[nysbirds-l] Central Park NYC - Sun., July 16, 2016 - No Cuckoos, but plenty of Barn Swallows & note on predation

[Deborah Allen]

Central Park NYC 
Sunday, July 16, 2016  
OBS: Robert DeCandido, PhD, Deborah Allen, m.ob.

We couldn't relocate yesterday's Yellow-billed or Black-billed Cuckoos. 

Barn Swallows are doing well at the north end of the Reservoir, with all the 
young birds fledged. This morning I counted at least 17 Barn Swallows flying 
around the buildings at the Reservoir's north end. At one point I could see 8 
young birds perched on one building and 4 perched on another. The young 
swallows impressed me with their energy and their ability to keep up with their 
parents.

Last night I had gotten an email from Pat Dubren about an incident at the 
Reservoir. This morning she sent me photos. Then Junko emailed today. 
Basically, Junko spotted a Barn Swallow fledgling that had fallen into the 
water at the Reservoir Saturday (July 15). After swimming a short distance the 
young bird was sitting on some reeds at water level when it was killed and 
eaten by a Red-eared Slider. Pat took a series of photos which are not for the 
faint-of-heart. 

On a lighter note, this morning Warbling Vireos fledged near the north end of 
Iphigene's Walk. We got great looks at an adult feeding a fledgling, then Jeff 
Ward & I watched the fledgling attempt to fly after one of the adults. It 
fluttered down, and Jeff spotted it on the ground. The young bird hopped up on 
a low branch, and the adult found it immediately. 

Here are a few photos from Saturday & Sunday. 


Warbling Vireo Fledgling (Flying & Perched) near Iphigene’s Walk, Sunday July 
16, 2017:

https://www.photo.net/photo/18408385

https://www.photo.net/photo/18408376

  

Black-billed Cuckoo at Azalea Pond, Saturday July 15, 2017:

https://www.photo.net/photo/18408402

 

Waiting for Warblers,

Deb Allen

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Central Park NYC - Sun., July 16, 2016 - No Cuckoos, but plenty of Barn Swallows & note on predation

[Deborah Allen]

Central Park NYC 
Sunday, July 16, 2016  
OBS: Robert DeCandido, PhD, Deborah Allen, m.ob.

We couldn't relocate yesterday's Yellow-billed or Black-billed Cuckoos. 

Barn Swallows are doing well at the north end of the Reservoir, with all the 
young birds fledged. This morning I counted at least 17 Barn Swallows flying 
around the buildings at the Reservoir's north end. At one point I could see 8 
young birds perched on one building and 4 perched on another. The young 
swallows impressed me with their energy and their ability to keep up with their 
parents.

Last night I had gotten an email from Pat Dubren about an incident at the 
Reservoir. This morning she sent me photos. Then Junko emailed today. 
Basically, Junko spotted a Barn Swallow fledgling that had fallen into the 
water at the Reservoir Saturday (July 15). After swimming a short distance the 
young bird was sitting on some reeds at water level when it was killed and 
eaten by a Red-eared Slider. Pat took a series of photos which are not for the 
faint-of-heart. 

On a lighter note, this morning Warbling Vireos fledged near the north end of 
Iphigene's Walk. We got great looks at an adult feeding a fledgling, then Jeff 
Ward & I watched the fledgling attempt to fly after one of the adults. It 
fluttered down, and Jeff spotted it on the ground. The young bird hopped up on 
a low branch, and the adult found it immediately. 

Here are a few photos from Saturday & Sunday. 


Warbling Vireo Fledgling (Flying & Perched) near Iphigene’s Walk, Sunday July 
16, 2017:

https://www.photo.net/photo/18408385

https://www.photo.net/photo/18408376

  

Black-billed Cuckoo at Azalea Pond, Saturday July 15, 2017:

https://www.photo.net/photo/18408402

 

Waiting for Warblers,

Deb Allen

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] 5 White Ibis

[Curt McDermott]

5 White Ibis Wickham Lake Warwick, NY  NOW!  Found by Rob Stone


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] 5 White Ibis

[Curt McDermott]

5 White Ibis Wickham Lake Warwick, NY  NOW!  Found by Rob Stone


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] extralimital, but closing fast! White Pelican in CT near NY border

[Sean Sime]

Julian Hough just informed me of a White Pelican that was seen flying SW
from Sandy Point CT. This is close to the NY border so to birders in
Westchester and beyond there's one coming your way!

