I got a good start on my 2010 year list today. At Belmont Lake State Park, there were seven Greater White-fronted Geese. Six of the birds were closely associating; the other one appeared to be going solo. All had orange bills characteristic of the Greenland race. There was also a "Richardson's" Cackling Goose on the Lake. Most of the geese on the lake had departed by 8:00 a.m. when I departed too, though the white-fronted geese remained.
The Massapequa Preserve was next, where two Tundra Swans continue on the pond at Pittsburg Av. This pond can also be accessed on the east side of the preserve at Van Buren St. Massapequa Lake, on the north side of Merrick Rd. (route 27A), was mostly frozen. But there were a lot of gulls and some waterfowl there, including a female Common Merganser. At Pt. Lookout there are now six Harlequin Ducks, including four drakes, an immature male, and a female. The numbers of Brant are astounding, and should give the counters some real pleasure tomorrow. There were also very large numbers of Long-tailed Ducks, somewhere around 450-500. Finally, there was an adult "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull in the Jones Beach West End 2 parking lot (first spotted by Bobby Rossetti). Seth Ausubel Forest Hills, NY -- 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/ --
