I made my annual late fall visit to Caumsett State Park (Lloyd Neck, Suffolk Co.) on this stunning Indian summer day. I arrived at 8:30 and shortly thereafter (~9:00) found a single CACKLING GOOSE present among ~60 Canada Geese in the field directly north of the rest rooms and just east of the old cow pens. By 2:15 I had walked a sizeable chunk of the park, concentrating on edge habitat and dump/brush pile areas, and in doing so found the 51 species listed below.
Later (2:45-4:00) I undertook a search/vigil for the Pink-footed Goose at Sunken Meadow. In the process I found the BARNACLE GOOSE feeding with a large flock of Canadas on the ballfield just north of the bridge over the Sunken Meadow Creek. This was the largest assemblage of geese that I came across, and small groups continued to fly in to join them, each scrutinized for the presence of a smaller goose. One never appeared. I also checked the smaller groups of geese on the creek east and west of the bridge and on the surrounding grassy areas and parking lots. No Pink-footed there either. It had either yet to arrive from wherever it was feeding outside the park or it was hiding in a not easily viewed part of the western creek. Location: Caumsett State Park Observation date: 11/9/09 Number of species: 51 Brant - Branta bernicla 4 CACKLING GOOSE - Branta hutchinsii 1 Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 350 Mute Swan - Cygnus olor 1 American Black Duck - Anas rubripes 12 Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola 16 Common Loon - Gavia immer 7 Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 2 Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 3 American Coot - Fulica americana 1 Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla 4 Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis X Herring Gull - Larus argentatus X Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus X Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 55 Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 12 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 2 Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2 Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus 1 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 3 Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 1 Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 30 American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 25 Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 10 Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 5 White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 4 Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 7 Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 12 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 4 Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis 4 Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus 1 American Robin - Turdus migratorius 70 Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis 1 Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 8 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 500 Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 40 Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 2 Palm Warbler - Dendroica palmarum 1 Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus 1 American Tree Sparrow - Spizella arborea 5 Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 5 Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis 4 Fox Sparrow - Passerella iliaca 3 Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 20 Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 2 White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 75 Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 35 Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 6 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 1 American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis 18 House Sparrow - Passer domesticus 5 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
