[nysbirds-l] Montauk and Shinnecock Inlet
An impromptu run out to the east end today. At Shinnecock Inlet, one immature Glaucous Gull was seen moving between both jetties. A Great Cormorant was on the tower at the end of the jetty, the Common Eider flock was just west of the inlet, and several Long-tailed Ducks were in and out of the inlet. A Red-necked Grebe was in the bay just inside and west of the inlet, but that bird flew east while I was observing it. 4 Boat-tailed Grackles were in the parking area of the old Ponquogue Bridge. At Deep Hollow on the south side, five Snow Geese were there but flew around noon. The Ross's Goose was seen with a group of five Canada's. I didn't see the Cackling but didn't work through each goose as the rain picked up. Reaching Montauk Point just in time for the steady rain, the large seaduck flock featured Common Eider, Red-breasted Mergs and all three scoters, with the vast majority being Black. At Montauk Harbor, a young/darker Snowy Owl was present. Curiously, one male and one female Ring-necked Pheasant were freshly road killed about 100 yards apart from each other on East Lake Drive by Little Reed Pond. Thanks, Tim Dunn Babylon NY Sent from my iPhone -- 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] Final Results---Northern Nassau Christmas Count
The Northern Nassau Christmas Count was held on Saturday, December 21st, the winter solstice. Although it was the shortest day of the year, 80 observers braved temperatures in the 50s and found a near-record 117 species. Three species were new to the count: Lesser Yellowlegs—a single bird found in Manhasset and photographed standing next to the only Greater Yellowlegs found on the count. What are the odds? If there was such thing as a Medium Yellowlegs, I’m sure it would have been standing between them. Seaside Sparrow--- a superbly photographed individual found at Caumsett SP by the same observer who found a count first Nelson’s Sparrow last year in the same location. Black Guillemot---a remarkable find of a continuing individual found on the eastern side of Hempstead Harbor. Probably the first record for western (or all of) Long Island Sound. This brings the cumulative number of species seen on this count to 198. Perhaps next year some lucky individual will find our 200th species. With Razorbill and Black Guillemot already on the list...maybe Dovekie will be number 200.. Other rarities found included 2 Greater White-fronted Geese (3rd count ever, 2 out of last 3) Cackling Goose (2nd count ever, last 2 counts) 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes (4th count ever, all singles until now). King Eider (3rd count ever, 2 out of last 3) 2 Eurasian Wigeons 3 Bald Eagles (4th count ever, all singles until now) Red-headed Woodpecker (5th count ever, 1st since 2002). Horned Lark (1st since 1998) Vesper Sparrow (1st since 1994) New high counts were achieved for many species including Canada Goose (14677), Ruddy Duck (1388), Red-tailed Hawk (60), Merlin (7), Red-bellied Woodpecker (218), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (33, shattering the old record of 19), Carolina Wren (194), American Pipit (5), and Song Sparrow (474). How we can find 474 Song Sparrows but only 182 House Sparrows is a mystery to me, but I’m not complaining. House Sparrows were down 65% of their 10-year average. Rock Pigeons were down 72%; we only counted 143. Really? Did we just ignore these nuisance species this year or did the warm weather push all counters deeper into the woods? Hmmm.. Also, in case you were wondering about our spiraling Canada Goose numbers, the Montezuma, NY Christmas Count recorded 51, 239 on last year’s count (the most in the United States). However, I think most of these were true migratory geese and not the feral slobs we have here in Nassau. If only we could tax them. 6864 Greater Scaup was below the 5-year average of 14,000 but they could easily have been in neighboring waters outside our count circle. There were only a very few number of species that could be considered as “misses” for our count, namely, Black-crowned Night Heron, Purple Sandpiper (seen count week), Chipping Sparrow, & Purple Finch. After 3 years in a row, Common Raven was absent from our count. Count week birds included 6 Razorbills, Purple Sandpiper, & Lesser Black-backed Gull. Red-throated & Common Loons were down 89% & 64%, respectively, from their 10 year averages but Horned Grebe was way up with 134 seen. Most ducks were up but especially Common Goldeneye (up 135% of its 10 year average). Long-tailed Duck was actually down a bit. Both of our resident owls (Great Horned & Screech) were found in normal numbers. Everyone had high hopes that a Snowy Owl would be found this year, given the numbers that they have appeared in on Long Island this winter. However, our count circle is probably the least likely area to find this bird on Long Island and the odds prevailed. 