Re: [nysbirds-l] New Baltimore - Swainsons Hawk ? Are you Serious?

2009-10-12 Thread Robert Lewis
Three more points:

1) No dark patagium on this bird (therefore not a Red Tail).

2) On several photos (of the many fine ones available), one can see that when 
perched the wings extend to the tail tip.  (mark for Swainson's)

3) The bird is totally spot-on for Swainson's.

Bob Lewis
Sleepy Hollow NY 



--- On Mon, 10/12/09, Steve Walter  wrote:

> From: Steve Walter 
> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] New Baltimore - Swainsons Hawk ? Are you Serious?
> To: "Jeff Holbrook" , "'NYSBIRDS'" 
> 
> Date: Monday, October 12, 2009, 6:10 PM
> This question takes me back to the
> Peterson field guide. Not to knock this fine work in any
> way, but it does show every Buteo with pretty much the same
> wing shape and proportions. This of course is not true, as
> any hawk watcher will tell you. When seen in flight,
> Swainson's Hawk can be separated from other Buteos by its
> long, narrow (for a Buteo) pointed wings. It's a very sleek
> Buteo, for sure. I don't even need to get into plumage. The
> shape will do it, as some of my black shots from cloudy
> intervals will attest (got good ones, too).
> 
> Why's it hanging around so long? There are a lot of
> grasshoppers in the area..
> 
> Steve Walter
> Bayside, NY
> 
> 
> - Original Message - From: "Jeff Holbrook" 
> To: "'NYSBIRDS'" 
> Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 11:08 PM
> Subject: [nysbirds-l] New Baltimore - Swainsons Hawk ? Are
> you Serious?
> 
> 
> So why is this bird considered a Swainson's Hawk and not a
> more melanistic
> Red-tailed Hawk? I've seen Red-tailed Hawks way darker to
> totally white.
> I've looked at the photos of this bird posted on line and I
> just don't see
> it. The Red-tailed Hawk is the most variable hawk in North
> America. .


  

-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


[nysbirds-l] Sunken Meadow SP- Tukey Vulture, Tung Ting Pond, Centerport

2009-10-12 Thread Vinny Pellegrino
A brisk Autumn walk at Sunken Meadow State Park this morning was a pleasant way 
to start my day off.  Four Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Cooper's Hawk, and the 
resident Red-tailed Hawk were the only raptors at this location, all viewed 
from the east side of Field 3 parking lot.  The best vantage point is standing 
in the Dunes trail heading East towards the Bluff in Smithtown.  At this point, 
Accipiters and falcons fly right overhead  affording excellent views.  The 
resident Red-tails were hovering, a behavior I seldom see besides another Buteo 
species, Rough-legged Hawks.  Sparrows were scarce compared to the species seen 
along the southern barrier beaches.  Numerous Song and White-throated sparrows 
were seen, with singles of Field, Savannah, Swamp, and an immature 
White-crowned sparrow.  Across from the baseball fields there is an area not 
completley covered with Phragmites, a perfect location for Wilson's snipe.  
Today only three were spotted,
 but in the past I have seen as many as eight!  2 Green-winged Teal, 4 American 
Wigeon, several American Black ducks, and Gadall were dabbling on the Eastern 
Lagoon.  On the LI Sound, American Black ducks, Mallards, 7 
White-winged Scoters, and 1 Common loon were present.  Eastern Phoebes, 
Yellow-rumped warblers, and Palm warblers were abundant by the Dunes.  The best 
bird of the day was when I was driving out of the park heading south on the SM 
parkway getting off my exit to East Northport when I noticed a large black bird 
on the ground along the shoulder.  It had a naked head and was feasting on a 
fresh squirrel roadkill: Turkey Vulture.  It is an uncommon sight especially 
for the middle of Long Island.

After viewing the Turkey Vulture I went to Tung Ting Pond off of Route 25A in 
Centerport.  I spent a half-an-hour trying to relocate the Eurasion Wigeon 
spotted by Brent Bomkamp earlier last week without success.  However, 12 
Green-winged teal,s, 9 American Wigeons, 2 Northern shovelers, 16 Gadwalls, 19 
Black-crowned Night Herons, and a female Bufflehead were present.

