After a brief sea watch at Robert Moses State Park (2 Sooty Shearwaters), I proceeded out east through bands of rain to Mecox Cut. The first bird seen at the Cut was a lone Caspian Tern, likely the same bird seen this past weekend by Mike McBrian. As I scanned the flocks of shorebirds (fair numbers) a Black-necked Stilt appeared in my scope actively feeding among the shorebirds -a surprise since I assumed the bird had left. It took two minutes to get back to my car and get my camera for some record photos (it was still raining). When I came back the Tern was gone and the Stilt had moved to the northwest portion of the flat, too far away for photos, disappearing altogether shortly thereafter. A birder arriving at the Cut five minutes after my observations may not have seen either of these species - a fairly typical Mecox birding experience.
Sagg Pond had some open flats but few shorebirds, so I headed west down Dune Road to Cupsogue Co. Park. Shorebird numbers were not noteworthy, and the strong northeast winds across the open flats made it seem like a typical April birding trip. The terns gathering on the distant sandbar seemed bothered by the wind, frequently flying up and scattering before setting down. Terns observed were Common, Least, Forster’s, Roseate (1), and Royal (2, on sandbar in the inlet). Cheers, Ken Feustel -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
