We took a trip out to the east end of Long Island today, starting at Napeague, where the elusive Northern Shrike finally appeared for us near Lazy Point. Also in attendance was Lazy Point Larry, the Lesser Black-backed Gull. Scoter numbers at the Point, while still impressive, appear to have declined somewhat. Loon numbers, especially Common Loon, are on the increase at favored locations. We had ninety-two Common Loons at the Lake Montauk Jetty. A Richardson's Cackling Goose was at Deep Hollow Ranch with a few hundred Canada Geese. A dozen Rusty Blackbirds and a single Wood Duck were at the park on David's Lane. Short's Pond, now ice free, hosted over 1500 Canada Geese with fourteen Snow Geese (one blue form). Despite extensive scoping we could not locate the Ross's Goose. Gull numbers were unimpressive almost everywhere, and we did not see a single Bonaparte's Gull. On Seatuck Creek Pond in Eastport there were approx. 1200 Lesser Scaup as well as Redhead and Canvasback.
Photos of the Shrike and a few blackbirds at David's Lane can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfeustel/sets/72157626101858223/ Click on the images to enlarge them. Ken Feustel -- 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/ --