Vinny Pellegrino
www.flickr.com/pellegrinov
East Northport, NY
 
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you've 
imagined." 
-Henry David Thoreau


  
-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Barrier Beach Birds- 10/12/09

2009-10-12 Thread Brent Bomkamp
There were definitely some birds moving along the beaches today, despite the
slight south wind.  At Robert Moses State Park there were numerous birds in
the vicinity of the volleyball courts at Field 2 including 2 Field Sparrows,
1 Blackpoll Warbler, a Hermit Thrush and a few flyby Merlins, but no
rarities.  At Jones Beach there was a lot more activity, with a *Clay-colored
Sparrow* at the Coast Guard Station and a Lincoln's Sparrow in the island at
West End Field 2.  On the sandbar at the Boast Basin were 3 Royal Terns and
8 Western Willets among the numerous Oystercatchers.

Brent Bomkamp
Northport, NY

-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nysbirds-l] New Baltimore - Swainsons Hawk ? Are you Serious?

2009-10-12 Thread Steve Walter
This question takes me back to the Peterson field guide. Not to knock this 
fine work in any way, but it does show every Buteo with pretty much the same 
wing shape and proportions. This of course is not true, as any hawk watcher 
will tell you. When seen in flight, Swainson's Hawk can be separated from 
other Buteos by its long, narrow (for a Buteo) pointed wings. It's a very 
sleek Buteo, for sure. I don't even need to get into plumage. The shape will 
do it, as some of my black shots from cloudy intervals will attest (got good 
ones, too).


Why's it hanging around so long? There are a lot of grasshoppers in the 
area.


Just a thought. It seems to me that there's a commercial to be made here. 
"No matter where your travels take you -- Wyoming, Texas, Argentina --  
there's a Red Carpet Inn there for you". You had to be there.


Steve Walter
Bayside, NY


- Original Message - 
From: "Jeff Holbrook" 

To: "'NYSBIRDS'" 
Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 11:08 PM
Subject: [nysbirds-l] New Baltimore - Swainsons Hawk ? Are you Serious?


So why is this bird considered a Swainson's Hawk and not a more melanistic
Red-tailed Hawk? I've seen Red-tailed Hawks way darker to totally white.
I've looked at the photos of this bird posted on line and I just don't see
it. The Red-tailed Hawk is the most variable hawk in North America. I've had
birds look just about like this that I've seen raised from a nest of two
Red-tailed Hawks on numerous occasions in both NY and PA. It seems to me
that if this was a Swainson's Hawk moving through it would not be here in
the same place for so long. Can anyone give a rational explanation for this
being identified as a Swainson's Hawk. Thanks in advance!!!

Jeff Holbrook
Corning, NY



--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--



--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


Re: [nysbirds-l] [Massachusetts] Brown-chested Martin

2009-10-12 Thread Jim Osterlund
Apparent location at which to "park and walk in';

41.967404,-70.887533 - Google Maps


-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Syracuse RBA

2009-10-12 Thread Joseph Brin
RBA
 
*  New York
*  Syracuse
*  October 12, 2009
*  NYSY1210.09
 
Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert
Dates(s):
October 05, 2009 - October 12, 2009
to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com
covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County),
Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland
compiled:October 12 AT 2:00 p.m. (EST)
compiler: Joseph Brin
Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org
 
 
#175 -Monday October 12, 2009
 
 
Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of October 05 
, 2009
 
Highlights:
---

SANDHILL CRANE
PARASITIC JAEGER
SWAINSON’S THRUSH
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
NELSON’S SPARROW
LINCOLN’S SPARROW



Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC)


 10/08: 4 NELSON’S SPARROWS were found at Martin’s Tract.
 10/09: A NELSON’S SPARROW was found and photographed on Van Dyne Spoor 
Road.
 10/10: 8 SANDHILL CRANES were seen from Rt.31 looking south at the 
intersection of Rts. 31 and 89.


Onondaga County


 10/06: A SWAINSON’S THRUSH was seen along with other migrants on McDonald 
Road near the hamlet of Peru near Rt.31.
 10/09: am ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen with other migrants at the Town 
of Van Buren Transportation Department west of Baldwinsville.


Madison County


 10/07: 2 LINCOLN’S SPARROWS were seen along with other migrants on 
Ditchbank Road east of Lakeport Road.


