Hi everyone, In the fading evening light I just barely noticed a tern flying west along the West End 2 shore. It was a bit bigger than the many Common Terns in the area with a white forehead, trace of a black crest (not a Forster's type postaucular spot), plain gray back (unlike the young terns in the area), and short forked tail. I was unable to see the bill well as the bird was already leaving fast when I got on it, but it wasn't especially large (more evidence against Royal, Caspian, or a seafaring Gull-billed?!). It wasn't the best sighting, but I am feeling fairly strong about it being a Sandwich.
In other news out there, there was a large, homogeneous group of Great Black-backed Gulls (101, exact count) loafing on the beach. Barn Swallows are also gathering already in the WE2 parking lot and along the shoreline. The swale is primed for shorebirds, but today only had 2 (surely local) Killdeer, and single flyover Lesser Yellowlegs and Black-bellied Plover. Lots of young Piping Plovers and Least Terns around too! Good birding, Brendan Fogarty Cornell University, 2015 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Biological Engineering -- 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/ --
