There was a good amount of bird activity at JBSP early this morning. Starting at dawn, I birded West End then moved east to Zach’s Bay. Shortly after dawn a calling Dickcissel was observed flying down the beach near the marina parking area. On the sandbar were some three hundred American Oystercatchers with three Western Willets mixed in. Both kinglets were present in good numbers, but sparrows, due to intensive hawk activity (Merlins and Cooper’s Hawk), were confined to the thick shrubbery. A handsome male Baltimore Oriole briefly perched in the median, but quickly disappeared. A visit to the ponds between WE2 produced Pectoral, White-rumped, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers as well as two Wood Duck, Pintail, Shoveler, Gadwall, and Green-winged Teal. A cooperative American Pipit was meandering along the exposed pond edge. At the temporary Field 6 entrance through the small parking lot a well-marked Lark Sparrow was observed on the west side of the entrance. The incoming traffic quickly flushed the bird to the east side of the entrance where it was relocated in the early afternoon (photo). The late morning and afternoon proved to be much better for sparrows as the raptor activity subsided. Warblers numbers are declining quickly (except Yellow-rumped) - I observed only Black-throated Blue(1), Black-throated Green(1), and Palm(2).
Ken Feustel P.S. The annual Breast Cancer walk is at Zach’s Bay tomorrow (Sunday). -- 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/ --
