RE: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

[rcech]

Well yes, that’s why I used NJ (where there are no Great Lakes) versus NY 
(where Niagara is) for pop change chart. Undoubtedly warming is a top candidate 
to explain distributional changes, but it leaves some other issues unaddressed 
– such as (1) are aggregate populations stable or falling? (2) are breeding 
areas also undergoing changes that may be detrimental? (3) does year-to-year 
shifting in overwintering strategy create population stresses?

 

There’s a lot to understand in this. 

 

Thanks for checking eBird stats. Helps sort out the questions.

 

Rick

 

From: bounce-125042980-3714...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of david nicosia
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2020 3:31 PM
To: rc...@nyc.rr.com; David Nicosia 
Cc: Richard Veit ; Willie D'Anna 
; & [NYSBIRDS] ; Emily 
Peyton 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

 

I quick check of ebird in Januaries indeed shows many more BOGUs wintering into 
Lower Michigan, Lake Huron and vicinity in milder winters. The colder winters 
they do not stay up there at all. There are all south. That could explain some 
of the lower numbers recents years. 

 

On Thursday, October 15, 2020, 03:12:51 PM EDT, David Nicosia 
mailto:daven102...@gmail.com> > wrote: 

 

 

To clarify, I wonder if they are sticking around the upper Great Lakes more in 
the winter since the ice has been much less recently up there. That would 
affect our numbers in NY

 

On Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 3:10 PM David Nicosia mailto:daven102...@gmail.com> > wrote:

I wonder if BOGUs are wintering farther north due to recent milder winters? 

 

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 7:12 PM mailto:rc...@nyc.rr.com> > 
wrote:

I’m most pleased at the developing discussion on small gulls and other bird 
population fluctuations (mainly declines ☹).

 

One quick thought – on choice of statistics (which several raised): when 
dealing with crowd sourced data (yeah, that includes CBC, well-tended though it 
is), it’s always apples and oranges to some degree. If the effect is strong 
enough, it will carry through across a number of approaches (as seems to be the 
case here, not insignificantly!). 

 

The best evidence for this discussion would be either (1) a Zeusian, universal, 
longitudinal population census worldwide, or (if Zeus isn’t around), a really 
accurate sampling census, based on sightings by a giant number of random field 
groups, to determine likelihood. Neither such precise dataset is readily at 
hand. So we have to squint at what we have, augmented by rich, expertized field 
observations, which fortunately are in at least adequate supply.

 

As I said at the start of my post, I didn’t have much time this morning and 
grabbed what I could find quickly. Very pleased to see additional info others 
have posted (e.g., from CBCs where the data parameters are known personally, 
and thus trustable, as w/Dick’s), or longitudinal counts from Niagara (a world 
concentration point, with systematic censuses), or even careful notes from 
Gravesend Bay (though movements here can be ephemeral – but hey, it’s still 
information, and I like the place!).

 

Hope folks keep grappling with how to best sort all of this stuff out.  Citizen 
science at its best should actively embrace these issues – even though I 
actually kind of hate the term “citizen science” as it’s sort of condescending 
and ambiguous, but probably that’s just me.

 

Best to the list,

Rick

 

From: Richard Veit mailto:rrvei...@gmail.com> > 
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 5:07 PM
To: rc...@nyc.rr.com  
Cc: Willie D'Anna mailto:dannapot...@roadrunner.com> >; & [NYSBIRDS] 
mailto:nysbird...@list.cornell.edu> >; Emily 
Peyton mailto:epey...@nyc.rr.com> >
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

 

here is a plot of bonaparte's gulls on massachusetts cbcs 1979-2018.  All the 
major coastal aggregation spots i know of (Campobello Is, maine, Newburyport, 
MA, Provincetown and Nantucket, MA, Jones Inlet, NY, Staten Island, NY) have 
dropped from thousands to tens of thousands of birds to handfuls.  We missed it 
on the Staten Island CBC this year and saw hardly any at Nantucket.  I used 
just total birds rather than birds per party hour in the graph because the 
birds are all in one place and are either seen or not seen, regardless of how 
many people or groups on the cbc  (more or less)

 

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM mailto:rc...@nyc.rr.com> > 
wrote:

Willie, that is very interesting. I had a quick look at CBC results - for NJ
rather than NY, so as to avoid including any "Niagara Falls concentration
effect," and the recent trend does appear to be a decline (with a few
‘exception’ years mixed in). In this graph "120" is 2019, and numbers extend
back to turn of century. I know "birds per party hour" is a rough measure (I
was a CBC compiler for > 25 years, potential party-hour reporting vagaries
acknowledged), but the numbers do suggest either a decline in population or
a shift in wintering behavior.

