Re:[nysbirds-l] Staten Island, Thu. 20-May-2010 incl. Black Skimmers, Least Terns

2010-05-22 Thread Ben Cacace
On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 4:09 AM, Ben Cacace  wrote:

> Date: Thursday, 20 May 2010 (9:20a-8:15p)
> Location: NW section of S.I., Clove Lakes Park & Great Kills Park
> Reported by: Ben Cacace
>
> - Black-bellied Plover - 5+ on the salt flats at Great Kills Park
>

This typographical error was missed before posting. This should read Dunlin
not Black-bellied Plover.

Ben Cacace
Manhattan, NYC

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Re:[nysbirds-l] Staten Island, Thu. 20-May-2010 incl. Black Skimmers, Least Terns

2010-05-22 Thread Ben Cacace
On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 4:09 AM, Ben Cacace bcac...@gmail.com wrote:

 Date: Thursday, 20 May 2010 (9:20a-8:15p)
 Location: NW section of S.I., Clove Lakes Park  Great Kills Park
 Reported by: Ben Cacace

 - Black-bellied Plover - 5+ on the salt flats at Great Kills Park


This typographical error was missed before posting. This should read Dunlin
not Black-bellied Plover.

Ben Cacace
Manhattan, NYC

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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:
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[nysbirds-l] Staten Island, Thu. 20-May-2010 incl. Black Skimmers, Least Terns

2010-05-21 Thread Ben Cacace
Date: Thursday, 20 May 2010 (9:20a-8:15p)
Location: NW section of S.I., Clove Lakes Park & Great Kills Park
Reported by: Ben Cacace

Abundance categories below from 'The Birds of Staten Island' checklist last
updated in 2000. New checklist due to be released by Spring/2011. Abundance
categories below for 'Spring'. Taxonomic order follows abundance categories.

BANK SWALLOW status has clearly changed since 2000.

Birding 3 sections of the county worked out well today. The northwest corner
included Goethal's Bridge Pond, Old Place Creek and Western Ave. and
produced 36 species. Next was Clove Lakes Park which added 28. The highlight
was the salt flats at Great Kills Park which, surprisingly, added 15 more
species.

I arrived at Goethal's Bridge Pond shortly after low tide & was disappointed
to see the low shorebird #s. Only GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER,
KILLDEER & LEAST SANDPIPER were spotted. The highlight was seeing a pair of
*LEAST TERNS* feeding and then resting on a busted up plastic barrel on the
pond.

Being able to see the evening low tide at another site made this a banner
day. The activity on the salt flats at the north end of the beach off Great
Kills Park was much better than at Goethal's Bridge Pond. Shorebirds seen
here included AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, KILLDEER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, LEAST
SANDPIPER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
RUDDY TURNSTONE, SANDERLING & SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER.

At 7:40p a single *BLACK SKIMMER* was seen heading south off Great Kills
Park. Later on at 7:58p a pair of skimmers were heading in the same
direction. After a few minutes one returned to feed in the shallow waters
off the salt flats weaving its way through the feeding Brant.

Transportation: M15 bus to ferry, 8:00a ferry, S40 to Goethal's Bridge Pond,
S48 to Clove Lakes Park, S62 to St. George, S.I. Rail (SIR) to Great Kills
Park, S79 to Bay Ridge Brooklyn, R train to 6 train to home.

Weather for 20-May for Newark, NJ (8:51a-7:51p) < http://tinyurl.com/2b6spq6>:
- Conditions: Scattered Clouds to Partly Cloudy
- Temperature: 64.9 to 82.9 F (18.3 to 28.3 C)
- Wind direction: Variable then changing to SSW to WSW
- Wind speed: 3 - 13 mph (no gusts reported)

** Total species - 79 **

'Rare' seen every 2-5 years [2 spp]:
- Black Skimmer - 2 off Great Kills Park seen @ 7:40p & 7:58p
- Bank Swallow - 30+ at Great Kills Park

'Occasional' seen a few times per season [4 spp]:
- Little Blue Heron - 1 on the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Black-billed Cuckoo - 1 heard south of Martling Ave. @ the 1st red bridge
in Clove Lakes Park
- Carolina Wren - 1 heard from the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Boat-tailed Grackle - 8+ around the salt flats at Great Kills Park

