A fun day of birding at West End, Jones. While I didn't note anything unusual, varieties of species were seen in fairly decent numbers.
I started at the inlet and walked south toward the tip of the jetty. NORTHERN GANNETS continued in large groups in and out of the inlet. RED-THROATED LOONS were also present in good numbers. Near the tip of the jetty, along the inlet side, I counted 19 PURPLE SANDPIPER. It was difficult to obtain an accurate count due to restricted visibility. My guess is that there were likely more as I noticed the flock from a distance pick up and regroup in a successful effort to escape the pounding ESE swell. The distant flock appeared to be more in the 30-40 range as far as individual birds. Feel free to check out some video footage by clicking on my blog link. PIPING PLOVERS seemed to be pairing up and claiming their breeding territories. Several birds performed their typical, lower the head and charge, further firming their grounds. 2 HORNED LARK were seen and heard singing just inside the dune. Several hundred DUNLIN were roosting along the beach just south of the swale area. In the mix were Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and a couple of Piping Plover. A lone FIELD SPARROW presented nice views as I crossed the median and returned to my vehicle. Best, Derek Rogers Sayville, NY Http://dereksnest.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/ --