The theme at Breezy Point this morning, as it typically is at this time of year, was sheer numbers, rather than great diversity. There were at least 5,000 Common Terns in the area, and possibly over 7,000. It was very difficult to count for myriad reasons, including that there were large concentrations in three places, with constant interchange of birds between each of the three locations. The majority of the perched birds were inside the private community to the east of NPS property, so that's another hurdle when trying to get a count of them. There were also 2,000-3,000 Sanderling between the Silver Gull Club and the jetty at the tip. I read codes off of 7 flagged birds, all of which were green flags, signifying that they were banded in Delaware Bay (primarily/only in the Spring).
In addition, there were ~285 Semipalmated Plovers, including one individual that was all blinged out with several color bands and an alpha numeric white flag (the latter of which I think means that it was banded in the Canadian Arctic). Species highlights were *3-4 BLACK TERNS* seen foraging off shore, in the distance, very early, and a *PECTORAL SANDPIPER *that briefly put in an appearance with a roosting Sanderling flock near the tip. 1-2 juvenile Forster's Terns provided a less-than-every-trip species for the location, and 2 juvenile Least Sandpipers were my first of the season, and are always a favorite, even when they get common later on in the month. Complete eBird list from today here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24493611 Photos of the adult Baird's Sandpiper (my personal first of this age class from the region, as far as I recall) from yesterday at Plum Beach: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29840397@N08 Good Birding -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, 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/ --
