[nysbirds-l] 1/15 Edith Read Sanctuary and Pelham Bay Park

[Richard Aracil]

Hi All,

Jack Rothman and I checked out Edith Read Sanctuary in Rye, NY and had some 
nice highlights. Scanning from the beach south of Playland Pond, we found 1 
Razorbill, over 400 Long-tailed Ducks, ~20 White-winged Scoters, 13 Black 
Scoters and 2 Purple Sandpipers. On Playland Lake and environs, highlights 
included 12 Canvasback, and an American Pipit. After that, I checked the 
Orchard Beach/Twin Is. area of PB Park where I had 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 1 
White-winged Scoter, and 1 Dunlin.

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616574
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616819
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616921
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616364

Good Birding,
Richard

  
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[nysbirds-l] Long Island: Cold Spring Harbor Tufted Duck Question

[Angus Wilson]

Do those who've seen the bird St John's Pond think this is same individual
that was in nearby Huntington Harbor? I've not yet studies photos of the
bird at the new site and was curious. Both sets of sightings involve what I
assume is a 1st-winter male and are only a mile or two apart by the
overland route. The new freshwater location of a picturesque pond is more
appropriate for Tufties, which in Europe are more likely to be found on
fresh than salt water, much like Lesser Scaup. I guess vagrants associate
with whatever they feel the greatest affinity for, which on occasion is
Greater Scaup, a species favoring more salty water. Hence a good number of
NYS Tufted Duck records have been from brackish or marine habitat such as
Huntington Harbor.

It's also interesting to ponder the change in status of Tufted Duck. Not
too many years ago, the species occurred with sufficient regularity on Long
Island and neighboring counties to not warrant NYSARC review. This has
clearly changed, with far fewer records from coastal New York (now less
than annual) and seemingly increased regularity upstate, especially Lake
Champlain. I have no idea why this change has occurred. Is it simply that a
few returning birds stopped doing so, or is there some other more subtle
change in our waterfowl or waterfowl habitat? Are the larger lakes staying
unfrozen longer than in the past?

Please don't forget to submit reports to NYSARC on this duck(s) as well as
other recent rarities (Western Grebes, Gyrfalcon, etc).
Information on how to do this can be found here:
http://nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
With a list of review species here: http://nybirds.org/NYSARC/NYSARClist.htm

-- 
Angus Wilson
New York City & The Springs, NY

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[nysbirds-l] Tufted Duck - yes Western Grebe - yes Nobel Laureate - Yes

[Robert Bate]

I arrived in Cold Spring around 8:15 and found the Tufted Duck in the
company of the 17 Ring-necked Ducks and the Redhead on the pond behind
St John's Church.   The Cold Spring Harbor Bald Eagle flew in, perched
in a tree by the lake,  and stayed a few minutes before flying off in
the direction of the harbor.   I then went to look for the previously
reported Eurasian Wigeon in the harbor as there were no wigeons on the
St John's pond.  A birder was already on the wall on the lower end
west side of the harbor where most of the waterfowl were.  He was
leaving as I arrived but when I got out with my scope and binoculars
he stopped and approached me.  He introduced himself though I didn't
catch the name.  An elderly man, he referred to the American Wigeon as
the "Bald Pate", a name I haven't heard but once or twice.  He said
that he was interested in birds before he was interested in science
which I though a common enough pattern though my jaw dropped when he
said he was one of the people who discovered the double helix.  "What
was your name again?"  I asked - "James Watson" he said and added with
a smile, "I didn't think you heard it the first time."  It made my
day, as a science fan it was a thrill to meet one of the stars of
science.  Thank you Mr. Watson.

BTW, I did find the Eurasian Wigeon in the harbor, dull red head but
definitely red.

After this I made straight for the Ponquogue Bridge area for the
Western Grebe. getting there around 9:45 and I got lucky.  The grebe
was in the gereral area west of the bridge on the northern half of the
bay.  I parked in the boat launch lot off Dune Rd and walked all the
way out onto the elevated portion of the old bridge remains and
scanned the bay from there looking under the bridge to the northwest.
The grebe was feeding actively so I had to work to relocate it when it
dove.  A number of other birders including Arie Gilbert and Eric
Miller were looking for the bird a little later but we couldn't refind
it from that location; I hope they got it from their next location.

On my return trip I birded Belmont Lake and St Charles Cemetery where
I found the continuing Barnacle Goose but no Cackling or Greater
White-fronted Geese.

