There was a stunning concentration of Northern Gannets for a short time today in the mouth of Jones Inlet. I took some pictures from a distance. They may or may not do justice to the scene, but worth a look at http://www.stevewalternature.com/ . I've seen a lot of gannets but I don't remember anything like this. As birders, we're supposed to count in these situations, but I was too far away. By the time I got close - took a while, delayed by taking about 280 shots of an incredibly cooperative Ipswich Sparrow feeding and posing (like a Purple Sandpiper) on the jetty - the gannets had dispersed to a handful.
The variability and movements of seabirds around Jones Inlet in recent weeks has been interesting. As has been documented on this list, Razorbills have been in and out (we know they're lurking not far offshore). I had hoped for one of those in days, but only one was seen flying in, turning around, and flying back out. Maybe it changes by the day, but if one can judge by the gannets, it may change faster than that. It might be worthwhile for observers to note tide conditions or whatever if numbers are encountered. I'll also add that Long-tailed Duck numbers went from hundreds two weeks ago to a few today, and I saw one loon today after dozens of both species two weeks ago. And I long for those halcyon days when hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls came into the inlet like clockwork. I'll take this opportunity to congratulate Ardith Bondi on a great find. I told her the Wakodahatchee Wetlands wouldn't fail to provide great photo opportunities, but I wasn't expecting her to come back with a picture of a NEOTROPIC CORMORANT sitting on a nest with a nestling - the first breeding record for Florida - which somehow went undetected by the locals at this heavily birded spot. Ardith's picture can be seen at http://www.ardithbondi.com/slideshow96.html#0 . The locals did go a looking today. Here's a picture taken today. http://www.flickr.com/photos/birdnerdpapa/6819124121/in/set-7215762917546124 1/ Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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/ --
