A first-summer Arctic Tern was present at Cupsogue from 9:00-9:15 this morning, a nice reward for Richard Fried and me, just prior to high tide. A number of other birders had been seawatching at this time, counting upwards of 80 Cory's Shearwaters, 3 Wilson's Storm-Petrels, a distant jaeger (probably Parasitic), 15 Northern Gannets, and several Lesser Black-backed Gulls. These folks were able to scope the Arctic Tern from afar, but it vanished quickly, as they so often do. A few photos can be seen at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/LongIslandSummer2011 <https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/LongIslandSummer2011>To my eye, this was the fourth individual Arctic Tern here this year, its head pattern and tail streamers differing from one seen on 15 Jun and two seen on 29 Jun (one of which was superbly photographed the next day also). Over the course of a very long day (I first stepped out on the marsh at 6:40 am and finished my third trip at 7:40 pm), at least three Royal, two Black, and three Roseate Terns were tallied, and lots of early fall shorebird migration was noted: many small flocks of Short-billed Dowitchers (including a high-breeding hendersoni picked out by Andy Guthrie), two Western Willets, and half a dozen each Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers. The identity of a long-billed peep in first summer plumage was debated ad nauseum by some of the finest birding minds in New York State (despite my protests that they ought to just leave it alone!); a majority favored Western over Semi in the end. The local Eastern Willets and Oystercatchers are ganging up now, with 63 of the former and 16 of the latter observed in tight flocks today. Two summering Brant appeared on the flats also. Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only in effect.<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> Tobacco-Free Campus as of July 1, 2012. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES 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://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
