Looked for by several people today, but not seen. Hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls in the area, so there seems to be an attraction that could lead to the Black-headed Gull showing up again. The most interesting bird seen was a Boat-tailed Grackle along the Little Neck Bay shore. Not really a surprise, although a fairly new species to northern Queens. I was aware of a few residing in the same marsh where Luke reported the Snowy Owl (which is now at Fort Totten and, believe it or not, was scoped by Eric Miller and Corey Finger from the ridiculous distance that we were from it). If you happen to be there with a camera, keep an eye out for a male Hooded Merganser hanging right up along the shore.
Steve Walter From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steve Walter Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 5:38 PM To: nysbirds-l Cc: [email protected] Subject: [nysbirds-l] Black-headed Gull in Queens Stephane Perrault found a BLACK-HEADED GULL on Little Neck Bay, Queens about 3:00 this afternoon. This was his report to the local group: "Currently viewed 30 yards from walkway. First open space N of N boulevard. Park At alley pond environmental center. Take bicycle path N along cross-island parkway (east side of pkway). Head N past the saltmarsh, past the train tracks (under viaduct), past the row of phragmites, past the row of trees, first open space. On " beach" at receding tide. Not that far to walk." By the time I got there, the tide was lower and gulls were stretched out over a long amount of shoreline, all the way to the mouth of Alley Creek. I did not see it. I'll offer another recommendation if you want to look for it. You can park by Crocheron Pond, at the end of 35th Avenue and walk over the overpass. Walk south. From this approach, you can begin looking at birds immediately, and it might be a shorter walk to the spot Stephane indicated. If the tide is too high for gulls on the shoreline, there are a couple of other places worth a look. Oakland Lake always has Ring-billed Gulls and the Bayside Marina should have roosting gulls. I actually looked there yesterday, not knowing a Black-headed was in the area. I had stopped off there to scan for the Fort Totten Snowy Owl. It was indeed visible on a light pole on the fort, a half mile away. Credit to Eric Miller for tipping me off on that (he saw it while driving on the Cross Island). It seems that you can drive into the fort these days, if you want a closer look. The Snowy has been sitting on light poles, roofs, and chimneys (toward the southwest part of the fort), so not really susceptible to disturbance - so no harm divulging its itinerary. Stephane, in fact, found the Black-headed on his way back from the Snowy. Sort of that Patagonia thing. Tides for the next couple of days: Day High Tide Height Sunrise Moon Time % Moon /Low Time Feet Sunset Visible F 17 High 12:04 AM 7.1 7:16 AM Set 7:42 AM 99 17 Low 6:05 AM 0.2 4:54 PM Rise 6:40 PM 17 High 11:57 AM 7.4 17 Low 6:37 PM -0.2 Sa 18 High 12:24 AM 7.1 7:16 AM Set 8:13 AM 97 18 Low 6:14 AM 0.1 4:56 PM Rise 7:36 PM 18 High 12:12 PM 7.3 18 Low 6:39 PM -0.2 Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> Please submit your observations to <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> eBird! -- -- 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/ --
