There were two adult-like Arctic Terns at Cupsogue today. The first was found by Michael McBrien (and re-found by a party including Michael, Tom Burke, Gail Benson, Andrew Baksh, and Heydi Lopes, after a panic caused by a Parasitic Jaeger over the bay, about which more below); the second made a very brief appearance (ca. one minute) about an hour after the first flew out to the ocean.
Both birds were different, I think, from those seen yesterday. The first bird today (labeled "Bird 5" in my picasa album) was very adult-like and closely resembled Bird 1 from yesterday. Having seen both, I thought they differed in terms of their bill patterns (today's bird lacked the blackish rectangular patch consistently visible on the distal upper mandible of Bird 1) and their white supra-gape stripes (Bird 5 showed a rather typical adult ARTE pattern, a thin white stripe between the cap and the gape, whereas Bird 1 showed a very short stripe on both sides of its face). Today's second bird (Bird 6) was very distinctive, showing a small white spot at the base of the bill, another stray white spot on the side of the cap, and a HUGE schnozz (for an ARTE). https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/LongIsland2012#5747741441258655170 This dynamic is quite typical for Arctic Terns on Long Island: people seeking previously reported birds are very unlikely to find them the next day, but have a decent chance of finding completely new birds! The birds seem to drop in briefly to socialize with the loafing flock and then return out to sea, seldom persisting across even two tide cycles. The folks at Cupsogue showed a lot of fortitude in the face of dense fog early in the morning. Their seawatching was a bust, and Michael deserves commendation for pulling out an Arctic Tern under difficult conditions. While this was going on, Pat and I stopped at Pikes Beach to check on the shorebirds (many present, as is typical at this season). When everything panicked, I looked up expecting a Peregrine. Instead, I found a gorgeous adult, dark morph, Parasitic Jaeger flying over the flats from east to west! It passed so close I could see the hint of yellow on the side of its very dark neck. I called Tom Burke immediately, and he and his companions were able to see it from the concession building at Cupsogue, about half a mile to the west. Furthermore, Tom was standing with Mike McBrien Sr., who was able to alert young Michael, out on the flats, in time to see this exciting bird. Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only in effect.<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> Tobacco-Free Campus as of July 1, 2012. -- 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/ --
