RE: [nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Diurnal Migrants
I haven't had a chance yet to unpack and eBird my notebook, but flights at Robert Moses SP on Friday and Saturday were excellent and broadly similar to those described by Steve, further west. Steve and I have been doing this style of observation for many decades now, but it is a pleasure to note that the cadre of visible migration aficionados has grown steadily over the past ten years, since Benjamin van Doren led a coordinated study across multiple sites in the broader region. Doug Gochfeld, Shane Blodgett, Sean Sime, and Brendan Fogarty (among others) have been watching morning flight from several sites around the West Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay, while the Fire Island Inlet area now receives excellent coverage from Brent Bomkamp, Michael McBrien, Pete Morris, and Taylor Sturm (and many others). Brent and Taylor have furthermore invested many mornings of effort at Crab Meadow Beach, on the Long Island Sound shore of western Suffolk County, historically a data deficient zone for this sort of study. The western end of Fire Island remains my favorite, though, and despite my vows to experiment at other sites, I seldom have the strength of will to tear myself away. The greatest merits of this stretch of beach are its narrowness (one can easily see the airspace from ocean to inlet), its remoteness from the mainland of Long Island, and its generally impoverished resident landbird community. Thus, the single Blue Jay we saw yesterday was greeted with tremendous excitement, even bouts of indelicate language, because a count of one there exceeds the expected tally by a larger (infinite?) factor than Steve's count of 260 on the Rockaway Peninsula. Yes, it is definitely already "one of those years." In addition to the most familiar and abundant irruptives (Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin), Red-bellied, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers have been migrating through over the past two weeks, and this weekend, the highly prized White-breasted Nuthatch joined the procession of "sedentary forest residents" undertaking the wild ride over miles of open water and sand dunes. There's even been a recent claim of that holy grail of the barrier beach, Tufted Titmouse, so anything seems possible! Shai Mitra Bay Shore From: bounce-125001915-11143...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-125001915-11143...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Steve Walter [swalte...@verizon.net] Sent: Saturday, October 3, 2020 8:17 PM To: NYSBIRDS Subject: [nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Diurnal Migrants Quite an impressive movement of non-raptor land birds at Fort Tilden this morning. Most notable has been Cedar Waxwing, with around 900 tallied (after some 600 yesterday). Pretty good by Long Island standards was 260 Blue Jays. Impressive – if you forget some of the historical numbers – were over 400 Northern Flickers. And after a lone Pine Siskin yesterday, a couple of flocks totaled to about 50 today. Coupled with occasional Purple Finches, it looks like one of those years. Lots of other things moving, but too complicated to count more than a few species. I should be counting hawks. You know I love them, but they’re such wimps. 7-10 mph winds just aren’t good enough for them (on the beach). Less than 100 tallied, and then completely done in by a wind shift. I should slip in that when visiting the beachfront in this area, check the ocean. There’s been a nice pod of Bottlenose Dolphins around and a couple of Humpback Whales. Royal and Caspian Terns, too. It’s fair to say that the diurnal flight echoed the overnight flight. I stopped off at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where I found a spectacular warbler (and other land birds) show. Also in the area, I stopped off at the newly opened Sunset Cove Park (next to where the Burrowing Owl was last year). It was extremely lively with phoebes, sparrows, and warblers that don’t mind open areas. Looks like a promising site to consider when you’re in the area. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> ABA<http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- 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
RE: [nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Diurnal Migrants
I haven't had a chance yet to unpack and eBird my notebook, but flights at Robert Moses SP on Friday and Saturday were excellent and broadly similar to those described by Steve, further west. Steve and I have been doing this style of observation for many decades now, but it is a pleasure to note that the cadre of visible migration aficionados has grown steadily over the past ten years, since Benjamin van Doren led a coordinated study across multiple sites in the broader region. Doug Gochfeld, Shane Blodgett, Sean Sime, and Brendan Fogarty (among others) have been watching morning flight from several sites around the West Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay, while the Fire Island Inlet area now receives excellent coverage from Brent Bomkamp, Michael McBrien, Pete Morris, and Taylor Sturm (and many others). Brent and Taylor have furthermore invested many mornings of effort at Crab Meadow Beach, on the Long Island Sound shore of western Suffolk County, historically a data deficient zone for this sort of study. The western end of Fire Island remains my favorite, though, and despite my vows to experiment at other sites, I seldom have the strength of will to tear myself away. The greatest merits of this stretch of beach are its narrowness (one can easily see the airspace from ocean to inlet), its remoteness from the mainland of Long Island, and its generally impoverished resident landbird community. Thus, the single Blue Jay we saw yesterday was greeted with tremendous excitement, even bouts of indelicate language, because a count of one there exceeds the expected tally by a larger (infinite?) factor than Steve's count of 260 on the Rockaway Peninsula. Yes, it is definitely already "one of those years." In addition to the most familiar and abundant irruptives (Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin), Red-bellied, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers have been migrating through over the past two weeks, and this weekend, the highly prized White-breasted Nuthatch joined the procession of "sedentary forest residents" undertaking the wild ride over miles of open water and sand dunes. There's even been a recent claim of that holy grail of the barrier beach, Tufted Titmouse, so anything seems possible! Shai Mitra Bay Shore From: bounce-125001915-11143...