I birded Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn this morning before heading over to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. There were light ESE winds to start, but these shifted to relatively strong SSE winds by ~9:30 AM. Throughout my time in the field there was a noticeable movement of Double-crested Cormorants in groups of between 2-51 individuals. These were almost all headed east, presumably after having been blown inland by the easterly component of the winds early in the day (and possibly overnight?). A handful of Common Loons were also seen flying high, but south.
Highlights follow in no particular order: Floyd Bennett Field (7:00-9:00): Brown Thrasher (1-2, FOY?) Wood Duck (6, including 5 males, R.A.G. Pond) White-crowned Sparrow (2, presumably overwintering birds, although not in a spot where they'd previously been this winter) Glossy Ibis (~35, flock to the north of FBF heading west fast upon a brief return to FBF @ ~12:45 PM) American Kestrel (3 migrants, which was nice after seeing ~8 from Greenwood Cemetery yesterday) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Ring-necked Pheasant There were 2 Lesser Yellowlegs in Spring Creek as viewed from the Erskine Street side. JBWR (9:30-12:00): Green Heron (Big John's Pond, seems early?) Little Blue Heron (2) Tricolored Heron (2) Glossy Ibis (12-20, two flocks (12 then 8) but I'm not sure if any individuals were involved in both) Greater Yellowlegs (5 flyovers) Hooded Merganser (2) ~1000 Ruddy Ducks Good Birding -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY. -- 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/ --
