apropos of a prior note that 2 Oporornis species are well-reported lately, this Central Park report from Monday, 21 Sept. on 'B.T.Blue' list-serve: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/btblue/message/2312 - no word of any relocation by those subsequently seeking though. - - - - - - -
Tuesday, 22 September, 2009 - Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and locations on the Rockaway peninsula of Queens County, N.Y. City including J. Riis Park, Fort Tilden, Breezy Point; and Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. 6:30 a.m. to after noon hours. (S. wind came up) 17 shorebird species at J. Bay Refuge - with day's total of 18 spp. - I visited the outer beach sites first, at just after first light thru mid-morning. Overall it seemed very quiet for migrants... however: off Fort Tilden's "fisherman's parking lot" near the Silver Gull cabanas there was a Parasitic Jaeger going after Laughing Gulls (mainly) which were numerous, and to a lesser extent also harassing Common Terns (which were not all that common) - the jaeger roughly 80-100 yards offshore, working east along the rips where the gulls were (and almost all birds seen offshore seemingly moving east, or more properly east/northeast parallel with the shore. I didn't note much more after that sighting which was a little past sunrise, or roughly 7:15 - I did not conduct a long sea-watch as, despite an (unexpected, esp. on today's weather) excellent sighting, there wasn't a feel of much close movement to observe at sea. There seemed to be minimal, or in any case very quiet, numbers of almost any migrants around (not a surprise with the wind, or lack of, overnight) with one very prominent exception: in all locations near the shore were Northern [Yellow-shafted] Flickers, with (for example) 45 counted coming off one small field at Riis Park in one minute, and in total well over 800 flickers counted from Riis, Tilden and the sea- side sections of Breezy Pt. - pretty impressive & also puzzling when it didn't feel like much more was around! There were also a dozen or so Chimney Swifts working low over the dune scrub at Ft. Tilden, and near the point (at Breezy) were 3,000+ swallows, mainly Tree with some Barn, Bank, & (?) perhaps another species in the mix. I did come across the occasional vireo, wren, warbler and the like but nothing remotely close to a fall-out - except for the flickers. I also saw almost no sparrows, other than a very few Savannah & Song, plus a couple of E. Towhee. Gray Catbirds were evident in higher numbers than actually breed in the thickets. A single young Merlin was doing about all it possibly could to go after last one of the hundreds of flickers at Tilden, causing no end of mayhem and noise. I didn't see it get any birds but it couldn't seem to focus on any one of the individual flickers that were rapidly fleeing the little raptor, in about every possible direction at times. The Merlin (guessing same one) was still at it on my return pass after walking up the beach at Breezy. Gull numbers were fairly high there; I didn't come up with any notables - the regular 4 species of this season: Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed. A few shorebird species, especially sanderling along the beach itself. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, on the high tide cycle just before & after noon provided a variety but low overall numbers of shorebirds, mainly seen on the East Pond, & there mainly at the northwest section of the E. Pond: 1 American Avocet was present, moving up from a point well down from the NW corner access path, up to the island's NW edge, & roosting (somewhat less noticeably) there after moving up, apparently due to a N. Harrier that spooked up a number of birds at the same time as the harrier passed quite low. I scanned for but did not see a 2nd avocet, as had been reported until recently. More rewarding than that large shorebird (to me) were the 2 juvenile- plumaged American Golden Plovers nearly together, along with less- stunningly 'crisp & clean' Black-bellied Plovers (60+) ranging on the second spit & also moving about as I was leaving the E. Pond - the 2 juv. Am. Golden-Plover were so beautifully marked and in good contrast for study with all the Black-bellied (some of which were also fine- looking, & a few that were more worn), a real close-up treat. As an aside I was lucky enough to recently hear Lars Jonsson, the great bird artist-illustrator of Europe (& a frequent visitor to our side of the Atlantic too) talk about his art, & the birds & landscapes he observes, and it was great to hear someone with so fine an eye for details (an ornithologist as well as artist) also speak about the sheer beauty of so many of these birds - while many or most birders love to talk points of identification and other fine technically- oriented details, once a bird is studied and sometimes immediately it is another aspect that can strike the observer in a way that, in a sense, transcends all the "scientific" knowledge - or perhaps and properly, melds with it, to give a fuller "feel" for what one is seeing/hearing/experiencing. Well... anyhow - beautiful birds, those two gentle plovers. Additional shorebirds at Jamaica Bay included: American Oystercatcher (12+), Greater (100+) & Lesser (10+) Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper (1), Western Sandpiper (2, East Pond NW section), Semipalmated Sandpiper (35+), Least Sandpiper (50+), White-rumped Sandpiper (6), Spotted Sandpiper (1), Short-billed Dowitcher (40+), Long-billed Dowitcher (14+), Western Willet (3), Ruddy Turnstone, Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover (75+). Jamaica Bay Refuge also still had a fair assortment of herons & egrets (no Cattle though!) with Tricolored (several) & Little Blue Herons, both Night-Heron species, plus a slightly late Green Heron as well as now-usual Great Blues, & good numbers of the regular 2 egrets, plus just a few (I counted 5) Glossy Ibis scattered in several spots. At high tides these herons-egrets-ibis are often more visible along with the shorebirds & others. A good number of ducks, almost all dabbling types are present on both ponds, perhaps more species on the east - N. Pintails, American Wigeons, Blue-winged & Green-winged Teals, N. Shovelers, Gadwall & likely others being present amongst the more ubiquitous American Black Ducks & Mallards. A smallish number of Atlantic Brant were easily seen on the bay off the W. Pond, and a very few Greater Scaup were farther out. I didn't scan all the bay's waters that thoroughly; there could well be more of note to look for there by now. Terns were only in fair numbers, & were limited to Common mainly at the shore, and some Forster's at the bay. I looked at the now-famous "North 40 Runway" puddle (still there) at Floyd Bennett Field (in Brooklyn) for any potential shorebird activity but saw none on my quick check; there were some Greater Yellowlegs & a few Least Sandpipers in the "Return-a-Gift" Pond nearby in F.B. Field. A look around in the fields, other runways, & the community gardens revealed relatively few migrants. A similar check in other sites visited revealed no "grass-pipers" or other such goodies, but a slight surprise were the 300+ shorebirds inconspicuously roosting or loafing at the quiet NE corner of the huge Riis parking lot, most being Semipalmated Plovers, with a smattering (dozens) of Semi. Sandpipers as well. These birds allowed a close approach (to 30 yards) by me & as some got visibly nervous, I backed off & they settled again. I'm going to have to check that lot more - have done so for years but sometimes forget. (We even once had a W. Kingbird utilize the hedgerow on the "back" side" one fine fall season at that location...) Besides the impressive flicker numbers I noted few other species moving along the barrier beach sites in the first hours of this day, with icterids (including 12+ Bobolink, 150+ Red-winged Blackbird, 300+ Brown-headed Cowbird, & a few Baltimore Orioles in the mix over several hours) and a smaller contingent of American Robins (60+) & Cedar Waxwing (35+) going along headed SW. There was a Sharp-shinned Hawk & an Osprey at Breezy Point. Good birding, Tom Fiore, Manhattan _________ -- 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 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
