A Baird's Sandpiper appeared on the southeast side of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay, around 12:30. Bob Schrieber and I followed down to the south end. The birds were jumpy and moving around - for good reason. A few minutes after we saw the Baird's on the long spit at the south end, while we were standing around with two other guys, a Peregrine picked off a small shorebird and flew almost over our heads with it. After that, few shorebirds remained and it was time to call it a day. But before that, we picked up single Western and White-rumped Sandpipers, so for me the first peep sweep of the year.
I picked up two more Salt Marsh Skippers on the pond. Since I need to change content on my web site once in a while, I posted a picture. For those interested, it can be found at http://stevewalternature.com/ <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__stevewalternature.com_&; d=CwMFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wPbNkt6T_H4X7m_PlvSFCGU2a9-csNvfRK2IVMi- mp0&m=S4miY4V57nkWTo4m5W3VGOxPsK0YvkYmwV32bHH9hGI&s=XRCR95kf-9Idc_f9dxqb8-r- 3G3qZYIb4O-cSru-Bac&e=> under the Butterflies tab. I didn't find the Tawny Emperor that Don Riepe saw near the Visitor Center, but in the process of trying I came across an odd assortment of passerines. I was drawn in by fervid, constant calling, all from one Redstart best as I could tell. This was not close to a trail, so a little difficult to see what was going on (and what exactly all the birds were), but it had the feel of something being mobbed. In the mix were a Common Yellowthroat, an Ovenbird, an oriole sp., an Empidonax sp., a Catbird, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. An odd mix, for sure. While I'm taking the time, I'll mention Cupsogue. Not a real exciting day yesterday. Most of the terns have left, but there is a Royal or two around. One highlight was a Cloudless Sulphur flying north over the flats. The avian highlight was two American Bitterns flying over the marsh. Another of interest was a Clapper Rail running over one of the flats and getting airborne to fly over one of the channels, into the next marsh. Shorebird numbers were low for all but four species for most of the time I was there, with a several species counted on one finger. It was a bit better with the rising tide concentrating them, with counts of 45 Red Knots and 15 Western Willets worth a mention. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- 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/ --