Sorr

Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

[david nicosia]

 I quick check of ebird in Januaries indeed shows many more BOGUs wintering 
into Lower Michigan, Lake Huron and vicinity in milder winters. The colder 
winters they do not stay up there at all. There are all south. That could 
explain some of the lower numbers recents years. 
On Thursday, October 15, 2020, 03:12:51 PM EDT, David Nicosia 
 wrote:  
 
 To clarify, I wonder if they are sticking around the upper Great Lakes more in 
the winter since the ice has been much less recently up there. That would 
affect our numbers in NY
On Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 3:10 PM David Nicosia  wrote:

I wonder if BOGUs are wintering farther north due to recent milder winters? 
On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 7:12 PM  wrote:


I’m most pleased at the developing discussion on small gulls and other bird 
population fluctuations (mainly declines ☹).

 

One quick thought – on choice of statistics (which several raised): when 
dealing with crowd sourced data (yeah, that includes CBC, well-tended though it 
is), it’s always apples and oranges to some degree. If the effect is strong 
enough, it will carry through across a number of approaches (as seems to be the 
case here, not insignificantly!). 

 

The best evidence for this discussion would be either (1) a Zeusian, universal, 
longitudinal population census worldwide, or (if Zeus isn’t around), a really 
accurate sampling census, based on sightings by a giant number of random field 
groups, to determine likelihood. Neither such precise dataset is readily at 
hand. So we have to squint at what we have, augmented by rich, expertized field 
observations, which fortunately are in at least adequate supply.

 

As I said at the start of my post, I didn’t have much time this morning and 
grabbed what I could find quickly. Very pleased to see additional info others 
have posted (e.g., from CBCs where the data parameters are known personally, 
and thus trustable, as w/Dick’s), or longitudinal counts from Niagara (a world 
concentration point, with systematic censuses), or even careful notes from 
Gravesend Bay (though movements here can be ephemeral – but hey, it’s still 
information, and I like the place!).

 

Hope folks keep grappling with how to best sort all of this stuff out.  Citizen 
science at its best should actively embrace these issues – even though I 
actually kind of hate the term “citizen science” as it’s sort of condescending 
and ambiguous, but probably that’s just me.

 

Best to the list,

Rick

 

From: Richard Veit  
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 5:07 PM
To: rc...@nyc.rr.com
Cc: Willie D'Anna ; & [NYSBIRDS] 
; Emily Peyton 
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

 

here is a plot of bonaparte's gulls on massachusetts cbcs 1979-2018.  All the 
major coastal aggregation spots i know of (Campobello Is, maine, Newburyport, 
MA, Provincetown and Nantucket, MA, Jones Inlet, NY, Staten Island, NY) have 
dropped from thousands to tens of thousands of birds to handfuls.  We missed it 
on the Staten Island CBC this year and saw hardly any at Nantucket.  I used 
just total birds rather than birds per party hour in the graph because the 
birds are all in one place and are either seen or not seen, regardless of how 
many people or groups on the cbc  (more or less)

 

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM  wrote:


Willie, that is very interesting. I had a quick look at CBC results - for NJ
rather than NY, so as to avoid including any "Niagara Falls concentration
effect," and the recent trend does appear to be a decline (with a few
‘exception’ years mixed in). In this graph "120" is 2019, and numbers extend
back to turn of century. I know "birds per party hour" is a rough measure (I
was a CBC compiler for > 25 years, potential party-hour reporting vagaries
acknowledged), but the numbers do suggest either a decline in population or
a shift in wintering behavior.

Sorry, this was a quick take, now back to the ol’ day job…

Rick



-Original Message-
From: bounce-125036389-3714...@list.cornell.edu
 On Behalf Of Willie D'Anna
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 9:34 AM
To: '& [NYSBIRDS]' 
Subject: RE:[nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

I have enjoyed the recent posts about Bonaparte's Gulls. Some of the
highest concentrations of Bonaparte's Gulls in the world occur along the
Niagara River, with estimates of 50,000 to 100,000 on some days. It is a
spectacle to witness this blizzard of gulls on the Niagara but it seems that
numbers have declined, particularly in the last ten to 20 years. It is
unfortunate that the only evidence that I can offer for this are my own
subjective observations. Counts of gulls on the Niagara have been done
sporadically and it is only in recent years that organized counts have been
conducted on a yearly basis, with three counts per season (late
fall/winter), by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Numbers of Bonies, as they are affectionately called here, month to month
along the Niagara, are highly interesting. Twenty to fifty years ago,
numbers would 

Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

[David Nicosia]

To clarify, I wonder if they are sticking around the upper Great Lakes more
in the winter since the ice has been much less recently up there. That
would affect our numbers in NY

On Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 3:10 PM David Nicosia  wrote:

> I wonder if BOGUs are wintering farther north due to recent milder
> winters?
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 7:12 PM  wrote:
>
>> I’m most pleased at the developing discussion on small gulls and other
>> bird population fluctuations (mainly declines ☹).
>>
>>
>>
>> One quick thought – on choice of statistics (which several raised): when
>> dealing with crowd sourced data (yeah, that includes CBC, well-tended
>> though it is), it’s always apples and oranges to some degree. If the effect
>> is strong enough, it will carry through across a number of approaches (as
>> seems to be the case here, not insignificantly!).
>>
>>
>>
>> The best evidence for this discussion would be either (1) a Zeusian,
>> universal, longitudinal population census worldwide, or (if Zeus isn’t
>> around), a really accurate sampling census, based on sightings by a giant
>> number of random field groups, to determine likelihood. Neither such
>> precise dataset is readily at hand. So we have to squint at what we have,
>> augmented by rich, expertized field observations, which fortunately are in
>> at least adequate supply.
>>
>>
>>
>> As I said at the start of my post, I didn’t have much time this morning
>> and grabbed what I could find quickly. Very pleased to see additional info
>> others have posted (e.g., from CBCs where the data parameters are known
>> personally, and thus trustable, as w/Dick’s), or longitudinal counts from
>> Niagara (a world concentration point, with systematic censuses), or even
>> careful notes from Gravesend Bay (though movements here can be ephemeral –
>> but hey, it’s still information, and I like the place!).
>>
>>
>>
>> Hope folks keep grappling with how to best sort all of this stuff out.
>> Citizen science at its best should actively embrace these issues – even
>> though I actually kind of hate the term “citizen science” as it’s sort of
>> condescending and ambiguous, but probably that’s just me.
>>
>>
>>
>> Best to the list,
>>
>> Rick
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Richard Veit 
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 14, 2020 5:07 PM
>> *To:* rc...@nyc.rr.com
>> *Cc:* Willie D'Anna ; & [NYSBIRDS] <
>> nysbird...@list.cornell.edu>; Emily Peyton 
>> *Subject:* Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls
>>
>>
>>
>> here is a plot of bonaparte's gulls on massachusetts cbcs 1979-2018.  All
>> the major coastal aggregation spots i know of (Campobello Is, maine,
>> Newburyport, MA, Provincetown and Nantucket, MA, Jones Inlet, NY, Staten
>> Island, NY) have dropped from thousands to tens of thousands of birds to
>> handfuls.  We missed it on the Staten Island CBC this year and saw hardly
>> any at Nantucket.  I used just total birds rather than birds per party hour
>> in the graph because the birds are all in one place and are either seen or
>> not seen, regardless of how many people or groups on the cbc  (more or
>> less)
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM  wrote:
>>
>> Willie, that is very interesting. I had a quick look at CBC results - for
>> NJ
>> rather than NY, so as to avoid including any "Niagara Falls concentration
>> effect," and the recent trend does appear to be a decline (with a few
>> ‘exception’ years mixed in). In this graph "120" is 2019, and numbers
>> extend
>> back to turn of century. I know "birds per party hour" is a rough measure
>> (I
>> was a CBC compiler for > 25 years, potential party-hour reporting vagaries
>> acknowledged), but the numbers do suggest either a decline in population
>> or
>> a shift in wintering behavior.
>>
>> Sorry, this was a quick take, now back to the ol’ day job…
>>
>> Rick
>>
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: bounce-125036389-3714...@list.cornell.edu
>>  On Behalf Of Willie D'Anna
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 9:34 AM
>> To: '& [NYSBIRDS]' 
>> Subject: RE:[nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls
>>
>> I have enjoyed the recent posts about Bonaparte's Gulls. Some of the
>> highest concentrations of Bonaparte's Gulls in the world occur along the
>> Niagara River, with estimates of 50,000 to 100,000 on some days. It is a
>> spectacle to witness this blizzard of gulls on the Niagara but it seems
>> that
>> numbers have declined, particularly in the last ten to 20 years. It is
>> unfortunate that the only evidence that I can offer for this are my own
>> subjective observations. Counts of gulls on the Niagara have been done
>> sporadically and it is only in recent years that organized counts have
>> been
>> conducted on a yearly basis, with three counts per season (late
>> fall/winter), by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
>>
>> Numbers of Bonies, as they are affectionately called here, month to month
>> along the Niagara, are highly interesting. Twenty to fifty years ago,
>> numbers would begin to build on the Niagara in late July with mos

Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls

[David Nicosia]

I wonder if BOGUs are wintering farther north due to recent milder winters?

