I birded the usual spots in the Hither Hills to Montauk area (Suffolk Co.) through the morning and early afternoon until heavy rain stopped play. As noted previously by myself and others, it was very bird today across eastern Long Island, with good numbers of the typical October migrants. I managed more than 100 species without trying for diversity. The morning was also notable for the flight of PINE SISKINS (I tallied a cumulative total of 276) and a number of FOS winter arrivals like RED-THROATED LOON and LONG-TAILED DUCK. An adult LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL on the shore of Fort Pond Bay was acting suspiciously little the recurring wintering bird, nick named 'Frank'. A juvenile Lesser was also among the large gulls roosting on the beach.
Among the scarcer species noted during the day were 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS (Camp Hero, adult and juv), 2 BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS (entrance to Outer Beach County Park, Montauk Inlet and Theodore Roosevelt CP), 1 PHILADELPHIA VIREO (Camp Hero), a juvenile BLUE GROSBEAK (Theodore Roosevelt CP), 1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW (Camp Hero) and 2 CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS (behind Inlet Seafood Restaurant, Montauk Inlet). The vireo was a special highlight for me as this is a species I do not see every year and believe to be over-reported because people do not fully consider the close similarity to Eastern Warbling Vireo. This bird gave ideal looks revealing its obvious bluish-gray crown, well defined white supercilium and dark eye stripe (esp. on the lores), somewhat squat look due to its rounded head and short bill, relatively bright olive green upperparts and yellow underparts. A big question now is whether any crossbills will follow the Pine Siskins and whether some of the siskins will linger rather than continue south. The fact that so many Red-bellied Woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatches appear to be on the move also seems quite interesting. -- Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ -- 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/ --
