The weekend's weather forecast wasn't what I was looking for in June, my time for dragonflies and butterflies. But if I had to resort to birding, today is what I would have drawn up. Get a southerly wind on the heels of a storm, for sea watching at Robert Moses State Park, then clearing for good lighting on the White-faced Ibis at nearby Captree Island. The sea watching wasn't anything great, but Bob Anderson and I combined to pick up 6 Cory's Shearwaters. The birds were seen between 8:30 and 9:40, although my length of stay was from about 8:00 to 10:15.
I have to thank Michael McBrien for finding and being my spotter on the White-faced Ibis (easier to keep track of it in a scope than in a camera). A picture of the Ibis can be seen at http://www.stevewalternature.com/ . To provide photographers with the information birders don't give you, the ibis kept its distance from the road, but it was not outrageously far when seen toward the western part of the island. The picture was taken with a 1000 mm setup. I would expect anything less to be a major challenge, unless you get lucky. A couple of Glossys were a bit closer in at one viewing spot. But it is a good light direction. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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/ --
