A very interesting day at Hamlin Beach SP today. I arrived at 9:00am after getting the kids off to school, and found myself alone at the overlook at parking lot #4. I set up my scope and quickly found SURF, BLACK and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, along with other expected waterfowl. After only 5-10 minutes I heard some loud whistling coming from the parking lot behind me. I saw Mike Tetlow there at a distance pointing frantically at the sky behind and south of me. I found what he was looking at about the same time I could finally hear his words from this distance. It was a juvenile WOOD STORK circling just inland. Luckily it was circling lazily, and initially moved north towards us and the parking lot, and then slowly headed ESE across the park. A big thank you to Mike for getting my attention! I suspect I never would have seen this rarity passing so far behind me. We followed the stork in my car through the park in order to allow Andy Guthrie to chase it from his house nearby. He was successful as he posted earlier today. We never relocated the bird after it left the park. I posted a couple of photos at my Flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_carlson/
Back at the lake watch, there were no other true rarities, but some interesting birds none the less. Two (2) CACKLING GEESE were among the large flock of Canada Geese at the beach. One of the RED-THROATED LOONS spent much of its time just off the beach. We had at least one RED-NECKED GREBE, a pair of SANDERLINGS, a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, small numbers of SNOW BUNTINGS, AND a number of nice flocks of PINE SISKINS. Around midday, Mike and I walked Yantee Creek trail at the east end of the park where we had an interesting mix of birds. Highlights were an early(ish) flock of six (6) COMMON REDPOLLS, another large flock of PINE SISKINS, a late BLACKPOLL WARBLER with Yellow-rumps, and a very brown juvenile NORTHERN SHRIKE. Regards, Brad Carlson Honeoye Falls, NY bradcarls...@hotmail.com -- 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/ --