Rob Bate
Brooklyn

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[nysbirds-l] Tufted Duck Yes, Redhead Yes

[Cesar Castillo]

For anyone still interested, the Tufted Duck is still at the pond by Saint 
Johns Church in Cold Spring Harbor off route 25A.  
Also at the pond you can still find a Redhead duck.  
Others are reporting a Bald Eagle that has frequented the pond for the last two 
weeks.  Apparently it alternated between the pond and the harbor.


>From Archive
Tufted duck observed on St. John's Pond amongst ringnecks. Joe
On Jan 13, 2013, at 1:21 PM, "David Klauber" 
mailto:davehawk...@msn.com>> wrote: I found the Tufted 
Duck on the pond next to St. John's Church in the extreme ne 
corner of Nassau County about 11:30 this morning. This is adjacent to the fish 
hatchery for those unfamiliar with the area on 25A. It was with a group of Ring 
necked ducks very close to the fence behind the church. It drifted off to the 
right (west) and probably disappeared behind a large fallen tree near the 
shore. I'm not sure because we were distracted by a Eurasian-type Widgeon, 
either a male coming out of eclipse or a hybrid - the sides were similar to the 
nearby American Widgeon. The tuft was wet and not sticking out at all - in fact 
you could see the wet tuft feathers contrasting with the rest of the dark head 
feathers. It could be missed with its head tucked in except for the white sides 
and black back.
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[nysbirds-l] Second hand report that the Thick-billed Murre in Brooklyn continues...

[Andrew Baksh]

I just received a message from Bobby Kurtz, indicating that he got a call
from Ed Vescher (sp) who reported that he was looking at a *THICK-BILLED
MURRE* from Dead Horse Bay.  It would seem that the bird has made its way
back to the area where it was originally found?

I don't know if the parking situation has changed at Floyd Bennett Field,
but I have included Doug Gochfeld's e-mail from Sunday (see the thread
below), which provided instructions on where one might park (I think it is
about a 1/2 a mile walk from the aviator parking spot).

Good luck if you go and please forgive me if I did not get all the details
right. I figured to get the word out ASAP for those who have yet to see
this bird.

Andrew Baksh
Queens, NY
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com




On Sun, Jan 13, 2013 at 10:19 AM,  wrote:

> Rob Jett just called to report that he and Heydi Lopes have just found a
> Thick-billed Murre in Dead Horse Bay.
>
>  It is behind the usual massive flock of Greater Scaup (which includes at
> least one Canvasback that they just found).
>
>  From his description, it sounds like the Murre is roughly here:
> 40.582019,-73.90224
>
>  Viewed from here:
> 40.581579,-73.896339
>
>  If coming by car, you must park at Aviator Sports Parking Lot (across
> Flatbush Avenue, in Floyd Bennett Field), and walk south. I suppose that
> alternatively you could park in the Brooklyn Golf Driving Range, but it is
> not much closer and is technically private (I think).
> The entrance to the Aviator Lot is here (at a traffic light):
> 40.590335,-73.900652
>
>  Walk down the street to the access of the trails (a bus stop is also
> here) here:
> 40.581571,-73.891704
>
>  Plugging these coordinates into Google Maps will yield a green arrow
> marking the locations.
>
>  Good Birding
> -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY.
>
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[nysbirds-l] Clarification

[Nadir Souirgi]

   Apologies to all for any confusion that my post from yesterday, the 14th, 
may have caused. 
  I looked for the Thick-billed Murre first from Marine Park to no avail. I 
was there from about 12:30 - 2:10pm, before heading for Gateway Marina. I 
parked in the Floyd Bennett Field parking lot and crossed Flatbush Avenue to 
reach the marina. Gateway Marina is private so I birded  from the outside of 
the fence.   
  The murre swam conspicuously  around the middle of the largest channel within 
the marina proper. This is also the area closest to the main entrance. The 
other ducks favoring the docks kept to its margins and did not obscure the 
murre. I observed it three separate times over the course of about ten minutes, 
from approximately 2:30 - 2:40pm.
Thanks to all of the birders who brought this issue to my attention. I hope 
this is helpful.