Oswego County


 10/07: 10 PARASITIC JAEGERS were seen from Derby Hill. Also seen were 9 
species of Ducks, mostly PINTAILS. 4 PHALAROPE species were seen but were too 
far out on the lake ti be positively identified.

  
   
--end transcript
 
--
Joseph Brin
Region 5
Baldwinsville, N.Y.  13027  U.S.A.


  
-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Rufous Hummingbird on Staten Island - yes

2009-10-12 Thread Joe T
Hi all,

Got great looks at the Rufous Hummingbird today on Grymes Hill in Staten Island.
The bird is very reliable and feeds constantly on the many flowers in backyard. 
I was there from 12:00-1:00pm and had the bird almost the entire time at point
blank range.  Howie is a great birder as well as host and welcomes any birders 
who want to see "Teddy" the Rufuous with open arms.

JT


  
-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Fw: [nysbirds-l] Swainson's Hawk Pics

2009-10-12 Thread Shaibal Mitra
A juvenile Swainson's Hawk was present at Great Gull Island 18 Sep-4 Oct
1998. At the time, this was regarded as the first fully documented record
from Long Island. An article supporting this record, including a black and
white photo, was published in "The Kingbird" Volume 49, pages 309-312.

Shai Mitra
Bay Shore
-Original Message-
From: Corey Finger here...@yahoo.com
Sent 10/12/2009 1:32:40 PM
To: New York nysbirds-l@cornell.edu
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Swainson's Hawk Pics



If the list hasn't suffered Swainson's Hawk picture overload yet here is a
link to my shots from yesterday evening (Sunday the 11th). Thanks to Rich
Guthrie for finding the bird and to Will Raup who awaited our trio from
Queens yesterday and made sure we got right on the bird.

http://1birds.com/swainsons-hawk-in-new-york-state.htm

And a question...has there ever been a Swainson's Hawk in New York that
showed such site fidelity? Bull's Birds of NYS mentions numerous sightings
but indicates that most of them were from hawkwatches.

Good Birding,
Corey Finger


http://1birds.com





-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Swainson's Hawk Pics

2009-10-12 Thread Corey Finger
If the list hasn't suffered Swainson's Hawk picture overload yet here is a link 
to my shots from yesterday evening (Sunday the 11th).  Thanks to Rich Guthrie 
for finding the bird and to Will Raup who awaited our trio from Queens 
yesterday and made sure we got right on the bird.

http://1birds.com/swainsons-hawk-in-new-york-state.htm

And a question...has there ever been a Swainson's Hawk in New York that showed 
such site fidelity? Bull's Birds of NYS mentions numerous sightings but 
indicates that most of them were from hawkwatches.

Good Birding,
Corey Finger

http://1birds.com



  
-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] [Massachusetts] Brown-chested Martin

2009-10-12 Thread Tom Fiore

Posted to nys birds,
T. Fiore, Manhattan
-   -   -   -   -   -   -   -
http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/MASS.html#1255364124

>> >>
Subject: BROWN-CHESTED MARTIN @ Cumberland Farms
From: Marshall Iliff 
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:44:19 -0400
MASSBIRD,

As others have posted on our behalf, Jeremiah Trimble, Matt Garvey,  
and I were stunned to have a Brown-chested Martin (an austral migrant  
from South America) fly past us at Cumbies this morning. We first saw  
it at 10:00 sharp and lost it quickly, but Jeremiah redound it at  
10:20 and 10 of us had prolonged point blank views.


Jeremiah and others got great photos (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrtrimble/ 
  for an early example from the field. More to follow.


It spent most of its time feeding over the field east of the entrance  
road heading to the compost piles. At about 11:00 it climbed high to  
the south -- we are waiting for its reappearance. It could be anywhere  
at Cumbies now. Other swallows in the area would have been the  
highlights had the Martin not been here-- 1-2 Bank, 1 dull Cliff, a  
Barn, and ~200 Tree.


There are about -- the first was a Monomiy bird in June, with other  
records including Nov 1997 at Cape May NJ, a Florida and a Connecticut  
sight record, and a recent Arizona photo from Patagonia Lake. So  
potentially a 6th USA record!


