As of around 2:00 PM, the lingering BARNACLE GOOSE was still present on Marratooka Pond in Mattituck. It was in the company of at least a couple hundred Canada Geese. The best viewing area for Marratooka is on the south side of the lake, along New Suffolk Avenue. Not far east of the pond, on New Suffolk Avenue, was a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in a farm field along the north side of the road. A nice array of ducks are beginning to fill in along the East Marion Causeway as well as at the Point.
On a separate note, I paid a brief visit to Smith Point County Park this morning. There were tremendous flocks of White-winged Crossbills along the first mile or so of outer beach. I estimate numbers nearing the 200 mark. Single digit Red Crossbills were seen among the flocks of White-winged's. The black pine area, east of the campground, is now part of the beach frontage. Crossbills were actually landing on the beach in numbers, gathering up and taking flight to their next feeding area. It was fun to see the crossbills actually perched on the sand. Hecksher State Park also continues to hold solid numbers of both crossbill species. The arrival of American Tree Sparrows has been evident for the past couple of weeks at both locations. For those that haven't had their crossbill fill, my flickr link is attached below with some pretty solid iScope shots. A great day to be outdoors. Best, Derek Rogers Sayville http://www.flickr.com/photos/39025168@N07/ -- 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/ --