Best,
Nadir Souirgi

On Jan 15,  2013, at 5:45 AM,fresha2...@aol.com wrote:

> Well, given that the listserv was having problems, I wasn't sure.
> 
> Which marina was that? The last sightings from sunday were all in Marine Park 
> I thought, so it would have been notable and helpful to pinpoint the exact 
> location.
> 
> Thanks
> -Doug
> 
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: Nadir Souirgi 
> To: fresha2411 
> Sent: Mon, Jan 14, 2013 11:32 pm
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Dead Horse Bay Thick-billed Murre, YES!
> 
> Sorry, it was today, Monday the 14th at  about 2:30. I thought the post was 
> automatically time and date stamped. I'm a bit of a Luddite.
> 
> -Nadir Souirgi
> 
> On Jan 14, 2013, at 3:53 PM,fresha2...@aol.com wrote:
> 
>> Was this today (Monday?) or yesterday?
>> 
>> Thanks
>> -Doug Gochfeld
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Nadir Souirgi 
>> To: nysbirds-l 
>> Sent: Mon, Jan 14, 2013 2:47 pm
>> Subject: [nysbirds-l] Dead Horse Bay Thick-billed Murre, YES!
>> 
>> Just observed the Thick-billed Murre swimming around the Marina. 
>> Thanks to Heydi Lopes and Rob Jett for putting me on a Lifer.
>> 
>> Keep'em up!
>> Nadir Souirgi
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> 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/
>> 
>> --

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[nysbirds-l] Dune Road (Suffolk) crossbills, no W. Grebe

[Douglas Futuyma]

I searched for the Western Grebe without success from 7:45 to 9:15 this
morning, west and east of Ponquogue Bridge and on the ocean in that
vicinity.  I was more successful in my search for finches and bitterns to
the west on Dune Road. As I prepared to leave Dune Road at the Swordfish
Beach Club (intersection with Jessup lane), a flock of about 20 Red
Crossbills landed in several small pines and afforded extended eye-level
view. I also heard Red Crossbills and saw one fly over, about a mile east
of there. Together with Ken Feustel's report of crossbills at Cupsogue
Park, the observations suggest that this species could be encountered
anywhere along this road. An American Bittern was near the boardwalk that
leads into the Quogue nature preserve (now closed to entry).

Doug Futuyma
Stony Brook, NY

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[nysbirds-l] Dune Road (Suffolk) crossbills, no W. Grebe

[Douglas Futuyma]

I searched for the Western Grebe without success from 7:45 to 9:15 this
morning, west and east of Ponquogue Bridge and on the ocean in that
vicinity.  I was more successful in my search for finches and bitterns to
the west on Dune Road. As I prepared to leave Dune Road at the Swordfish
Beach Club (intersection with Jessup lane), a flock of about 20 Red
Crossbills landed in several small pines and afforded extended eye-level
view. I also heard Red Crossbills and saw one fly over, about a mile east
of there. Together with Ken Feustel's report of crossbills at Cupsogue
Park, the observations suggest that this species could be encountered
anywhere along this road. An American Bittern was near the boardwalk that
leads into the Quogue nature preserve (now closed to entry).

Doug Futuyma
Stony Brook, NY

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[nysbirds-l] Clarification

[Nadir Souirgi]

   Apologies to all for any confusion that my post from yesterday, the 14th, 
may have caused. 
  I looked for the Thick-billed Murre first from Marine Park to no avail. I 
was there from about 12:30 - 2:10pm, before heading for Gateway Marina. I 
parked in the Floyd Bennett Field parking lot and crossed Flatbush Avenue to 
reach the marina. Gateway Marina is private so I birded  from the outside of 
the fence.   
  The murre swam conspicuously  around the middle of the largest channel within 
the marina proper. This is also the area closest to the main entrance. The 
other ducks favoring the docks kept to its margins and did not obscure the 
murre. I observed it three separate times over the course of about ten minutes, 
from approximately 2:30 - 2:40pm.
Thanks to all of the birders who brought this issue to my attention. I hope 
this is helpful.

Best,
Nadir Souirgi

On Jan 15,  2013, at 5:45 AM,fresha2...@aol.com wrote:

 Well, given that the listserv was having problems, I wasn't sure.
 
 Which marina was that? The last sightings from sunday were all in Marine Park 
 I thought, so it would have been notable and helpful to pinpoint the exact 
 location.
 
 Thanks
 -Doug
 
 
 
 -Original Message-
 From: Nadir Souirgi nadi...@gmail.com
 To: fresha2411 fresha2...@aol.com
 Sent: Mon, Jan 14, 2013 11:32 pm
 Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Dead Horse Bay Thick-billed Murre, YES!
 
