Seth Ausubel, Stella Miller, Benjamin Van Doren, and I birded from Montauk Point to areas west in Suffolk County today. The scoter numbers off the point are quite remarkable. A rough estimate yielded a count of approximately 40,000 birds, of which around 3/4 were Surf Scoter, and about 1/8 each of White-winged and Black Scoter. Large numbers of Common Eiders were visible past the scoter flock, with 6,000 birds present. *Razorbills*were around in relatively good numbers, with a total of 40 or 50 between the point and Camp Hero. A flock of 23 *Purple Sandpipers* flew past the point, and an *American Pipit* and a Horned Lark were in the Camp Hero parking lot.
Ditch Plains and Culloden Point held very few birds in general, but a * Merlin* was perched on a lightpole in Montauk Village. Near the west lake jetty we spotted a second-cycle *Iceland Gull. *Lazy Point was rather productive, with an immature *Northern Shrike* spotted by Benjamin as mentioned in his previous email. Shorebirds were in evidence here, with about 30 Sanderlings and Dunlin, three *Black-bellied Plovers, *and two *Ruddy Turnstones*. At the David's Lane duck pond we had three *Wood Duck* and a Swamp Sparrow*.* We couldn't locate any Greater White-fronteds, but in a cornfield along Montauk Highway we found *9 Snow Geese*. Dune Road and Shinnecock Inlet was dead, and there we no visible bobwhite at Connetquot. Belmont had only around 70 Canada Geese, a noticeable departure from last week's numbers, and the only bird there worth mentioning was a Pied-billed Grebe. 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 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