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-125001915-11143...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Steve Walter [swalte...@verizon.net] Sent: Saturday, October 3, 2020 8:17 PM To: NYSBIRDS Subject: [nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Diurnal Migrants Quite an impressive movement of non-raptor land birds at Fort Tilden this morning. Most notable has been Cedar Waxwing, with around 900 tallied (after some 600 yesterday). Pretty good by Long Island standards was 260 Blue Jays. Impressive – if you forget some of the historical numbers – were over 400 Northern Flickers. And after a lone Pine Siskin yesterday, a couple of flocks totaled to about 50 today. Coupled with occasional Purple Finches, it looks like one of those years. Lots of other things moving, but too complicated to count more than a few species. I should be counting hawks. You know I love them, but they’re such wimps. 7-10 mph winds just aren’t good enough for them (on the beach). Less than 100 tallied, and then completely done in by a wind shift. I should slip in that when visiting the beachfront in this area, check the ocean. There’s been a nice pod of Bottlenose Dolphins around and a couple of Humpback Whales. Royal and Caspian Terns, too. It’s fair to say that the diurnal flight echoed the overnight flight. I stopped off at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where I found a spectacular warbler (and other land birds) show. Also in the area, I stopped off at the newly opened Sunset Cove Park (next to where the Burrowing Owl was last year). It was extremely lively with phoebes, sparrows, and warblers that don’t mind open areas. Looks like a promising site to consider when you’re in the area. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> ABA<http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- 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
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Diurnal Migrants
Quite an impressive movement of non-raptor land birds at Fort Tilden this morning. Most notable has been Cedar Waxwing, with around 900 tallied (after some 600 yesterday). Pretty good by Long Island standards was 260 Blue Jays. Impressive - if you forget some of the historical numbers - were over 400 Northern Flickers. And after a lone Pine Siskin yesterday, a couple of flocks totaled to about 50 today. Coupled with occasional Purple Finches, it looks like one of those years. Lots of other things moving, but too complicated to count more than a few species. I should be counting hawks. You know I love them, but they're such wimps. 7-10 mph winds just aren't good enough for them (on the beach). Less than 100 tallied, and then completely done in by a wind shift. I should slip in that when visiting the beachfront in this area, check the ocean. There's been a nice pod of Bottlenose Dolphins around and a couple of Humpback Whales. Royal and Caspian Terns, too. It's fair to say that the diurnal flight echoed the overnight flight. I stopped off at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where I found a spectacular warbler (and other land birds) show. Also in the area, I stopped off at the newly opened Sunset Cove Park (next to where the Burrowing Owl was last year). It was extremely lively with phoebes, sparrows, and warblers that don't mind open areas. Looks like a promising site to consider when you're in the area. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Fort Tilden Diurnal Migrants
Quite an impressive movement of non-raptor land birds at Fort Tilden this morning. Most notable has been Cedar Waxwing, with around 900 tallied (after some 600 yesterday). Pretty good by Long Island standards was 260 Blue Jays. Impressive - if you forget some of the historical numbers - were over 400 Northern Flickers. And after a lone Pine Siskin yesterday, a couple of flocks totaled to about 50 today. Coupled with occasional Purple Finches, it looks like one of those years. Lots of other things moving, but too complicated to count more than a few species. I should be counting hawks. You know I love them, but they're such wimps. 7-10 mph winds just aren't good enough for them (on the beach). Less than 100 tallied, and then completely done in by a wind shift. I should slip in that when visiting the beachfront in this area, check the ocean. There's been a nice pod of Bottlenose Dolphins around and a couple of Humpback Whales. Royal and Caspian Terns, too. It's fair to say that the diurnal flight echoed the overnight flight. I stopped off at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where I found a spectacular warbler (and other land birds) show. Also in the area, I stopped off at the newly opened Sunset Cove Park (next to where the Burrowing Owl was last year). It was extremely lively with phoebes, sparrows, and warblers that don't mind open areas. Looks like a promising site to consider when you're in the area. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Fort Tilden Hawk Watch Kickoff
Today was the season's first day of coverage at Fort Tilden (Queens), and it started off quite alright. 150 Ospreys highlighted the quite decent for the date total of 225. More northerly winds are in the forecast next week. If anyone is interested in covering, please contact me. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Fort Tilden Hawk Watch Kickoff