 Sorry, it was today, Monday the 14th at  about 2:30. I thought the post was 
 automatically time and date stamped. I'm a bit of a Luddite.
 
 -Nadir Souirgi
 
 On Jan 14, 2013, at 3:53 PM,fresha2...@aol.com wrote:
 
 Was this today (Monday?) or yesterday?
 
 Thanks
 -Doug Gochfeld
 
 
 
 -Original Message-
 From: Nadir Souirgi nadi...@gmail.com
 To: nysbirds-l nysbird...@list.cornell.edu
 Sent: Mon, Jan 14, 2013 2:47 pm
 Subject: [nysbirds-l] Dead Horse Bay Thick-billed Murre, YES!
 
 Just observed the Thick-billed Murre swimming around the Marina. 
 Thanks to Heydi Lopes and Rob Jett for putting me on a Lifer.
 
 Keep'em up!
 Nadir Souirgi
 
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 http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
 
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[nysbirds-l] Second hand report that the Thick-billed Murre in Brooklyn continues...

[Andrew Baksh]

I just received a message from Bobby Kurtz, indicating that he got a call
from Ed Vescher (sp) who reported that he was looking at a *THICK-BILLED
MURRE* from Dead Horse Bay.  It would seem that the bird has made its way
back to the area where it was originally found?

I don't know if the parking situation has changed at Floyd Bennett Field,
but I have included Doug Gochfeld's e-mail from Sunday (see the thread
below), which provided instructions on where one might park (I think it is
about a 1/2 a mile walk from the aviator parking spot).

Good luck if you go and please forgive me if I did not get all the details
right. I figured to get the word out ASAP for those who have yet to see
this bird.

Andrew Baksh
Queens, NY
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com




On Sun, Jan 13, 2013 at 10:19 AM, fresha2...@aol.com wrote:

 Rob Jett just called to report that he and Heydi Lopes have just found a
 Thick-billed Murre in Dead Horse Bay.

  It is behind the usual massive flock of Greater Scaup (which includes at
 least one Canvasback that they just found).

  From his description, it sounds like the Murre is roughly here:
 40.582019,-73.90224

  Viewed from here:
 40.581579,-73.896339

  If coming by car, you must park at Aviator Sports Parking Lot (across
 Flatbush Avenue, in Floyd Bennett Field), and walk south. I suppose that
 alternatively you could park in the Brooklyn Golf Driving Range, but it is
 not much closer and is technically private (I think).
 The entrance to the Aviator Lot is here (at a traffic light):
 40.590335,-73.900652

  Walk down the street to the access of the trails (a bus stop is also
 here) here:
 40.581571,-73.891704

  Plugging these coordinates into Google Maps will yield a green arrow
 marking the locations.

  Good Birding
 -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY.

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[nysbirds-l] Tufted Duck Yes, Redhead Yes

[Cesar Castillo]

For anyone still interested, the Tufted Duck is still at the pond by Saint 
Johns Church in Cold Spring Harbor off route 25A.  
Also at the pond you can still find a Redhead duck.  
Others are reporting a Bald Eagle that has frequented the pond for the last two 
weeks.  Apparently it alternated between the pond and the harbor.


From Archive
Tufted duck observed on St. John's Pond amongst ringnecks. Joe
On Jan 13, 2013, at 1:21 PM, David Klauber 
davehawk...@msn.commailto:davehawk...@msn.com wrote: I found the Tufted 
Duck on the pond next to St. John's Church in the extreme ne 
corner of Nassau County about 11:30 this morning. This is adjacent to the fish 
hatchery for those unfamiliar with the area on 25A. It was with a group of Ring 
necked ducks very close to the fence behind the church. It drifted off to the 
right (west) and probably disappeared behind a large fallen tree near the 
shore. I'm not sure because we were distracted by a Eurasian-type Widgeon, 
either a male coming out of eclipse or a hybrid - the sides were similar to the 
nearby American Widgeon. The tuft was wet and not sticking out at all - in fact 
you could see the wet tuft feathers contrasting with the rest of the dark head 
feathers. It could be missed with its head tucked in except for the white sides 
and black back.
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[nysbirds-l] Tufted Duck - yes Western Grebe - yes Nobel Laureate - Yes

