[nysbirds-l] JBWR East Pond Report 7-15

[Andrew Baksh]

This morning, I cleared out the north end trail on the west side of the East 
Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, making it usable for the 2017 Shorebird 
Season.

The water level on the pond is high and I would advise against attempting to 
bird the pond for now. Compounding the water level problem, is an algae mat 
that makes viewing where you are wading impossible. Additionally, the thickness 
of the Algal mat, made it hard work when walking the pond, as I leaned today. 
Yes, I did walk in a bit - up to the area known as Sanderling Point. It was for 
testing purposes and a bit tricky. In some areas, water was above my calf.

The water level read out is 1.36 which is high. For this time of the year, we 
should have been at the very least 1.20 (yeah we had rain but what about 
draining early?) Nevertheless, I did note shorebirds beyond Dead Man's Cove. 
Highlighted by 4 STILT SANDPIPERS. They were feeding in a mixed flock 
consisting of Short-billed Dowitchers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Peeps. 
The latter hugging the Phragmites as they sought any open shoreline.

I ventured out to the southend of the pond as well, though I opted not to clear 
the trail on that end. The fence is still up but there a huge sign at the trail 
entrance indicating the area is part of the Refuge. No doubt, brought on by the 
hubbub over the fence that sprung up right under NPS' noses.

On the south end there were the usual suspects including a few Least 
Sandpipers. A banded Glossy Ibis was the highlight as well as a marauding young 
Peregrine Falcon that was nicely harassed by a few Common Terns who did not put 
up with its presence.

For those of you interested in what the fence looks like on the south end and 
what the pond looks like in terms of the water level. Here is a link to some 
photos I took by phone. 
https://flickr.com/photos/37626025@N05/sets/72157683844150731

For those of you unfamiliar with the nomenclature of the various spots on the 
pond. Here is a link to an East Pond map that should help. 
http://birdingdude.blogspot.com/2016/06/jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge-east-pond.html?m=1

Many thanks who have taken the time to contact NPS regarding the East Pond 
access issue. I will update the listserves, if I learn anything new.

Cheers,


"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of 
others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ Frederick 
Douglass

風　Swift as the wind
林　Quiet as the forest
火　Conquer like the fire
山　Steady as the mountain
Sun Tzu  The Art of War

> (__/)
> (= '.'=)
> (") _ (") 
> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! 

Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] JBWR East Pond Report 7-15

[Andrew Baksh]

This morning, I cleared out the north end trail on the west side of the East 
Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, making it usable for the 2017 Shorebird 
Season.

The water level on the pond is high and I would advise against attempting to 
bird the pond for now. Compounding the water level problem, is an algae mat 
that makes viewing where you are wading impossible. Additionally, the thickness 
of the Algal mat, made it hard work when walking the pond, as I leaned today. 
Yes, I did walk in a bit - up to the area known as Sanderling Point. It was for 
testing purposes and a bit tricky. In some areas, water was above my calf.

The water level read out is 1.36 which is high. For this time of the year, we 
should have been at the very least 1.20 (yeah we had rain but what about 
draining early?) Nevertheless, I did note shorebirds beyond Dead Man's Cove. 
Highlighted by 4 STILT SANDPIPERS. They were feeding in a mixed flock 
consisting of Short-billed Dowitchers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Peeps. 
The latter hugging the Phragmites as they sought any open shoreline.

I ventured out to the southend of the pond as well, though I opted not to clear 
the trail on that end. The fence is still up but there a huge sign at the trail 
entrance indicating the area is part of the Refuge. No doubt, brought on by the 
hubbub over the fence that sprung up right under NPS' noses.

On the south end there were the usual suspects including a few Least 
Sandpipers. A banded Glossy Ibis was the highlight as well as a marauding young 
Peregrine Falcon that was nicely harassed by a few Common Terns who did not put 
up with its presence.

For those of you interested in what the fence looks like on the south end and 
what the pond looks like in terms of the water level. Here is a link to some 
photos I took by phone. 
https://flickr.com/photos/37626025@N05/sets/72157683844150731

For those of you unfamiliar with the nomenclature of the various spots on the 
pond. Here is a link to an East Pond map that should help. 
http://birdingdude.blogspot.com/2016/06/jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge-east-pond.html?m=1

Many thanks who have taken the time to contact NPS regarding the East Pond 
access issue. I will update the listserves, if I learn anything new.

Cheers,


"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of 
others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ Frederick 
Douglass

風　Swift as the wind
林　Quiet as the forest
火　Conquer like the fire
山　Steady as the mountain
Sun Tzu  The Art of War

> (__/)
> (= '.'=)
> (") _ (") 
> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! 

