With the weather forecast for today being grand, I thought "grand", and headed for Montauk, with it's "winter specials", many having been seen quite recently. I left with a realistic list of 11 target species, and returned with only 2 of these seen, plus one addition, that made me quickly forget all the misses !
I started in Sagaponack, but couldn't find the Graylag Goose. The field on Further Lane held only Canadas. Deep hole Ranch held only horses. Montauk Point was fairly quiet, with all 3 scoters and C. Eider accounting for most of the birds. I did get one Razorbill feeding just off the n/s of the point. Six other stops in the Montauk area were also left wanting. Although getting a N. Harrier on the way into Lazy Point, after missing on the Hicks Island "snowy", and even on Larry, the long standing, LBBG, Napeauge was fast becoming a disappointment. As I was leaving Lazy Point proper on L.P. Rd., I saw a bird hunting over the marsh, just s/o the water that holds the many rows of flotation devices (?). At first I thought it was the harrier again, but in short order, even before I got the binoculars up, recognized it to be the first Short-eared Owl I've had in a number of years. I watched it work it's way to the east, and tried catching up to it by heading east on Napeauge Meadow Rd., without success. *Asio otus* sure made my day ! On the way home, I looked for the graylag on Daniels, Hedges and Parsonage Lanes in Sagaponack and missed again. There were sizable flocks of Canadas on both Hedges & Parsonage, and was rewarded for my effort by finding a Greater White-fronted Goose in the Hedges grouping. This bird appears to be an adult "Greenland", a very dark brown individual, with a sizable white "front", a very bright yellow/orange bill, a large amount of black on the belly, and bright orange legs.. Cheers, Bob -- 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/ --
