[nysbirds-l] See Life Paulagics August 17/18 overnight pelagic results
The See Life Paulagics trip on The Voyager targeting deep water off the continental shelf (in NY and NJ waters) sailed in calm conditions August 17th/18th out of Pt. Pleasant NJ. The extended 32 hour trip encountered a broad mix of birds, cetaceans, turtles and other sea life. The trip got off to a great start before we even reached the shelf edge with close flyby's of Audubon's Shearwater and White-faced Storm-Petrel amongst flocks of Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Multiple Fin Whales were seen in this area as well. Once in the deep we started to see Band-rumped and Leach's Storm-Petrels and small numbers of Great and Cory's Shearwaters, with one of the Cory's being of the Scopoli's subspecies. The evening chum slick in NY waters brought extended views of these species while a large pod of Striped Dolphin cavorted near the boat. Spotted Dolphin and Cuvier's Beaked Whales investigated the slick as well. We headed south overnight and set another slick in NJ waters where activity started well before sun up. A White-faced Storm-Petrel came to the slick under the lights of the boat while a few leaders were fishing around 2am. As it became light enough to see it quickly became apparent there were dozens of Wilson's Storm-Petrels in the slick and Band-rumpeds, and to a lesser extent Leach's, were flying in regularly. A close pass of Audubon's Shearwater and Black-capped Petrel coincided with a stunning sunrise. Both Barn and Cliff Swallows were seen 100 and 80 miles from shore, respectively. Another extremely confiding White-faced Storm-Petrel was in view for over 15 minutes as we worked the shelf edge near the Tom's Canyon. A brief query of a few photographers on board revealed a range of photographs of this individual bird between 500 and 1100 per person. The rarest sighting of the trip was was a well documented Band-rumped Storm-Petrel inshore along the 30 fathom line (180ft of water) in NJ. Our understanding of this species' distribution in NY/NJ waters has increased tremendously over the last 5 years. The bedrock of that understanding was that it occurs in deep, blue water at or off the continental shelf edge. Outside of tropic storms, this record appears to be the only photo documented record of the species in inshore waters of NY/NJ in eBird and goes to show how the only way we can add to our understanding is by being out there! We can also help protect these and other species while at home with choices we make. The running trip tally of mylar balloons floating on the surface was 47. These, in addition to other floating debris were in areas where sea turtle and cetacean numbers were highest. A few hourly checklists with notable sightings and photos can be seen here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102580 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102617 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102735 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102768 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102645 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102676 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102811 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102859 Species totals: Wilson's Storm Petrel 1451 Band-rumped Storm Petrel 42 Leach's Storm Petrel 7 White-faced Storm Petrel 4 Black-capped Petrel 1 Great Shearwater 13 Cory's Shearwater 31 Cory's/Scopoli's 1 Audubon's Shearwater 2 Black Tern 5 Common/Arctic Tern 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 3 Laughing Gull 4 Red-necked Phalarope 1 Barn Swallow 1 Cliff Swallow 1 Other sea life: Loggerhead Sea Turtle 9 Inshore Bottlenose Dolphin 12 Common Dolphin 35 Striped Dolphin 80 Spotted Dolphin 9 Risso's Dolphin 3 Fin Whale 5 Cuvier's Beaked Whale 4 Pilot Whale 70 Ocean Sunfish Cow-nosed Rays 30 Marlin 2 Hammerhead Shark Sp. Shark Sp. Mahi Mahi Flying Fish (numerous) Painted Lady Cloudless Sulphur Moth sp. Wandering Glider Cheers, Sean Sime Brooklyn, NY -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] Nocturnal Flight Calls
Am hearing a good amount of nocturnal flight calls over Bay Shore (1:45am - 2:20am) but it seems to be slowing down a bit. Maybe some new birds later this morning. Mike Z. -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fall in Croton/Thanks to Tom F. and others
In the era of 280-character rare bird alerts (and, yes, I do rely on those), I really value this place's continued survival. Not only for the heads-up on birds outside NYC (such as the Western Kingbird and Upland Sandpiper in my new town), but for such things as the radar migration discussions, Alan Drogin's former Bryant Park reports (which inspired me to do urban-greenspace surveys of my own) and current forays in Hudson Yards, and above all Tom Fiore's extraordinary macro views of migration and the life of NYC's birds. To me, it's about more than specific sightings, especially in this day and age. In that spirit, I've been spending a lot of time watching the ebb and flow in Croton on Hudson (we moved here in May), especially down in Croton Landing, a pretty remarkable mix of created habitats (freshwater ponds, riverside beaches, a mini cattail marsh, fields with tall trees, and of course the river). This month (both on the Landing and in the town) has seen so many signs of in-progress and impending migration, things I never really noticed before but that seem representative of the process outside the five boroughs. After a midsummer silence, several species have seemed to return to territory and are singing (if sometimes weakly and sporadically) at the Landing, including Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, and Baltimore Oriole. Red-tailed Hawks have been endlessly vocal--complaining young on their own? The Killdeer who nest around the Croton train tracks have been flighty and vocal as well. Among mammals, the landing's woodchucks are getting themselves fat. In town, there's a large population of vultures that spends all winter here. After a summer where I saw mostly Turkey, the flocks seem larger--real kettles--and include many Black Vultures as well. Also, twice in the past two weeks, my neighborhood has been inundated with Grackles (February-size numbers), gleaning every bit of food they can find before moving on. Plus a noticeable rise in warblers coming through, though only the expected species. It's still in the high 80s nearly every day...but change is in the air. Hope you don't mind this non-rarity report from "up north." --Joe Wallace -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] Nocturnal Flight Calls
