On Sunday morning (9/4) between ~ 0745 & 0915, Tom Moran and I visited the above locations. Trying the south-most farm first (Head of the Neck Rd o/o Eastport Manor Rd.) we found a far off flock of (11) large plovers, as well as (3) Kildeer. Taking to the car, we viewed this group from a number of spots around the periphery, without being able to ID the individuals. A juvenile Coopers Hawk then scattered the birds. Prior to this action, all the plovers had been on the turf- after this excitement, the remaining (2) plovers were found to have moved on to the dirt part of the field. A short while afterward, they took flight, and proved to be A.Golden Plovers. We then drove to the northmost sod farm, on the e/s of Route 51, where we observed (15) large plovers, (2) Kildeers...and (1) huge model airplane! After jockeying the car a few times around this field, the identity of the plovers became apparent when the plane's engine fired, and powered the 5' X 4' aircraft upwards. Both the Black-bellied Plovers and Kildeers left the field, flying out of sight to the west. The "Gashawk" finally made a flawless landing, but not before doing some great stunts: vertical climbs to about 200', where it seemed to stall out, start hurdling toward the ground, only to have the engine come alive, and the plane start upward again. It did single and double rolls to the left as it gained altitude, and the same to the right. It did rolls as it flew right side up, and as it flew upside down. It did other maneuvers that were equally as exciting...it was a hell of an air-show! We also checked out the Riverhead Sod Farms around Route 105, Northville Tpke., and Doctors Path, without success. 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/ --