'Uncommon' present but may not be seen [10 spp]:
- Horned Grebe - 1 in breeding plumage off the salt flats at Great Kills
Park
- Turkey Vulture - 1 from Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Red-tailed Hawk - Pair engaging in typical courtship behavior just N of
Goethal's Bridge Pond
- American Oystercatcher - 4 on the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Least Tern - 2 feeding & resting on Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Willow Flycatcher - 1 heard from Western Ave. W of Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Warbling Vireo - 1 in Clove Lakes Park
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2 incl. 1 at Goethal's Bridge Pond & 1 at
Great Kills Park
- Wood Thrush - 1 at the N end of Clove Lakes Park
- Wilson's Warbler - 1 male at 1st red bridge N of Martling Ave. in Clove
Lakes Park

'Common' certain in proper habitat [30 spp]:
- Great Egret - 7 incl. 3 from the ferry, 2 over Bridge Creek & 3 over the
salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Snowy Egret - 10 incl. 6 on Goethal's Bridge Pond & 4 on the salt flats at
Great Kills Park
- Black-crowned Night-Heron - 20+ incl. 1 in Clove Lakes Park & 20 from the
salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Glossy Ibis - 1 at the 1st red bridge S of Martling Ave. in Clove Lakes
Park
- Killdeer - 4 incl. 2 at Goethal's Bridge Pond & 2 on the salt flats at
Great Kills Park
- Spotted Sandpiper - 13+ incl. 3 on Goethal's Bridge Pond & 10+ on the salt
flats at Great Kills Park
- Least Sandpiper - 10+ incl. 1 on Goethal's Bridge Pond & 10+ on the salt
flats at Great Kills Park
- Chimney Swift - 6 incl. 3 over Clove Road & Castleton Ave., 2 from
Stapleton SIR Station & 1 at Great Kills Park
- Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 heard at Clove Lakes Park
- Downy Woodpecker - 2+ heard at Clove Lakes Park
- Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1 at Clove Lakes Park
- Eastern Kingbird - 1 seen & heard at S end of Clove Lakes Park
- Fish Crow - 7 seen & heard near the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Black-capped Chickadee - 1 heard just N of Martling Ave. in Clove Lakes
Park
- White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 just N of Martling Ave. in Clove Lakes Park
- Veery - 1 on S end of bridal path in Clove Lakes Park
- Swainson's Thrush - 5+ in Clove Lakes Park
- Northern Mockingbird - At all sites including 3 at Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Cedar Waxwing - 5 incl. 4 from Old Place Creek & 1 in Clove 

[nysbirds-l] Staten Island, Thu. 20-May-2010 incl. Black Skimmers, Least Terns

2010-05-21 Thread Ben Cacace
Date: Thursday, 20 May 2010 (9:20a-8:15p)
Location: NW section of S.I., Clove Lakes Park  Great Kills Park
Reported by: Ben Cacace

Abundance categories below from 'The Birds of Staten Island' checklist last
updated in 2000. New checklist due to be released by Spring/2011. Abundance
categories below for 'Spring'. Taxonomic order follows abundance categories.

BANK SWALLOW status has clearly changed since 2000.

Birding 3 sections of the county worked out well today. The northwest corner
included Goethal's Bridge Pond, Old Place Creek and Western Ave. and
produced 36 species. Next was Clove Lakes Park which added 28. The highlight
was the salt flats at Great Kills Park which, surprisingly, added 15 more
species.

I arrived at Goethal's Bridge Pond shortly after low tide  was disappointed
to see the low shorebird #s. Only GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER,
KILLDEER  LEAST SANDPIPER were spotted. The highlight was seeing a pair of
*LEAST TERNS* feeding and then resting on a busted up plastic barrel on the
pond.

Being able to see the evening low tide at another site made this a banner
day. The activity on the salt flats at the north end of the beach off Great
Kills Park was much better than at Goethal's Bridge Pond. Shorebirds seen
here included AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER, KILLDEER, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, LEAST
SANDPIPER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
RUDDY TURNSTONE, SANDERLING  SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER.