Today was the season's first day of coverage at Fort Tilden (Queens), and it started off quite alright. 150 Ospreys highlighted the quite decent for the date total of 225. More northerly winds are in the forecast next week. If anyone is interested in covering, please contact me. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Fort Tilden
Now for a happier post. For the first time in years, I tried hawk watching at Fort Tilden in early September. It was a bit different than back in the day. The highlight was a surprisingly good flight of Ospreys for what I consider still an early date - 102 counted, until I had to leave at 2 P.M. It used to be that Kestrels were relied on for anything resembling a decent flight this early. But only 3 of them among the 9 non-Osprey raptors. Why so many Ospreys so soon (246 at Cape May)? I hope it's because there are more of them. Whatever the reason, it makes me think about the contributions to our database that could be made by more frequent coverage at Fort Tilden (at least on northerly winds). If anyone is interested in watching for hawks there, please contact me. And there's more than hawks to be seen. Copying and pasting below my notes entered at hawkcount.org . Fair numbers of Tree Swallow, still some Barn Swallows, and even 1 Cliff Swallow. Fair numbers of Chimney Swift and Cedar Waxwing on the move. Also seen were 2 Semipalmated Plovers, 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, and a flock of about 20 Bobolink. A couple of Royal Terns over the ocean. Developing Dragonfly flight: species noted in order of abundance: Green Darner, Wandering Glider, Black Saddlebags, Spot-winged Glider, Carolina Saddlebags, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Swamp Darner, Blue Dasher. Lots of butterfly activity. Red Admiral and at least on Question Mark migrating south, 3 Cloudless Sulphurs emigrating north. Few Monarchs at this point. Lots of Buckeyes around. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Fort Tilden
Now for a happier post. For the first time in years, I tried hawk watching at Fort Tilden in early September. It was a bit different than back in the day. The highlight was a surprisingly good flight of Ospreys for what I consider still an early date - 102 counted, until I had to leave at 2 P.M. It used to be that Kestrels were relied on for anything resembling a decent flight this early. But only 3 of them among the 9 non-Osprey raptors. Why so many Ospreys so soon (246 at Cape May)? I hope it's because there are more of them. Whatever the reason, it makes me think about the contributions to our database that could be made by more frequent coverage at Fort Tilden (at least on northerly winds). If anyone is interested in watching for hawks there, please contact me. And there's more than hawks to be seen. Copying and pasting below my notes entered at hawkcount.org . Fair numbers of Tree Swallow, still some Barn Swallows, and even 1 Cliff Swallow. Fair numbers of Chimney Swift and Cedar Waxwing on the move. Also seen were 2 Semipalmated Plovers, 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, and a flock of about 20 Bobolink. A couple of Royal Terns over the ocean. Developing Dragonfly flight: species noted in order of abundance: Green Darner, Wandering Glider, Black Saddlebags, Spot-winged Glider, Carolina Saddlebags, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Swamp Darner, Blue Dasher. Lots of butterfly activity. Red Admiral and at least on Question Mark migrating south, 3 Cloudless Sulphurs emigrating north. Few Monarchs at this point. Lots of Buckeyes around. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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] Fort Tilden morning flight and Northern Shrike now
There is currently an excellent westbound morning flight underway at Fort Tilden in Queens including an Evening Grosbeak, and many Rusty Blackbirds and small finches. A juvenile Northern Shrike also just came in and is currently perched in a tree due south of Battery Harris. -Doug Gochfeld -- 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] Fort Tilden morning flight and Northern Shrike now
There is currently an excellent westbound morning flight underway at Fort Tilden in Queens including an Evening Grosbeak, and many Rusty Blackbirds and small finches. A juvenile Northern Shrike also just came in and is currently perched in a tree due south of Battery Harris. -Doug Gochfeld -- 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] Fort Tilden after the storm
Didn’t luck out with last week’s raptor parade (only a lone Peregrine, Merlin and Coopers) - just off shore where huge flocks of Black Scoter heading east and plenty of dive bombing Northern Gannets making use of the breaking afternoon sunlight. The dunes and grasses were teaming with Yellow-rumps, plenty of Eastern Phoebes, and decent numbers of sparrows. A huge flock of Brants settled in the baseball fields with the Herring Gulls. Among the morass were a decent numbers of White-Crowned Sparrows (appear to be healthier numbers this fall) and one Vesper. 36 species in all. Alan -- 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] Fort Tilden after the storm
Didn’t luck out with last week’s raptor parade (only a lone Peregrine, Merlin and Coopers) - just off shore where huge flocks of Black Scoter heading east and plenty of dive bombing Northern Gannets making use of the breaking afternoon sunlight. The dunes and grasses were teaming with Yellow-rumps, plenty of Eastern Phoebes, and decent numbers of sparrows. A huge flock of Brants settled in the baseball fields with the Herring Gulls. Among the morass were a decent numbers of White-Crowned Sparrows (appear to be healthier numbers this fall) and one Vesper. 36 species in all. Alan -- 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] fort Tilden wrap up
Highlights were 1 Western Kingbird. Landed briefly at edge of field across from ball park. Then quickly flew west towards Breezy Point. 1 Clay-colored Sparrow along fence line bordering military building 1 Vesper Sparrow in same area 1 Orange-crowned Warbler in maintenance area 1 Bobolink in grass along fence line of golf course at Riis Hundreds of Siskins and Putple finch landed in trees Plus loads of the common fall migrants 10 sparrow species total. Isaac Grant Senior Loan Officer -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] fort Tilden wrap up
Highlights were 1 Western Kingbird. Landed briefly at edge of field across from ball park. Then quickly flew west towards Breezy Point. 1 Clay-colored Sparrow along fence line bordering military building 1 Vesper Sparrow in same area 1 Orange-crowned Warbler in maintenance area 1 Bobolink in grass along fence line of golf course at Riis Hundreds of Siskins and Putple finch landed in trees Plus loads of the common fall migrants 10 sparrow species total. Isaac Grant Senior Loan Officer -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden and Jacob RIIS Park
A whirlwind bit of birding this morning that included a brief stop on the south end of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay did not produce many birds. Getting my shorebird fix just after dawn on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay, I headed out to bird Fort Tilden and Jacob RIIS Park. After an uneventful seawatching, I turned my attention to looking for land birds. A bit of "ground and pound" for about 5 hours, resulted in a paltry number of 13 species of warblers. The highlights were a stunning adult Red-headed Woodpecker seen near the RIIS parking lot adjacent to the golf course. Later in my second round at Fort Tilden, I came upon a very bright Cape May Warbler that was a delight to observe. If you missed the spectacular showing of Western Sandpipers and White-rumped Sandpipers over the past few weeks at Jamaica Bay, you may have to wait until next year. Since last weekend, the number of shorebirds on the pond have dropped significantly and only a handful of peeps have been around over the past few days. Earlier in the week, a Philadelphia Vireo and Lincoln Sparrow were the only notable birds from a few hours at Kissena Park and Kissena Corridor respectively. Cheers, Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden and Jacob RIIS Park
A whirlwind bit of birding this morning that included a brief stop on the south end of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay did not produce many birds. Getting my shorebird fix just after dawn on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay, I headed out to bird Fort Tilden and Jacob RIIS Park. After an uneventful seawatching, I turned my attention to looking for land birds. A bit of ground and pound for about 5 hours, resulted in a paltry number of 13 species of warblers. The highlights were a stunning adult Red-headed Woodpecker seen near the RIIS parking lot adjacent to the golf course. Later in my second round at Fort Tilden, I came upon a very bright Cape May Warbler that was a delight to observe. If you missed the spectacular showing of Western Sandpipers and White-rumped Sandpipers over the past few weeks at Jamaica Bay, you may have to wait until next year. Since last weekend, the number of shorebirds on the pond have dropped significantly and only a handful of peeps have been around over the past few days. Earlier in the week, a Philadelphia Vireo and Lincoln Sparrow were the only notable birds from a few hours at Kissena Park and Kissena Corridor respectively. Cheers, Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden King Eider Yes
Drake King Eider patrolling along Fort Tilden shore today. It was moving eastwards with a small flock of mergansers, heading towards Riis, when we saw it around noon. I think the large group of Audubon/Linnaean/Littoral New Year's Day walkers must have seen it as well. Happy New Year! Matthew http://matthewwills.com (picture later) -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden King Eider Yes
Drake King Eider patrolling along Fort Tilden shore today. It was moving eastwards with a small flock of mergansers, heading towards Riis, when we saw it around noon. I think the large group of Audubon/Linnaean/Littoral New Year's Day walkers must have seen it as well. Happy New Year! Matthew http://matthewwills.com (picture later) -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden, RIIS Park and Floyd Bennett Field...
Certainly not as "birdy" as the reports from other sites suggested but there were birds in the sites mentioned in the SUBJECT line. However, one had to cover a lot of ground to get them. I wondered if the winds had anything to do with what was observed since it was windy at both Fort Tilden and RIIS park for most of the morning. Birding with Isaac Grant for some time at Fort Tilden, RIIS Park and finally along archery road at Floyd Bennett Field. Our overall warbler tally for the day was 14 with ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER being the highlight in that group, seen only by Isaac before I ran into him at Fort Tilden. A second pass for Isaac and first for me near the golf course at RIIS Park resulted in us finding a DICKCISSEL near the south west corner of the fence line of the golf course. Earlier, we also had LINCOLN SPARROW in a scrubby area at the beginning of the trail as you made your west towards the Hawk Watch platform at Fort Tilden. Later on at Floyd Bennett Field, in another scrubby area along Archery Road we had very nice looks at a PHILADELPHIA VIREO. While we did have multiples of warblers species, the numbers were nothing like those we were picking up on the wire being reported from other city parks where the birds appeared to be more concentrated. Our only significant multiple worth mentioning is Common Yellowthroat with a conservative count of 110 when combining all three sites. As far as hawk flights, we did have 3 American Kestrels, 1 Merlin and 1 Osprey at Fort Tilden and 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk at Floyd Bennett Field. Other flight movements noted included good numbers of Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Cedar Waxwings and a few Bobolinks, most seen at Fort Tilden. "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson Andrew Baksh Queens, NY www.birdingdude.blogspot.com Sent from my iPad -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden, RIIS Park and Floyd Bennett Field...
