I had decided earlier this week that I would head out to the east end today to bird, and that Sagg Pond would be my first destination. A lucky choice, as Hugh McGuinness and Angus Wilson were already on site when I arrived and quickly put me on the Caspian Terns and Whimbrel. After they departed I spotted one more bird of notean adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. I next went to Mecox Bay where the most notable birds were 3 Least Terns1 adult and 2 juveniles. When I returned to my car I actually turned my cell phone on (I carry one mostly for emergencies or a call-worthy rare bird, both seldom seen occurrencesthankfully so only in the case of the former). Another fortuitous decision, as I would have otherwise missed Hugh's thoughtful voice mail regarding the WEKI. I got over to the SOFO Museum as rapidly as traffic allowed and once there was guided by Hugh to the fields out back where the flycatcher pretty quickly made an appearance. I took over 120 digiscoped photos of the bird over the next hour. Six of the 12 I deemed decent enough to keep can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgluth_brb/sets/72157624860506451/ A male Kestrel was also present at the eastern end of the field. Later, a few stops along Dune Road west of the Ponquogue Bridge produced a total of 9 Royal Terns (2 flyovers and 7 roosting), 1 Western Willet, and a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. A quick stop at Gabreskie Airport on the way home yielded 2 Turkey Vultures soaring over the runways. John Gluth Islip, 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/ --
