Today, The Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS) conducted a field trip to Forsythe NWR, NJ. Highlights included TV, at least 6 N.Harriers, one of which was a Grey Ghost, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 3 Bald Eagles, (2 immatures & an adult in a tree, busily tearing flesh off it's prey) and 2 adult Peregrine Falcons. The number of Snow Geese was low, compared to the near past, with about 10% being immatures, including 1 Blue morph.
The highlight of the day, however, occurred at The Hacienda Fischer, on Staten Island. With enough light remaining toward day's end to chance it, and through the "magic" of IPHONE, cell phone, and GPS, we arrived with time to spare. Meeting Howard was a treat, and after hearing the bird had been seen throughout the day, we managed to get 3 quick looks at the Rufous Hummingbird. This was especially gratifying for half of our group, with Sally Newbert and Tom Moran getting "lifers" ( John McNeil, trip leader, being the remaining member in our party). Cheers, Bob , -- 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 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --