Sorry for the tardiness of this post, but this afternoon, just before 2:00, I found a male BREWER'S BLACKBIRD in a small field at Caumsett State Park (Lloyd Neck, Suffolk Co.). The field is located at these coordinates: 40.929927, -73.467896. The bird foraged in the dry, short cut grass, mostly in proximity to a small island of vine-covered shrubs, in which it took cover a few times. This male blackbird lacked the purple, green or bronze tones typical of the iridescent plumage of a Common Grackle. Instead it had a uniform bluish sheen. The bird's tail was also unlike a Grackle's, square-tipped and not as long. The bill was not as large or thick-based as a Grackle's, with a very straight culmen. Finally, the eyes were paler than any Grackle's I can recall, bordering on white. It also had no rusty fringes on any of its feathers, as would be expected of a male Rusty Blackbird at this time of year. If anyone tries for the blackbird tomorrow and fails to find it in the field it was in today, the corrals and paddocks of the main and outlying equestrian facilities (40.921822, -73.467314 and 40.919334, -73.461804, respectively) should definitely be checked. Best of luck if you go. Then links below are to a set of photos of the Brewer's Blackbird and my full eBird checklist. Other highlights of the visit included 1 Merlin, 11 American Pipits, 2 E. Bluebirds, 2 Vesper Sparrows, 1 Lincoln's Sparrow, and lots of both kinglets, Palm Warblers, and Juncos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgluth_brb/sets/72157637068067575/ http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15515385 -- 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/ --
