I don't think this has been mentioned but a NEOTROPICAL CORMORANT was photographed today at the Erie Basin Marina (Erie Co.) by Gaetan Dupont and Jim Pawlicki.
This follows a cautious 'probable' (aka "99% certain") on Monday (13 July 2015) by Pawlicki on the breakwater at the Buffalo Harbor (Erie Co.), although there are hints from the plumage details that two different birds might be involved! When it rains, it pours. Although generally limited to the coastal states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and all points south, Neotropic Cormorant has been slowly nudging northwards into the center of the continent. Sightings from western NYS would be in keeping with this interesting range expansion. Observers on the Great Lakes (and elsewhere) are encouraged to refresh themselves on the differences between Neotropic and Double-crested and make every effort to photograph any candidates they might come across. Who knows, maybe Neotropic Cormorant will become a searchable target, much the way that folks now deliberately search for Cave Swallows in the fall, something that would have seemed crazy twenty five years ago. -- Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ -- 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/ --
