Robert Moses State Park witnessed one of the more memorable fallouts in recent years this morning, with clouds of sparrows on the lawn and moving through the bushes. Overhead, flyby Pine Siskins and Purple Finch put in a good showing. Species that exceeded a thousand individuals included Pine Siskin (1,972), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1,765), Dark-eyed Junco (1,490), and White-throated Sparrow (1,155). Our count was not stationary, so I expect the folks who were counting the birds as they passed down the beach to have significantly higher totals. Additionally, there were so many birds that "counter's fatigue" set in. Some interesting sightings included Orange-crowned Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Clay-colored Sparrow. As is so often the case on big flight days, no real rarities were seen (at least, to our knowledge, at RMSP), although a flyby Short-eared Owl seen by John Heidecker (sp.)must have been a treat. Of interest to us was the four Hairy Woodpeckers we saw at RMSP - generally a rare bird on the barrier beach. As a means of comparison, over the years we have probably seen more Red-headed Woodpeckers on the barrier beach in the Fall than Hairy Woodpeckers. A few photos from the days birding are on my flickr site.
Ken & Sue Feustel http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfeustel/ -- 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/ --
