I can add only a few sightings to Shai's summary, birds found while we were
on our own. These are a juvenile ICELAND GULL and a juvenile LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL at the end of East Lake Road at the Montauk Lake inlet
early on Sunday morning, and a BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE, which flew across Cross
Bay Blvd a little before the main Jamaica Bay parking area early on Saturday
morning. Angus Wilson introduced us to Larry, the long-lived LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL - at Lazy Point, I think. That was on Sunday afternoon.
The wind made it challenging at times but all in all, we considered it a
successful and very enjoyable trip, thanks in no small part to the birders
who showed us around (Shai, Pat, Angus, and Tom Burke).
Good birding!
Willie
From: bounce-38298443-15084...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-38298443-15084...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Shaibal
Mitra
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 9:46 AM
To: NYSBIRDS (NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu)
Subject: [nysbirds-l] LI Birds: Belated Weekend Recap
Reading Doug Futuyma's recent report from eastern Long Island reminded me
that I should have posted something regarding several interesting birds from
last weekend.
Perhaps most notable was LI's first Snowy Owl of the season, found by
Patricia Lindsay and me at Hicks Island, Napeague on Sunday. This bird
appeared very large and darkly marked, probably a juv female:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/LongIslandFall2011#567721
2244390371650
We called Angus Wilson, Willie, D'Anna, Betsy Potter, and Dave Gagne, with
whom we had been birding earlier in the day, and the bird cooperated for
them and for others through the day (Rich Fried say it fly off around dusk).
Earlier on Sunday, highlights at Montauk Pt included:
2 Red-necked Grebes
3 Black-legged Kittiwakes
1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
20+ Razorbills
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (found by Starr Saphir and company)
The pink-billed Greater White-fronted Goose was present at Deep Hollow, as
was an orange-billed bird at Further Lane, East Hampton; additional
Red-necked Grebes were seen at Culloden Pt (1) and Fort Pond Bay (2-3), and
we saw 3 more Razorbills at Culloden.
The family of 5 Whistling Swans at Hook Pond flew out to the west as soon as
Pat and I arrived, around 2:40. We feared they had moved over to nearby
Georgica Pond, where they would be difficult for the others in our caravan
to see, but they had simply moved over to the small lobe of Hook Pond that
is visible from the road, immediately north of Main Beach.
On Saturday, Dave Gagne picked out the continuing Eared Grebe at Jamaica
Bay. The rest of us had scanned the bay south of the West Pond briefly but
moved on quickly to get out of the fierce sw wind. Showing true hawk-watcher
fortitude, Dave hung in for a few more minutes and found the grebe in the
same area it has been frequenting.
Later on Saturday morning, our group visited Jones Beach. There, we joined
Tom Burke and Gail Benson, who basically led us by the hand to see the 2
continuing Marbled Godwits (very distant across the inlet, owing to the low
tide), an Orange-crowned Warbler, and Lapland Longspur in a big flock of
Snow Buntings at field 2.
A quick check of Capri Pond in West Islip yielded 6 Redheads.
We found 2 more Redheads at Patchogue Lake, but were utterly unable to find
the previously reported Eurasian Wigeon there. In the course of our
searching (and mindful of a comment from Doug Futuyma that he had seen an
exceptional tally of Ring-necked Ducks earlier at Eastport Pond) I carefully
counted the Ring-necks at Patchogue Lake, which came out at 414!
At this point, Willie asked whether this pond was a traditional spot for
Eurasian Wigeon, to which I answered, "Not really; nearby West Lake is
usually the more reliable spot." Pat and I departed at this point, only to
be hauled back by a call from Willie et al.: they had found a/the drake
Eurasian Wigeon at West Lake!
All told it was a challenging, often slow, but generally productive weekend,
enlivened by excellent company.
Shai Mitra
Bay Shore
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