This evening I went to the wildflower preserve in Southampton Village which was dedicated as open space as part of the Olde Towne subdivision. This wildflower field can be found at the intersection of Wickapogue Rd and Olde Towne Rd, just Southeast of Southampton Hospital (note: parking can be difficult and is restricted during certain hours on some of the neighboring streets so pay attention to the signs if you plan on a visit). Over the last few years the developer has had workers plant thousands of containers of (mostly) native plants which has become a haven for insects and apparently now birds. There was a substantial flock of American Goldfinches feeding on the Purple Coneflowers on the southern section of the wildflower field. It is difficult to estimate the number of birds as they seemed to rotate in shifts from several trees but I'd guess at least 50 birds were there. Several sparrows popped up from the flowers from time to time and it seemed as though most were Song Sparrows but I didn't pay much attention to them and I would guess that a more skilled bird identifier would be able to pick something more interesting out. When I went to leave I noticed two Cedar Waxwings hawking insects as well. Also of interest were at least 5 species of butterfly - surely a wonderful spot for wildlife viewing on the outskirts of Southampton Village.
Photos of the birds and some butterflies can be seen here: http://birdsoflongisland.blogspot.com/2011/08/american-goldfinches-and-butterflies.html -- - Luke Ormand, Flanders www.birdsoflongisland.blogspot.com www.wildlongisland.blogspot.com -- 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/ --