[Robert Bate]

I arrived in Cold Spring around 8:15 and found the Tufted Duck in the
company of the 17 Ring-necked Ducks and the Redhead on the pond behind
St John's Church.   The Cold Spring Harbor Bald Eagle flew in, perched
in a tree by the lake,  and stayed a few minutes before flying off in
the direction of the harbor.   I then went to look for the previously
reported Eurasian Wigeon in the harbor as there were no wigeons on the
St John's pond.  A birder was already on the wall on the lower end
west side of the harbor where most of the waterfowl were.  He was
leaving as I arrived but when I got out with my scope and binoculars
he stopped and approached me.  He introduced himself though I didn't
catch the name.  An elderly man, he referred to the American Wigeon as
the Bald Pate, a name I haven't heard but once or twice.  He said
that he was interested in birds before he was interested in science
which I though a common enough pattern though my jaw dropped when he
said he was one of the people who discovered the double helix.  What
was your name again?  I asked - James Watson he said and added with
a smile, I didn't think you heard it the first time.  It made my
day, as a science fan it was a thrill to meet one of the stars of
science.  Thank you Mr. Watson.

BTW, I did find the Eurasian Wigeon in the harbor, dull red head but
definitely red.

After this I made straight for the Ponquogue Bridge area for the
Western Grebe. getting there around 9:45 and I got lucky.  The grebe
was in the gereral area west of the bridge on the northern half of the
bay.  I parked in the boat launch lot off Dune Rd and walked all the
way out onto the elevated portion of the old bridge remains and
scanned the bay from there looking under the bridge to the northwest.
The grebe was feeding actively so I had to work to relocate it when it
dove.  A number of other birders including Arie Gilbert and Eric
Miller were looking for the bird a little later but we couldn't refind
it from that location; I hope they got it from their next location.

On my return trip I birded Belmont Lake and St Charles Cemetery where
I found the continuing Barnacle Goose but no Cackling or Greater
White-fronted Geese.

Rob Bate
Brooklyn

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[nysbirds-l] Long Island: Cold Spring Harbor Tufted Duck Question

[Angus Wilson]

Do those who've seen the bird St John's Pond think this is same individual
that was in nearby Huntington Harbor? I've not yet studies photos of the
bird at the new site and was curious. Both sets of sightings involve what I
assume is a 1st-winter male and are only a mile or two apart by the
overland route. The new freshwater location of a picturesque pond is more
appropriate for Tufties, which in Europe are more likely to be found on
fresh than salt water, much like Lesser Scaup. I guess vagrants associate
with whatever they feel the greatest affinity for, which on occasion is
Greater Scaup, a species favoring more salty water. Hence a good number of
NYS Tufted Duck records have been from brackish or marine habitat such as
Huntington Harbor.

It's also interesting to ponder the change in status of Tufted Duck. Not
too many years ago, the species occurred with sufficient regularity on Long
Island and neighboring counties to not warrant NYSARC review. This has
clearly changed, with far fewer records from coastal New York (now less
than annual) and seemingly increased regularity upstate, especially Lake
Champlain. I have no idea why this change has occurred. Is it simply that a
few returning birds stopped doing so, or is there some other more subtle
change in our waterfowl or waterfowl habitat? Are the larger lakes staying
unfrozen longer than in the past?

Please don't forget to submit reports to NYSARC on this duck(s) as well as
other recent rarities (Western Grebes, Gyrfalcon, etc).
Information on how to do this can be found here:
http://nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
With a list of review species here: http://nybirds.org/NYSARC/NYSARClist.htm

-- 
Angus Wilson
New York City  The Springs, NY

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[nysbirds-l] 1/15 Edith Read Sanctuary and Pelham Bay Park

[Richard Aracil]

Hi All,

Jack Rothman and I checked out Edith Read Sanctuary in Rye, NY and had some 
nice highlights. Scanning from the beach south of Playland Pond, we found 1 
Razorbill, over 400 Long-tailed Ducks, ~20 White-winged Scoters, 13 Black 
Scoters and 2 Purple Sandpipers. On Playland Lake and environs, highlights 
included 12 Canvasback, and an American Pipit. After that, I checked the 
Orchard Beach/Twin Is. area of PB Park where I had 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 1 
White-winged Scoter, and 1 Dunlin.

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616574
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616819
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616921
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S12616364

Good Birding,
Richard

  
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