Jones Beach West End & Pt. Lookout 9 Jan Joe Giunta, Sam Jannazzo and I (Sy Schiff) joined by Richard Porricelli went looking for Harlequin Ducks without success. Along the way, we picked up a few interesting winter birds. Meeting at the Coast Guard Station we observed the lone LAPLAND LONGSPUR feeding along the boardwalk edge of the field to the east of the parking lot. AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS were barely visible on the bar on the other side of the inlet (it was low tide).
A single gull graced the West End #2 lot--no Iceland gull. Without wind, the walk to the jetty was pleasant, without either incident or birds. When we arrived the area was barren, so we scanned the inlet and found a few BONAPARTE'S GULLS close in and a RAZORBILL on the other side of the inlet. Turning our attention back to the end of the jetty, a COMMON LOON, 2 RAZORBILLS, LONG-TAILED DUCKS and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS appeared before moving back into the inlet. A NORTHERN FLICKER was feeding on the lawn as we left the lot and a BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD was in the starling flock. At Pt. Lookout, the 2 dozen COMMON EIDER continue along with both loons, long-tailed ducks and mergansers. Mixed in with the eider was a single WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. Both Sam and I observed a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK perched on a light pole south of Merrick road on the Meadowbrook Pkwy on the way to the meeting place. Sy -- 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/ --
