[nysbirds-l] Re: [nysbirds-l] FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York

[Andrew Baksh]



Many thanks for posting this Alyssa! I am delighted to see Sarah receiving the 
credit she fully deserves for her discovery of not just such a “stonker” of a 
bird but also for her work as a Piping Plover monitor.

My congratulations to her and thanks to you for sharing this information about 
Sarah’s work.

Cheers,

“Tenderness and Kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but 
manifestations of strength and resolution” ~ Khalil Gibran

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of 
others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ Frederick 
Douglass

風　Swift as the wind
林　Quiet as the forest
火　Conquer like the fire
山　Steady as the mountain
Sun Tzu  The Art of War

> (\__/)
> (= '.'=)
> (") _ (") 
> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! 

Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com

> On Sep 28, 2021, at 12:22 PM, Johnson, Alyssa  
> wrote:
> 
> Another congrats to Sarah, for this exciting first sighting!
> 
> FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York
> 
> “It’s not a standard job title: piping plover technician.
> 
> For nearly a year, Sarah Forestiere, a 2018 graduate of Finger Lakes 
> Community College, has monitored two nesting pairs of the federally 
> endangered shorebird at Sandy Island Beach State Park on Lake Ontario, for 
> the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Only 60 
> nesting pairs are known to be scattered throughout the Great Lakes.
> 
> She has kept records of the birds’ activity, taught park visitors about 
> piping plovers, and set up snow fence around their nests to protect their 
> eggs and the chicks, which she describes as “cotton balls that weigh the same 
> as two pennies.”
> 
> All this made Forestiere qualified to recognize that a visitor to Sandy 
> Island on Sept. 13 was a plover, but not a piping plover.
> 
> She checked guides and concluded it was a snowy plover, common to the 
> southern and western U.S. and the Caribbean. She confirmed her find with an 
> amateur birdwatcher, Matt Brown, who encouraged her to post it on the Cornell 
> Lab of Ornithology’s eBird app.”
> 
>  
> --
> Alyssa Johnson
> Environmental Educator
> 315.365.3588
>  
> Montezuma Audubon Center
> PO Box 187
> 2295 State Route 89
> Savannah, NY 13146
> Montezuma.audubon.org
> Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
>  
> From: bounce-12595-79436...@list.cornell.edu 
>  On Behalf Of Jay McGowan
> Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 11:28 PM
> To: nysbird...@cornell.edu; oneidabi...@yahoogroups.com; Cayugabirds-L 
> ; geneseebirds-l 
> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Snowy Plover and Common Ringed Plover, Sandy Pond 
> (Oswego Co.)
>  
> Matt Brown found a SNOWY PLOVER on the beach at Sandy Pond in Oswego County 
> this morning. The bird was still present this evening, on the lake side of 
> the south spit. At about 6:04PM, it took off to join a passing flock of 
> Sanderlings and they headed south out of sight down the beach. It's possible 
> they stopped farther down, but they were definitely gone from the pond outlet 
> area before dusk. Access to this area is best by boat, but you can reportedly 
> also walk north from Sandy Island Beach State Park.
>  
> Then just before dusk I found a juvenile COMMON RINGED PLOVER on the sandy 
> shoal on the west side of Carl's Island in the bay. I was checking out some 
> of the array of shorebirds there, which included Red Knot, American 
> Golden-Plover, and Long-billed Dowitcher. As it was getting dark, I got on a 
> small plover giving melancholy calls in flight, quite unlike Semipalmated, 
> and I immediately suspected it was a ringed. Once it landed I was able to get 
> closer and call Drew Weber and Larry Chen who I had been birding with back 
> over to the island, and we were able to get some documentation shots in the 
> fading light. Plumage seemed consistent with a juvenile Common Ringed: 
> overall noticeably larger and plumper than nearby Semipalmated. Dark breast 
> band distinctly broken in center and bulging down on both sides. Lores dark 
> and no white wedge at gape. Closeups on photos show no sign of paler orbital 
> ring around eye. It continued to call occasionally when other shorebirds 
> would vocalize. It was still present on the south side of the shoal when we 
> left well after sunset. This flock would be visible by scope from the south 
> spit of the pond outlet, but ID would be challenging at that distance. 
> Otherwise access is by boat, putting in either at Greene Point marina 
> (paddlecraft launch fee $7) or the public launch on Doreen Dr. at the far 
> east side of the bay.
>  
> Checklist with photos and a recording of the ringed plover here:
> https://ebird.org/atlasny/checklist/S94634252
>  
> --
> Jay McGowan
> jw...@cornell.edu
> --
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 

