I got a "late" start today, arriving at Jones Beach at around 9:20. Highlights included continuing flocks of gannets on the move, a Fox Sparrow, and some raptor activity. Hempstead Lake hosted a cooperative late Blue-headed Vireo, which I closely examined to rule out the possibility of similar late species. Bobby's report of Ash-throated Flycatcher lured me back into the field, and we found the bird without much difficulty at Lido West Town Park. We also found a Pine Warbler and some mentioned a nearby Black-throated Green. A chatter call drew the attention of the assembled birders to a drab young oriole, which appeared to simply be a Baltimore but photos will be reviewed just in case. Brendan and I headed down the beach to scan some large gull flocks which were visible to the east. Parking at Camp Anchor put us in a perfect spot to view the loafing and feeding birds. Brendan quickly pulled out a first-year Glaucous coming our way to land on the sand, and I spotted a Humpback Whale near the horizon which we saw spouting several times as it traveled west. A nice day out in nature!
Cheers! -Tim H -- 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/ --