On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 7:12 PM  wrote:

> I’m most pleased at the developing discussion on small gulls and other
> bird population fluctuations (mainly declines ☹).
>
>
>
> One quick thought – on choice of statistics (which several raised): when
> dealing with crowd sourced data (yeah, that includes CBC, well-tended
> though it is), it’s always apples and oranges to some degree. If the effect
> is strong enough, it will carry through across a number of approaches (as
> seems to be the case here, not insignificantly!).
>
>
>
> The best evidence for this discussion would be either (1) a Zeusian,
> universal, longitudinal population census worldwide, or (if Zeus isn’t
> around), a really accurate sampling census, based on sightings by a giant
> number of random field groups, to determine likelihood. Neither such
> precise dataset is readily at hand. So we have to squint at what we have,
> augmented by rich, expertized field observations, which fortunately are in
> at least adequate supply.
>
>
>
> As I said at the start of my post, I didn’t have much time this morning
> and grabbed what I could find quickly. Very pleased to see additional info
> others have posted (e.g., from CBCs where the data parameters are known
> personally, and thus trustable, as w/Dick’s), or longitudinal counts from
> Niagara (a world concentration point, with systematic censuses), or even
> careful notes from Gravesend Bay (though movements here can be ephemeral –
> but hey, it’s still information, and I like the place!).
>
>
>
> Hope folks keep grappling with how to best sort all of this stuff out.
> Citizen science at its best should actively embrace these issues – even
> though I actually kind of hate the term “citizen science” as it’s sort of
> condescending and ambiguous, but probably that’s just me.
>
>
>
> Best to the list,
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> *From:* Richard Veit 
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 14, 2020 5:07 PM
> *To:* rc...@nyc.rr.com
> *Cc:* Willie D'Anna ; & [NYSBIRDS] <
> nysbird...@list.cornell.edu>; Emily Peyton 
> *Subject:* Re: [nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls
>
>
>
> here is a plot of bonaparte's gulls on massachusetts cbcs 1979-2018.  All
> the major coastal aggregation spots i know of (Campobello Is, maine,
> Newburyport, MA, Provincetown and Nantucket, MA, Jones Inlet, NY, Staten
> Island, NY) have dropped from thousands to tens of thousands of birds to
> handfuls.  We missed it on the Staten Island CBC this year and saw hardly
> any at Nantucket.  I used just total birds rather than birds per party hour
> in the graph because the birds are all in one place and are either seen or
> not seen, regardless of how many people or groups on the cbc  (more or
> less)
>
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 10:08 AM  wrote:
>
> Willie, that is very interesting. I had a quick look at CBC results - for
> NJ
> rather than NY, so as to avoid including any "Niagara Falls concentration
> effect," and the recent trend does appear to be a decline (with a few
> ‘exception’ years mixed in). In this graph "120" is 2019, and numbers
> extend
> back to turn of century. I know "birds per party hour" is a rough measure
> (I
> was a CBC compiler for > 25 years, potential party-hour reporting vagaries
> acknowledged), but the numbers do suggest either a decline in population or
> a shift in wintering behavior.
>
> Sorry, this was a quick take, now back to the ol’ day job…
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: bounce-125036389-3714...@list.cornell.edu
>  On Behalf Of Willie D'Anna
> Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 9:34 AM
> To: '& [NYSBIRDS]' 
> Subject: RE:[nysbirds-l] Bonaparte's Gulls
>
> I have enjoyed the recent posts about Bonaparte's Gulls. Some of the
> highest concentrations of Bonaparte's Gulls in the world occur along the
> Niagara River, with estimates of 50,000 to 100,000 on some days. It is a
> spectacle to witness this blizzard of gulls on the Niagara but it seems
> that
> numbers have declined, particularly in the last ten to 20 years. It is
> unfortunate that the only evidence that I can offer for this are my own
> subjective observations. Counts of gulls on the Niagara have been done
> sporadically and it is only in recent years that organized counts have been
> conducted on a yearly basis, with three counts per season (late
> fall/winter), by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
>
> Numbers of Bonies, as they are affectionately called here, month to month
> along the Niagara, are highly interesting. Twenty to fifty years ago,
> numbers would begin to build on the Niagara in late July with most of these
> birds consisting of one-year-olds. By mid August, there would be a
> significant influx of adults, only just finished with their breeding
> activities in Canada. Hundreds of individuals could be seen at the source
> of
> the river (Buffalo/Fort Erie) and below the falls or in the
> Lewiston/Queenston area. At times there would be well over a 

Re: RE:[nysbirds-l] American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry about?