At 7:40p a single *BLACK SKIMMER* was seen heading south off Great Kills
Park. Later on at 7:58p a pair of skimmers were heading in the same
direction. After a few minutes one returned to feed in the shallow waters
off the salt flats weaving its way through the feeding Brant.

Transportation: M15 bus to ferry, 8:00a ferry, S40 to Goethal's Bridge Pond,
S48 to Clove Lakes Park, S62 to St. George, S.I. Rail (SIR) to Great Kills
Park, S79 to Bay Ridge Brooklyn, R train to 6 train to home.

Weather for 20-May for Newark, NJ (8:51a-7:51p)  http://tinyurl.com/2b6spq6:
- Conditions: Scattered Clouds to Partly Cloudy
- Temperature: 64.9 to 82.9 F (18.3 to 28.3 C)
- Wind direction: Variable then changing to SSW to WSW
- Wind speed: 3 - 13 mph (no gusts reported)

** Total species - 79 **

'Rare' seen every 2-5 years [2 spp]:
- Black Skimmer - 2 off Great Kills Park seen @ 7:40p  7:58p
- Bank Swallow - 30+ at Great Kills Park

'Occasional' seen a few times per season [4 spp]:
- Little Blue Heron - 1 on the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Black-billed Cuckoo - 1 heard south of Martling Ave. @ the 1st red bridge
in Clove Lakes Park
- Carolina Wren - 1 heard from the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Boat-tailed Grackle - 8+ around the salt flats at Great Kills Park

'Uncommon' present but may not be seen [10 spp]:
- Horned Grebe - 1 in breeding plumage off the salt flats at Great Kills
Park
- Turkey Vulture - 1 from Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Red-tailed Hawk - Pair engaging in typical courtship behavior just N of
Goethal's Bridge Pond
- American Oystercatcher - 4 on the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Least Tern - 2 feeding  resting on Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Willow Flycatcher - 1 heard from Western Ave. W of Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Warbling Vireo - 1 in Clove Lakes Park
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2 incl. 1 at Goethal's Bridge Pond  1 at
Great Kills Park
- Wood Thrush - 1 at the N end of Clove Lakes Park
- Wilson's Warbler - 1 male at 1st red bridge N of Martling Ave. in Clove
Lakes Park

'Common' certain in proper habitat [30 spp]:
- Great Egret - 7 incl. 3 from the ferry, 2 over Bridge Creek  3 over the
salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Snowy Egret - 10 incl. 6 on Goethal's Bridge Pond  4 on the salt flats at
Great Kills Park
- Black-crowned Night-Heron - 20+ incl. 1 in Clove Lakes Park  20 from the
salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Glossy Ibis - 1 at the 1st red bridge S of Martling Ave. in Clove Lakes
Park
- Killdeer - 4 incl. 2 at Goethal's Bridge Pond  2 on the salt flats at
Great Kills Park
- Spotted Sandpiper - 13+ incl. 3 on Goethal's Bridge Pond  10+ on the salt
flats at Great Kills Park
- Least Sandpiper - 10+ incl. 1 on Goethal's Bridge Pond  10+ on the salt
flats at Great Kills Park
- Chimney Swift - 6 incl. 3 over Clove Road  Castleton Ave., 2 from
Stapleton SIR Station  1 at Great Kills Park
- Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 heard at Clove Lakes Park
- Downy Woodpecker - 2+ heard at Clove Lakes Park
- Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1 at Clove Lakes Park
- Eastern Kingbird - 1 seen  heard at S end of Clove Lakes Park
- Fish Crow - 7 seen  heard near the salt flats at Great Kills Park
- Black-capped Chickadee - 1 heard just N of Martling Ave. in Clove Lakes
Park
- White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 just N of Martling Ave. in Clove Lakes Park
- Veery - 1 on S end of bridal path in Clove Lakes Park
- Swainson's Thrush - 5+ in Clove Lakes Park
- Northern Mockingbird - At all sites including 3 at Goethal's Bridge Pond
- Cedar Waxwing - 5 incl. 4 from Old Place Creek  1 in Clove Lakes Park
- Northern