This morning there were six Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Democrat Pt and three more at nearby Captree SP, the latter three showing some interesting behavior. When Bobby Rossetti and I arrived, Bird 1 was standing alert in the middle of a small flock of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls; Bird 2 was asleep about a hundred feet away; and no other LBBGs were present. After Bobby left, Bird 1 moved over next to Bird 2 (which woke up), and the two began interacting and calling. Even after Bird 2 flew off briefly, she returned and landed next to Bird 1 again, and they repeated their calling behavior. Their calls apparently attracted Bird 3, who flew in and displaced Bird 2. Photos of this sequence can be seen at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/LongIslandSpring2011# Also present at Captree (and seen there on Monday by Bobby) was a Great Black-backed Gull with yellow legs. A photo of this bird, and also one of a similar bird at Jones Beach earlier this month, can be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/SomeGullsWithYellowLegs# The most notable birds seen during a brief seawatch at Robert Moses SP were two Sooty Shearwaters, which passed at 7:45 and 8:00 am. I'd like to thank observers, such as Bobby and Lloyd Spitalnik, who told me about additional LBBGs on LI on Monday. Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only as of July 1, 2011<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> -- 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/ --
