Many thanks for posting this Alyssa! I am delighted to see Sarah receiving the credit she fully deserves for her discovery of not just such a “stonker” of a bird but also for her work as a Piping Plover monitor.
My congratulations to her and thanks to you for sharing this information about Sarah’s work. Cheers, -------- “Tenderness and Kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution” ~ Khalil Gibran "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ Frederick Douglass 風 Swift as the wind 林 Quiet as the forest 火 Conquer like the fire 山 Steady as the mountain Sun Tzu The Art of War > (\__/) > (= '.'=) > (") _ (") > Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > On Sep 28, 2021, at 12:22 PM, Johnson, Alyssa <alyssa.john...@audubon.org> > wrote: > > Another congrats to Sarah, for this exciting first sighting! > > FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York > > “It’s not a standard job title: piping plover technician. > > For nearly a year, Sarah Forestiere, a 2018 graduate of Finger Lakes > Community College, has monitored two nesting pairs of the federally > endangered shorebird at Sandy Island Beach State Park on Lake Ontario, for > the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Only 60 > nesting pairs are known to be scattered throughout the Great Lakes. > > She has kept records of the birds’ activity, taught park visitors about > piping plovers, and set up snow fence around their nests to protect their > eggs and the chicks, which she describes as “cotton balls that weigh the same > as two pennies.” > > All this made Forestiere qualified to recognize that a visitor to Sandy > Island on Sept. 13 was a plover, but not a piping plover. > > She checked guides and concluded it was a snowy plover, common to the > southern and western U.S. and the Caribbean. She confirmed her find with an > amateur birdwatcher, Matt Brown, who encouraged her to post it on the Cornell > Lab of Ornithology’s eBird app.” > > > -- > Alyssa Johnson > Environmental Educator > 315.365.3588 > > Montezuma Audubon Center > PO Box 187 > 2295 State Route 89 > Savannah, NY 13146 > Montezuma.audubon.org > Pronouns: She, Her, Hers > > From: bounce-125911115-79436...@list.cornell.edu > <bounce-125911115-79436...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Jay McGowan > Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 11:28 PM > To: nysbird...@cornell.edu; oneidabi...@yahoogroups.com; Cayugabirds-L > <Cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu>; geneseebirds-l <geneseebird...@geneseo.edu> > Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Snowy Plover and Common Ringed Plover, Sandy Pond > (Oswego Co.) > > Matt Brown found a SNOWY PLOVER on the beach at Sandy Pond in Oswego County > this morning. The bird was still present this evening, on the lake side of > the south spit. At about 6:04PM, it took off to join a passing flock of > Sanderlings and they headed south out of sight down the beach. It's possible > they stopped farther down, but they were definitely gone from the pond outlet > area before dusk. Access to this area is best by boat, but you can reportedly > also walk north from Sandy Island Beach State Park. > > Then just before dusk I found a juvenile COMMON RINGED PLOVER on the sandy > shoal on the west side of Carl's Island in the bay. I was checking out some > of the array of shorebirds there, which included Red Knot, American > Golden-Plover, and Long-billed Dowitcher. As it was getting dark, I got on a > small plover giving melancholy calls in flight, quite unlike Semipalmated, > and I immediately suspected it was a ringed. Once it landed I was able to get > closer and call Drew Weber and Larry Chen who I had been birding with back > over to the island, and we were able to get some documentation shots in the > fading light. Plumage seemed consistent with a juvenile Common Ringed: > overall noticeably larger and plumper than nearby Semipalmated. Dark breast > band distinctly broken in center and bulging down on both sides. Lores dark > and no white wedge at gape. Closeups on photos show no sign of paler orbital > ring around eye. It continued to call occasionally when other shorebirds > would vocalize. It was still present on the south side of the shoal when we > left well after sunset. This flock would be visible by scope from the south > spit of the pond outlet, but ID would be challenging at that distance. > Otherwise access is by boat, putting in either at Greene Point marina > (paddlecraft launch fee $7) or the public launch on Doreen Dr. at the far > east side of the bay. > > Checklist with photos and a recording of the ringed plover here: > https://ebird.org/atlasny/checklist/S94634252 > > -- > Jay McGowan > jw...@cornell.edu > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA > Please submit your observations to 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-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --