[nysbirds-l] Smithtown Count (Suffolk County, LI)
The Smithtown Count was postponed due to Monday's blizzard and rescheduled to Wednesday, December 29. The count totaled 106 species the highlights of which included: 3 Wood Duck(Blydenburgh County Park) 1 Eurasian Widgeon (Setauket Harbor) 8 Canvasback(Caleb Smith State Park) 2 Common Eider (Sunken Meadow, Port Jefferson on LI Sound) 1 Harlequin Duck (Old Field Spit btwn Old Field Pt. and Port Jefferson Inlet) 18 Common Merganser (Lake Ronkonkama) 1 American White Pelican(Seatauket Harbor) 6 Double -crested Cormorant (Sunken Meadow, Port Jeff Harbor, Long Beach, Nissequogue River) 1 Harrier 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Merlin (Sunken Meadow) 1 Peregrine Falcon (Sunken Meadow) 2 Clapper Rail 1 Virginia Rail 6 Purple Sandpiper (West jetty of Port Jeff Harbor inlet) 4 Razorbill (Sunken Meadow, Old Field Point) 11 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 Marsh Wren(Sunken Meadow, Nissequogue River) 5 Brown Thrasher 13 American Pipit (Mount Misery Point, Old Field Spit) 2 Purple Finch (Sunken Meadow) 3 Common Redpoll (Flax Pond Beach) Rich Gostic Compiler -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Brooklyn Redhead
While scanning the gulls and waterfowl at Coney Island Creek today, Heydi Lopes and I spotted a Redhead at Calvert Vaux Park (aka Dreier- Offerman Park). The bird was in the cove on the south side of the park. That very small area of creek included a surprising diverse mix of waterfowl which included Canada Goose, Brant, Mute Swan, Gadwall, American Wigeon, black duck, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Red- breasted Merganser and Ruddy Duck (also a single coot). Good birding, Rob The City Birder Weblog http://citybirder.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Trumpeter Swan NO!
Once again I managed to dip on finding a Trumpeter Swan on Long Island; this time I failed to find the previously reported individual at Lake Agawam in Southampton (Suffolk Co.) today. There were however 85 NORTHERN SHOVELERS & and adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the north end of the Lake. Hugh -- Hugh McGuinness The Ross School 18 Goodfriend Drive East Hampton, NY 11937 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] 12/30-Smith Point County Park. Razorbills, Redpoll, Kittiwake etc.
Today I helped Dave and Meg Hedeen cover Smith Point County Park for the rescheduled Central Suffolk CBC, and we were joined for most of that time by Peg Heart (sp?). Highlights (in no particular order) were as follows: Razorbill- 14 (all sitting on the water from two different points, including 11 in a tight group) Common Redpoll- 1 (calling westbound flyover) Black-legged Kittiwake- 1(adult flying east not that far from shore) Orange-crowned Warbler- 3 (all to the east of the main parking lot) American Woodcock- 1 (flushed from a field edge near the base of the bridge) Common Eider- 32 Red-throated Loon- 122 Snow Bunting- 115 Boat-tailed Grackle- 74 Swamp Sparrow- 3 White-winged Scoter- 11 "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow- 8 American Pipit- 4 Northern Gannet- 1 Another interesting sight was a small mixed flock of ducks that flew west which consisted of a single Surf Scoter and 4 Ruddy Ducks. Good Birding -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY. = -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Trumpeter Swans
I would like to add my thoughts on this situation as I personally see it The Ontario, Canada Records Committee has recognized the reintroduced Trumpeter Swan as an established breeding bird and as such is countable by Canadian birders in this new location. A vagrant from the population has been verified as being seen in NY. As such, by our rules, it becomes countable in NY as soon as the record is added to the NY list. This ought to be a mere formality. (Those who have seen the bird, please submit NYSARC reports). However, this will only happen if NYSARC accepts the Ontario findings or agrees with their logic. If they are going to second guess Ontario and apply NY "rules" to another Records Committee findings, then we may have a long wait. Let's hope not. To be fair, at a somewhat higher level, the AOU has declined to follow the British OU on certain taxonomy matters, so these jurisdictional things are not without president. Sy Schiff -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Trumpeter Swans
This is a bit of a late chime in, but here is my opinion on the Trumpeter Swans. I read with interest the discussion of Trumpeter Swans in New York State. It has been ten years since I observed my first Trumpeter Swan in New York, and I have had several subsequent observations since that time. Each year the question of countability comes up among the observers. I read the article provided by Andy Guthrie and the NYSARC criteria for acceptance of species to the state list. The article infers that an established breeding population must exist before the species will be accepted by NYSARC. This is of course not a criteria for a species to be accepted to the New York list or many species would never have been added. Vagrants and range expansion individuals are regularly accepted to our list. There could be much discussion about this species, but one thing that is clear from our records is that naturally occurring migrants and vagrants have been arriving from the Ontario population for many years. Some of these birds have remained to start their own breeding populations, which if I read correctly, are on the verge of being established in New York in their own right. Ontario has met the criteria to declare the species as established and has considered it thus since 2007. I would be interested to know if there are other instances when NYSARC has not accepted another state, province or country’s decision on whether or not a species is established. We currently have at least one bird present and seen by multiple observers to be a tagged individual from an accepted established population outside the United States. There is no question of provenance. . In my humble opinion, the appropriate action for NYSARC to take is to add Trumpeter Swan to the New York State list. I certainly hope that reports will be filed on this bird to ensure that happens. John Haas -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Sullivan County
Jerry Lazarczyk came down from Grand Island, New York to see some of the birds we've been getting in Sullivan County. The morning started with a deep freeze @ 7 degrees. Birds were scarce at first, but as the sun warmed things up, things started jumping. Common Redpolls continue to invade the northern portions of the county with my highest count so far this month. Feeders at both ends of Woodard Road hosted between 25-30 redpolls each. A feeder at the end of Hanofee Road had between 35-40 redpolls. This was all good, but when we reached Sue Rayano's house we were very surprised. I first counted 75 redpolls under the feeders. As Jerry and I watched a flock of 30+ joined the first group. Shortly thereafter another flock of 40+ flew in. I was able to count 96 redpolls on the ground and we had nearly another 40 birds on feeders and in trees! We had now seen nearly 250 Redpolls! Other highlights of the day were 14 Evening Grosbeaks in a treetop not far from Sue's. A couple of Common Ravens were a nice add. The dozens of Snow Buntings I had just two days ago were down to just two birds today. We had a total of three Red-shouldered Hawks and a couple Red-tails, but no Rough-legs were seen today. I couldn't find the Northern Shrike I found Tuesday, but it is very likely still in the area. We had about a dozen Bald Eagles at the Rio Reservoir* we had a great day with 37 species seen. John Haas *during yesterdays Christmas Count, Lance Verderame and I had 33 Bald Eagles come off the Rio Roost at dawn, 6 more at the Mongaup Blind and one on Sacket Lake Road for a total of 40 Bald Eagles for our area. This was the highest count for my area I have ever had. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Sullivan County
Jerry Lazarczyk came down from Grand Island, New York to see some of the birds we've been getting in Sullivan County. The morning started with a deep freeze @ 7 degrees. Birds were scarce at first, but as the sun warmed things up, things started jumping. Common Redpolls continue to invade the northern portions of the county with my highest count so far this month. Feeders at both ends of Woodard Road hosted between 25-30 redpolls each. A feeder at the end of Hanofee Road had between 35-40 redpolls. This was all good, but when we reached Sue Rayano's house we were very surprised. I first counted 75 redpolls under the feeders. As Jerry and I watched a flock of 30+ joined the first group. Shortly thereafter another flock of 40+ flew in. I was able to count 96 redpolls on the ground and we had nearly another 40 birds on feeders and in trees! We had now seen nearly 250 Redpolls! Other highlights of the day were 14 Evening Grosbeaks in a treetop not far from Sue's. A couple of Common Ravens were a nice add. The dozens of Snow Buntings I had just two days ago were down to just two birds today. We had a total of three Red-shouldered Hawks and a couple Red-tails, but no Rough-legs were seen today. I couldn't find the Northern Shrike I found Tuesday, but it is very likely still in the area. We had about a dozen Bald Eagles at the Rio Reservoir* we had a great day with 37 species seen. John Haas *during yesterdays Christmas Count, Lance Verderame and I had 33 Bald Eagles come off the Rio Roost at dawn, 6 more at the Mongaup Blind and one on Sacket Lake Road for a total of 40 Bald Eagles for our area. This was the highest count for my area I have ever had. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Trumpeter Swans
This is a bit of a late chime in, but here is my opinion on the Trumpeter Swans. I read with interest the discussion of Trumpeter Swans in New York State. It has been ten years since I observed my first Trumpeter Swan in New York, and I have had several subsequent observations since that time. Each year the question of countability comes up among the observers. I read the article provided by Andy Guthrie and the NYSARC criteria for acceptance of species to the state list. The article infers that an established breeding population must exist before the species will be accepted by NYSARC. This is of course not a criteria for a species to be accepted to the New York list or many species would never have been added. Vagrants and range expansion individuals are regularly accepted to our list. There could be much discussion about this species, but one thing that is clear from our records is that naturally occurring