There were some excellent birds in the vicinity of Shinnecock Inlet and Dune Road this morning. Along with the aforementioned King Eiders, a second winter *Iceland Gull* and an adult Great Cormorant were on the western jetty at the inlet. At the parking lot at the base of the Ponquogue Bridge there were the four previously reported American Pipits. No sign of the Lapland Longspur.
At Tiana Beach, I had close but brief looks at a bright *Ammodramus* sparrow in the dirt parking lot on the north side of the road. I prematurely ID'ed the bird as a Le Conte's, but after about an hour of waiting the bird returned to the open and was actually a bright *Grasshopper Sparrow*. It was feeding in the open with a mixed flock of Song and Savannah Sparrows in the sandy lot. Also in the vicinity were about six or seven *Nelson's Sparrows *and two or three *Saltmarsh Sparrows, *all remarkably cooperative. These individuals were all on the north side of the road in the short reeds directly across from the parking lot, not in the surrounding marsh. Further down the road, Aaron Virgon pointed out an incredibly cooperative *Seaside Sparrow* in a bush immediately alongside the pavement along the ditch that parallels Dune Road west of Tiana, making four *Ammodramus *species on the day. The bird subsequently flew to the south side of the road into a patch of phragmites. Despite the disappointment, still a good day. Good Birding, Brent Bomkamp Northport, NY -- 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/ --
