[nysbirds-l] LI Birds: Northern Shrike, Richardson's Goose, Euro GW Teal+
As is often the case, today's rain took longer than expected to reach eastern LI, and Patricia Lindsay and I enjoyed a partly sunny (but blustery) day birding around Montauk. We collaborated at times with Mike Higgiston and Eileen Scwhinn. Pat and I began at 7:00 with an hour spent working the Amagansett beach front, looking in vain for Eared Grebe. Highlights here were a female King Eider and 12 Razorbills. The scoter and eider spectacle off of Montauk Pt. continues to be spectacular. Here we also found six more Razorbills (these and those seen earlier were all still in winter plumage), an immaculately white-headed adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, and a fly-by Great Cormorant in gorgeous breeding plumage. By the time we came past again, some geese had dropped into the horse farm at Deep Hollow. Among these was a Richardson's Cackling Goose and four Killdeer. A Red-necked Grebe was present close in below the bluffs at Culloden Pt, perhaps sheltering from the violent southerly winds. Forgoing that kind of prudence we spent another hour at Ditch Plains, looking in vain for Eared Grebe. Highlights there were 15 Purple Sandpipers and two exceedingly obliging Common Redpolls. At Napeague, we finally connected with the long-staying, but often elusive, immature Northern Shrike. We also noted that Larry the Lesser Black-back retained a little dusky streaking on his face, unlike the individual at the point. At the duck- and goose-feeding pull-out on David's Lane, to the north of Hook Pond, we found five Wood Ducks lurking just a little more coyly than the histrionic Chinese Swan Geese and Pekin Ducks. We were intrigued to notice several other, less flamboyant species availing themselves of the copiously proffered Wonder Bread and Froot Loops: six Rusty Blackbirds and a Gray Catbird. For those inclined to photography, the scene there offered many advantages: knee-buckling views of Wood Ducks and Rusty Blackbirds--plus a clamorous backdrop of crowds of people treating wildlife unethically! The waterfowl on Fort Pond in Montauk included a Shoveler, 12 Canvasbacks, and 26 Ring-necked Ducks; those on Hook Pond in East Hampton included good numbers of all three mergansers, five American Green-winged Teal, and a Coot; those on Shorts Pond in Bridgehampton were quite varied and included 12 Pintails and 40 Ruddy Ducks (the latter don't usually return after being frozen out--where were they a few weeks ago?), as well as two drake Eurasian Green-winged Teal among 15 Americans (two bold, symmetrical horizontal stripes on each; no hint of white vertical bars on any of their four breast-sides; bold pale lines delineating the facial feather tracts; and pale marks anterior to the black rear-flank marks). Shai Mitra Bay Shore Think green before you print this email. -- 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] LI Birds: Northern Shrike, Richardson's Goose, Euro GW Teal+
As is often the case, today's rain took longer than expected to reach eastern LI, and Patricia Lindsay and I enjoyed a partly sunny (but blustery) day birding around Montauk. We collaborated at times with Mike Higgiston and Eileen Scwhinn. Pat and I began at 7:00 with an hour spent working the Amagansett beach front, looking in vain for Eared Grebe. Highlights here were a female King Eider and 12 Razorbills. The scoter and eider spectacle off of Montauk Pt. continues to be spectacular. Here we also found six more Razorbills (these and those seen earlier were all still in winter plumage), an immaculately white-headed adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, and a fly-by Great Cormorant in gorgeous breeding plumage. By the time we came past again, some geese had dropped into the horse farm at Deep Hollow. Among these was a Richardson's Cackling Goose and four Killdeer. A Red-necked Grebe was present close in below the bluffs at Culloden Pt, perhaps sheltering from the violent southerly winds. Forgoing that kind of prudence we spent another hour at Ditch Plains, looking in vain for Eared Grebe. Highlights there were 15 Purple Sandpipers and two exceedingly obliging Common Redpolls. At Napeague, we finally connected with the long-staying, but often elusive, immature Northern Shrike. We also noted that Larry the Lesser Black-back retained a little dusky streaking on his face, unlike the individual at the point. At the duck- and goose-feeding pull-out on David's Lane, to the north of Hook Pond, we found five Wood Ducks lurking just a little more coyly than the histrionic Chinese Swan Geese and Pekin Ducks. We were intrigued to notice several other, less flamboyant species availing themselves of the copiously proffered Wonder Bread and Froot Loops: six Rusty Blackbirds and a Gray Catbird. For those inclined to photography, the scene there offered many advantages: knee-buckling views of Wood Ducks and Rusty Blackbirds--plus a clamorous backdrop of crowds of people treating wildlife unethically! The waterfowl on Fort Pond in Montauk included a Shoveler, 12 Canvasbacks, and 26 Ring-necked Ducks; those on Hook Pond in East Hampton included good numbers of all three mergansers, five American Green-winged Teal, and a Coot; those on Shorts Pond in Bridgehampton were quite varied and included 12 Pintails and 40 Ruddy Ducks (the latter don't usually return after being frozen out--where were they a few weeks ago?), as well as two drake Eurasian Green-winged Teal among 15 Americans (two bold, symmetrical horizontal stripes on each; no hint of white vertical bars on any of their four breast-sides; bold pale lines delineating the facial feather tracts; and pale marks anterior to the black rear-flank marks). Shai Mitra Bay Shore Think green before you print this email. -- 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/ --
