Befitting the season and the favorable winds, a good variety of birds found their way onto the South Fork of Long Island (Suffolk Co.) this weekend. The birding was better on Sunday when more people were able to get out and about. Evidently, the NW wind pushed a number of raptors onto the peninsular and by mid-morning a *BLACK VULTURE* was soaring over Camp Hero/Deep Hollow together with 8 *TURKEY VULTURES*. In a separate kettle, 9 *BROAD-WINGED HAWKS* (2 ads, 7 juv/subad.) - an exceptional number for this 'buteo cul de sac' - spun around the radar tower for an hour before drifting west over Montauk Village. An immature male *BLUE GROSBEAK* made a brief appearance in Camp Hero.
As elsewhere, *WILSON'S WARBLER* was a highlight of several people's day lists, and at least 3 were noted in Montauk. Warbler numbers were modest compared to other parts of Long Island but certainly enough to keep everyone busy and included *TENNESSEE* and *BAY-BREASTED*. On various wet spots, *SOLITARY SANDPIPERS* made a fine showing. I was pleased to find 5 in the Montauk area, along with an equal number of Spotted Sandpipers, only to be eclipsed by Karen and Barb Rubinstein who tallied 7 Solitary Sandpipers within the Merrill Lake Preserve in Springs where they also found 5 male *BOBOLINK*. Both cuckoos were recorded; *BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO* was found in Hither Hills and Camp Hero and Hugh McGuinness found a *YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO* near Long Pond in Sag Harbor. As mentioned in earlier postings, large numbers of American Painted Lady and Red Admiral butterflies have made their way onto the island (I assume these are migrants?), and they were everywhere in Montauk on Saturday and Sunday. At Georgica Pond (nr East Hampton) on Sunday evening, Hugh McGuinness and I found a good number of shorebirds but unfortunately most of the peep were too distant to study properly. We did pick out a couple of *ROSEATE TERNS*, a 1st-summer *BLACK-HEADED GULL* and a *SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER*. At Sagg Mains, at least 6 *WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS* were among the couple of hundred shorebirds, and at the Mecox Inlet we noted at least 3 *WHITE-RUMPS* and 2 Short-billed Dowitchers. On Saturday evening, I noted 9 *ROSEATE TERNS* among 300-400 Common Terns feeding off the beach in Amagansett, as well as a flyby 1st-summer *GREAT CORMORANT.* Bruce Horwith noted a *BLACK SKIMMER* on the Cartwright Shoals in Gardiner's Bay. The area used by skimmers for nesting last summer has been eroded by the winter storms but perhaps they'll find an alternative spot. Common Eider, Common and Red-throated Loons remain widespread on the ocean and hundreds of loons were on the move early on Sunday morning until it got too warm. Also on Saturday, two *CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW* and several * WHIP-POOR-WILL* were singing in Napeague and at least 4 *GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS* were noted at a traditional spot. -- 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 ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