[david nicosia]

 Could it be the mass erection of wind farms in the central Plains? Many of 
these shorebirds including AGPL  migrate up through the Plains in the spring. 
With more and more wind farms and higher ones too in the Plains, could the 
mortality of the breeding adults finally be showing up? I can imagine a whole 
flock of shorebirds in a flooded muddy field surrounded by wind farms. A falcon 
or other predator comes by and they fly right into the turbines. Weather 
patterns could also be a big factor too as mentioned. I do hope it is the 
latter. If it is not, many of our shorebirds (and other species) will be 
imperiled by the growth of wind farms.  
On Thursday, October 15, 2020, 12:24:45 PM EDT, Larry Trachtenberg 
 wrote:  
 
 I wonder if those who regularly bird the dirt / farm fields of Orange County 
black dirt region can weigh in on frequency/infrequency of sightings of golden 
plovers over the last decade or so.  I use to get there but only sporadically 
and remember one really big day with about 25 birds but that was probably five+ 
years ago.  I also see from various posts some of the fields in the Black Dirt 
region are now less accessible than they once were (or even inaccessible) .

Thanks

L.  Trachtenberg
Ossining


-Original Message-
From: bounce-125041945-26736...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Willie D'Anna
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2020 12:14 PM
To: '& [NYSBIRDS]' 
Subject: RE:[nysbirds-l] American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry 
about?

-CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL



Like Angus, I also have noticed fewer reports and smaller numbers of American 
Golden-Plover in Western New York. I live on Lake Ontario in Niagara County 
where most autumns I could see this species without any special effort. That 
is, I'm not one to hunt down a species for my year list, unless I am doing a 
big year, but I still would find them. A few years ago, I noticed that newer 
birders were chasing after reports of this species for their year list and I 
assumed that they simply did not understand their habitat preferences or else 
they could find their own. However, two years ago, I did a big year in Niagara 
County and I had to actively search for Golden-Plover on two dozen occasions 
before I finally found a single bird.
Two weeks later, I had two birds for a grand total of three in the county for 
the year, a year in which I was exceptionally active. Of course, my difficulty 
might simply be attributed to Golden-Plovers having a poor breeding season but 
I never had any adults and I was active through the summer when they would have 
passed through.

The Buffalo Ornithological Society (BOS) maintains a database of noteworthy 
bird sightings in the BOS Region, which includes all of Kingbird Region One 
plus the Niagara peninsula of Ontario. I don't have the skills to generate a 
graph of high yearly counts from this database but from looking it over, it 
seems that high yearly counts have decreased considerably. For example, there 
are fewer triple-digit counts in the Niagara peninsula of Ontario which is the 
best area in the region to find this species. Western NY would occasionally get 
triple-digit counts as well but there have been none since 1997. And even 
double-digit counts are fewer than before 2000.

This year, I managed to see one Golden-Plover in Niagara County, a bird found 
by someone else, and it was on a pier on Lake Ontario, not in a field.
I spent considerable time looking in fields for this species this fall but 
found none.

Willie D'Anna
Wilson, NY


Subject: American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry about?
From: Angus Wilson 
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:18:10 -0400
X-Message-Number: 6

I am glad to see an informed discussion about the apparent decline in 
Bonaparte's Gulls both in western and coastal New York State. Birding forms 
tend to focus on the positive such as new sightings, influxes, and 
weather-related events, with much less attention given to species that might be 
disappearing before our eyes. The human brain is not very good at accessing the 
absence of something and birding record systems are seemingly not much better 
either.

Aside from Bonaparte's Gull, I have wondered about the status of America 
Golden-Plover in the state. In the past several years I've noted few if any 
reports of larger flocks that would draw birders to sod fields and other grassy 
habitats in the fall, especially in eastern Long Island. In recent years only a 
scattering of Golden-Plovers have been reported in the fall (principally from 
late August to late October), rarely more than two together. Many people may 
have successfully ticked their 'year bird' and not given much more thought to 
it but the reality is that we probably are all ticking the SAME few birds.

