The highlight--however frustratingly brief--of a nearly 4-hour visit today at Lakeland County Park (Islandia) and adjoining Suffolk greenbelt, was the presence of at least one COMMON RAVEN. I actually had two encounters. The first was with one bird briefly glimpsed through gaps in the trees, flying not far above the treetops. My initial impression at first glance was of a raptor based on size and wing length. A second, better look revealed a large corvid with a rounded/wedge-shaped tail tip, carrying an object in its bill. As it moved off it uttered two soft, gutteral calls. The second encounter came approximately 15 minutes later and ~1/4 mile away when I heard several deep, resoundingly loud croaks from somewhere just to the east of the park. Unfortunately I never got a look at this bird (same individual as earlier sighting?), but the vocalizations were unmistakeable. Recalling a report not too long ago of 2 Ravens from the surrounding neighborhood, the prospect of local breeding seemed plausible. So when I got home I made a cursory search on GoogleMaps for water towers or other likely nesting sites within a reasonable radius of the park--without success. I'll try to go back in hope of getting better looks at the bird/s and the direction of their movement.
I found another 40 species during during my visit, with a fair number of Spring migrants present, including Green Heron (1, photo), Eastern Phoebe (2), N. Rough-winged Swallow (2), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (14), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1), Brown Creeper (3), Hermit Thrush (1), Palm Warbler (5), Yellow-rumped Warbler (6), and Eastern Towhee (2) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgluth_brb/sets/72157632448263840/with/8661805276/ -- 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/ --