Andrew Baksh
www.birdingdude.blogspot.com
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Central Park NYC - Sat., July 15, 2017 - Yellow- & Black-billed Cuckoos, Ruby-throated Hummingbird & Magnolia Warbler

[Deborah Allen]

Central Park NYC - Ramble & Reservoir
Saturday, July 15, 2017 
OBS: Robert DeCandido, PhD, Deborah Allen, m.ob.


Highlights: Yellow- & Black-billed Cuckoos, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 
continuing adult male Magnolia Warbler, also our first-of-season southbound 
flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds.


Canada Goose - Turtle Pond & Reservoir
Wood Duck - dark-billed male Turtle Pond
Mallard - 9 very tame juveniles remain at Turtle Pond, almost ready to fly
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - Summer House Meadow (Bob, 6am)
Black-billed Cuckoo - Tupelo Field before 8am, seen later at Azalea Pond
Mourning Dove - nest in Shakespeare Garden empty
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - female or hatch-year in hosta and bee balm 
Shakespeare Garden
Herring Gull - 5 Reservoir & flyovers
Great Black-backed Gull - 3 Reservoir - adult and two 1st-cycle (hatch-year) 
birds
Double-crested Cormorant - 4 Reservoir & a couple of flyovers
Great Egret - Turtle Pond
Black-crowned Night-Heron - Turtle Pond
Turkey Vulture - circling up over Oak Bridge
Red-bellied Woodpecker- Ramble
Downy Woodpecker - male & female Warbler Rock (Bina from Mozambique)
Northern Flicker - 3 Warbler Rock
Great Crested Flycatcher - 4 
Eastern Kingbird - 3
Warbling Vireo - Summer Hosue Meadow
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow - 2 low over Great Lawn, another over Oak Bridge
White-breasted Nuthatch - Summer House Meadow
American Robin - many
Gray Catbird - adult carrying food to nest Tupelo Field, others elsewhere
Northern Mockingbird - north end of Maintenance Field
Cedar Waxwing - 6 to 10 incl. fledgling at Upper Lobe 
House Finch - 10 to 15 (all age & sex classes)
American Goldfinch - heard flight call Shakespeare Garden (Peter Haskel & Bob)
Song Sparrow - Bow Bridge
Baltimore Oriole - juvenile Warbler Rock
Red-winged Blackbird - Turtle Pond & small southbound flocks
Brown-headed Cowbird - Riviera
Common Grackle - Delacorte Theater, etc.
Magnolia Warbler - adult male Bow Bridge
Northern Cardinal - here & there, including courtship feeding at Upper Lobe 
(nest early & often)

Many young Eu. Starlings & House Sparrow fed by their parents, alas.

Six days ago (last Sunday, July 9) Stefan Passlick found and tweeted a 
Black-billed Cuckoo at the north end of the park. This is the earliest July 
date on record for Central Park. Remarkably the bird was not flagged as rare on 
his ebird checklist, here:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38057359


Deb Allen

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Central Park NYC - Sat., July 15, 2017 - Yellow- & Black-billed Cuckoos, Ruby-throated Hummingbird & Magnolia Warbler

[Deborah Allen]

Central Park NYC - Ramble & Reservoir
Saturday, July 15, 2017 
OBS: Robert DeCandido, PhD, Deborah Allen, m.ob.


Highlights: Yellow- & Black-billed Cuckoos, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 
continuing adult male Magnolia Warbler, also our first-of-season southbound 
flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds.


Canada Goose - Turtle Pond & Reservoir
Wood Duck - dark-billed male Turtle Pond
Mallard - 9 very tame juveniles remain at Turtle Pond, almost ready to fly
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - Summer House Meadow (Bob, 6am)
Black-billed Cuckoo - Tupelo Field before 8am, seen later at Azalea Pond
Mourning Dove - nest in Shakespeare Garden empty
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - female or hatch-year in hosta and bee balm 
Shakespeare Garden
Herring Gull - 5 Reservoir & flyovers
Great Black-backed Gull - 3 Reservoir - adult and two 1st-cycle (hatch-year) 
birds
Double-crested Cormorant - 4 Reservoir & a couple of flyovers
Great Egret - Turtle Pond
Black-crowned Night-Heron - Turtle Pond
Turkey Vulture - circling up over Oak Bridge
Red-bellied Woodpecker- Ramble
Downy Woodpecker - male & female Warbler Rock (Bina from Mozambique)
Northern Flicker - 3 Warbler Rock
Great Crested Flycatcher - 4 
Eastern Kingbird - 3
Warbling Vireo - Summer Hosue Meadow
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow - 2 low over Great Lawn, another over Oak Bridge
White-breasted Nuthatch - Summer House Meadow
American Robin - many
Gray Catbird - adult carrying food to nest Tupelo Field, others elsewhere
Northern Mockingbird - north end of Maintenance Field
Cedar Waxwing - 6 to 10 incl. fledgling at Upper Lobe 
House Finch - 10 to 15 (all age & sex classes)
American Goldfinch - heard flight call Shakespeare Garden (Peter Haskel & Bob)
Song Sparrow - Bow Bridge
Baltimore Oriole - juvenile Warbler Rock
Red-winged Blackbird - Turtle Pond & small southbound flocks
Brown-headed Cowbird - Riviera
Common Grackle - Delacorte Theater, etc.
Magnolia Warbler - adult male Bow Bridge
Northern Cardinal - here & there, including courtship feeding at Upper Lobe 
(nest early & often)

Many young Eu. Starlings & House Sparrow fed by their parents, alas.