Sean Sime
Brooklyn, NY

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] extralimital, but closing fast! White Pelican in CT near NY border

[Sean Sime]

Julian Hough just informed me of a White Pelican that was seen flying SW
from Sandy Point CT. This is close to the NY border so to birders in
Westchester and beyond there's one coming your way!

Sean Sime
Brooklyn, NY

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Hugh McGuinness]

To play Devil's Advocate for a second: Great Shearwater is regular from
mid-May to late August off Suffolk County, so their occurrence in Nassau is
not really that surprising, and might be explained by something like the
improved quality of feeding offshore from Nassau, for which there is some
recent evidence. I agree that the shearwater kill requires an explanation,
but I remain unconvinced that the birds were significantly off course.

Hugh

On Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 8:24 AM, Shaibal Mitra 
wrote:

> Hi Dick and all,
>
> I think it's fair to say that the multi-hundreds of Great Shearwaters
> observed from the Nassau County shoreline on 18 June were off course. The
> species is entirely absent from this area for years at a time (I'd never
> previously seen even one from shore in Nassau in over twenty years), and
> the sum total of records over all time is vastly lower the numbers seen in
> just a few hours. Thus, their extreme concentration in a small area where
> they are ordinarily completely absent requires explanation. The fact that
> they were starving explains why many birds died, but alone it doesn't
> account for why they were bunched up in the New York Bight, rather than
> dispersing over a broader area of nearby waters they typically inhabit. All
> else equal, in the absence of food, one would expect widely foraging
> pelagic birds either to spread out randomly, or possibly to orient directly
> for traditionally productive areas, such as Block Canyon, Georges Bank,
> etc.--if they could. Food shortage alone doesn't account for the
> unprecedented densities inshore in the New York Bight, unless they were
> actively seeking food in this unusual area, with seems very unlikely. I
> think they were starving, tried to keep moving, and wound up following a
> path of least resistance that brought them to where we encountered them.
>
> Shai Mitra
> Bay Shore
> 
> From: bounce-121659418-3714...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-121659418-3714944@
> list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Richard Veit [rrvei...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2017 3:31 PM
> To: Ardith Bondi
> Cc: NYSBIRDS; eBirdsnyc
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and
> Starving - The New York Times
>
> i don't see any evidence of birds being "blown off course".  Starving,
> yes, and this seems likely due to shortage or lack of food, perhaps related
> to changing climate.  But wrecks of great shearwaters of roughly similar
> magnitude have been occurring episodically for years, perhaps moreso in
> Massachusetts than on long island
>
> On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Ardith Bondi  > wrote:
> --
>
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
> 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
>
>


-- 
Hugh McGuinness
Washington, D.C.

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Hugh McGuinness]

To play Devil's Advocate for a second: Great Shearwater is regular from
mid-May to late August off Suffolk County, so their occurrence in Nassau is
not really that surprising, and might be explained by something like the
improved quality of feeding offshore from Nassau, for which there is some
recent evidence. I agree that the shearwater kill requires an explanation,
but I remain unconvinced that the birds were significantly off course.

Hugh

On Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 8:24 AM, Shaibal Mitra 
wrote:

> Hi Dick and all,
>
> I think it's fair to say that the multi-hundreds of Great Shearwaters
> observed from the Nassau County shoreline on 18 June were off course. The
> species is entirely absent from this area for years at a time (I'd never
> previously seen even one from shore in Nassau in over twenty years), and
> the sum total of records over all time is vastly lower the numbers seen in
> just a few hours. Thus, their extreme concentration in a small area where
> they are ordinarily completely absent requires explanation. The fact that
> they were starving explains why many birds died, but alone it doesn't
> account for why they were bunched up in the New York Bight, rather than
> dispersing over a broader area of nearby waters they typically inhabit. All
> else equal, in the absence of food, one would expect widely foraging
> pelagic birds either to spread out randomly, or possibly to orient directly
> for traditionally productive areas, such as Block Canyon, Georges Bank,
> etc.--if they could. Food shortage alone doesn't account for the
> unprecedented densities inshore in the New York Bight, unless they were
> actively seeking food in this unusual area, with seems very unlikely. I
> think they were starving, tried to keep moving, and wound up following a
> path of least resistance that brought them to where we encountered them.
>
> Shai Mitra
> Bay Shore
> 
> From: bounce-121659418-3714...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-121659418-3714944@
> list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Richard Veit [rrvei...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2017 3:31 PM
> To: Ardith Bondi
> Cc: NYSBIRDS; eBirdsnyc
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and
> Starving - The New York Times
>
> i don't see any evidence of birds being "blown off course".  Starving,
> yes, and this seems likely due to shortage or lack of food, perhaps related
> to changing climate.  But wrecks of great shearwaters of roughly similar
> magnitude have been occurring episodically for years, perhaps moreso in
> Massachusetts than on long island
>
> On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Ardith Bondi  > wrote:
> --
>
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
> 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
>
>