It appears to be a juvenile of the tapera suspecies, with a row of  
black dots down the central belly.


I'd imagine mid-day would be a tough time to refind this bird, but the  
evening (4:00 to 6:00) could be productive.


Good luck to all that look for it!

Best,

Marshall Iliff
<< <<
- - - - - - - - - -
[Progne tapera = Brown-chested Martin]

Directions to Cumberland Farms Important Bird Area in Middleboro, Mass.

Take either Rt 95 in Canton, MA or Rt 24 south in Randolph, MA, both  
off of I-93, to I-495 South. Take to exit 6 (Rt 44). At end of ramp go  
right. Follow to circle, take Rt 44 East exit off of rotary. Go  
through 3 sets of lights and at the fourth light take a left onto Rt  
105 North. Follow Rt 105 for about three miles going past several  
farms and farm fields. Look for River Street; it should be the first  
street which crosses Rt 105 (can go left or right). Take a right onto  
River Street; this is the north side of the field complex. About 1/2  
mile or so there is a road into the complex. Most park at the entrance  
and walk in. 


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


[nysbirds-l] Swainson's Hawk still present Coxsackie Mon AM

2009-10-12 Thread Angus Wilson


Between 9W and RV parking at Red Carpet Inn. Perched on telephone  
wires or on ground of phragmites filled field. Not always visible  
from main road.


Angus Wilson, New York City & The Springs 


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


[nysbirds-l] Swainson's Hawk still present Mon AM

2009-10-12 Thread Angus Wilson
Between 9W and RV parking at Red Carpet Inn. Perched on telephone  
wires or on ground of phragmites filled field. Not always visible from  
main road.


Cheers Angus Wilson




--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


[nysbirds-l] NO Sedge Wren (yet) Monday, 10/12 Central Park, NYC

2009-10-12 Thread Tom Fiore

Monday, 12 October 2009 - Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City

As of 8:30 a.m. today here had been NO sighting of a Sedge Wren on  
Central Park's Great Hill in the area where it was found on Saturday,  
despite a few birders looking there.  There are still many migrants  
about, many the expected species for the date, & some among the most  
common/expected are still very numerous such as Y.-b. Sapsuckers, N.  
Flickers, Kinglets and Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warblers along with  
various sparrows etc.  The rare wren could still be present and should  
anyone discover it again, hopefully they will get the word out.


Good birding,

Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
_

--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--


[nysbirds-l] Selasphorus (rufous) Hummingbird in Staten Islnd

2009-10-12 Thread Cotingas
October 12
Grymes Hill/Wagner College area (122 Hillside Avenue)
 
At 6:55 this morning the hummingbird was again feeding frequently at  one 
of the 2 feeders set up. It moves from salvias to the feeder and perches in  
a Forsythia bush and Red Maple on occasion. This is the third day that this  
bird has been my yard. The amount of white in the outer rectrices  suggests 
that it is likely a Rufous Hummingbird.
Good birding,
Howard Fischer
 

-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Benedict Park, Montgomery, NY

2009-10-12 Thread Curt McDermott

Benedict Park, where many enjoyed the nesting Sedge Wren and 
Grasshopper Sparrows this summer, is also a great fall birding spot.  The Edgar 
A. Mearns Bird Club held it's annual Fall sparrow field trip there yesterday 
and spied the following;

 

Song Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow (many!)

Swamp Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow (3)

Vesper Sparrow (1)

Field Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow 

Junco

 

We were also treated by a passing Peregrine.  In the past, this his been the 
most reliable place in Orange for Vesper and Lincolns and has produced 
Grasshopper, Fox and Clay-colored as well.  If you come for the sparrow's, 
don't miss the fields past the main parking lot and over the hill, where paths 
have been mowed through the fields, just for us.


Good Birding,
  Curt McDermott
 

  
_
Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/
-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Black-throated blue warbler is back

2009-10-12 Thread Andrew Block
The female Black-throated Blue Warbler just came back to my birdbath.  