Six days ago (last Sunday, July 9) Stefan Passlick found and tweeted a 
Black-billed Cuckoo at the north end of the park. This is the earliest July 
date on record for Central Park. Remarkably the bird was not flagged as rare on 
his ebird checklist, here:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38057359


Deb Allen

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] NYS eBird Hotspots: New/Renamed Locations (13-Jul-'17)

[Ben Cacace]

Thanks to @Team_eBird for their dedication keeping eBird.org running
smoothly and for the group of New York State hotspot moderators for working
on shared location suggestions.

** *NEW:* Illustrated checklists can be accessed from the state, county and
hotspot pages by clicking on 'Overview' and selecting 'Illustrated
Checklists' on the menu. If the hotspot is preceded by an asterisk you'll
see 'Illustrated Checklists after clicking on 'View Details'.

New and renamed shared locations (hotspots) have been updated for the 62
county wiki pages. You can find a summary of the changes below with
clickable links where pages exist for a dedicated hotspot.

http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/NewHotspots
http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/RenamedHotspots

The above links now appear on the home page (see below) on the 'Shared
Location Updates' line eliminating the need to refer back to this message:

Home page: http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/Birding+in+New+York

The alphabetized page with all hotspots (5,795) has also been updated.
Links to both the New and Renamed pages appears on the 'Shared Location
Updates' line:

Alphabetical list of hotspots:
http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/AlphaHotspots

If you wish to merge your personal location with an existing hotspot here
are the steps:

— Sign into eBird.org
— Go to "My eBird" & select "Manage My Locations" in the right panel
— At the bottom of the screen click "Show All" to see all locations on one
page
— You can sort the list by clicking on any of the headers: Location,
Country, State/Province, County, Type* or # of Checklists
— Select your personal location (it will show a letter "P" under Type*) by
clicking "Edit" on the right side of the line
— Select the "Merge" button and you'll see all nearby hotspots as red icons
— Keep the checkmark for "Delete after merging" selected
— Click the icon that best fits your location
— ... now you'll see the hotspot description above the 'Merge' button along
with the # of checklists you'll be merging
— Click on the 'Merge' button
— Answer Yes to the 'Yes or No' query

All checklists for that personal location will be combined with the hotspot
with this process.

Enjoy!
-- 
Ben Cacace
Manhattan, NYC
Wiki for NYS eBird Hotspots

Facebook Discussion for NYS eBird Hotspots: Q & A


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] NYS eBird Hotspots: New/Renamed Locations (13-Jul-'17)

[Ben Cacace]

Thanks to @Team_eBird for their dedication keeping eBird.org running
smoothly and for the group of New York State hotspot moderators for working
on shared location suggestions.

** *NEW:* Illustrated checklists can be accessed from the state, county and
hotspot pages by clicking on 'Overview' and selecting 'Illustrated
Checklists' on the menu. If the hotspot is preceded by an asterisk you'll
see 'Illustrated Checklists after clicking on 'View Details'.

New and renamed shared locations (hotspots) have been updated for the 62
county wiki pages. You can find a summary of the changes below with
clickable links where pages exist for a dedicated hotspot.

http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/NewHotspots
http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/RenamedHotspots

The above links now appear on the home page (see below) on the 'Shared
Location Updates' line eliminating the need to refer back to this message:

Home page: http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/Birding+in+New+York

The alphabetized page with all hotspots (5,795) has also been updated.
Links to both the New and Renamed pages appears on the 'Shared Location
Updates' line:

Alphabetical list of hotspots:
http://ebirding-nys.wikispaces.com/AlphaHotspots

If you wish to merge your personal location with an existing hotspot here
are the steps:

— Sign into eBird.org
— Go to "My eBird" & select "Manage My Locations" in the right panel
— At the bottom of the screen click "Show All" to see all locations on one
page
— You can sort the list by clicking on any of the headers: Location,
Country, State/Province, County, Type* or # of Checklists
— Select your personal location (it will show a letter "P" under Type*) by
clicking "Edit" on the right side of the line
— Select the "Merge" button and you'll see all nearby hotspots as red icons
— Keep the checkmark for "Delete after merging" selected
— Click the icon that best fits your location
— ... now you'll see the hotspot description above the 'Merge' button along
with the # of checklists you'll be merging
— Click on the 'Merge' button
— Answer Yes to the 'Yes or No' query

All checklists for that personal location will be combined with the hotspot
with this process.

