcon was being observed north of the marina, perched 
> in a lone Cedar tree out on the marsh. Upon arriving, the bird was sitting in 
> the Cedar, interestingly the same tree used by the last Gyfalcon seen in this 
> location a few years ago. The bird, seen from a distance with a spotting 
> scope, was heavy-bodied, resembling a Red-tailed Hawk. The light gray back 
> with light feather edgings was observed, as well as the weak, narrow mustache 
> stripe. During our observation of well over an hour, we observed the bird 
> tussle with a Peregrine Falcon, chase a Black Duck (he missed) and grab two 
> unidentified prey items, always flying back to the lone Cedar tree after 
> presumably devouring its prey. The bird was too far away for my meager 
> telephoto, but usable photos were obtained and will be posted to e-bird in 
> the near future by another birder. Our observation of the birds behavior gave 
> us no reason to believe this bird was an escapee from a falconer.
> 
> A word about access. Cedar Beach Marina is usually open during the week when 
> maintenance people need to get in. The facility is open on the weekend if 
> there is some special event being held there, which does not happen 
> frequently at this time of year. If the facility is closed my recommendation 
> is to park at Cedar Overlook on the south side of the Ocean Parkway, (opens 
> anywhere from 9 to 10AM on weekends) walk west past the 9/11 Memorial on your 
> left then out the entrance of Cedar Beach to the parkway. Cross the parkway 
> carefully and walk in the main entrance to the marina. You could also park 
> outside the entrance to the marina and take your chances with the gendarmes.
> 
> Good Birding,
> 
> Ken & Sue Feustel
> 
> 
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Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon at Cedar Beach Marina (Suffolk County) YES

2015-12-10 Thread Derek Rogers 
Gyrfalcon currently sitting on an osprey platform about a mile west of Cedar 
Beach Marina. 

Best,
Derek Rogers
Sayville

> On Dec 9, 2015, at 4:33 PM, Ken Feustel  wrote:
> 
> Yesterday Sue and I observed a large gray falcon briefly sitting on an Osprey 
> platform in the salt marsh north of the Cedar Beach Marina (CBM). Before we 
> could even get out of the car to look at the bird it dropped off the platform 
> and flew low over marsh before abruptly pouncing on something hidden in the 
> marsh grass. We stayed an additional hour in anticipation of the bird showing 
> itself - which it never did. The light gray back, large bulky body, broad, 
> pointed wings and manner of flight all suggested a Gyrfalcon, but the 
> observation was too brief to be sure. We entered the sighting in E-bird as 
> ”large falcon sp.”. 
> 
> Today a brief stop at CBM in the morning yielded only a Peregrine Falcon on 
> the Osprey Platform. However, we had alerted another birder of the 
> possibility that a Gyr was present, and in the early afternoon we received a 
> phone call that the Gyrfalcon was being observed north of the marina, perched 
> in a lone Cedar tree out on the marsh. Upon arriving, the bird was sitting in 
> the Cedar, interestingly the same tree used by the last Gyfalcon seen in this 
> location a few years ago. The bird, seen from a distance with a spotting 
> scope, was heavy-bodied, resembling a Red-tailed Hawk. The light gray back 
> with light feather edgings was observed, as well as the weak, narrow mustache 
> stripe. During our observation of well over an hour, we observed the bird 
> tussle with a Peregrine Falcon, chase a Black Duck (he missed) and grab two 
> unidentified prey items, always flying back to the lone Cedar tree after 
> presumably devouring its prey. The bird was too far away for my meager 
> telephoto, but usable photos were obtained and will be posted to e-bird in 
> the near future by another birder. Our observation of the birds behavior gave 
> us no reason to believe this bird was an escapee from a falconer.
> 
> A word about access. Cedar Beach Marina is usually open during the week when 
> maintenance people need to get in. The facility is open on the weekend if 
> there is some special event being held there, which does not happen 
> frequently at this time of year. If the facility is closed my recommendation 
> is to park at Cedar Overlook on the south side of the Ocean Parkway, (opens 
> anywhere from 9 to 10AM on weekends) walk west past the 9/11 Memorial on your 
> left then out the entrance of Cedar Beach to the parkway. Cross the parkway 
> carefully and walk in the main entrance to the marina. You could also park 
> outside the entrance to the marina and take your chances with the gendarmes.
> 
> Good Birding,
> 
> Ken & Sue Feustel
> 
> 
> --
> 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!
> --

--

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/

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