Certainly not as birdy as the reports from other sites suggested but there were birds in the sites mentioned in the SUBJECT line. However, one had to cover a lot of ground to get them. I wondered if the winds had anything to do with what was observed since it was windy at both Fort Tilden and RIIS park for most of the morning. Birding with Isaac Grant for some time at Fort Tilden, RIIS Park and finally along archery road at Floyd Bennett Field. Our overall warbler tally for the day was 14 with ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER being the highlight in that group, seen only by Isaac before I ran into him at Fort Tilden. A second pass for Isaac and first for me near the golf course at RIIS Park resulted in us finding a DICKCISSEL near the south west corner of the fence line of the golf course. Earlier, we also had LINCOLN SPARROW in a scrubby area at the beginning of the trail as you made your west towards the Hawk Watch platform at Fort Tilden. Later on at Floyd Bennett Field, in another scrubby area along Archery Road we had very nice looks at a PHILADELPHIA VIREO. While we did have multiples of warblers species, the numbers were nothing like those we were picking up on the wire being reported from other city parks where the birds appeared to be more concentrated. Our only significant multiple worth mentioning is Common Yellowthroat with a conservative count of 110 when combining all three sites. As far as hawk flights, we did have 3 American Kestrels, 1 Merlin and 1 Osprey at Fort Tilden and 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk at Floyd Bennett Field. Other flight movements noted included good numbers of Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Cedar Waxwings and a few Bobolinks, most seen at Fort Tilden. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. - Thomas Jefferson Andrew Baksh Queens, NY www.birdingdude.blogspot.com Sent from my iPad -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden access Re: Marbled Godwit....
Sorry folks, I forgot about this yesterday and had I seen the eBird list from Avi and Barbara Lewis I would have noted that Fort Tilden remains closed to the public. Please note that Park Police do patrol the area to enforce the closure. Avi and Barbara were the original finders of the Marbled Godwit while doing Piping Plover monitoring and they reminded me today about the area being closed to the public. Breezy Point is open to the public but as Isaac Grant noted, you need a day pass or fisherman's seasonal pass to park in the fisherman' s parking lot. Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com On Aug 1, 2013, at 2:48 PM, Andrew Baksh wrote: > Passing on a second hand report. A Marbled Godwit was apparently seen > and photographed at Fort Tilden Queens on the 25th of July. > > Yesterday a Marbled Godwit was also seen at Breezy Point, quite > possibly the same bird. Both sightings were by Piping Plover monitors > and I understand photos were taken. Good luck if you try for it. > > 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 http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden access Re: Marbled Godwit....
Sorry folks, I forgot about this yesterday and had I seen the eBird list from Avi and Barbara Lewis I would have noted that Fort Tilden remains closed to the public. Please note that Park Police do patrol the area to enforce the closure. Avi and Barbara were the original finders of the Marbled Godwit while doing Piping Plover monitoring and they reminded me today about the area being closed to the public. Breezy Point is open to the public but as Isaac Grant noted, you need a day pass or fisherman's seasonal pass to park in the fisherman' s parking lot. Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com On Aug 1, 2013, at 2:48 PM, Andrew Baksh birdingd...@gmail.com wrote: Passing on a second hand report. A Marbled Godwit was apparently seen and photographed at Fort Tilden Queens on the 25th of July. Yesterday a Marbled Godwit was also seen at Breezy Point, quite possibly the same bird. Both sightings were by Piping Plover monitors and I understand photos were taken. Good luck if you try for it. 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 http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There are some differences in the migration between Fort Tilden and points east on the barrier beach. While American Robins were noted in "modest" numbers in the Fire Island report, there was actually a spectacular flight at Tilden today, with several thousand passing through between 7:00 and 11:00. Stragglers continued until about 2:00, as did Pine Siskins and Purple Finches. Eastern Meadowlark and American Pipit were fly bys noted today (and not yesterday). A Red-shouldered Hawk, another one of those not so easy Long Island hawk species, highlighted the count of over 200 (of 10 species). About half were Sharp-shinned Hawks. At one busy point, I considered using Shai's method for counting Yellow-rumped Warblers. That idea was aborted when some quick math indicated we would be on pace for 5,000 Sharpies. That just didn't seem right. For what it's worth, the Hooded Crow was not deleted from my web site. The bird might not have been real, but the picture is. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There are some differences in the migration between Fort Tilden and points east on the barrier beach. While American Robins were noted in modest numbers in the Fire Island report, there was actually a spectacular flight at Tilden today, with several thousand passing through between 7:00 and 11:00. Stragglers continued until about 2:00, as did Pine Siskins and Purple Finches. Eastern Meadowlark and American Pipit were fly bys noted today (and not yesterday). A Red-shouldered Hawk, another one of those not so easy Long Island hawk species, highlighted the count of over 200 (of 10 species). About half were Sharp-shinned Hawks. At one busy point, I considered using Shai's method for counting Yellow-rumped Warblers. That idea was aborted when some quick math indicated we would be on pace for 5,000 Sharpies. That just didn't seem right. For what it's worth, the Hooded Crow was not deleted from my web site. The bird might not have been real, but the picture is. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
