After reading Sy Schiff's report and then consulting with a few birders who were with me on Sunday at Jones Beach. I thought that I would add some information that is sure to add to the intrigue of Lapland sp. at Jones Beach LI.
On Sunday, a few of us, Gail Benson, Tom Burke, Douglas Futyuma, Steve Schellenger and I spent sometime scanning a mixed flock of Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and Longspurs that were feeding sporadically near the entrance to the swale at West End II, Jones Beach. We had heard reports of at least 2 Lapland Longspurs in the mixed flock but after several passes and comparing notes, found that we had *7 Longspurs* in the flock. Of the seven, *6 were definitely Lapland Longspur* but there was one bland, heftier looking bird that apparently only Tom Burke and I laid eyes on; though, neither of us got enough time to study it at length. Eventually, after the flock disappeared into the dunes we relocated to look for a Common Ground-Dove. But then Tom Burke and I began discussing the bland Longspur, comparing what we saw and we decided that we ought to try harder for a better look at the odd Longspur. Unfortunately, despite several hours, we were never able to connect with the entire flock and our second tour only resulted in a maximum of 5 *Lapland Longspurs*. 2 Longspurs were missing, including the odd Longspur that we were hoping to study. All of this to say that anyone out at Jones Beach should carefully study any Longspur. Given the bland, hefty look of this bird, perhaps McCown's should be given more of a thought than Chestnut-collared but who knows it all could just be a mild case of "raritis." Cheers, On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 11:51 AM, syschiff <[email protected]> wrote: > A lovely day to catch up on my research. Last Sunday, when I left the > Ground-Dove feeding on the west portion of the lot, I found a large group > of Horned Larks on the east side. Scanning through, I found a first year > LONGSPUR. I originally picked it out by shape. Usually one looks for a > darker bird. Studying it, the bird appeared to look bland. It bothered me > then, but they all flew off before I could get a picture. > > I spent some time studying up on Longspurs this morning. I kept thinking > about the prior Chestnut-collared Longspur, and now I'm not absolutely > positive it was a Lapland, although it may very well be one. > > I think that any Longspurs at Jones Beach should be looked over very > carefully. > > Sy Schiff > -- > *NYSbirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> > *Please submit your observations to **eBird* > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>*!* > -- > -- 風 Swift as the wind 林 Quiet as the forest 火 Conquer like the fire 山 Steady as the mountain Sun Tzu <http://refspace.com/quotes/Sun_Tzu> *The Art of War* <http://refspace.com/quotes/The_Art_of_War> (\__/) (= '.'=) (") _ (") Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.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/ --
