Thanks to John's post I sat at the bench at the south end from 6:30 to 7:30 AM
this morning, July 18. At 7:30 a Least Bittern flew briefly from the east side
in a "C" pattern disappearing in an indented section on the east, about 1/2 -
2/3 way to the north. I then tried walking around the pond, mostly an exercise
in futility as the phrags have taken over most vantage points. There are some
limited distant views of the east side through the woods from a path on the
western side, but the best stratgey would probably be a patient wait at the
bench on the southern end. There is access to the pond where Lakeshore Drive
meets Park on the eastern side, easy to miss as it's only a wide dirt path.
Also seen were 2 Chimney Swifts, Spotted Sandpiper, a Forster's Tern, and
White-eyed Vireo as well as more expected species. Nice find, John, it's my
first east of Jamaica Bay
Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:36:25 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Least Bittern(s)? in Massapequa Preserve
To: [email protected]
On an after dinner walk this evening in the Massapequa Preserve I observed a
least bittern in the pond north of the USGS Gauging Station (the 2nd pond north
of Clark Boulevard). I was sitting on the bench that overlooks this small pond
for a few minutes when a male least bittern flew out of the phragmites on the
e/s/o the pond (about halfway up the pond) and flew north landing in the
phragmites at the north end of the pond, in full view. I watched it for about
five minutes; at first it clung to a phrag stem but then moved down and to the
right ending up out of sight, in the northeastern corner of the pond, screened
behind a closer growth of phragmites. I did not see it in that spot again. I
sat for 45 minutes and as it was beginning to get dark I got up to leave when
another (or the same?) least bittern flew across the pond from the western side
of the pond to the eastern side, about halfway up the pond (landing at about
the same spot the first bird left from). With the fading light I couldn't make
out if it was a male or female. Given the fact I never saw the first bird fly
from the northeastern corner to the western side of the pond I think, but am
not positive, it was a second least bittern.
I intend to scope out the pond tomorrow evening in an effort to determine if
there is a single bird or a pair........
Also had a beautiful view of five barn swallows perched on a single phragmites
stem arching over the water........ John Turner
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