2 American Kestrels were found this year, an admirable achievement these days but to see that they were outnumbered by Merlins better than 3 to 1 is truly astounding. In 1973, we recorded 27 kestrels on our count (and 2 Merlins). A few area counts conducted in the prior weeks remarked on the paucity of Black-capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse. However, both species were found in numbers representative of their 5, 10, & 20 year averages. In fact, almost all landbirds were near or higher than their averages. Some exceptions to this included lower than average numbers of both kinglets, White-throated Sparrow, & Dark-eyed Junco. Some numbers to leave you dizzy: This year, we saw about 45,000 individuals which matches the average for the last 5 years. The 10 & 20 year averages are about 36,000 & 32,000, respectively. Much of this volume can be attributed to a handful of species. Removing just 5 high-volume species (Canada Goose, Greater Scaup, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Starling) dropped the total from 45,000 to 17,000. However, 17,000 is well above the 5, 10, 20 year averages so it seems like we’re seeing more birds on our count. Whether this is due to more participants, weather, or some other factor is up to the Audubon folks to figure out. And finally, some useless stats from the spreadsheet: Only 22 out of 198 species have
[nysbirds-l] V. Thrush (NO) in Manhattan
Sunday, 29 December, 2013 mid / lower east of Manhattan, N.Y. City - I decided to take a bike ride thru & around mid- and down-town areas of Manhattan (N.Y. City) earlier (ahead of the rain) today, and walk in various smaller parks & green-spaces as well as a focus on the area, as reported to this list at least to 8 days ago, of the male Varied Thrush that was first discovered on Sun. Dec. 15th by Louise Fraza and also photographed by Pearl Broder, in doing the (overall) Lower Hudson CBC, and specifically covering the large grounds at Stuyvesant-town, a rather attractive area to a variety of birds including some that are not especially common as overwinterers or late- fall lingerers... (I assume that a Varied Thrush is the rarest overall of birds to have made an appearance there, even with the surprisingly good variety of species seen there over the years by sharp-eyed local birders.) I was NOT successful in re-finding that thrush. My route included parts of the grounds in Stuyvesant-town including of course the primary area the thrush had frequented thru at least Dec. 21st, & many surrounding parts of the grounds, as well as some of the streets nearby, particularly 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, & 20th Streets, from First Ave. to Third Ave., as well as farther out to some of the small gardens & pocket parks of the lower east side, to Tompkins Square Park, and also Washington Square & Union Square & Madison Square & then (no longer expecting that thrush!) at Bryant Park, as well as a few locations in the more immediate vicinity of Stuyvesant-town. On a number of side streets, particularly 16th, 17th, & 18th Sts. I noticed small numbers of American Robins in areas east of Third Ave. to First Ave. & took a look at small patches of greenery in any areas that looked a bit promising. I also saw & heard American Robins in most of the parks just mentioned although in some, they were few. I found the fewest, and perhaps fewest bird spp. overall, at Washington Square Park but admittedly that may have been due to lower effort there. The one park where I encountered a few species of modest note for the date was in Union Square Park, with Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, Swamp Sparrow (a dullish individual in with multiple White-throated Sparrows, the latter spp. fairly regular in winter in most of Manhattan's green spaces of any size, if one looks), and as noted, some American Robins... & yes, I did peer into the gated (& thus ever-intriguing) Gramercy Park, which seems to have some shrubbery that could hide a thrush or three, in looking in and imagining such! I found Bryant Park to be filled with tourists and arriving skaters to the rink there, with easily 2,000 people already in that not-so-huge space by 9:45 or so... of course that area will possibly host far greater numbers of people in about 55 hours from now as the year 2013 is rung out... Tom Fiore Manhattan -- 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] "White-winged" American Crow at Bear Mountain State Park
