After doing no birding last weekend it felt really good to get in almost 7 hours combined at Connetquot River State Park this morning (7:50-11:35), and Caleb Smith S.P. this afternoon (2-4).
At Connetquot, Pine Warblers and Chipping Sparrows were back in force, especially the former, with ~22 seen or heard. Other notable finds were 2-3 Eastern Phoebes, a smattering of Tree Swallows, 1 male E. Bluebird (checking out the old and new nest boxes in the corrals behind the horse barn), 2 Palm Warblers (east side of the hatchery), a vocal male Cooper's Hawk, 2 Osprey, and 2 Double-crested Cormorants. Other than Mute Swans (18), Canada Geese, and Mallards, the only waterfowl species left were Gadwall (14), Bufflehead (2), Pied-billed Grebe (2), and a lone Coot. At Caleb Smith the highlights were a pair of Wood Ducks on the pond and 2-3 N. Rough-winged Swallows (among ~20 Tree Swallows) above it; 2 Rusty Blackbirds along the creek near the caretaker's house and a Brown Creeper a bit farther downstream; and a few Pine Warblers scattered about the park. There was also a flurry of woodpecker activity along that stretch of creek, with 3 very vocal Hairys seen in a single tree at one point and 4-5 somewhat less agitated Downys going about their business. -- 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/ --