Looking at the tallies for some of the hotspots for southbound plovers it was 
not long ago that flocks of 60-100+ were frequent in and around Riverhead 
(Suffolk NY). 2016 seems to have been the last good

RE: RE:[nysbirds-l] American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry about?

[Larry Trachtenberg]

I wonder if those who regularly bird the dirt / farm fields of Orange County 
black dirt region can weigh in on frequency/infrequency of sightings of golden 
plovers over the last decade or so.  I use to get there but only sporadically 
and remember one really big day with about 25 birds but that was probably five+ 
years ago.  I also see from various posts some of the fields in the Black Dirt 
region are now less accessible than they once were (or even inaccessible) .

Thanks

L.  Trachtenberg
Ossining


-Original Message-
From: bounce-125041945-26736...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Willie D'Anna
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2020 12:14 PM
To: '& [NYSBIRDS]' 
Subject: RE:[nysbirds-l] American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry 
about?

-CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL



Like Angus, I also have noticed fewer reports and smaller numbers of American 
Golden-Plover in Western New York. I live on Lake Ontario in Niagara County 
where most autumns I could see this species without any special effort. That 
is, I'm not one to hunt down a species for my year list, unless I am doing a 
big year, but I still would find them. A few years ago, I noticed that newer 
birders were chasing after reports of this species for their year list and I 
assumed that they simply did not understand their habitat preferences or else 
they could find their own. However, two years ago, I did a big year in Niagara 
County and I had to actively search for Golden-Plover on two dozen occasions 
before I finally found a single bird.
Two weeks later, I had two birds for a grand total of three in the county for 
the year, a year in which I was exceptionally active. Of course, my difficulty 
might simply be attributed to Golden-Plovers having a poor breeding season but 
I never had any adults and I was active through the summer when they would have 
passed through.

The Buffalo Ornithological Society (BOS) maintains a database of noteworthy 
bird sightings in the BOS Region, which includes all of Kingbird Region One 
plus the Niagara peninsula of Ontario. I don't have the skills to generate a 
graph of high yearly counts from this database but from looking it over, it 
seems that high yearly counts have decreased considerably. For example, there 
are fewer triple-digit counts in the Niagara peninsula of Ontario which is the 
best area in the region to find this species. Western NY would occasionally get 
triple-digit counts as well but there have been none since 1997. And even 
double-digit counts are fewer than before 2000.

This year, I managed to see one Golden-Plover in Niagara County, a bird found 
by someone else, and it was on a pier on Lake Ontario, not in a field.
I spent considerable time looking in fields for this species this fall but 
found none.

Willie D'Anna
Wilson, NY


Subject: American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry about?
From: Angus Wilson 
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:18:10 -0400
X-Message-Number: 6

I am glad to see an informed discussion about the apparent decline in 
Bonaparte's Gulls both in western and coastal New York State. Birding forms 
tend to focus on the positive such as new sightings, influxes, and 
weather-related events, with much less attention given to species that might be 
disappearing before our eyes. The human brain is not very good at accessing the 
absence of something and birding record systems are seemingly not much better 
either.

Aside from Bonaparte's Gull, I have wondered about the status of America 
Golden-Plover in the state. In the past several years I've noted few if any 
reports of larger flocks that would draw birders to sod fields and other grassy 
habitats in the fall, especially in eastern Long Island. In recent years only a 
scattering of Golden-Plovers have been reported in the fall (principally from 
late August to late October), rarely more than two together. Many people may 
have successfully ticked their 'year bird' and not given much more thought to 
it but the reality is that we probably are all ticking the SAME few birds.

Looking at the tallies for some of the hotspots for southbound plovers it was 
not long ago that flocks of 60-100+ were frequent in and around Riverhead 
(Suffolk NY). 2016 seems to have been the last good season (many reports of 
60+), with 2012 and 2013 similarly featuring some larger flocks (counts of 102, 
105, etc). Is something going on? Is the apparent decline in birds staging on 
eastern Long Island echoed elsewhere?

American Golden-Plover is an arctic and subarctic tundra nesting species that 
makes a long oceanic flight (a minimum of 2,400 miles nonstop) to wintering 
grounds in the Pampas and Campos regions of southern South America. It is 
possible that weather conditions have allowed birds to launch from further 
north and simply bypass our area. Scrutiny of trends in the Canadian Maritime 
Provinces and New England or the Mississippi/Missouri/Ohio flyway (if the 
southbound route has shifted towards the center of the

RE:[nysbirds-l] American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry about?