On the morning of December 28, my wife and I were heading north on Route 9W in Bear Mountain State Park. As we passed a small pullout for the Jones Point Path (41.296018,-73.984651) just south of Iona Island, a medium-sized bird flew up from the ground. The bird was all black except for very prominent, symmetrical, white wing patches on the dorsal and ventral surface of the wings. My first thought was a Black Vulture, common along this stretch of road. However, the white was too extensive. Additionally, the bird was somewhat smaller than a vulture. Other than the wing patches, the bird appeared to resemble a crow. After a short discussion, we decided to go back and look for the bird. When we got to the pullout it was nowhere to be seen, but after a few minutes we heard an American Crow calling off in the distance. The crow was downhill on the other side of a band of trees, but seemed to be working closer. When we were finally able to locate it, we could clearly see the white patches when it flew. A small white patch could be seen even when the bird was at rest. I tried for a few photographs, but the dim light and thick vegetation prevented any clear shots. After a minute or two, the bird took off toward Doodletown (to the northwest). Anyone in the Doodletown/Iona Island area may want to look out for this unusual looking bird. My poor (extremely!) photos of the bird are posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/awells48/sets/72157639163371745/. A Google search for "White-Winged Crow" reveals several photos of a few similarly patterned crows. Alan and Della Wells -- 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] 5 Towns section highlights/Southern Nassau CBC (long)
Highlights. Sewane Golf Course, Hewlett Cackling Goose Eastern Meadowlark Bay Park, East Rockaway Palm Warbler Black-headed Gull Lawrence Eurasian Wigeon North Woodmere County Park Common Goldeneye The Team "South End" Jeff Glassberg Jane Scott Eric Miller Jean LoScalzo Mitch Horowitz Lisa Scheppke "North End" Joe DiCostanzo Jeff Kimball Chuck McAlexander David Sime "Little Kevin" Sean Sime "The Other Ringer" Steve Walter Yesterday I had the pleasure of coordinating the 5 Towns section of the Southern Nassau CBC. This area consists of suburban parks and a few vantages of the bays, canals and inlets from of Hewlett, East Rockaway, Woodmere and Lawrence. Many long time participants as well as a few new counters joined the fray this year and our typically sizable group swelled to an impressive 13. The group splits in two to cover the north and south ends of 5 Towns. Our sub-group covers the north end and most of the following account will be from there. We also had the distinct honor having my brother's nephew Kevin (age 11) join us for his first CBC. This turned out to be more enjoyable than the birds themselves and I strongly urge CBC participants to give it a try. It was one of those "full circle" moments that brought me back to my first CBC many, many years ago and all the nostalgia that comes along with such memories. When the full group was splitting up after pre-dawn breakfast I said to Jeff and Jane, "I've got a good feeling about today." Little did I know how true those words would ring. At our second stop in Hewlett we were counting Canada Geese feeding on the Sewane Golf Course. We immediately noticed a very small "Canada type" goose. The bird fed continuously and most of the group was on it before it ever lifted it's head. It eventually looked around and it's short, stubby bill and block headed appearance were clearly observed. We could also see the white line between the base of the neck and chest.The flock flew out into the marsh and I was able to get a marginal flight photo which at least shows size and shape, if not much more detail. >From the same vantage, but looking west out into the marsh, one of the many hunters seen this day flushed 6 Meadowlark, a difficult bird on this particular CBC and a save for the count. A few stops later in Bay Park, we almost immediately found a "western" Palm Warbler working the ground and pines along the NW corner berm of the northernmost ball field in the park. We were hoping to run into one of the white winged gulls Steve Walter had seen here days prior. At one point a couple started feeding gulls bread and fruit loops (mental note to self). Ring-billed Gulls were descending immediately and when I lifted my bins I saw a small gull with orange legs streak by! The excitement was tempered immediately by the realization that our group had split up and Joe and Chuck were half a mile away, yet the fruit loop numbers were dwindling rapidly. Thankfully, we had hero in the car to keep the birds there while Jeff K. ran a scope out to meet them halfway. Eventually all in the party were able to get great looks at the 1st winter Black-headed