Enjoy!
-- 
Ben Cacace
Manhattan, NYC
Wiki for NYS eBird Hotspots

Facebook Discussion for NYS eBird Hotspots: Q & A


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] extralimital - Roseate Spoonbill, Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania (to 7/15)

[Thomas Fiore]

Not all that far from New York is the Roseate Spoonbill well-reported via the 
PA-Birds list-serve, & likely thru other media as well.  A recent report from 
today is archived at:

http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=message;id=1329626

good summer birding,

Tom Fiore
New York (& points north)
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] extralimital - Roseate Spoonbill, Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania (to 7/15)

[Thomas Fiore]

Not all that far from New York is the Roseate Spoonbill well-reported via the 
PA-Birds list-serve, & likely thru other media as well.  A recent report from 
today is archived at:

http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=message;id=1329626

good summer birding,

Tom Fiore
New York (& points north)
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Richard Veit]

i don't see any evidence of birds being "blown off course".  Starving, yes,
and this seems likely due to shortage or lack of food, perhaps related to
changing climate.  But wrecks of great shearwaters of roughly similar
magnitude have been occurring episodically for years, perhaps moreso in
Massachusetts than on long island

On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Ardith Bondi  wrote:

>
>
>
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-l
> ong-island.html?action=click=Homepage=Moth-Vi
> sible=inside-nyt-region-2=inside-nyt-region
> ®ion=inside-nyt-region=inside-nyt-region
>  long-island.html?action=click=Homepage=Moth-V
> isible=inside-nyt-region-2=inside-nyt-
> region=inside-nyt-region=inside-nyt-region>
>
> A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving
> LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Joe Okoniewski has seen this before, just not on this
> scale. Each year Mr.
> Okoniewski, a wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of
> Conservation, performs
> necropsies on small numbers of seabird specimens that wash up dead along
> the coastal parts of the state.
> The birds are usually lone adults or juveniles that strayed too close to
> shore.
> This summer Mr. Okoniewski has already examined more than 20 dead birds,
> while twice that many are
> awaiting necropsies. All are the same species of agile seabird called
> great shearwaters, and all washed up
> emaciated on Long Island beaches last month in a mass mortality event that
> scientists say is extraordinary
> for the region.
> Now Mr. Okoniewski and others are hoping the unusually large number of
> carcasses can provide clues
> into the mysterious lives of these birds, which are considered good
> indicators of the health of the world’s
> oceans.
> “The birds are extremely thin and anemic,” Mr. Okoniewski said. “The big
> mystery is: Why are they thin?
> On the surface it looks like you know what happened: They starved. But
> when you ask why, it becomes
> much more of a mystery.”
> Continue reading the main story
> The vast expanses of the ocean remain some of the most vital and
> hard-to-study environments on the
> planet. As scientists work to comprehend the scope of climate change, they
> often look to seabirds to tell
> stories from the world’s most inaccessible waters. Pelagic birds, which
> refers to seabirds that spend the
> majority of their lives at sea and rarely venture to the shore, traverse
> various regions and climates, are
> affected by extreme weather patterns and feed on prey exposed to carbon
> emissions — all while staying
> relatively observable above the water’s surface.
> Photo
> One of the seabirds found in Atlantic City, N.J. Hundreds of carcasses
> were found over the course of two weeks, from Montauk, N.Y., to as far south
> as Cape May, N.J. Credit Scott McConnell
> Greater shearwaters, which are long-winged birds the size of small sea
> gulls, nest on some of the world’s
> most remote islands in the south Atlantic, more than 1,500 miles from
> land, before migrating to the
> waters off New England and Newfoundland.
> “These birds really illustrate the connectivity of ecosystems around the
> world,” said Shai Mitra, a biologist
> at the College of Staten Island.
> Their sometimes-perilous journey takes them past Long Island each June,
> but only after they have fueled
> up at feeding grounds in the Caribbean. Living off fat reserves, they
> glide up the Gulf Stream, rarely
> venturing in sight of land.
> “They are sort of an enigma for us to understand them because they are so
> rarely seen,” said Paul Sweet,
> an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History who is
> preparing specimens of the birds and
> freezing them so that they are available for study in the future.
> Which is why it caused a stir within scientific circles in late June when
> an offshore weather system pushed
> an entire flock not just within sight of land, but also over the shores of
> Nickerson Beach in Nassau County.
> Birders flocked to Nickerson to get glimpses of hundreds of shearwaters
> unsuccessfully fighting wind and
> fog, like flapping flotsam.
> “Many of the birds were over land. Many were flying right on the
> shoreline,” said Isaac Grant, a birder
> from Staten Island. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Eventually, I
> stopped looking and started rescuing
> birds.”
> Hundreds of carcasses were found over the course of two weeks, from
> Montauk west to Brooklyn and as
> far south as Cape May, N.J.
> Steve Walter, a photographer from Brooklyn, arrived at Nickerson Beach to
> find straggling shearwaters
> battling the surf. He picked one up to protect it from the waves,
> “babysitting” it before rehabilitators
> arrived.
> “I never imagined myself holding a shearwater in my hands,” Mr. Walter
> said.
> Nearly all of the dozens of birds recovered by rescuers eventually died,
> and the bodies were sent to the
> state Department of 

Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Richard Veit]

i don't see any evidence of birds being "blown off course".  Starving, yes,
and this seems likely due to shortage or lack of food, perhaps related to
changing climate.  But wrecks of great shearwaters of roughly similar
magnitude have been occurring episodically for years, perhaps moreso in
Massachusetts than on long island

On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Ardith Bondi  wrote:

>
>
>
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-l
> ong-island.html?action=click=Homepage=Moth-Vi
> sible=inside-nyt-region-2=inside-nyt-region
> ®ion=inside-nyt-region=inside-nyt-region
>  long-island.html?action=click=Homepage=Moth-V
> isible=inside-nyt-region-2=inside-nyt-
> region=inside-nyt-region=inside-nyt-region>
>
> A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving
> LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Joe Okoniewski has seen this before, just not on this
> scale. Each year Mr.
> Okoniewski, a wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of
> Conservation, performs
> necropsies on small numbers of seabird specimens that wash up dead along
> the coastal parts of the state.
> The birds are usually lone adults or juveniles that strayed too close to
> shore.
> This summer Mr. Okoniewski has already examined more than 20 dead birds,
> while twice that many are
> awaiting necropsies. All are the same species of agile seabird called
> great shearwaters, and all washed up
> emaciated on Long Island beaches last month in a mass mortality event that
> scientists say is extraordinary
> for the region.
> Now Mr. Okoniewski and others are hoping the unusually large number of
> carcasses can provide clues
> into the mysterious lives of these birds, which are considered good
> indicators of the health of the world’s
> oceans.
> “The birds are extremely thin and anemic,” Mr. Okoniewski said. “The big
> mystery is: Why are they thin?
> On the surface it looks like you know what happened: They starved. But
> when you ask why, it becomes
> much more of a mystery.”
> Continue reading the main story
> The vast expanses of the ocean remain some of the most vital and
> hard-to-study environments on the
> planet. As scientists work to comprehend the scope of climate change, they
> often look to seabirds to tell
> stories from the world’s most inaccessible waters. Pelagic birds, which
> refers to seabirds that spend the
> majority of their lives at sea and rarely venture to the shore, traverse
> various regions and climates, are
> affected by extreme weather patterns and feed on prey exposed to carbon
> emissions — all while staying
> relatively observable above the water’s surface.
> Photo
> One of the seabirds found in Atlantic City, N.J. Hundreds of carcasses
> were found over the course of two weeks, from Montauk, N.Y., to as far south
> as Cape May, N.J. Credit Scott McConnell
> Greater shearwaters, which are long-winged birds the size of small sea
> gulls, nest on some of the world’s
> most remote islands in the south Atlantic, more than 1,500 miles from
> land, before migrating to the
> waters off New England and Newfoundland.
> “These birds really illustrate the connectivity of ecosystems around the
> world,” said Shai Mitra, a biologist
> at the College of Staten Island.
> Their sometimes-perilous journey takes them past Long Island each June,
> but only after they have fueled
> up at feeding grounds in the Caribbean. Living off fat reserves, they
> glide up the Gulf Stream, rarely
> venturing in sight of land.
> “They are sort of an enigma for us to understand them because they are so
> rarely seen,” said Paul Sweet,
> an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History who is
> preparing specimens of the birds and
> freezing them so that they are available for study in the future.
> Which is why it caused a stir within scientific circles in late June when
> an offshore weather system pushed
> an entire flock not just within sight of land, but also over the shores of
> Nickerson Beach in Nassau County.
> Birders flocked to Nickerson to get glimpses of hundreds of shearwaters
> unsuccessfully fighting wind and
> fog, like flapping flotsam.
> “Many of the birds were over land. Many were flying right on the
> shoreline,” said Isaac Grant, a birder
> from Staten Island. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Eventually, I
> stopped looking and started rescuing
> birds.”
> Hundreds of carcasses were found over the course of two weeks, from
> Montauk west to Brooklyn and as
> far south as Cape May, N.J.
> Steve Walter, a photographer from Brooklyn, arrived at Nickerson Beach to
> find straggling shearwaters
> battling the surf. He picked one up to protect it from the waves,
> “babysitting” it before rehabilitators
> arrived.
> “I never imagined myself holding a shearwater in my hands,” Mr. Walter
> said.
> Nearly all of the dozens of birds recovered by rescuers eventually died,
> and the bodies were sent to the
> state Department of Conservation, the Museum of 