-- 
Hugh McGuinness
Washington, D.C.

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

RE: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Shaibal Mitra]

Hi Dick and all,

I think it's fair to say that the multi-hundreds of Great Shearwaters observed 
from the Nassau County shoreline on 18 June were off course. The species is 
entirely absent from this area for years at a time (I'd never previously seen 
even one from shore in Nassau in over twenty years), and the sum total of 
records over all time is vastly lower the numbers seen in just a few hours. 
Thus, their extreme concentration in a small area where they are ordinarily 
completely absent requires explanation. The fact that they were starving 
explains why many birds died, but alone it doesn't account for why they were 
bunched up in the New York Bight, rather than dispersing over a broader area of 
nearby waters they typically inhabit. All else equal, in the absence of food, 
one would expect widely foraging pelagic birds either to spread out randomly, 
or possibly to orient directly for traditionally productive areas, such as 
Block Canyon, Georges Bank, etc.--if they could. Food shortage alone doesn't 
account for the unprecedented densities inshore in the New York Bight, unless 
they were actively seeking food in this unusual area, with seems very unlikely. 
I think they were starving, tried to keep moving, and wound up following a path 
of least resistance that brought them to where we encountered them. 

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

From: bounce-121659418-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-121659418-3714...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Richard Veit 
[rrvei...@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2017 3:31 PM
To: Ardith Bondi
Cc: NYSBIRDS; eBirdsnyc
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and 
Starving - The New York Times

i don't see any evidence of birds being "blown off course".  Starving, yes, and 
this seems likely due to shortage or lack of food, perhaps related to changing 
climate.  But wrecks of great shearwaters of roughly similar magnitude have 
been occurring episodically for years, perhaps moreso in Massachusetts than on 
long island

On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Ardith Bondi 
> wrote:
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

RE: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Shaibal Mitra]

Hi Dick and all,

I think it's fair to say that the multi-hundreds of Great Shearwaters observed 
from the Nassau County shoreline on 18 June were off course. The species is 
entirely absent from this area for years at a time (I'd never previously seen 
even one from shore in Nassau in over twenty years), and the sum total of 
records over all time is vastly lower the numbers seen in just a few hours. 
Thus, their extreme concentration in a small area where they are ordinarily 
completely absent requires explanation. The fact that they were starving 
explains why many birds died, but alone it doesn't account for why they were 
bunched up in the New York Bight, rather than dispersing over a broader area of 
nearby waters they typically inhabit. All else equal, in the absence of food, 
one would expect widely foraging pelagic birds either to spread out randomly, 
or possibly to orient directly for traditionally productive areas, such as 
Block Canyon, Georges Bank, etc.--if they could. Food shortage alone doesn't 
account for the unprecedented densities inshore in the New York Bight, unless 
they were actively seeking food in this unusual area, with seems very unlikely. 
I think they were starving, tried to keep moving, and wound up following a path 
of least resistance that brought them to where we encountered them. 

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore

From: bounce-121659418-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-121659418-3714...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Richard Veit 
[rrvei...@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2017 3:31 PM
To: Ardith Bondi
Cc: NYSBIRDS; eBirdsnyc
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and 
Starving - The New York Times

i don't see any evidence of birds being "blown off course".  Starving, yes, and 
this seems likely due to shortage or lack of food, perhaps related to changing 
climate.  But wrecks of great shearwaters of roughly similar magnitude have 
been occurring episodically for years, perhaps moreso in Massachusetts than on 
long island

On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Ardith Bondi 
mailto:ard...@earthlink.net>> wrote:
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Gus Keri]

Has any one looked into the possibility of viral infection? Viral infection can 
make birds thin and starved-looking and can affect large number of birds at 
once. 

