In spite of a not so favorable wind direction, and a late start, I still decided to try the RMSP Hawkwatch, and possibly, beyond ! Arriving at the p/lot of Field 5 at ~ 1030, the stroll along the boardwalk to the viewing platform was very quiet, with only one Merlin seen.Once there, I had the pleasure of saying hello & good-bye to old acquaintances Corey Finger, Mary Normandia and Seth Ausubel, who were in the process of leaving. The remaining crew, regulars Trudy Battaly, Drew Panko and Anthony deLuca told me of their earlier sightings. I stayed ~ 1 & 1/2 hours, during which we had Sharp-shinned Hawk, Osprey, Merlin, A.Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon and at least 6 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds !
The trip west on Ocean Pkwy (and then back east) totaled 4 Ospreys, in addition to a Winter Wren, Palm Warbler and a close-up, juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron* on the western half of the Gilgo Community. At the Gilgo Marina there were 6 lingering Foster's Terns, and a brilliant, male Boat-tailed Grackle. Jones Beach proved to be a real challenge for me today, not being able to come up with even a "small highlight" ! Cheers, Bob *A very cooperative bird, allowing for some neat photos ! -- 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/ --