[nysbirds-l] Black backed woodpecker Franklin County

[Arie Gilbert]

.on Bigelow road 
viewed from this location at 3.1pm on 07-15-2017
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=44.42183545,-74.1031009
44.42183545,-74.1031009
Arie Gilbert 
No. Babylon NY 
www.powerbirder.blogspot 
www.qcbirdclub.org
--
Sent from Loretta in the field
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Black backed woodpecker Franklin County

[Arie Gilbert]

.on Bigelow road 
viewed from this location at 3.1pm on 07-15-2017
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=44.42183545,-74.1031009
44.42183545,-74.1031009
Arie Gilbert 
No. Babylon NY 
www.powerbirder.blogspot 
www.qcbirdclub.org
--
Sent from Loretta in the field
--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Ardith Bondi]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-long-island.html?action=click=Homepage=Moth-Visible=inside-nyt-region-2=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-region=inside-nyt-region 

 



A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving
LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Joe Okoniewski has seen this before, just not on this 
scale. Each year Mr.
Okoniewski, a wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of 
Conservation, performs
necropsies on small numbers of seabird specimens that wash up dead along 
the coastal parts of the state.
The birds are usually lone adults or juveniles that strayed too close to 
shore.
This summer Mr. Okoniewski has already examined more than 20 dead birds, 
while twice that many are
awaiting necropsies. All are the same species of agile seabird called 
great shearwaters, and all washed up
emaciated on Long Island beaches last month in a mass mortality event 
that scientists say is extraordinary

for the region.
Now Mr. Okoniewski and others are hoping the unusually large number of 
carcasses can provide clues
into the mysterious lives of these birds, which are considered good 
indicators of the health of the world’s

oceans.
“The birds are extremely thin and anemic,” Mr. Okoniewski said. “The big 
mystery is: Why are they thin?
On the surface it looks like you know what happened: They starved. But 
when you ask why, it becomes

much more of a mystery.”
Continue reading the main story
The vast expanses of the ocean remain some of the most vital and 
hard-to-study environments on the
planet. As scientists work to comprehend the scope of climate change, 
they often look to seabirds to tell
stories from the world’s most inaccessible waters. Pelagic birds, which 
refers to seabirds that spend the
majority of their lives at sea and rarely venture to the shore, traverse 
various regions and climates, are
affected by extreme weather patterns and feed on prey exposed to carbon 
emissions — all while staying

relatively observable above the water’s surface.
Photo
One of the seabirds found in Atlantic City, N.J. Hundreds of carcasses 
were found over the course of two weeks, from Montauk, N.Y., to as far south

as Cape May, N.J. Credit Scott McConnell
Greater shearwaters, which are long-winged birds the size of small sea 
gulls, nest on some of the world’s
most remote islands in the south Atlantic, more than 1,500 miles from 
land, before migrating to the

waters off New England and Newfoundland.
“These birds really illustrate the connectivity of ecosystems around the 
world,” said Shai Mitra, a biologist

at the College of Staten Island.
Their sometimes-perilous journey takes them past Long Island each June, 
but only after they have fueled
up at feeding grounds in the Caribbean. Living off fat reserves, they 
glide up the Gulf Stream, rarely

venturing in sight of land.
“They are sort of an enigma for us to understand them because they are 
so rarely seen,” said Paul Sweet,
an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History who is 
preparing specimens of the birds and

freezing them so that they are available for study in the future.
Which is why it caused a stir within scientific circles in late June 
when an offshore weather system pushed
an entire flock not just within sight of land, but also over the shores 
of Nickerson Beach in Nassau County.
Birders flocked to Nickerson to get glimpses of hundreds of shearwaters 
unsuccessfully fighting wind and

fog, like flapping flotsam.
“Many of the birds were over land. Many were flying right on the 
shoreline,” said Isaac Grant, a birder
from Staten Island. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Eventually, I 
stopped looking and started rescuing

birds.”
Hundreds of carcasses were found over the course of two weeks, from 
Montauk west to Brooklyn and as

far south as Cape May, N.J.
Steve Walter, a photographer from Brooklyn, arrived at Nickerson Beach 
to find straggling shearwaters
battling the surf. He picked one up to protect it from the waves, 
“babysitting” it before rehabilitators

arrived.
“I never imagined myself holding a shearwater in my hands,” Mr. Walter said.
Nearly all of the dozens of birds recovered by rescuers eventually died, 
and the bodies were sent to the
state Department of Conservation, the Museum of Natural History or 
Cornell University’s Lab of

