[nysbirds-l] A Memorable Crossing of the Long Island Sound
I crossed from Orient Point to New London on the 11:00 am ferry (Susan Anne) yesterday. As I have mentioned before in this forum, this passage can be remarkably birdless--and so it was. The only notable birds were a simmer of five Turkey Vultires over the northeast tip of Plum Island, some Gannets where they don't go except in migration, and one Northern Rough-winged Swallow, carefully studied as it tracked our course southwest to northeast mid-sound, just off the starboard beam. Knowing these waters and the surrounding lands all my life, I almost always spend some time studying the appearance of things when I'm there. Yesterday's crossing was almost hallucinatory in its visuals. This area is exceptionally well suited to mirages, and other optical effects, arising from thermal inversions, and I've seen quite a few interesting things of this sort over decades of sound crossings. But yesterday, with a layer of warm air lying stably atop the water-cooled blanket atop the glassy and windless sound, produced a uniquely amazing array of effects. Familiar landmarks in the distance such as the Montauk peninsula and Fishers Island--and even objects ordinarily invisible from the ferry's route, beyond the curvature of the Earth, like Block Island and its wind turbines--were subject to every effect I know: Layered superior mirages (Fata Morgana), looming, towering, stooping, and even (I think) inferior mirages. Through eight power binoculars, the impression of this familiar place was utterly strange and disorienting! I did my best to capture some of the effects by phone-binning. Most of my captures were aimed at familiar landmarks, such as the Montauk Point Light, Camp Hero radar tower, Montauk Village water tower, and Hither Hills radar towers. Although off-topic for birds, i thought I would sharemy images of this memorable experience: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzKEP1 Shai Mitra Bay Shore -- 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] A Memorable Crossing of the Long Island Sound
I crossed from Orient Point to New London on the 11:00 am ferry (Susan Anne) yesterday. As I have mentioned before in this forum, this passage can be remarkably birdless--and so it was. The only notable birds were a simmer of five Turkey Vultires over the northeast tip of Plum Island, some Gannets where they don't go except in migration, and one Northern Rough-winged Swallow, carefully studied as it tracked our course southwest to northeast mid-sound, just off the starboard beam. Knowing these waters and the surrounding lands all my life, I almost always spend some time studying the appearance of things when I'm there. Yesterday's crossing was almost hallucinatory in its visuals. This area is exceptionally well suited to mirages, and other optical effects, arising from thermal inversions, and I've seen quite a few interesting things of this sort over decades of sound crossings. But yesterday, with a layer of warm air lying stably atop the water-cooled blanket atop the glassy and windless sound, produced a uniquely amazing array of effects. Familiar landmarks in the distance such as the Montauk peninsula and Fishers Island--and even objects ordinarily invisible from the ferry's route, beyond the curvature of the Earth, like Block Island and its wind turbines--were subject to every effect I know: Layered superior mirages (Fata Morgana), looming, towering, stooping, and even (I think) inferior mirages. Through eight power binoculars, the impression of this familiar place was utterly strange and disorienting! I did my best to capture some of the effects by phone-binning. Most of my captures were aimed at familiar landmarks, such as the Montauk Point Light, Camp Hero radar tower, Montauk Village water tower, and Hither Hills radar towers. Although off-topic for birds, i thought I would sharemy images of this memorable experience: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzKEP1 Shai Mitra Bay Shore -- 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/ --