An hour's worth of hawk watching at Fort Tilden this morning from 10-11 offered us an average of one raptor ever two minutes, mostly Kestrels, Merlins, and Sharp-shinned. There were also: three Osprey; 1 Peregrine; at least 1 juvenile N. Harrier, which may have been a local bird; and a few Cooper's. The weather turned completely in that time, the wind shifting and a cold front shutting out the blue sky from the northwest. A Belted Kingfisher was seen passing before I arrived, and a Commmon Loon flew over the western end of the peninsular the "wrong way," northwards, while I was facing the contra-migratory way. Keep watching the skies, Matthew http://matthewwills.com/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There was a modest flight of birds along the beach today. It was dominated by Tree Swallows and Pine Siskins (numbering well into the hundreds)The only other birds of note there were a continuing Bobolink along the fence line near the army reserve building and a Blue Grosbeak found by Corey Finger in the community garden. -Isaac -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There was a modest flight of birds along the beach today. It was dominated by Tree Swallows and Pine Siskins (numbering well into the hundreds)The only other birds of note there were a continuing Bobolink along the fence line near the army reserve building and a Blue Grosbeak found by Corey Finger in the community garden. -Isaac -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There were more Tree Swallows than I could count migrating down the beach at Fort Tilden today. There was literally no morning flight from sun up until 10:00am and then the flood gates opened. For 2 and a half hours, hundreds of birds were flying over at any given moment. I do not know how to estimate how many Tree Swallows flew over, but would put it in the tens of thousands.After an early push of passerines, they diminished leaving clouds of swallows flying over.Had many Rough-winged and Bank, 2 Cliff, 1 Barn, countless TreeAlso 100+ Purple Finch2 SiskinsMany House and Goldfinch, Flickers, Blue Jays, Cedar WaxwingsSmall numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers25 Red-breasted NuthatchPlus many Kestrels, Merlins, Shapries, Coopers, 1 Harrier, 1 Bald Eagle -Isaac -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There is currently (since 10:00 a.m.) thousands of swallows and others passerines moving along the beach. Isaac Grant Senior Loan Officer -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There is currently (since 10:00 a.m.) thousands of swallows and others passerines moving along the beach. Isaac Grant Senior Loan Officer -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden
There were more Tree Swallows than I could count migrating down the beach at Fort Tilden today. There was literally no morning flight from sun up until 10:00am and then the flood gates opened. For 2 and a half hours, hundreds of birds were flying over at any given moment. I do not know how to estimate how many Tree Swallows flew over, but would put it in the tens of thousands.After an early push of passerines, they diminished leaving clouds of swallows flying over.Had many Rough-winged and Bank, 2 Cliff, 1 Barn, countless TreeAlso 100+ Purple Finch2 SiskinsMany House and Goldfinch, Flickers, Blue Jays, Cedar WaxwingsSmall numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers25 Red-breasted NuthatchPlus many Kestrels, Merlins, Shapries, Coopers, 1 Harrier, 1 Bald Eagle -Isaac -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden 10/30
It was a great day for hawks along the inland ridges - I would think. But getting there, maybe not so good. Scrapping plans for an October trip because of snow - that's a first. So there's Fort Tilden - beautiful and snowless -- as a fallback. And it was an interesting day, so excuse the length of this post. Being in the mood to watch migrants migrate, I parked myself at the western border on 193rd St. (forget that wind battered, cold platform) a little after 7:30 and stuck with it for as long as there was activity (3:00 as it turned out). Some 250 hawks moved by, a good total for Long Island so late in the season. Sharp-shinned Hawk was most numerous with 172 (mostly colorful, photogenic adults). Northern Harriers came in with 26 (6 or so adult males), by far the best day I've seen anywhere in what's been a poor season for them. Stragglers of Merlin, Kestrel, Cooper's Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon filled out the roster of expected Long Island migrants. Where Fort Tilden gets interesting as opposed to points east on the island is the potential for a variety of mainly inland migrating hawks. Today that included a Bald Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and a Turkey Vulture. The latter moved through at the most unexpected time of 7:45. Thermal using raptors by and large have always been seen here between the hours of 10 and 2. To round out the raptor report, observers that ventured to the platform reported a Short-Eared Owl flying in from the ocean. The number of Goshawks could have been 1, 2, 3, who knows? Goshawks don't move through Fort Tilden in the manner that most hawks do. Tilden is an attractive place for Accipiters and they (particulary Cooper's) often hang around a while. From my vantage point, I would say there was a male and a female. People birding other sections of Tilden reported birds they thought were Goshawks. One person mentioned one that he eventually decided was a Cooper's, sort of giving the impression of shooting down someone else's ID of a Goshawk. So it should be noted that it was a hawk flight day and there were multiple large Accipiters around. The upshot of this is that if you're interested in searching for Goshawk, I am of the opinion that this is a chaseable species at Fort Tilden right now - just don't expect one to stay in sight for long. I also planned on counting diurnal passerine migrants. But only blackbirds were worthwhile in that respect. Some 6700 (not really a big number for Tilden) passed through. I didn't want to overdo it by trying to separate all to species, but would say the large majority were Red-wings. Brown-headed Cowbirds were well represented and Rusty Blackbirds were in the mix, as evidenced by a group of 6 that landed in a nearby tree (soon followed by 6 Pipits landing in the field behind me). Only about 200 Common Grackles appeared. They can stage a spectacular show on their own, but not today. If that floats your boat, around Veteran's Day is peak time. A couple of people told me of large numbers of scoters on the ocean. While I hawk watched, 3 White-winged Scoters flew over me. Offhand, I can't remember seeing scoters fly over land. I eventually made my way to the beach to see the flocks that were predominantly Black Scoter, but with a few of the others. I took a bunch of pictures. Upon review, one of the pictures held a bizarre surprise -- a Wood Duck sitting on the ocean with the scoters. A few minutes later I was back at 193rd St., to show Andrew Baksh the spot. I mentioned that Wood Duck is surprisingly regular as a flyover at that spot. Almost on cue, one (the one from the ocean?) flew over. Finally, Andrew (and earlier Peter Dorosch) told me of up to 3 Vesper Sparrows in the community garden. I did get to see a couple, so thanks guys. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden 10/30