New viruses are being seen every once in a while that scientists are not aware 
of, and these viruses are affecting all species including humans.

Gus



Sent using Zoho Mail






 On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 09:12:10 -0700 Ardith Bondi 
ard...@earthlink.net wrote 












https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-long-island.html?action=clickpgtype=Homepageversion=Moth-VisiblemoduleDetail=inside-nyt-region-2module=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-regionWT.nav=inside-nyt-region
 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-long-island.html?action=clickpgtype=Homepageversion=Moth-VisiblemoduleDetail=inside-nyt-region-2module=inside-nyt-regionregion=inside-nyt-regionWT.nav=inside-nyt-region;
 

 

 

A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving 

LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Joe Okoniewski has seen this before, just not on this 

scale. Each year Mr. 

Okoniewski, a wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of 

Conservation, performs 

necropsies on small numbers of seabird specimens that wash up dead along 

the coastal parts of the state. 

The birds are usually lone adults or juveniles that strayed too close to 

shore. 

This summer Mr. Okoniewski has already examined more than 20 dead birds, 

while twice that many are 

awaiting necropsies. All are the same species of agile seabird called 

great shearwaters, and all washed up 

emaciated on Long Island beaches last month in a mass mortality event 

that scientists say is extraordinary 

for the region. 

Now Mr. Okoniewski and others are hoping the unusually large number of 

carcasses can provide clues 

into the mysterious lives of these birds, which are considered good 

indicators of the health of the world’s 

oceans. 

“The birds are extremely thin and anemic,” Mr. Okoniewski said. “The big 

mystery is: Why are they thin? 

On the surface it looks like you know what happened: They starved. But 

when you ask why, it becomes 

much more of a mystery.” 

Continue reading the main story 

The vast expanses of the ocean remain some of the most vital and 

hard-to-study environments on the 

planet. As scientists work to comprehend the scope of climate change, 

they often look to seabirds to tell 

stories from the world’s most inaccessible waters. Pelagic birds, which 

refers to seabirds that spend the 

majority of their lives at sea and rarely venture to the shore, traverse 

various regions and climates, are 

affected by extreme weather patterns and feed on prey exposed to carbon 

emissions — all while staying 

relatively observable above the water’s surface. 

Photo 

One of the seabirds found in Atlantic City, N.J. Hundreds of carcasses 

were found over the course of two weeks, from Montauk, N.Y., to as far south 

as Cape May, N.J. Credit Scott McConnell 

Greater shearwaters, which are long-winged birds the size of small sea 

gulls, nest on some of the world’s 

most remote islands in the south Atlantic, more than 1,500 miles from 

land, before migrating to the 

waters off New England and Newfoundland. 

“These birds really illustrate the connectivity of ecosystems around the 

world,” said Shai Mitra, a biologist 

at the College of Staten Island. 

Their sometimes-perilous journey takes them past Long Island each June, 

but only after they have fueled 

up at feeding grounds in the Caribbean. Living off fat reserves, they 

glide up the Gulf Stream, rarely 

venturing in sight of land. 

“They are sort of an enigma for us to understand them because they are 

so rarely seen,” said Paul Sweet, 

an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History who is 

preparing specimens of the birds and 

freezing them so that they are available for study in the future. 

Which is why it caused a stir within scientific circles in late June 

when an offshore weather system pushed 

an entire flock not just within sight of land, but also over the shores 

of Nickerson Beach in Nassau County. 

Birders flocked to Nickerson to get glimpses of hundreds of shearwaters 

unsuccessfully fighting wind and 

fog, like flapping flotsam. 

“Many of the birds were over land. Many were flying right on the 

shoreline,” said Isaac Grant, a birder 

from Staten Island. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Eventually, I 

stopped looking and started rescuing 

birds.” 

Hundreds of carcasses were found over the course of two weeks, from 

Montauk west to Brooklyn and as 

far south as Cape May, N.J. 

Steve Walter, a photographer from Brooklyn, arrived at Nickerson Beach 

to find straggling shearwaters 

battling the surf. He picked one up to protect it from the waves, 

“babysitting” it before rehabilitators 

arrived. 

“I never imagined myself holding a shearwater in my hands,” Mr. Walter said. 

