Spent the late morning and all afternoon doing some scouting for next weekend's Brooklyn CBC. Highlights were the continuing AMERICAN AVOCET in the cove of Coney Island Creek between Drier-Offerman and Six-Diamonds, 7 RED-NECKED GREBES in Jamaica Bay viewed from the Boat launch parking lot at Floyd Bennett, a first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL roosting on the beach at Riis Park (probably the same individual that has been seen further west at Ft. Tilden), and at least 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS harassing Bonaparte's Gulls offshore from the Silver Gull Club on the far western end of Ft. Tilden.
Did a little looking for passerines but where I did they were disturbingly absent. I did see 5 feral cats in five different locations and I can't help but wonder if their ever increasing populations and the paucity of passerines are connected. On another somewhat judgmental note there were 3 individuals observing the Avocet from the Six-Diamonds shore, using a scope at a respectful distance. About 20 minutes later I saw the same group approach the bird from the Drier- Offermann side and got close enough to flush it. This is a large shorebird easily observable and identifiable at a good distance and the welfare of the Avocet should trump one's desire to get a closer look IMO. Dismounting... Regards, Shane Blodgett, Brooklyn NY Sent from another Apple device -- 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/ --