Gull. In the pandemonium we were all trying to teach little Kevin what to look for to pick this bird out. Five adults franticly yammering field marks at the same time; look for the orange legs, see the black trailing edge of the wings?, it's the smallest gull out there. Someone said, "When it's standing it's back it very patterned." To which Kevin cooly responded, "Actually, it's back is white. The wings are patterned." The kid's got potential! It was around this time that Steve called to let us know he had found a Eurasian Wigeon in our territory. At lunch we learned the "south end" crew found another Eurasian Wigeon in Lawrence. We headed out to Grant Park in Hewlett to find the pond open, but seriously lacking in numbers and diversity of ducks. I can't say definitively, but this is consistent with years the pond has frozen early in the season and then opened up. Once the birds are driven off to find open water many do not return. Three Pintail were a nice consolation though. The only other area rarity came in the form of two female Common Goldeneye, one at North Woodmere Park and the other from Mill River. It was a wonderful day to be out counting birds and I can't thank all our participants enough. Our area wound up with three saves for the count (Cackling Goose, Meadowlark and Black-headed-Gull). I fully understand the demands on birders during the count season and it amazes me that after 15 plus years of covering 5 Towns I'm still a relative "newbie" among this group. Your consistency is commendable. I look forward to seeing you all next year and yes, I've already inquired about "little Kevin's" availability in 2014. Cheers, Sean Sime Brooklyn, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
[nysbirds-l] Bald Eagle (Calverton, Suffolk County)
At about 11:00 am today (Dec. 29), an adult bald eagle (head and tail both white, although with some slight brown streaking) was flying over the Swan Lake Country Club fairway and ponds adjacent to Grumman Blvd in Calverton across from the old Grumman property. The bird appeared to be hunting for fish or ducks over the ponds, then flew back over the fairway. When I left, it was roosting in a pine tree about 250 yards south of the road. -- 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] Birds on the East End
This morning Peter Polshek and I birded from Montauk to Hook Pond, Easthampton. The ROSS' GOOSE and a lame Cackling Goose were found at Deep Hollow ranch in the field south of the highway. At the Point itself, there were 12000+ seaducks plus 60 Razorbills. At Startop Estate along East Lake Drive we found an immature NORTHERN SHRIKE. At the Lake Montauk Inlet, we saw a Red-necked Grebe and a SNOWY OWL. Another SNOWY OWL was at Lazy Point in Napeague, along with the amazing "Larry" (an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull). At Hook Pond, 2 Tundra Swans continue, and all three Mergansers were present I heard from Angus Wilson that an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was present at Sagaponack Pond, both yesterday and today. Hugh -- Hugh McGuinness Washington, D.C. -- 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] Adult Bald eagles
Two were seen soaring over Shelter Island during the Christmas Count. Orhan Birol Shelter Island -- 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] NYTimes.com: Tracking the Snowy Owl Migration in Real Time - NYTimes.com
If you, like I, would not have seen this article unless a NYT reporter sent you a link, I thought I'd post it for those of you who might have missed it. Ardith Bondi http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/tracking-the-snowy-owl-migration-in-real-time/?_r=0 -- 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] The New York Botanical Garden
Highlight from the Saturday morning bird walk: RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. Four birds were observed in the swampy area between the smaller Twin Lake and the Bronx River. They were traveling with a small flock of grackles. Also in the same flock were two red winged blackbirds. A Great Horned Owl was well hidden in the forest compared to last week when both owls were easily spotted. Grackles-25 Red winged blackbird-2 Rusty blackbird-4 American Goldfinch- on the Sweetgum seed balls -13 Tufted titmouse-3 White breasted nuthatch-1 Hairy woodpecker-2 Downy woodpecker-2 Red bellied woodpecker-3 Yellow bellied sapsucker-1 Hermit thrush-1 Mallard-6 Cooper's hawk-2 Peregrine falcon -1 Red tailed hawk-3 Song sparrow-7 Swamp sparrow-1 White throated sparrow-3 Wild turkey-2 Blue jay-5 Cardinal-3 Dark eyed junco-many House Finch-1 Mockingbird-1 American Robin- many Good Birding, Debbie Becker BirdingAroundNYC.com -- 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] The New York Botanical Garden