migrants and vagrants have been arriving from the Ontario population for many years. Some of these birds have remained to start their own breeding populations, which if I read correctly, are on the verge of being established in New York in their own right. Ontario has met the criteria to declare the species as established and has considered it thus since 2007. I would be interested to know if there are other instances when NYSARC has not accepted another state, province or country’s decision on whether or not a species is established. We currently have at least one bird present and seen by multiple observers to be a tagged individual from an accepted established population outside the United States. There is no question of provenance. . In my humble opinion, the appropriate action for NYSARC to take is to add Trumpeter Swan to the New York State list. I certainly hope that reports will be filed on this bird to ensure that happens. John Haas -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Trumpeter Swans
I would like to add my thoughts on this situation as I personally see it The Ontario, Canada Records Committee has recognized the reintroduced Trumpeter Swan as an established breeding bird and as such is countable by Canadian birders in this new location. A vagrant from the population has been verified as being seen in NY. As such, by our rules, it becomes countable in NY as soon as the record is added to the NY list. This ought to be a mere formality. (Those who have seen the bird, please submit NYSARC reports). However, this will only happen if NYSARC accepts the Ontario findings or agrees with their logic. If they are going to second guess Ontario and apply NY rules to another Records Committee findings, then we may have a long wait. Let's hope not. To be fair, at a somewhat higher level, the AOU has declined to follow the British OU on certain taxonomy matters, so these jurisdictional things are not without president. Sy Schiff -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] 12/30-Smith Point County Park. Razorbills, Redpoll, Kittiwake etc.
Today I helped Dave and Meg Hedeen cover Smith Point County Park for the rescheduled Central Suffolk CBC, and we were joined for most of that time by Peg Heart (sp?). Highlights (in no particular order) were as follows: Razorbill- 14 (all sitting on the water from two different points, including 11 in a tight group) Common Redpoll- 1 (calling westbound flyover) Black-legged Kittiwake- 1(adult flying east not that far from shore) Orange-crowned Warbler- 3 (all to the east of the main parking lot) American Woodcock- 1 (flushed from a field edge near the base of the bridge) Common Eider- 32 Red-throated Loon- 122 Snow Bunting- 115 Boat-tailed Grackle- 74 Swamp Sparrow- 3 White-winged Scoter- 11 Ipswich Savannah Sparrow- 8 American Pipit- 4 Northern Gannet- 1 Another interesting sight was a small mixed flock of ducks that flew west which consisted of a single Surf Scoter and 4 Ruddy Ducks. Good Birding -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY. = -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Trumpeter Swan NO!
Once again I managed to dip on finding a Trumpeter Swan on Long Island; this time I failed to find the previously reported individual at Lake Agawam in Southampton (Suffolk Co.) today. There were however 85 NORTHERN SHOVELERS and adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the north end of the Lake. Hugh -- Hugh McGuinness The Ross School 18 Goodfriend Drive East Hampton, NY 11937 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Brooklyn Redhead
While scanning the gulls and waterfowl at Coney Island Creek today, Heydi Lopes and I spotted a Redhead at Calvert Vaux Park (aka Dreier- Offerman Park). The bird was in the cove on the south side of the park. That very small area of creek included a surprising diverse mix of waterfowl which included Canada Goose, Brant, Mute Swan, Gadwall, American Wigeon, black duck, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Red- breasted Merganser and Ruddy Duck (also a single coot). Good birding, Rob The City Birder Weblog http://citybirder.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Smithtown Count (Suffolk County, LI)
The Smithtown Count was postponed due to Monday's blizzard and rescheduled to Wednesday, December 29. The count totaled 106 species the highlights of which included: 3 Wood Duck(Blydenburgh County Park) 1 Eurasian Widgeon (Setauket Harbor) 8 Canvasback(Caleb Smith State Park) 2 Common Eider (Sunken Meadow, Port Jefferson on LI Sound) 1 Harlequin Duck (Old Field Spit btwn Old Field Pt. and Port Jefferson Inlet) 18 Common Merganser (Lake Ronkonkama) 1 American White Pelican(Seatauket Harbor) 6 Double -crested Cormorant (Sunken Meadow, Port Jeff Harbor, Long Beach, Nissequogue River) 1 Harrier 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Merlin (Sunken Meadow) 1 Peregrine Falcon (Sunken Meadow) 2 Clapper Rail 1 Virginia Rail 6 Purple Sandpiper (West jetty of Port Jeff Harbor inlet) 4 Razorbill (Sunken Meadow, Old Field Point) 11 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 Marsh Wren(Sunken Meadow, Nissequogue River) 5 Brown Thrasher 13 American Pipit (Mount Misery Point, Old Field Spit) 2 Purple Finch (Sunken Meadow) 3 Common Redpoll (Flax Pond Beach) Rich Gostic Compiler -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
