Ken, I just want to make a point about Common Grackle "rarity" in winter, depending on what you meant by "our area". Are you referring to the Captree CBC? There were 3000 of them on the recent Queens count. Most winters, a large flock roams the residential areas of northeastern Queens (rather than places that birders go to -- so they may get missed on the count). They usually stick around until the weather gets extreme -- sometimes well through the winter. This year, I suspect they may have pulled out after the first big snow -- I haven't seen them in a while, and my backyard has been in their crosshairs in the past. The Bronx-Westchester CBC has also seen large numbers in some years. Although local, Common Grackle may actually be the most numerous blackbird overall during the CBC period (sometimes longer into the winter) in downstate New York.
Steve Walter From: ken feustel Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 4:17 PM To: NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu Subject: [nysbirds-l] Connetquot River S.P. and West End/Jones Beach Birds (Suffolk/Nassau Counties) At a mostly frozen Connetquot River State Park this morning was an adult Bald Eagle. On the river there were 120 Common Mergansers. Behind the park offices there was a Northern Bobwhite feeding on the spillage from the feeders. It is a commentary on the two different directions that these two species population's are trending that I considered the Bobwhite the rarer species. A stop at Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River was not particularly productive, partially owing to the fact that the tidal portion of the Connetquot River was mostly frozen. i did however, see my first of season Common Grackle (the rarest blackbird in our area in winter based partially on CBC data). West End 2 did not have many birds but they were interesting ones. At the WE2 marina there were two Lapland Longspurs on the lawn west of the rest rooms. Approx. fifteen Common Repolls were wondering around the median. Eight American Pipits were feeding on the shoulders of the parkway. At JBSP Field 6 there was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull on the beach with the common gull species. Despite the cold weather this morning, the afternoon was one of the nicer days so far this year (the birds helped, too). Ken Feustel -- 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/ --
