[nysbirds-l] Jones Beach Hawk Watch
Not in the conventional sense. But with all the talk of a Goshawk around the Jones Beach West End, that seems to be what broke out. A bunch of people ended up taking up a position overlooking the open area of the median area. There were certainly a few Accipiter sightings, with several sightings of Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks. There was even talk of a Levant Sparrowhawk. Okay, that was me goofing around. But was there a Goshawk? Could be. There seems to be a pretty big one around, with one reported perched in the open in the early morning. I was forwarded decent but not perfect pictures by Bobby Rossetti - although I'm not sure who took them - of a birds said to be a / the Goshawk. Looking at them, I'm seeing Cooper's Hawk. The first thing that caught my attention is how high up on the belly the streaking fades to white. From what I can tell, the undertail coverts are pure white. The streaking is denser than on many Cooper's, but not as dense as should be on a Goshawk. There are some horizontal bars appearing along the flanks - a pattern that I see on many Cooper's that I've photographed before. The bands on the tail look straight, without any white highlights that I can see. The supercilium appears minimal and not even at the upper extreme that Cooper's can exhibit. The white spots on the back do not seem out of line with some Cooper's that I've photographed. So I'm not saying there isn't a Goshawk around or that people didn't see it this morning. I just don't think the pictures I was shown are it. But I'll be looking tomorrow morning - and hoping for a Cave Swallow or that we finally get a notable finch flight on the NW wind. I'll also slip in that I did some sea watching the last two mornings, at field 6. Numbers weren't particularly impressive, probably because I didn't start too early (around 8:15). I firmly believe you shouldn't have to get up as early for birding as you have to for shopping. But anyway, yesterday's "count" was led by Gannets, today's by Red-throated Loons (although a fair number yesterday). The scoter flocks have been Blacks, but a single Surf moved by today. There were two Forster's Terns today, heading east. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Jones Beach Hawk Watch
Not in the conventional sense. But with all the talk of a Goshawk around the Jones Beach West End, that seems to be what broke out. A bunch of people ended up taking up a position overlooking the open area of the median area. There were certainly a few Accipiter sightings, with several sightings of Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks. There was even talk of a Levant Sparrowhawk. Okay, that was me goofing around. But was there a Goshawk? Could be. There seems to be a pretty big one around, with one reported perched in the open in the early morning. I was forwarded decent but not perfect pictures by Bobby Rossetti - although I'm not sure who took them - of a birds said to be a / the Goshawk. Looking at them, I'm seeing Cooper's Hawk. The first thing that caught my attention is how high up on the belly the streaking fades to white. From what I can tell, the undertail coverts are pure white. The streaking is denser than on many Cooper's, but not as dense as should be on a Goshawk. There are some horizontal bars appearing along the flanks - a pattern that I see on many Cooper's that I've photographed before. The bands on the tail look straight, without any white highlights that I can see. The supercilium appears minimal and not even at the upper extreme that Cooper's can exhibit. The white spots on the back do not seem out of line with some Cooper's that I've photographed. So I'm not saying there isn't a Goshawk around or that people didn't see it this morning. I just don't think the pictures I was shown are it. But I'll be looking tomorrow morning - and hoping for a Cave Swallow or that we finally get a notable finch flight on the NW wind. I'll also slip in that I did some sea watching the last two mornings, at field 6. Numbers weren't particularly impressive, probably because I didn't start too early (around 8:15). I firmly believe you shouldn't have to get up as early for birding as you have to for shopping. But anyway, yesterday's "count" was led by Gannets, today's by Red-throated Loons (although a fair number yesterday). The scoter flocks have been Blacks, but a single Surf moved by today. There were two Forster's Terns today, heading east. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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/ --
