This past Sunday Margaret Brace (oh she of Rufous Hummer fame) let me know of a T.V. roost she had just discovered in Riverhead. As she approached the intersection of Roanoke Ave & Elton St, she couldn't help but notice the birds in a large Spruce tree on the w/s of Roanoke. It was getting toward dusk, but she was able to spot about 20 of them.
On Monday, at ~ 0800, not a bird was to be seen, but when I returned at ~ 1645, I found about 25 birds, most being in the tree, with some still flying around. This morning at ~ 0700, hoping to get all the birds still at roost, I, once again, found nary a bird...but this is when happenstance reared its wondrous head ! While scanning for the birds in all the other tall trees in the area, I came across a large, dark "blob" sitting on the high antenna of the Riverhead Firehouse, located ~ 1/10 of a mile south on Roanoke ! As I neared the firehouse my attention was drawn to the Roanoke Ave Elementary School, which is just across the street. There, sitting on its chimney, engulfed in the warm, rising flue products, were 9 more T.V's. I was able to count 4 additional birds sitting on the edges of the roof , but could not tell if there were any other birds on the roof, out of sight from the road. Checking the large spruces on the north end of the firehouse property yielded another 7 vultures, and combining these with the 4 or 5 T.V's. flying around, in addition to the birds on the school, brought the approximate total to 25. As I was counting birds from the school's parking lot, a security guard came over and asked what I was doing. After telling her I was a "bird-watcher", I didn't have to say anymore. She knew of the birds, knew they were Turkey Vultures, and finished with the "nugget", saying " and they have been around since school started" ! It is of interest to note that this location is less than 1/2 mile from the previous T.V. roost of a few years back, that held as many as 30 birds, before a new owner cut the trees down. Cheers, Bob -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
