I spent about 2 hours at Robert Moses State Park starting at 6:45 AM today, mostly birding from the hawkwatch platform but also by the volleyball courts at Field 2. A significant movement of birds occurred last night, and countless neotropical migrants were moving through. The highlight of the day was certainly a pair of UPLAND SANDPIPERS which flew, calling, over the platform immmediately upon my arrival. This is echoed by a sighting of an Upland Sandpiper today at Floyd Bennett Field by Seth Ausubel et. al. Soon afterwards I was joined by Shai Mitra and Pat Lindsay. Some of the birds seen included at least 11 species of warbler, Purple Finch, 2 Chimney Swifts, Scarlet Tanagers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, several Bobolinks, Eastern Wood-pewee, and various other expected species. Several tail-less Red-winged Blackbirds were surprising. On my way back to the car I heard a WHIMBREL which eventually landed in the grassy area in the Field 5 parking lot next to an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER found earlier by Shai and Pat. A awful picture of the two birds together can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/bbomkamp/BarrierBeachBirds
At the volleyball courts many warblers were still moving overhead, mostly waterthrushes. A relatively cooperative adult YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was present near the exit to Field 2. The only other new species in the area was an uncooperative empid which appeared to be a Least Flycatcher, and there were a few more Red-breasted Nuthatches. I finished up at Sunken Meadow, where, as reported by Dave Klauber, neither of the previously reported rarities was seen. Good Birding, Brent Bomkamp Northport, 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/ --
