On a "Goatsuckers Galore" trip to the Westhampton Dwarf Pine Plains, sponsored by ALULA Birding and Natural History Tours on 6/5/2012, we heard four (or perhaps five) different Whip-poor-wills calling from various locations in the southwest quadrant of the Dwarf Pine Plains. Disappointingly, we did not hear any Chuck-will's-widows. It was a night with a full moon but unfortunately the strongly overcast sky blocked out the moon's light; we probably would have had a stronger response were it not for the extensive cloud cover.
During the daylight hours we saw the usual birds common in the DPP including Chipping and Field Sparrows, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, N. Mockingbird, and Prairie Warbler. In the short-grass area around the model airplane field in the southeast quadrant we saw a lone Vesper Sparrow. This area and the adjacent Gabreski Airport appears to be a "stronghold" for this species which is an uncommon and local breeder on Long Island. John Turner -- 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/ --