[Willie D'Anna]

Like Angus, I also have noticed fewer reports and smaller numbers of
American Golden-Plover in Western New York. I live on Lake Ontario in
Niagara County where most autumns I could see this species without any
special effort. That is, I'm not one to hunt down a species for my year
list, unless I am doing a big year, but I still would find them. A few years
ago, I noticed that newer birders were chasing after reports of this species
for their year list and I assumed that they simply did not understand their
habitat preferences or else they could find their own. However, two years
ago, I did a big year in Niagara County and I had to actively search for
Golden-Plover on two dozen occasions before I finally found a single bird.
Two weeks later, I had two birds for a grand total of three in the county
for the year, a year in which I was exceptionally active. Of course, my
difficulty might simply be attributed to Golden-Plovers having a poor
breeding season but I never had any adults and I was active through the
summer when they would have passed through.

The Buffalo Ornithological Society (BOS) maintains a database of noteworthy
bird sightings in the BOS Region, which includes all of Kingbird Region One
plus the Niagara peninsula of Ontario. I don't have the skills to generate a
graph of high yearly counts from this database but from looking it over, it
seems that high yearly counts have decreased considerably. For example,
there are fewer triple-digit counts in the Niagara peninsula of Ontario
which is the best area in the region to find this species. Western NY would
occasionally get triple-digit counts as well but there have been none since
1997. And even double-digit counts are fewer than before 2000.

This year, I managed to see one Golden-Plover in Niagara County, a bird
found by someone else, and it was on a pier on Lake Ontario, not in a field.
I spent considerable time looking in fields for this species this fall but
found none.

Willie D'Anna
Wilson, NY


Subject: American Golden-Plover - another NYS migrant to worry about?
From: Angus Wilson 
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:18:10 -0400
X-Message-Number: 6

I am glad to see an informed discussion about the apparent decline in
Bonaparte's Gulls both in western and coastal New York State. Birding forms
tend to focus on the positive such as new sightings, influxes, and
weather-related events, with much less attention given to species that might
be disappearing before our eyes. The human brain is not very good at
accessing the absence of something and birding record systems are seemingly
not much better either.

Aside from Bonaparte's Gull, I have wondered about the status of America
Golden-Plover in the state. In the past several years I've noted few if any
reports of larger flocks that would draw birders to sod fields and other
grassy habitats in the fall, especially in eastern Long Island. In recent
years only a scattering of Golden-Plovers have been reported in the fall
(principally from late August to late October), rarely more than two
together. Many people may have successfully ticked their 'year bird' and not
given much more thought to it but the reality is that we probably are all
ticking the SAME few birds.

Looking at the tallies for some of the hotspots for southbound plovers it
was not long ago that flocks of 60-100+ were frequent in and around
Riverhead (Suffolk NY). 2016 seems to have been the last good season (many
reports of 60+), with 2012 and 2013 similarly featuring some larger flocks
(counts of 102, 105, etc). Is something going on? Is the apparent decline in
birds staging on eastern Long Island echoed elsewhere?

American Golden-Plover is an arctic and subarctic tundra nesting species
that makes a long oceanic flight (a minimum of 2,400 miles nonstop) to
wintering grounds in the Pampas and Campos regions of southern South
America. It is possible that weather conditions have allowed birds to launch
from further north and simply bypass our area. Scrutiny of trends in the
Canadian Maritime Provinces and New England or the Mississippi/Missouri/Ohio
flyway (if the southbound route has shifted towards the center of the
continent) might shed light on this. Changes in pesticide use might also
render the Long Island sod fields less attractive such that birds arriving
at night leave soon after.

It's worth noting that aside from a possible shift in the migration route,
many high latitude breeding species undergo cycles of abundance that reflect
cycles in breeding success - these may relate to lemming cycles, late
snowmelt, and so on. It could be we are in the trough of one of these
cycles. Careful monitoring of the relative numbers of juveniles/1st basic
and adults (estimating the ratio from year to year) can give warnings of
these changes. This could also be done fairly easily with Bonaparte's Gulls
because these two age classes are easy to distinguish. Unfortunately,
relatively few birders keep notes on these things and again there's no
simple wa

[nysbirds-l] WHITE-WINGED SCOTER orchard beach south jetty

[patrickhoran]

Briefly checking the beach for ducks I came upon a drake white-winged 
scoter.slightly off the south jetty,it has since moved toward city island.Sent 
from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
--

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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] N.Y. County incl. Manhattan (NYC) - 10/14 - Blue Grosbeak, Nelson's & other sparrows, etc.

