I headed out to Plum Beach this morning to bird low tide in the dense fog. The fog was so thick that standing on the beach I could barely see the outer edge of the flats, and could see virtually none of the water. Shorebirds at Plum were: 13 Dunlin (including a couple already undergoing a pre-alternate molt, with some black on their bellies), 14 American Oystercatchers (10 of which came in off the water together), 2 Black-bellied Plovers, and 1 Greater Yellowlegs. A Horned Grebe just off the tip was in almost full breeding plumage, 2 Laughing Gulls flew by, and the 2 Pine Warblers in the dune scrub were nice. There was a definite movement of Great Egrets as well, as I tallied 8 (7 flew by and kept going), and considering the lack of visibility in all directions that's a decent number. The most notable sighting may have been 2 Horseshoe Crabs up on the beach.
At Floyd Bennett Field there was a fair amount of activity in the North 40, although nothing in the least bit unusual. Return-A-Gift Pond held 2 Green-winged Teals (American), 3 Northern Shovelers, and 4 Black-crowned Night Herons. A Ring-necked Pheasant vocalized twice from north of the Cricket Field (which held a flock of ~100 mixed Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds). There was also a Laughing Gull in the runway puddles, and I flushed up a Wilson's Snipe from the edge of the Cricket Field. On the bay the only thing of note was a flyby Willet. On my way home I saw a partially leucistic American Crow flying over Ocean Avenue a couple of miles south of Prospect Park. I've never seen one in this area, so keep your eyes out if you're around there. It's a neat looking bird. Good Birding -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