Nearly all of the dozens of birds 

Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Gus Keri]

Has any one looked into the possibility of viral infection? Viral infection can 
make birds thin and starved-looking and can affect large number of birds at 
once. 

New viruses are being seen every once in a while that scientists are not aware 
of, and these viruses are affecting all species including humans.

Gus



Sent using Zoho Mail






 On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 09:12:10 -0700 Ardith Bondi 
ard...@earthlink.net wrote 












https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-long-island.html?action=clickpgtype=Homepageversion=Moth-VisiblemoduleDetail=inside-nyt-region-2module=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-regionWT.nav=inside-nyt-region
 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-long-island.html?action=clickpgtype=Homepageversion=Moth-VisiblemoduleDetail=inside-nyt-region-2module=inside-nyt-regionregion=inside-nyt-regionWT.nav=inside-nyt-region;
 

 

 

A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving 

LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Joe Okoniewski has seen this before, just not on this 

scale. Each year Mr. 

Okoniewski, a wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of 

Conservation, performs 

necropsies on small numbers of seabird specimens that wash up dead along 

the coastal parts of the state. 

The birds are usually lone adults or juveniles that strayed too close to 

shore. 

This summer Mr. Okoniewski has already examined more than 20 dead birds, 

while twice that many are 

awaiting necropsies. All are the same species of agile seabird called 

great shearwaters, and all washed up 

emaciated on Long Island beaches last month in a mass mortality event 

that scientists say is extraordinary 

for the region. 

Now Mr. Okoniewski and others are hoping the unusually large number of 

carcasses can provide clues 

into the mysterious lives of these birds, which are considered good 

indicators of the health of the world’s 

oceans. 

“The birds are extremely thin and anemic,” Mr. Okoniewski said. “The big 

mystery is: Why are they thin? 

On the surface it looks like you know what happened: They starved. But 

when you ask why, it becomes 

much more of a mystery.” 

Continue reading the main story 

The vast expanses of the ocean remain some of the most vital and 

hard-to-study environments on the 

planet. As scientists work to comprehend the scope of climate change, 

they often look to seabirds to tell 

stories from the world’s most inaccessible waters. Pelagic birds, which 

refers to seabirds that spend the 

majority of their lives at sea and rarely venture to the shore, traverse 

various regions and climates, are 

affected by extreme weather patterns and feed on prey exposed to carbon 

emissions — all while staying 

relatively observable above the water’s surface. 

Photo 

One of the seabirds found in Atlantic City, N.J. Hundreds of carcasses 

were found over the course of two weeks, from Montauk, N.Y., to as far south 

as Cape May, N.J. Credit Scott McConnell 

Greater shearwaters, which are long-winged birds the size of small sea 

gulls, nest on some of the world’s 

most remote islands in the south Atlantic, more than 1,500 miles from 

land, before migrating to the 

waters off New England and Newfoundland. 

“These birds really illustrate the connectivity of ecosystems around the 

world,” said Shai Mitra, a biologist 

at the College of Staten Island. 

Their sometimes-perilous journey takes them past Long Island each June, 

but only after they have fueled 

up at feeding grounds in the Caribbean. Living off fat reserves, they 

glide up the Gulf Stream, rarely 

venturing in sight of land. 

“They are sort of an enigma for us to understand them because they are 

so rarely seen,” said Paul Sweet, 

an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History who is 

preparing specimens of the birds and 

freezing them so that they are available for study in the future. 

Which is why it caused a stir within scientific circles in late June 

when an offshore weather system pushed 

an entire flock not just within sight of land, but also over the shores 

of Nickerson Beach in Nassau County. 

Birders flocked to Nickerson to get glimpses of hundreds of shearwaters 

unsuccessfully fighting wind and 

fog, like flapping flotsam. 

“Many of the birds were over land. Many were flying right on the 

shoreline,” said Isaac Grant, a birder 

from Staten Island. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Eventually, I 

stopped looking and started rescuing 

birds.” 

Hundreds of carcasses were found over the course of two weeks, from 

Montauk west to Brooklyn and as 

far south as Cape May, N.J. 

Steve Walter, a photographer from Brooklyn, arrived at Nickerson Beach 

to find straggling shearwaters 

battling the surf. He picked one up to protect it from the waves, 

“babysitting” it before rehabilitators 

arrived. 

“I never imagined myself holding a shearwater in my hands,” Mr. Walter said. 

Nearly all of the dozens of birds