It was a great day for hawks along the inland ridges - I would think. But getting there, maybe not so good. Scrapping plans for an October trip because of snow - that's a first. So there's Fort Tilden - beautiful and snowless -- as a fallback. And it was an interesting day, so excuse the length of this post. Being in the mood to watch migrants migrate, I parked myself at the western border on 193rd St. (forget that wind battered, cold platform) a little after 7:30 and stuck with it for as long as there was activity (3:00 as it turned out). Some 250 hawks moved by, a good total for Long Island so late in the season. Sharp-shinned Hawk was most numerous with 172 (mostly colorful, photogenic adults). Northern Harriers came in with 26 (6 or so adult males), by far the best day I've seen anywhere in what's been a poor season for them. Stragglers of Merlin, Kestrel, Cooper's Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon filled out the roster of expected Long Island migrants. Where Fort Tilden gets interesting as opposed to points east on the island is the potential for a variety of mainly inland migrating hawks. Today that included a Bald Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and a Turkey Vulture. The latter moved through at the most unexpected time of 7:45. Thermal using raptors by and large have always been seen here between the hours of 10 and 2. To round out the raptor report, observers that ventured to the platform reported a Short-Eared Owl flying in from the ocean. The number of Goshawks could have been 1, 2, 3, who knows? Goshawks don't move through Fort Tilden in the manner that most hawks do. Tilden is an attractive place for Accipiters and they (particulary Cooper's) often hang around a while. From my vantage point, I would say there was a male and a female. People birding other sections of Tilden reported birds they thought were Goshawks. One person mentioned one that he eventually decided was a Cooper's, sort of giving the impression of shooting down someone else's ID of a Goshawk. So it should be noted that it was a hawk flight day and there were multiple large Accipiters around. The upshot of this is that if you're interested in searching for Goshawk, I am of the opinion that this is a chaseable species at Fort Tilden right now - just don't expect one to stay in sight for long. I also planned on counting diurnal passerine migrants. But only blackbirds were worthwhile in that respect. Some 6700 (not really a big number for Tilden) passed through. I didn't want to overdo it by trying to separate all to species, but would say the large majority were Red-wings. Brown-headed Cowbirds were well represented and Rusty Blackbirds were in the mix, as evidenced by a group of 6 that landed in a nearby tree (soon followed by 6 Pipits landing in the field behind me). Only about 200 Common Grackles appeared. They can stage a spectacular show on their own, but not today. If that floats your boat, around Veteran's Day is peak time. A couple of people told me of large numbers of scoters on the ocean. While I hawk watched, 3 White-winged Scoters flew over me. Offhand, I can't remember seeing scoters fly over land. I eventually made my way to the beach to see the flocks that were predominantly Black Scoter, but with a few of the others. I took a bunch of pictures. Upon review, one of the pictures held a bizarre surprise -- a Wood Duck sitting on the ocean with the scoters. A few minutes later I was back at 193rd St., to show Andrew Baksh the spot. I mentioned that Wood Duck is surprisingly regular as a flyover at that spot. Almost on cue, one (the one from the ocean?) flew over. Finally, Andrew (and earlier Peter Dorosch) told me of up to 3 Vesper Sparrows in the community garden. I did get to see a couple, so thanks guys. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Record Osprey Flight
With the help of Don Davis, I recorded a daily site record 142 Ospreys migrating past Fort Tilden (Queens) today. Also seen flying by were something on the order of 60 to 70 Atlantic Menhaden. Yes, the guys were having a good fishing day off Tilden and Riis Park. With a total flight of about 300 hawks, the Ospreys comprised about 47% of the flight, very similar to last Sunday (in smaller numbers). That’s certainly unusual, but probably all that means is that Ospreys are more reliable than other hawks in showing up at Tilden under the marginal flight conditions we’ve been able to get (such as a general overcast for much of the day). Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden Record Osprey Flight
With the help of Don Davis, I recorded a daily site record 142 Ospreys migrating past Fort Tilden (Queens) today. Also seen flying by were something on the order of 60 to 70 Atlantic Menhaden. Yes, the guys were having a good fishing day off Tilden and Riis Park. With a total flight of about 300 hawks, the Ospreys comprised about 47% of the flight, very similar to last Sunday (in smaller numbers). That’s certainly unusual, but probably all that means is that Ospreys are more reliable than other hawks in showing up at Tilden under the marginal flight conditions we’ve been able to get (such as a general overcast for much of the day). Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis Park, Queens this AM
Seth Ausubel, Isaac Grant, Tom (whose last name I can't remember, sorry) and I birded Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis this morning from dawn until just after noon. Highlights were two Vesper Sparrows that flushed from the community garden to the trees over the houses north of the garden, a Yellow-breasted Chat near the manure pile (west of the baseball fields along the path the hawkwatch), over 100 Purple Finch, 20 Pine Siskins and a Rusty Blackbird as part of the morning flight, and 3 Royal Terns heading west. eBird list below (low estimates, and the siskin number doesn't correspond with the number above because I personally only saw one of the siskins). Good Birding, Corey Finger http://1birds.comLocation: Fort Tilden Observation date: 10/17/10 Number of species: 62 Brant - Branta bernicla X Canada Goose - Branta canadensis X Black Scoter - Melanitta nigra 6 Common Loon - Gavia immer 1 Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus X Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 1 Northern Harrier - Circus cyaneus 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus 7 Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii 4 Merlin - Falco columbarius 2 Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus 1 Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus 6 Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla X Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis X Herring Gull - Larus argentatus X Herring Gull (American) - Larus argentatus smithsonianus X Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus X Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus 3 Rock Pigeon - Columba livia X Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 1 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 100 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) - Colaptes auratus [auratus Group] 100 