Ornithology.
Most of the victims were young birds, Mr. Okoniewski said. Though bits 
of plastic were found in some of
their stomachs, starvation, not plastic ingestion, remains the 
overarching cause of death, he concluded.
In years past, shearwaters have been found beached in large numbers in 
other parts of the United States.
The winds that forced the birds over land in and around New York City 
last month were relatively benign,

further deepening the mystery.
Why 

[nysbirds-l] Fwd: A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving - The New York Times

[Ardith Bondi]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/nyregion/seabird-deaths-long-island.html?action=click=Homepage=Moth-Visible=inside-nyt-region-2=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-region=inside-nyt-region 

 



A Mystery of Seabirds, Blown Off Course and Starving
LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Joe Okoniewski has seen this before, just not on this 
scale. Each year Mr.
Okoniewski, a wildlife pathologist with the New York State Department of 
Conservation, performs
necropsies on small numbers of seabird specimens that wash up dead along 
the coastal parts of the state.
The birds are usually lone adults or juveniles that strayed too close to 
shore.
This summer Mr. Okoniewski has already examined more than 20 dead birds, 
while twice that many are
awaiting necropsies. All are the same species of agile seabird called 
great shearwaters, and all washed up
emaciated on Long Island beaches last month in a mass mortality event 
that scientists say is extraordinary

for the region.
Now Mr. Okoniewski and others are hoping the unusually large number of 
carcasses can provide clues
into the mysterious lives of these birds, which are considered good 
indicators of the health of the world’s

oceans.
“The birds are extremely thin and anemic,” Mr. Okoniewski said. “The big 
mystery is: Why are they thin?
On the surface it looks like you know what happened: They starved. But 
when you ask why, it becomes

much more of a mystery.”
Continue reading the main story
The vast expanses of the ocean remain some of the most vital and 
hard-to-study environments on the
planet. As scientists work to comprehend the scope of climate change, 
they often look to seabirds to tell
stories from the world’s most inaccessible waters. Pelagic birds, which 
refers to seabirds that spend the
majority of their lives at sea and rarely venture to the shore, traverse 
various regions and climates, are
affected by extreme weather patterns and feed on prey exposed to carbon 
emissions — all while staying

relatively observable above the water’s surface.
Photo
One of the seabirds found in Atlantic City, N.J. Hundreds of carcasses 
were found over the course of two weeks, from Montauk, N.Y., to as far south

as Cape May, N.J. Credit Scott McConnell
Greater shearwaters, which are long-winged birds the size of small sea 
gulls, nest on some of the world’s
most remote islands in the south Atlantic, more than 1,500 miles from 
land, before migrating to the

waters off New England and Newfoundland.
“These birds really illustrate the connectivity of ecosystems around the 
world,” said Shai Mitra, a biologist

at the College of Staten Island.
Their sometimes-perilous journey takes them past Long Island each June, 
but only after they have fueled
up at feeding grounds in the Caribbean. Living off fat reserves, they 
glide up the Gulf Stream, rarely

venturing in sight of land.
“They are sort of an enigma for us to understand them because they are 
so rarely seen,” said Paul Sweet,
an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History who is 
preparing specimens of the birds and

freezing them so that they are available for study in the future.
Which is why it caused a stir within scientific circles in late June 
when an offshore weather system pushed
an entire flock not just within sight of land, but also over the shores 
of Nickerson Beach in Nassau County.
Birders flocked to Nickerson to get glimpses of hundreds of shearwaters 
unsuccessfully fighting wind and

fog, like flapping flotsam.
“Many of the birds were over land. Many were flying right on the 
shoreline,” said Isaac Grant, a birder
from Staten Island. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Eventually, I 
stopped looking and started rescuing

birds.”
Hundreds of carcasses were found over the course of two weeks, from 
Montauk west to Brooklyn and as

far south as Cape May, N.J.
Steve Walter, a photographer from Brooklyn, arrived at Nickerson Beach 
to find straggling shearwaters
battling the surf. He picked one up to protect it from the waves, 
“babysitting” it before rehabilitators

arrived.
“I never imagined myself holding a shearwater in my hands,” Mr. Walter said.
Nearly all of the dozens of birds recovered by rescuers eventually died, 
and the bodies were sent to the
state Department of Conservation, the Museum of Natural History or 
Cornell University’s Lab of

Ornithology.
Most of the victims were young birds, Mr. Okoniewski said. Though bits 
of plastic were found in some of
their stomachs, starvation, not plastic ingestion, remains the 
overarching cause of death, he concluded.
In years past, shearwaters have been found beached in large numbers in 
other parts of the United States.
The winds that forced the birds over land in and around New York City 
last month were relatively benign,

further deepening the mystery.
Why 

[nysbirds-l] NYC Area RBA: 14 July 2017

[Ben Cacace]

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jul. 14, 2017
* NYNY1707.14

- Birds mentioned
Snow Goose
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Wild Turkey
CORY'S SHEARWATER
GREAT SHEARWATER
BROWN PELICAN
Black Vulture
American Oystercatcher
Short-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GULL-BILLED TERN
Royal Tern
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER

- Transcript

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report
electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at
http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to
nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or
sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

Compiler: Tom Burke
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, July 14th 2017
at 10:30pm. The highlights of today's tape are HARLEQUIN DUCK, shearwaters,
BROWN PELICAN, GULL-BILLED TERN, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, YELLOW-THROATED
WARBLER.