Andrew
 
Andrew v. F. Block 
Consulting Field Biologist & Eco-tour Leader
37 Tanglewylde Avenue 
Bronxville, Westchester Co., New York 10708-3131 
Phone: (914) 337-1229; Cell: (914) 886-5124; Fax: (914) 771-8036

"When the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another 
heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again..." - William 
Beebe, first Curator of Birds, Bronx Zoo

"Crikey! Have a look at that!" - Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter

"Just like the white winged dove sings a song, sounds like she's singing whoo, 
baby...whoo...said whoo" - Stephanie L. Nicks, Edge of 17, Bella Donna


  
-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Long Island Barrier Beach Birds (Nassau & Suffolk Counties)

2009-10-12 Thread Ken Feustel
A good movement of birds was observed Sunday morning at Fire Island  
and the Jones Strip. At Fire, we observed flyby American Pipit (6),  
Purple Finch (2), Rusty Blackbird (2), and a Wilson's Snipe. The bulk  
of the flight comprised Northern Flickers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and  
Song Sparrows. At Gilgo Beach, a Dickcissel (on the lawn of a home on  
the east side of Gilgo Beach, about halfway down) was enjoyed by a  
number of observers, while at West End Marina two Royal Terns were on  
the sandbar and a lone Black Scoter was seen in the boat basin. While  
birding at West End around noon we received a call that Tom Burke and  
Gail Bensen had found a Lark Sparrow at the community on the West side  
of Oak Beach about halfway down Oak Beach Road (before the jetties).  
The bird briefly disappeared but was relocated feeding in front of a  
garage with a White-crowned Sparrow and a few Song Sparrows.

Ken Feustel



-- 

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

[nysbirds-l] Rufous/Selasphorus genus Hummingbird (continues at) Staten Island, NYC 10/11

2009-10-12 Thread Tom Fiore

Sunday, 11 October, 2009

The previously-reported (probable) Rufous (Selasphorus genus)  
Hummingbird was again seen on Staten Island (Richmond County, N.Y.  
City) in the Pleasant Valley area. The first of the following reports  
includes a link to some photos from Sunday. The last of the reports  
below was the post that gave some directions.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SINaturaList/message/1313

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SINaturaList/message/1312

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SINaturaList/message/1310

-  -  -  -
There is (so far) no definitive report from ANY observer of the  
Central Park (Manhattan, NYC) Sedge Wren for Sunday, although it was  
rumored to have been seen in the same location again. For a species  
that's pretty darn rare in the area, negative as well as positive  
reports are useful.  Incidentally, the Central Park bird checklist has  
outdated information on the status of Sedge Wren, wrongly indicating  
no occurrences "since 1970" there - the most recent occurrence of  
Sedge Wren in Central was on Aug. 14, 2005 (at the wildflower meadow  
in the park's north end) - a bird that was far less cooperative, in a  
much more dense thicket of vegetation, than Saturday's wren was. If  
YOU saw the Sedge Wren in CP on Sunday - please post a report  
somewhere, thanks.


There also seem to be no reports of any fall-out of passerines, from  
southeast NY on Sunday. In parts of Rockland County between Paiisades  
& Upper Nyack, including the Piermont Pier (on the Hudson River),  
there were far more passerines than one would expect in a normal  
morning of migration for the date - at the pier, the numbers were in  
the thousands at sunrise, with sparrows of up to 8 species (including  
several Lincoln's, more White-crowned, many Savannah & Swamp, and at  
least hundreds of Chipping & White-throated, plus Field & Song  
Sparrows. Eastern Towhees were also extremely numerous, as were  
Kinglets, especially Ruby-crowned.  Also seen were many hundreds of  
Myrtle/Yellow-rumped & many Palm Warblers, plus scores of Common  
Yellowthroats. The phenomenon was noticeable all along road shouders,  
streets, yards, gardens, parks, etc. in that 8-mile stretch. At Hook  
Mountain (near Nyack) the passerines were not as noticeable. The  
raptor flight there between 9 a.m. & 5 p.m. included 7 migrant Bald  
Eagles, with a total of 191 birds counted, 26 of them migrant Turkey  
Vultures. Many of the raptors were seen at extremely close range in  
the morning.


Some migrant fallout was noted in reports from other places, for  
example at Sandy Hook, New Jersey , south across NY harbor from N.Y.C.

-  -  -
A Barnacle Goose was reported to the CT Birds list from Durham,  
Connecticut.  http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CTBD.html#1255304768


Good birding,

Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
_


--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES

Archives:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--