[Thomas Fiore]

Wed., Oct. 14th -

A Nelson’s Sparrow was found at Inwood Hill Park in northern Manhattan by Joe 
DiCostanzo & seen by multiple others, many of them also loyal regular birders 
in that park & more-generally northern Manhattan; this bird was still present 
thru the day there, & also nicely photographed. (Inwood is not to be denied, 
and is the site of many notable sightings, over many many years.)

A good many observers had been heading over to Randall’s Island (just east of 
manhattan) in part to see the Am. Golden-Plover, which was seen by a number of 
observers on 10/13, but possibly NOT found by any seekers on Wed./14th.  Also 
continuing to be found at Randall’s are modest no’s. of Nelson’s Sparrow, and 
some also are again reporting Saltmarsh Sparrow there (less so than for the 
Nelson’s). Pine Siskins & other migrants & visitors also continue at Randall’s, 
and there was 1 report of a Spotted Sandpiper. In addition, Yellow-crowned 
Night-Herons also continue; this remains the best site (in the county) to try 
for that species.

The Blue Grosbeak (presuming still the same individual, a likely female) at 
Central Park’s n. end compost / plant nursery area was re-found yet again, 
again this presumably the same bird seen in that area in recent weeks - a good 
bit of habitat for that species (Wednesday’s obs. incl. J. Suzuki); this bird 
could range around all of the section of the park; the wildfower meadow is only 
a quick flight across the park drive (E. Drive roadway), & that too has ideal 
habitat with a lot of room to hide at times, for that & other species.  There 
are also lingering Indigo Buntings in the same area, as well as a few elsewhere 
in the county, so ID putative grosbeaks with an eye for these buntings as well, 
all of which lately have been in drab immature &/or female plumage.

The arrival of more & more sparrows & other later-season migrants has been a 
signal of change in the season. Next - watch out for the geese! (and many other 
soon or already arriving later season migrants & visitors.)  Many locations, 
from Inwood Hill to Fort Tryon Parks, to Union Square & multiple other parks & 
greenspaces, have been receiving a variety of sparrow species, & some of those 
late/lingering neotropical-winterers as well.  

One observer at Central Park reported a modestly-late Solitary Sandpiper - this 
species had been moving thru the wider region into this week.  Overall, some of 
the neotropical-wintering migrants have become scant now. A N. Waterthrush was 
seen in the n. end of Central Park on Joe Giunta’s a.m. bird-walk, with group 
supporting the non-profit NYC Audubon, and they, & other observers found a good 
variety on the day.  Again it’s been a good season already for Lincoln’s & now 
White-crwoned Sparrows, with many sightings in many locations all around the 
county.

A very few E. Wood-Pewees have been seen, some photographed to 10/14. It is 
very much the season now to take a 2nd (and even 3rd) look at almost any 
flycatcher that appears not to be an E. Phoebe now, & also at many other groups 
of birds, such as tanagers (a few Scarlet Tanager have been going thru, to 
10/14), or buntings (watch for any with a greenish plumage!), hummingbirds of 
any sort, and so forth.  Chimney Swifts became very scarce of a sudden - I saw 
2 in one view over the N. Meadow of Central Park late on 10/14, some keen 
observers saw just one individual on the same day. (Huge movements of swifts 
took place in recent days in the region.)

A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was lingering at Governors Island (part of N.Y. 
County, south of Manhattan island) and numerous migrants / visitors etc. were 
also seen there (C. Weiner), these included flock[s] of Pine Siskins, again 
being seen widely all around the region (as well as into the deep south of this 
country, by now).

- - -
The discussion on Bonaparte’s Gull - & also more broadly, species which have, 
or seem to have, diminished in numbers either locally or globally - has been 
very informative - even as it wandered (literally) away from the original start 
of the thread, which was particular to birds occurring in one fairly-small 
county in the southeastern region of NY state. Thanks to those who commented, 
or added their own observations on the subject.  I’m in agreement that 
Bonaparte’s Gull has seemingly been far less-numerous (broadly, but in 
southeast NY), in the past 10-20 years than the species seemed to be in the 
20th century in these same southeastern NY locations. However and again, I was 
not a party to the pre-1990’s (or some much before then) occurrences of large 
numbers of Bonaparte’s Gull in New York COUNTY (emphasis added), specifically, 
as is what started off the ‘thread’. And again, that was what Peter W. Post in 
his remarks was referring to (specifically) - to occurrence just in that ONE 
COUNTY (emphasis mine).  But the ensuing discussion is quite informative!

-  -  -  -  -
"This country will not be a good place for any of