Am hearing a good amount of nocturnal flight calls over Bay Shore (1:45am - 2:20am) but it seems to be slowing down a bit. Maybe some new birds later this morning. Mike Z. -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fall in Croton/Thanks to Tom F. and others
In the era of 280-character rare bird alerts (and, yes, I do rely on those), I really value this place's continued survival. Not only for the heads-up on birds outside NYC (such as the Western Kingbird and Upland Sandpiper in my new town), but for such things as the radar migration discussions, Alan Drogin's former Bryant Park reports (which inspired me to do urban-greenspace surveys of my own) and current forays in Hudson Yards, and above all Tom Fiore's extraordinary macro views of migration and the life of NYC's birds. To me, it's about more than specific sightings, especially in this day and age. In that spirit, I've been spending a lot of time watching the ebb and flow in Croton on Hudson (we moved here in May), especially down in Croton Landing, a pretty remarkable mix of created habitats (freshwater ponds, riverside beaches, a mini cattail marsh, fields with tall trees, and of course the river). This month (both on the Landing and in the town) has seen so many signs of in-progress and impending migration, things I never really noticed before but that seem representative of the process outside the five boroughs. After a midsummer silence, several species have seemed to return to territory and are singing (if sometimes weakly and sporadically) at the Landing, including Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, and Baltimore Oriole. Red-tailed Hawks have been endlessly vocal--complaining young on their own? The Killdeer who nest around the Croton train tracks have been flighty and vocal as well. Among mammals, the landing's woodchucks are getting themselves fat. In town, there's a large population of vultures that spends all winter here. After a summer where I saw mostly Turkey, the flocks seem larger--real kettles--and include many Black Vultures as well. Also, twice in the past two weeks, my neighborhood has been inundated with Grackles (February-size numbers), gleaning every bit of food they can find before moving on. Plus a noticeable rise in warblers coming through, though only the expected species. It's still in the high 80s nearly every day...but change is in the air. Hope you don't mind this non-rarity report from "up north." --Joe Wallace -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] See Life Paulagics August 17/18 overnight pelagic results
The See Life Paulagics trip on The Voyager targeting deep water off the continental shelf (in NY and NJ waters) sailed in calm conditions August 17th/18th out of Pt. Pleasant NJ. The extended 32 hour trip encountered a broad mix of birds, cetaceans, turtles and other sea life. The trip got off to a great start before we even reached the shelf edge with close flyby's of Audubon's Shearwater and White-faced Storm-Petrel amongst flocks of Wilson's Storm-Petrels. Multiple Fin Whales were seen in this area as well. Once in the deep we started to see Band-rumped and Leach's Storm-Petrels and small numbers of Great and Cory's Shearwaters, with one of the Cory's being of the Scopoli's subspecies. The evening chum slick in NY waters brought extended views of these species while a large pod of Striped Dolphin cavorted near the boat. Spotted Dolphin and Cuvier's Beaked Whales investigated the slick as well. We headed south overnight and set another slick in NJ waters where activity started well before sun up. A White-faced Storm-Petrel came to the slick under the lights of the boat while a few leaders were fishing around 2am. As it became light enough to see it quickly became apparent there were dozens of Wilson's Storm-Petrels in the slick and Band-rumpeds, and to a lesser extent Leach's, were flying in regularly. A close pass of Audubon's Shearwater and Black-capped Petrel coincided with a stunning sunrise. Both Barn and Cliff Swallows were seen 100 and 80 miles from shore, respectively. Another extremely confiding White-faced Storm-Petrel was in view for over 15 minutes as we worked the shelf edge near the Tom's Canyon. A brief query of a few photographers on board revealed a range of photographs of this individual bird between 500 and 1100 per person. The rarest sighting of the trip was was a well documented Band-rumped Storm-Petrel inshore along the 30 fathom line (180ft of water) in NJ. Our understanding of this species' distribution in NY/NJ waters has increased tremendously over the last 5 years. The bedrock of that understanding was that it occurs in deep, blue water at or off the continental shelf edge. Outside of tropic storms, this record appears to be the only photo documented record of the species in inshore waters of NY/NJ in eBird and goes to show how the only way we can add to our understanding is by being out there! We can also help protect these and other species while at home with choices we make. The running trip tally of mylar balloons floating on the surface was 47. These, in addition to other floating debris were in areas where sea turtle and cetacean numbers were highest. A few hourly checklists with notable sightings and photos can be seen here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102580 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102617 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102735 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102768 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102645 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102676 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102811 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59102859 Species totals: Wilson's Storm Petrel 1451 Band-rumped Storm Petrel 42 Leach's Storm Petrel 7 White-faced Storm Petrel 4 Black-capped Petrel 1 Great Shearwater 13 Cory's Shearwater 31 Cory's/Scopoli's 1 Audubon's Shearwater 2 Black Tern 5 Common/Arctic Tern 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 3 Laughing Gull 4 Red-necked Phalarope 1 Barn Swallow 1 Cliff Swallow 1 Other sea life: Loggerhead Sea Turtle 9 Inshore Bottlenose Dolphin 12 Common Dolphin 35 Striped Dolphin 80 Spotted Dolphin 9 Risso's Dolphin 3 Fin Whale 5 Cuvier's Beaked Whale 4 Pilot Whale 70 Ocean Sunfish Cow-nosed Rays 30 Marlin 2 Hammerhead Shark Sp. Shark Sp. Mahi Mahi Flying Fish (numerous) Painted Lady Cloudless Sulphur Moth sp. Wandering Glider Cheers, Sean Sime Brooklyn, NY -- 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/ --