Highlight from the Saturday morning bird walk: RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. Four birds were observed in the swampy area between the smaller Twin Lake and the Bronx River. They were traveling with a small flock of grackles. Also in the same flock were two red winged blackbirds. A Great Horned Owl was well hidden in the forest compared to last week when both owls were easily spotted. Grackles-25 Red winged blackbird-2 Rusty blackbird-4 American Goldfinch- on the Sweetgum seed balls -13 Tufted titmouse-3 White breasted nuthatch-1 Hairy woodpecker-2 Downy woodpecker-2 Red bellied woodpecker-3 Yellow bellied sapsucker-1 Hermit thrush-1 Mallard-6 Cooper's hawk-2 Peregrine falcon -1 Red tailed hawk-3 Song sparrow-7 Swamp sparrow-1 White throated sparrow-3 Wild turkey-2 Blue jay-5 Cardinal-3 Dark eyed junco-many House Finch-1 Mockingbird-1 American Robin- many Good Birding, Debbie Becker BirdingAroundNYC.com -- 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] NYTimes.com: Tracking the Snowy Owl Migration in Real Time - NYTimes.com
If you, like I, would not have seen this article unless a NYT reporter sent you a link, I thought I'd post it for those of you who might have missed it. Ardith Bondi http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/tracking-the-snowy-owl-migration-in-real-time/?_r=0 -- 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] Adult Bald eagles
Two were seen soaring over Shelter Island during the Christmas Count. Orhan Birol Shelter Island -- 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] Birds on the East End
This morning Peter Polshek and I birded from Montauk to Hook Pond, Easthampton. The ROSS' GOOSE and a lame Cackling Goose were found at Deep Hollow ranch in the field south of the highway. At the Point itself, there were 12000+ seaducks plus 60 Razorbills. At Startop Estate along East Lake Drive we found an immature NORTHERN SHRIKE. At the Lake Montauk Inlet, we saw a Red-necked Grebe and a SNOWY OWL. Another SNOWY OWL was at Lazy Point in Napeague, along with the amazing Larry (an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull). At Hook Pond, 2 Tundra Swans continue, and all three Mergansers were present I heard from Angus Wilson that an adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was present at Sagaponack Pond, both yesterday and today. Hugh -- Hugh McGuinness Washington, D.C. -- 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] Bald Eagle (Calverton, Suffolk County)
At about 11:00 am today (Dec. 29), an adult bald eagle (head and tail both white, although with some slight brown streaking) was flying over the Swan Lake Country Club fairway and ponds adjacent to Grumman Blvd in Calverton across from the old Grumman property. The bird appeared to be hunting for fish or ducks over the ponds, then flew back over the fairway. When I left, it was roosting in a pine tree about 250 yards south of the road. -- 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] 5 Towns section highlights/Southern Nassau CBC (long)
Highlights. Sewane Golf Course, Hewlett Cackling Goose Eastern Meadowlark Bay Park, East Rockaway Palm Warbler Black-headed Gull Lawrence Eurasian Wigeon North Woodmere County Park Common Goldeneye The Team South End Jeff Glassberg Jane Scott Eric Miller Jean LoScalzo Mitch Horowitz Lisa Scheppke North End Joe DiCostanzo Jeff Kimball Chuck McAlexander David Sime Little Kevin Sean Sime The Other Ringer Steve Walter Yesterday I had the pleasure of coordinating the 5 Towns section of the Southern Nassau CBC. This area consists of suburban parks and a few vantages of the bays, canals and inlets from of Hewlett, East Rockaway, Woodmere and Lawrence. Many long time participants as well as a few new counters joined the fray this year and our typically sizable group swelled to an impressive 13. The group splits in two to cover the north and south ends of 5 Towns. Our sub-group covers the north end and most of the following account will be from there. We also had the distinct honor having my brother's nephew Kevin (age 11) join us for his first CBC. This turned out to be more enjoyable than the birds themselves and I strongly urge CBC participants to give it a try. It was one of those full circle moments that brought me back to my first CBC many, many years ago and all the nostalgia that comes along with such memories. When the full group was splitting up after pre-dawn breakfast I said to Jeff and Jane, I've got a good feeling about today. Little did I know how true those words would ring. At our second stop in Hewlett we were counting Canada Geese feeding on the Sewane Golf Course. We immediately noticed a very small Canada type