[nysbirds-l] FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York

[Johnson, Alyssa]

Another congrats to Sarah, for this exciting first sighting!

FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New 
York

“It’s not a standard job title: piping plover technician.

For nearly a year, Sarah Forestiere, a 2018 graduate of Finger Lakes Community 
College, has monitored two nesting pairs of the federally endangered shorebird 
at Sandy Island Beach State Park on Lake Ontario, for the state Office of 
Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Only 60 nesting pairs are known to 
be scattered throughout the Great Lakes.

She has kept records of the birds’ activity, taught park visitors about piping 
plovers, and set up snow fence around their nests to protect their eggs and the 
chicks, which she describes as “cotton balls that weigh the same as two 
pennies.”

All this made Forestiere qualified to recognize that a visitor to Sandy Island 
on Sept. 13 was a plover, but not a piping plover.

She checked guides and concluded it was a snowy plover, common to the southern 
and western U.S. and the Caribbean. She confirmed her find with an amateur 
birdwatcher, Matt Brown, who encouraged her to post it on the Cornell Lab of 
Ornithology’s eBird app.”

--
Alyssa Johnson
Environmental Educator
315.365.3588

Montezuma Audubon Center
PO Box 187
2295 State Route 89
Savannah, NY 13146
Montezuma.audubon.org
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

From: bounce-12595-79436...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Jay McGowan
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 11:28 PM
To: nysbird...@cornell.edu; oneidabi...@yahoogroups.com; Cayugabirds-L 
; geneseebirds-l 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Snowy Plover and Common Ringed Plover, Sandy Pond 
(Oswego Co.)

Matt Brown found a SNOWY PLOVER on the beach at Sandy Pond in Oswego County 
this morning. The bird was still present this evening, on the lake side of the 
south spit. At about 6:04PM, it took off to join a passing flock of Sanderlings 
and they headed south out of sight down the beach. It's possible they stopped 
farther down, but they were definitely gone from the pond outlet area before 
dusk. Access to this area is best by boat, but you can reportedly also walk 
north from Sandy Island Beach State Park.

Then just before dusk I found a juvenile COMMON RINGED PLOVER on the sandy 
shoal on the west side of Carl's Island in the bay. I was checking out some of 
the array of shorebirds there, which included Red Knot, American Golden-Plover, 
and Long-billed Dowitcher. As it was getting dark, I got on a small plover 
giving melancholy calls in flight, quite unlike Semipalmated, and I immediately 
suspected it was a ringed. Once it landed I was able to get closer and call 
Drew Weber and Larry Chen who I had been birding with back over to the island, 
and we were able to get some documentation shots in the fading light. Plumage 
seemed consistent with a juvenile Common Ringed: overall noticeably larger and 
plumper than nearby Semipalmated. Dark breast band distinctly broken in center 
and bulging down on both sides. Lores dark and no white wedge at gape. Closeups 
on photos show no sign of paler orbital ring around eye. It continued to call 
occasionally when other shorebirds would vocalize. It was still present on the 
south side of the shoal when we left well after sunset. This flock would be 
visible by scope from the south spit of the pond outlet, but ID would be 
challenging at that distance. Otherwise access is by boat, putting in either at 
Greene Point marina (paddlecraft launch fee $7) or the public launch on Doreen 
Dr. at the far east side of the bay.

Checklist with photos and a recording of the ringed plover here:
https://ebird.org/atlasny/checklist/S94634252

--
Jay McGowan
jw...@cornell.edu
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