[nysbirds-l] January's road leads to Montauk: Crossbills...half a loaf is better than none !
Yesterday, M.L.K.Day, teacher Tom Moran and I headed out east early, and with the hope of finding certain species in the following bird groups: grebes; geese; ducks; raptors; shorebirds; gulls; alcids and the so called "winter finches" - we scored on 4 of them. Our first miss was with the Canada Goose (only) flock at Further La., E.Hampton. Our next miss was at the Lazy Point/Hicks Island boat launch area, where we dipped on the Snowy Owl, while finding the long standing Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larry. En-route to Kirk Park, in Montauk Village we saw a Cooper's Hawk, and the 1st, of our 4 Red-tailed Hawks of the day. This AM stop at Kirk Pk. was devoid of any bird species, with the ocean near there almost as empty, e.g., 7 C.Eiders and a hand-full of common gulls. The south end of Lake Montauk held ~ 20 goldeneyes, none of them barrow's. Moving on to Theodore Roosevelt Co. Pk, and then to the Deep Hollow Ranch, we found nary a goose of any species, the only birds of interest being 2 Killdeer at the latter location. Upon arrival at "The Point", even with the recent posts relating to the small numbers of birds seen there, we were still quite surprised. C.Eider was the most numerous sea-duck at ~ 25, followed by Black Scoter, then White-winged and finally, not knowing for sure, if we had seen even one Surf ! However, what is known, was the 1st winter, male King Eider, swimming almost side by side with an adult female C.Eider, making for terrific size, head and bill comparisons ! We also had 2 Razorbills feeding fairly close to shore, in addition to the ~ 15-18 "flybys". Starting on our return leg, we discovered the status of both D.H.R. and T.R.C.P. had not changed. At Montauk Inlet, the e/s jetty's light tower held 2 Great Cormorants. The day's 2nd check of the south end of Lake Montauk for Barrow's Goldeneye, again proved fruitless. Ditch Plains was very quiet, with only 2 Red-throated Loons in sight. As we headed toward the w/s side of Montauk Inlet, we decided on a 3rd shot at the elusive barrow's, from the n/end of Lake Montauk...YE, not just 1, but 2 ! That's right, both male & female were waiting for us not far off Star Island Rd., well lit, and in close proximity to both genders of Common Goldeneye ! The female's head shape and bill color were observed fully. Life at Kirk Pk. was better the 2nd time around. As soon as we entered the p/lot, Tom spied 2 birds sitting in the open, at the top of a pine tree. Finally, for the 1st time this season, I could yell "crossbills" ! Before the 11 birds flew off, we were able to ID 2 male white-wings and 5 females - whether there were any reds in the remaining 4 remains unanswered. As I heralded above..."half a loaf is better than none" ! It had started to snow right after this, and as we headed for home, we took 2nd chances at the snowy and "good" geese", missing both again, but not diminishing our very satisfied feeling with the day's results ! Cheers,Bob -- 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/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
[nysbirds-l] January's road leads to Montauk: Crossbills...half a loaf is better than none !
Yesterday, M.L.K.Day, teacher Tom Moran and I headed out east early, and with the hope of finding certain species in the following bird groups: grebes; geese; ducks; raptors; shorebirds; gulls; alcids and the so called winter finches - we scored on 4 of them. Our first miss was with the Canada Goose (only) flock at Further La., E.Hampton. Our next miss was at the Lazy Point/Hicks Island boat launch area, where we dipped on the Snowy Owl, while finding the long standing Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larry. En-route to Kirk Park, in Montauk Village we saw a Cooper's Hawk, and the 1st, of our 4 Red-tailed Hawks of the day. This AM stop at Kirk Pk. was devoid of any bird species, with the ocean near there almost as empty, e.g., 7 C.Eiders and a hand-full of common gulls. The south end of Lake Montauk held ~ 20 goldeneyes, none of them barrow's. Moving on to Theodore Roosevelt Co. Pk, and then to the Deep Hollow Ranch, we found nary a goose of any species, the only birds of interest being 2 Killdeer at the latter location. Upon arrival at The Point, even with the recent posts relating to the small numbers of birds seen there, we were still quite surprised. C.Eider was the most numerous sea-duck at ~ 25, followed by Black Scoter, then White-winged and finally, not knowing for sure, if we had seen even one Surf ! However, what is known, was the 1st winter, male King Eider, swimming almost side by side with an adult female C.Eider, making for terrific size, head and bill comparisons ! We also had 2 Razorbills feeding fairly close to shore, in addition to the ~ 15-18 flybys. Starting on our return leg, we discovered the status of both D.H.R. and T.R.C.P. had not changed. At Montauk Inlet, the e/s jetty's light tower held 2 Great Cormorants. The day's 2nd check of the south end of Lake Montauk for Barrow's Goldeneye, again proved fruitless. Ditch Plains was very quiet, with only 2 Red-throated Loons in sight. As we headed toward the w/s side of Montauk Inlet, we decided on a 3rd shot at the elusive barrow's, from the n/end of Lake Montauk...YE, not just 1, but 2 ! That's right, both male female were waiting for us not far off Star Island Rd., well lit, and in close proximity to both genders of Common Goldeneye ! The female's head shape and bill color were observed fully. Life at Kirk Pk. was better the 2nd time around. As soon as we entered the p/lot, Tom spied 2 birds sitting in the open, at the top of a pine tree. Finally, for the 1st time this season, I could yell crossbills ! Before the 11 birds flew off, we were able to ID 2 male white-wings and 5 females - whether there were any reds in the remaining 4 remains unanswered. As I heralded above...half a loaf is better than none ! It had started to snow right after this, and as we headed for home, we took 2nd chances at the snowy and good geese, missing both again, but not diminishing our very satisfied feeling with the day's results ! Cheers,Bob -- 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/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
