My first bird yesterday was an Eastern Screech Owl calling outside my house in Stony Brook (Suffolk Co.), a welcome sound after an uneasy night. After that, my search for storm-carried birds and sites to look for them was frustrating. I could not gain access to Oldfield Point, Setauket,and I knew there would be no access to the ocean along the south shore, so I drove to Lake Ronkonkoma, where I saw only a few White-winged Scoters (and many American Wigeons and Ruddy Ducks), and thence to Patchogue Lake, where I saw no exceptional species. A search for a view of the bay in Bellport yielded only a narrow view at a considerable distance up an avenue, because of high water. I decided to go to the north shore, following the example of Patricia Lindsay and Shai Mitra, who were headed for Orient Point. During a half-hour watch from the end of Hulse Landing Road, in Baiting Hollow, I saw Surf Scoters, ca. 45 Common Loons, and my one significant sighting, a very distant PTERODROMA petrel, arcing high on stiff, somewhat bent wings. Black-capped Petrel is most likely, but although I could see a white venter and possibly some dorsal patterning, it was too far to be identified. I then drove to Horton's Point, Southold, where I saw only scoters and several Northern Gannets in ca. 45 minutes. From there, I joined Patricia and Shai at Orient Point County Park. During the subsquent 1 1/2 hours, we observed a tight group of 3 POMARINE JAEGERS and 1 PARASITIC JAEGER, a very distant flock of ca. 8 unidentified jaegers, small flocks of Common and Forster's Terns, 1 Bonaparte's Gull, and several Gannets. All these birds were moving eastward.
Douglas Futuyma Stony Brook, NY -- 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/ --
