John Turner and another co-worker informed me today of a colony of Breeding Bank Swallows in - of all places - Farmingville. Located at the top of Lidge Dr. (N. of Horseblock Rd) a subdivision is being put in and the construction has resulted in steep slopes and piles of soil that have been sitting around for several years. It's unclear if this is the first year that these birds have nested there - but the colony was pretty robust spanning several different cliff areas with lots of cavities and good numbers of birds flying around. My attempts at photographing them were futile, but they can easily be seen from the road. If you visit the site - please refrain from walking anywhere but the road as the land is private property (even though it is vacant). While you are there, you may want to check out the trails in the adjacent Suffolk County Park to the West which can be entered from Horseblock Rd. The interesting thing about this colony of Bank Swallows is that the nearest bodies of water are Lake Ronkonkoma which is 4 miles to the West and the Carmans River which is 5 miles to the East - not exactly where you would expect these birds to settle in.
A trip to EPCAL yielded virtually nothing - a few Grasshopper Sparrows, Wild Turkeys and Eastern Meadowlarks were all present but at significant distances. No raptors were seen. Kayaking down Long Neck Canal I saw many Barn Swallows and an Eastern Kingbird. Near the point at Gooseneck Creek in Flanders Bay were Ruddy Turnstones, Semi-palmated Sandpipers, American Oystercatchers, a lone Piping Plover, and several Saltmarsh Sparrows. Photos of some of the birds can be seen here: http://birdsoflongisland.blogspot.com/2011/06/shooting-from-kayak.html -- - Luke Ormand, Flanders www.birdsoflongisland.blogspot.com www.wildlongisland.blogspot.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/ --