Dave Larsen was a "post-doc" working in the Chemistry Department at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Camp Upton, Suffolk Co., when I first met him. He was a serious birder, and therefore, I was not surprised, when he chose to try for the Little Egret, to open up our day... knowing full well that the bird had not been seen since May 21.
Well, unfortunately, Dave's intrepid-ness was not to be rewarded at Gardiners County Park, Bay Shore yesterday. In fact, during the ~ 1 & 1/2 hours spent there, we did not see one white egret, of any species ! We did however, get to see & hear species Dave doesn't get regularly in his part of Virginia. Dave is not quite my age, but he still has the hearing found among the members of our state's Young Birders Club ! Birds heard, before seeing, were Willow Flycatcher (MPF}, Redstart, Yellow, and Common Yellowthroat Warblers, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow- billed Cuckoo, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed and Seaside Sparrows, Marsh Wren (MPF), and my contribution, the sighting of a C.Snipe (MPF). The flycatcher and wren sightings were spectacular, with both birds coming in (not more than 15' from us), hanging off phragmites, and singing their hearts out ! Dune Rd., from Quogue to Hampton Bays, was next on Dave's wish-list, but not before stopping at Captain Bill's in Bay Shore for a delicious "burger & brew" lunch, plus picking up Laughing Gull while getting out of the car ! Once on Dune Rd. it didn't take long to find out where a good amount of the white egrets were...unfortunately, the middle-sized, of the 3 white egrets was not in evidence ! Among Dave's target species, those found were: A. Oystercatcher; Greater Yellowlegs; Willet; Ruddy Turnstone; Sanderling; Semi-palmated Sanpiper; Short-billed Dowitcher; Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls; Common Tern (MPF); Common and Boat-tailed Grackles. As we drove over the Ponquogue Bridge on the way home, we knew we had just shared 9 hours of so much more than looking for birds, we had re-kindled a long standing friendship we both treasure. One, we hope to further on a birding bonanza to Costa Rica in February '16 ! Cheers, Bob , -- 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/ --