goose. The bird fed continuously and most of the group was on it before it ever lifted it's head. It eventually looked around and it's short, stubby bill and block headed appearance were clearly observed. We could also see the white line between the base of the neck and chest.The flock flew out into the marsh and I was able to get a marginal flight photo which at least shows size and shape, if not much more detail. From the same vantage, but looking west out into the marsh, one of the many hunters seen this day flushed 6 Meadowlark, a difficult bird on this particular CBC and a save for the count. A few stops later in Bay Park, we almost immediately found a western Palm Warbler working the ground and pines along the NW corner berm of the northernmost ball field in the park. We were hoping to run into one of the white winged gulls Steve Walter had seen here days prior. At one point a couple started feeding gulls bread and fruit loops (mental note to self). Ring-billed Gulls were descending immediately and when I lifted my bins I saw a small gull with orange legs streak by! The excitement was tempered immediately by the realization that our group had split up and Joe and Chuck were half a mile away, yet the fruit loop numbers were dwindling rapidly. Thankfully, we had hero in the car to keep the birds there while Jeff K. ran a scope out to meet them halfway. Eventually all in the party were able to get great looks at the 1st winter Black-headed Gull. In the pandemonium we were all trying to teach little Kevin what to look for to pick this bird out. Five adults franticly yammering field marks at the same time; look for the orange legs, see the black trailing edge of the wings?, it's the smallest gull out there. Someone said, When it's standing it's back it very patterned. To which Kevin cooly responded, Actually, it's back is white. The wings are patterned. The kid's got potential! It was around this time that Steve called to let us know he had found a Eurasian Wigeon in our territory. At lunch we learned the south end crew found another Eurasian Wigeon in Lawrence. We headed out to Grant Park in Hewlett to find the pond open, but seriously lacking in numbers and diversity of ducks. I can't say definitively, but this is consistent with years the pond has frozen early in the season and then opened up. Once the birds are driven off to find open water many do not return. Three Pintail were a nice consolation though. The only other area rarity came in the form of two female Common Goldeneye, one at North Woodmere Park and the other from Mill River. It was a wonderful day to be out counting birds and I can't thank all our participants enough. Our area wound up with three saves for the count (Cackling Goose, Meadowlark and Black-headed-Gull). I fully understand the demands on birders during the count season and it amazes me that after 15 plus years of covering 5 Towns I'm still a relative newbie among this group. Your consistency is commendable. I look forward to seeing you all next year and yes, I've already inquired about little Kevin's availability in 2014. Cheers, Sean Sime Brooklyn, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
[nysbirds-l] White-winged American Crow at Bear Mountain State Park
On the morning of December 28, my wife and I were heading north on Route 9W in Bear Mountain State Park. As we passed a small pullout for the Jones Point Path (41.296018,-73.984651) just south of Iona Island, a medium-sized bird flew up from the ground. The bird was all black except for very prominent, symmetrical, white wing patches on the dorsal and ventral surface of the wings. My first thought was a Black Vulture, common along this stretch of road. However, the white was too extensive. Additionally, the bird was somewhat smaller than a vulture. Other than the wing patches, the bird appeared to resemble a crow. After a short discussion, we decided to go back and look for the bird. When we got to the pullout it was nowhere to be seen, but after a few minutes we heard an American Crow calling off in the distance. The crow was downhill on the other side of a band of trees, but seemed to be working closer. When we were finally able to locate it, we could clearly see the white patches when it flew. A small white patch could be seen even when the bird was at rest. I tried for a few photographs, but the dim light and thick vegetation prevented any clear shots. After a minute or two, the bird took off toward Doodletown (to the northwest). Anyone in the Doodletown/Iona Island area may want to look out for this unusual looking bird. My poor (extremely!) photos of the bird are posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/awells48/sets/72157639163371745/. A Google search for White-Winged Crow reveals several photos of a few similarly patterned crows. Alan and Della Wells -- 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] V. Thrush (NO) in Manhattan
