Following on from Shai's post, migration was also very much in evidence at Mecox Bay (near Watermill, Suffolk Co.) earlier this morning with various shorebirds making brief visits and then seeming to move on. Andy Guthrie (yes, him again) and I witnessed a *MARBLED GODWIT* drop out of the sky onto the sand flat. It spent less than an hour there before taking to the wing again and heading east. Other species seemed to come and go as we watched, for instance 2 *BLACK TERNS* appeared out of nowhere and vanished not too long after. Likewise a juvenile* LITTLE BLUE HERON*, generally quite scarce this far east, whizzed passed over the pond but did not stop. Our tally of *WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS* grew from 4 when we arrived to a respectable 29, partly through our move to a better viewing spot and partly perhaps through new arrivals. Near the end of our stay, a flock of 17 *LESSER YELLOWLEGS* and 5 *STILT SANDPIPERS* (2 ads and 3 juvs.) came into view. Andy also picked out an adult *WESTERN SANDPIPER* among the Semis and White-rumps. In all, we found 15 species of shorebird in a little over 3-hours, while missing some expected species like 'Western' and 'Eastern' Willet and American Oystercatcher. A continuous ribbon of Tree Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds passed westwards along the dune line for much of the morning.
Napeague Habor (Bay) located between Amagansett and Montauk, is hosting its annual 'Black Tern Bonanza'. On Saturday we tallied a minimum of 160-170 *BLACK TERNS* scattered around this shallow bay that is much favored by kite surfers. A similar number were present this afternoon but the strong winds made study difficult. The birds are a mix of juveniles and adults in various stages of molt out of alternate plumage. A *WHIMBREL* was also present there early on Saturday morning. -- Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ -- 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 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