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 5 American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 6 Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor 6 Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 2 Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 3 Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus 3 American Robin - Turdus migratorius 40 Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis 1 Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 10 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 600 American Pipit - Anthus rubescens 1 Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 400 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 400 Palm Warbler - Dendroica palmarum 2 Palm Warbler (Western) - Dendroica palmarum palmarum 1 Palm Warbler (Yellow) - Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea 1 Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas 2 Yellow-breasted Chat - Icteria virens 1 Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 7 Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 2 Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus 2 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis 12 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 20 Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 5 White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 20 White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 7 Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 10 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 10 Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 2 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 100 Rusty Blackbird - Euphagus carolinus 1 Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus 100 Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus 1 American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 30 House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis Park, Queens this AM
Seth Ausubel, Isaac Grant, Tom (whose last name I can't remember, sorry) and I birded Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis this morning from dawn until just after noon. Highlights were two Vesper Sparrows that flushed from the community garden to the trees over the houses north of the garden, a Yellow-breasted Chat near the manure pile (west of the baseball fields along the path the hawkwatch), over 100 Purple Finch, 20 Pine Siskins and a Rusty Blackbird as part of the morning flight, and 3 Royal Terns heading west. eBird list below (low estimates, and the siskin number doesn't correspond with the number above because I personally only saw one of the siskins). Good Birding, Corey Finger http://1birds.comLocation: Fort Tilden Observation date: 10/17/10 Number of species: 62 Brant - Branta bernicla X Canada Goose - Branta canadensis X Black Scoter - Melanitta nigra 6 Common Loon - Gavia immer 1 Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus X Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 1 Northern Harrier - Circus cyaneus 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus 7 Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii 4 Merlin - Falco columbarius 2 Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus 1 Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus 6 Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla X Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis X Herring Gull - Larus argentatus X Herring Gull (American) - Larus argentatus smithsonianus X Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus X Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus 3 Rock Pigeon - Columba livia X Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 1 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 100 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) - Colaptes auratus [auratus Group] 100 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 5 American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 6 Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor 6 Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 2 Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 3 Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus 3 American Robin - Turdus migratorius 40 Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis 1 Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 10 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 600 American Pipit - Anthus rubescens 1 Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 400 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 400 Palm Warbler - Dendroica palmarum 2 Palm Warbler (Western) - Dendroica palmarum palmarum 1 Palm Warbler (Yellow) - Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea 1 Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas 2 Yellow-breasted Chat - Icteria virens 1 Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 7 Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 2 Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus 2 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis 12 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 20 Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 5 White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 20 White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 7 Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 10 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis 10 Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 2 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 100 Rusty Blackbird - Euphagus carolinus 1 Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus 100 Pine Siskin - Spinus pinus 1 American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 30 House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] Fort Tilden, Queens
A perfect fall day, and lots of birds. Warblers were few - we only saw 1 Prairie, along with the expected Palms, Myrtles, and a couple of Yellowthroats. A Snipe flew westward out of the community gardens. 8 species of sparrow included a couple of Lincoln's and White-crowned, and one Nelson's Sparrow (proabably of an inland race) in the goldenrod and brush behind the baseball field, just west of the community garden. A female type Blue Grosbeak was in the same area. No sign of the Western Kingbird reported yesterday. Others saw a Black-billed Cuckoo, I believe in the northwest corner of the golf course. FOS Brant were also seen. Observers - DK, Bobby Rosetti, Dale Dyer -- 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/ --
[nysbirds-l] fort tilden
two buff-breasted sandpipers were present today at Tilden (Queens Co.) in the puddle of the SE corner of the parking lot directly adjacent to the soccer field. nice looks! JPA John AskildsenMillbrook, New York
[nysbirds-l] fort tilden
two buff-breasted sandpipers were present today at Tilden (Queens Co.) in the puddle of the SE corner of the parking lot directly adjacent to the soccer field. nice looks! JPA John AskildsenMillbrook, New York