Sunday, 29 December, 2013 mid / lower east of Manhattan, N.Y. City - I decided to take a bike ride thru around mid- and down-town areas of Manhattan (N.Y. City) earlier (ahead of the rain) today, and walk in various smaller parks green-spaces as well as a focus on the area, as reported to this list at least to 8 days ago, of the male Varied Thrush that was first discovered on Sun. Dec. 15th by Louise Fraza and also photographed by Pearl Broder, in doing the (overall) Lower Hudson CBC, and specifically covering the large grounds at Stuyvesant-town, a rather attractive area to a variety of birds including some that are not especially common as overwinterers or late- fall lingerers... (I assume that a Varied Thrush is the rarest overall of birds to have made an appearance there, even with the surprisingly good variety of species seen there over the years by sharp-eyed local birders.) I was NOT successful in re-finding that thrush. My route included parts of the grounds in Stuyvesant-town including of course the primary area the thrush had frequented thru at least Dec. 21st, many surrounding parts of the grounds, as well as some of the streets nearby, particularly 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th Streets, from First Ave. to Third Ave., as well as farther out to some of the small gardens pocket parks of the lower east side, to Tompkins Square Park, and also Washington Square Union Square Madison Square then (no longer expecting that thrush!) at Bryant Park, as well as a few locations in the more immediate vicinity of Stuyvesant-town. On a number of side streets, particularly 16th, 17th, 18th Sts. I noticed small numbers of American Robins in areas east of Third Ave. to First Ave. took a look at small patches of greenery in any areas that looked a bit promising. I also saw heard American Robins in most of the parks just mentioned although in some, they were few. I found the fewest, and perhaps fewest bird spp. overall, at Washington Square Park but admittedly that may have been due to lower effort there. The one park where I encountered a few species of modest note for the date was in Union Square Park, with Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, Swamp Sparrow (a dullish individual in with multiple White-throated Sparrows, the latter spp. fairly regular in winter in most of Manhattan's green spaces of any size, if one looks), and as noted, some American Robins... yes, I did peer into the gated ( thus ever-intriguing) Gramercy Park, which seems to have some shrubbery that could hide a thrush or three, in looking in and imagining such! I found Bryant Park to be filled with tourists and arriving skaters to the rink there, with easily 2,000 people already in that not-so-huge space by 9:45 or so... of course that area will possibly host far greater numbers of people in about 55 hours from now as the year 2013 is rung out... Tom Fiore Manhattan -- 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] Final Results---Northern Nassau Christmas Count
The Northern Nassau Christmas Count was held on Saturday, December 21st, the winter solstice. Although it was the shortest day of the year, 80 observers braved temperatures in the 50s and found a near-record 117 species. Three species were new to the count: Lesser Yellowlegs—a single bird found in Manhasset and photographed standing next to the only Greater Yellowlegs found on the count. What are the odds? If there was such thing as a Medium Yellowlegs, I’m sure it would have been standing between them. Seaside Sparrow--- a superbly photographed individual found at Caumsett SP by the same observer who found a count first Nelson’s Sparrow last year in the same location. Black Guillemot---a remarkable find of a continuing individual found on the eastern side of Hempstead Harbor. Probably the first record for western (or all of) Long Island Sound. This brings the cumulative number of species seen on this count to 198. Perhaps next year some lucky individual will find our 200th species. With Razorbill and Black Guillemot already on the list...maybe Dovekie will be number 200.. Other rarities found included 2 Greater White-fronted Geese (3rd count ever, 2 out of last 3) Cackling Goose (2nd count ever, last 2 counts) 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes (4th count ever, all singles until now). King Eider (3rd count ever, 2 out of last 3) 2 Eurasian Wigeons 3 Bald Eagles (4th count ever, all singles until now) Red-headed Woodpecker (5th count ever, 1st since 2002). Horned Lark (1st since 1998) Vesper Sparrow (1st since 1994) New high counts were achieved for many species including Canada Goose (14677), Ruddy Duck (1388), Red-tailed Hawk (60), Merlin (7), Red-bellied Woodpecker (218), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (33, shattering the old record of 19), Carolina Wren (194), American Pipit (5), and Song Sparrow (474). How we can find 474 Song Sparrows but only 182 House Sparrows is a mystery to me, but I’m not complaining. House Sparrows were down 65% of their 10-year average. Rock Pigeons were down 72%; we only counted 143. Really? Did we just ignore these nuisance species this year or did the warm weather push all counters deeper into the woods? Hmmm.. Also, in case you were wondering about our spiraling Canada Goose numbers, the Montezuma, NY Christmas Count recorded 51, 239 on last year’s count (the most in the United States). However, I think most of these were true migratory geese and not the feral slobs we have here in Nassau. If only we could tax them. 6864 Greater Scaup was below the 5-year average of 14,000 but they could easily have been in neighboring waters outside our count circle. There were only a very few number of species that could be considered as “misses” for our count, namely, Black-crowned Night Heron, Purple Sandpiper (seen count week), Chipping Sparrow, Purple Finch. After 3 years in a row, Common Raven was absent from our count. Count week birds included 6 Razorbills, Purple Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull. Red-throated Common Loons were down 89% 64%, respectively, from their 10 year averages but Horned Grebe was way up with 134 seen. Most ducks were up but especially Common Goldeneye (up 135% of its 10 year average). Long-tailed Duck was actually down a bit. Both of our resident owls (Great Horned Screech) were found in normal numbers. Everyone had high hopes that a Snowy Owl would be found this year, given the numbers that they have appeared in on Long Island this winter. However, our count circle is probably the least likely area to find this bird on Long Island and the odds prevailed. 2 American Kestrels were found this year, an admirable achievement these days but to see that they were outnumbered by Merlins better than 3 to 1 is truly astounding. In 1973, we recorded 27 kestrels on our count (and 2 Merlins). A few area counts conducted in the prior weeks remarked on the paucity of Black-capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse. However, both species were found in numbers representative of their 5, 10, 20 year averages. In fact, almost all landbirds were near or higher than their averages. Some exceptions to this included lower than average numbers of both kinglets, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco. Some numbers to leave you dizzy: This year, we saw about 45,000 individuals which matches the average for the last 5 years. The 10 20 year averages are about 36,000 32,000, respectively. Much of this volume can be attributed to a handful of species. Removing just 5 high-volume species (Canada Goose, Greater Scaup, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Starling) dropped the total from 45,000 to 17,000. However, 17,000 is well above the 5, 10, 20 year averages so it seems like we’re seeing more birds on our count. Whether this is due to more participants, weather, or some other factor is up to the Audubon folks to figure out. And finally, some useless stats from the spreadsheet: Only 22 out of 198 species have been
[nysbirds-l] Montauk and Shinnecock Inlet
An impromptu run out to the east end today. At Shinnecock Inlet, one immature Glaucous Gull was seen moving between both jetties. A Great Cormorant was on the tower at the end of the jetty, the Common Eider flock was just west of the inlet, and several Long-tailed Ducks were in and out of the inlet. A Red-necked Grebe was in the bay just inside and west of the inlet, but that bird flew east while I was observing it. 4 Boat-tailed Grackles were in the parking area of the old Ponquogue Bridge. At Deep Hollow on the south side, five Snow Geese were there but flew around noon. The Ross's Goose was seen with a group of five Canada's. I didn't see the Cackling but didn't work through each goose as the rain picked up. Reaching Montauk Point just in time for the steady rain, the large seaduck flock featured Common Eider, Red-breasted Mergs and all three scoters, with the vast majority being Black. At Montauk Harbor, a young/darker Snowy Owl was present. Curiously, one male and one female Ring-necked Pheasant were freshly road killed about 100 yards apart from each other on East Lake Drive by Little Reed Pond. Thanks, Tim Dunn Babylon NY Sent from my iPhone -- 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/ --