A female HARLEQUIN DUCK was found at Montauk last Saturday. Also at Montauk
today a flock of about 40 shearwaters was noted with one identified as
CORY'S and the balance thought to be GREAT SHEARWATERS.

An interesting flight of BROWN PELICANS occurred this week with reports
extending from the Fire Island Inlet to Cupsogue County Park. The sightings
are as follows: 3 on Monday at Captree State Park, 1 at Cupsogue County
Park on Tuesday, 3 at the Old Inlet at Bellport on Thursday, 3 at Captree
and also at Fire Island Inlet on Thursday. We of course are uncertain about
duplication of these records.

Two GULL-BILLED TERNS were seen yesterday at Goethal's Bridge Pond on
Staten Island.

A family of two adult and two young RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were discovered
on Monday at Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale. Also in Oakdale last
Saturday a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was found at Bayard Cutting Arboretum.

Other interesting birds seen through the week are as follows: the injured
SNOW GOOSE continues at Ocean Marine Preserve. Another SNOW GOOSE was found
at Sound Avenue farm Riverhead last Saturday, a SURF SCOTER was at Great
Kills Park Staten Island last Saturday and a BUFFLEHEAD was at the same
location all week, a WILD TURKEY with two young was at the unusual location
of Cupsogue County Park on Tuesday.

The shorebird season begins to heat up with 200 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS at
Cupsogue on Tuesday and two AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were seen at Randall's
Island off Manhattan on Tuesday.

Five LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and two ROYAL TERNS were at Cupsogue on
Tuesday and finally a BLACK VULTURE was seen Tuesday at the North Fork
Preserve in Riverhead.

Tom Burke will be away next week please call in reports to Tony Lauro at
(631) 734-4126.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the
National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] NYC Area RBA: 14 July 2017

[Ben Cacace]

- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Jul. 14, 2017
* NYNY1707.14

- Birds mentioned
Snow Goose
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Wild Turkey
CORY'S SHEARWATER
GREAT SHEARWATER
BROWN PELICAN
Black Vulture
American Oystercatcher
Short-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Black-backed Gull
GULL-BILLED TERN
Royal Tern
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER

- Transcript

If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report
electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at
http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm

You can also send reports and digital image files via email to
nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.

If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or
sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:

Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883

Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070

Compiler: Tom Burke
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County

Transcriber: Ben Cacace

BEGIN TAPE

(+ Details requested by NYSARC)

Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, July 14th 2017
at 10:30pm. The highlights of today's tape are HARLEQUIN DUCK, shearwaters,
BROWN PELICAN, GULL-BILLED TERN, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, YELLOW-THROATED
WARBLER.

A female HARLEQUIN DUCK was found at Montauk last Saturday. Also at Montauk
today a flock of about 40 shearwaters was noted with one identified as
CORY'S and the balance thought to be GREAT SHEARWATERS.

An interesting flight of BROWN PELICANS occurred this week with reports
extending from the Fire Island Inlet to Cupsogue County Park. The sightings
are as follows: 3 on Monday at Captree State Park, 1 at Cupsogue County
Park on Tuesday, 3 at the Old Inlet at Bellport on Thursday, 3 at Captree
and also at Fire Island Inlet on Thursday. We of course are uncertain about
duplication of these records.

Two GULL-BILLED TERNS were seen yesterday at Goethal's Bridge Pond on
Staten Island.

A family of two adult and two young RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were discovered
on Monday at Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale. Also in Oakdale last
Saturday a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was found at Bayard Cutting Arboretum.

Other interesting birds seen through the week are as follows: the injured
SNOW GOOSE continues at Ocean Marine Preserve. Another SNOW GOOSE was found
at Sound Avenue farm Riverhead last Saturday, a SURF SCOTER was at Great
Kills Park Staten Island last Saturday and a BUFFLEHEAD was at the same
location all week, a WILD TURKEY with two young was at the unusual location
of Cupsogue County Park on Tuesday.

The shorebird season begins to heat up with 200 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS at
Cupsogue on Tuesday and two AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were seen at Randall's
Island off Manhattan on Tuesday.

Five LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS and two ROYAL TERNS were at Cupsogue on
Tuesday and finally a BLACK VULTURE was seen Tuesday at the North Fork
Preserve in Riverhead.

Tom Burke will be away next week please call in reports to Tony Lauro at
(631) 734-4126.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the
National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.

- End transcript

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm
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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--