[previous post sent prematurely] Other observers at Robert Moses this morning were Ken and Sue Feustel, Gail Benson, Tom Burke, and Bob Shriber. Later, Pat and i searched unsuccessfully for the Kentucky Warbler at Jamaica Bay and enjoyed an odd chorus of 16 species of warblers in the rain at Forest Park with Karlo Mirth. We reconvened with Tom, Gail, and Bob (and met up with many others) at Jones Beach in the pm, to ogle the White-winged Dove found by Doug Futuyma and Andrew Baksh. Additional highlights from that site, not mentioned in my first post, were three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, an Iceland Gull, and modest numbers of Red Knots and Short-billed Dowitchers.
Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of Shaibal Mitra [[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2011 9:05 PM To: NYSBIRDS ([email protected]) Subject: [nysbirds-l] LI Birds: Early Seabirds++ Seabirds and shorebirds made a big showing on LI this weekend. During a Saturday afternoon seawatch at Cupsogue, near Moriches Inlet, Patricia Lindsay and I were joined at times by Richard Kaskan, Mike Higgiston, and Eileen Schwinn. Highlights were our earliest ever Wilson's Storm-Petrels (11) and a first summer Black-legged Kittiwake; five Roseate Terns and 27 Black Skimmers were present on the flats. Later at Shinnecock Inlet we were amazed to see at least 70 WISPs feeding over a patch of water southwest of the inlet mouth. A breeding-plumaged Horned Grebe was also noteworthy on Shinnecock Bay. This morning at Robert Moses SP, we observed a very nice movement of seabirds from 6:40-8:40: 2 Sooty Shearwaters 144 Wilson's Storm-Petrels 605 Northern Gannets (almost all immature) 46 Common Loons 17 Red-throated Loons 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (first summer & third summer) 1 Roseate Tern 45 Least Terns 3 Black Terns (breeding plumage) 1 Parasitic Jaeger (adult light morph) Shorebirds have also moved in big numbers. Cupsogue featured 350 breeding-plumaged Dunlin, 350 Sanderlings, 15 Red Knots, and a White-rumped Sandpiper on Saturday; another White-rump was present today in the swale south of Jones Beach West End parking Field 2, among 350 Semipalmated Plovers and 500 Semipalmated Sandpipers. Ruddy Turnstones and Short-billed Dowitchers are starting to build numbers--we saw about 50 of the former and 20 of the latter along Dune Rd yesterday. Breeding landbirds were pretty much as expected in central-eastern LI yesterday. We couldn't find the Blue Grosbeak at Rte. 51 in Eastport, but we found a singing male Summer Tanager near where the dirt road from Hunters Garden connects with the north end of the bike path. ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only as of July 1, 2011<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only as of July 1, 2011<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> -- 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/[email protected]/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/ --
