Jones Beach 12/27/14: A good “dud”

I went to Jones Beach today for a few hours in an attempt to find Northern Goshawk, Snowy Owl, Harlequin Duck, Black Scoter, and others. I say dud because I failed on all those accounts. But that doesn’t mean the birding wasn’t fun or totally worthless!

I first checked out Point Lookout in an attempt to find a Harlequin Duck. All I found were some Dunlins, 3 Horned Grebes, 4 distant Long-tailed Ducks, and a Harbor Seal. As I left, about 40 or so Common Eiders flew in. I did not check for a King.

The three Horned Grebes in harsh lighting.

The next stop was Jones Beach west end, which held promise for Snowy Owl and Northern Goshawk…or not.

When I first got there, I immediately saw a few Horned Larks and a distant flock of Snow Buntings.

Horned Lark

And then I saw a Red-throated Loon in the inlet, and then overhead.

Red-throated Loon….a LONG overdue lifer!

The jetty was swarming with Dunlin and some Eiders flew by…but not much else. There could have been Purple Sandpiper far out on the jetty, but I wasn’t about to walk out on those slippery rocks to see. None were toward the beginning of the jetty.

There were probably a thousand Dunlins, as pictured above.

I then headed toward the dunes in search of the owl, but I never did see one. Just a nice, close view of the Snow Bunting flock.

Part of the Snow Bunting flock, easily 100 individuals.

But the owl was not to be found. I then checked by the water, but further down along the island and got some sea-duck action.

Long-tailed Duck

White-winged Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Common Loon

Overall a nice day, but not what I wanted. I guess it will have to do 🙂

Fall Hawk Migration 2014; a “Golden” season

It’s a little bit late for a post on the fall Hawk migration since the new year is already approaching, but since I finally have a break from school and I’m now confident all the raptors have moved through, it’s a nice time for a synopsis.

It started in late August, with an overly ambitious Hawk Watcher who just couldn’t wait to kick off another season. That Hawk Watcher was me, and after a few nighthawks, a couple of Osprey, and 1,000,000,000 mosquito bites, I decided to wait it out until September.

Unfortunately, It turned out the entire early season was a wash. School had started up, the Cross Country Season was in full force, and college applications waited. I caught a few (63 in total) Broad-winged Hawks here and there, but none like the big “kettles” of previous years. Indeed, quite the disappointment, but other tasks took precedence.

Fast forward to mid October and some serious action begun to take place. Accipiters and Falcons filled the skies, and some late Osprey came through as well.

Adult Sharpie, October 19, 2014

Juvenile Sharpie, October 19, 2014

Merlin, October 19, 2014

Bald Eagle, October 19, 2014

Bald Eagle, October 29, 2014

Red-shouldered Hawk, October 30, 2014

Even a flock of arctic Snow Geese flew over, which was really special. But the finale was waiting. October was over and hundreds of hawks had flown by. It was time for something incredible, and I had one specific bird on my mind: The Golden Eagle.

When you’re looking for one specific thing, and it so happens to be extremely rare in your area, too, life can become temporarily frustrating. I sat outside one day in BITTER cold temperatures and 30+ mph winds in an attempt to find a Golden. No dice. I got a beautiful, low adult Red-shouldered Hawk, though.

That was November 2nd, 2014. The most promising day with strong NW winds and decent cloud cover, but apparently not my day. Cross Country was now over, so after school on Monday the 3rd held some promise. Lighter winds and clear skies, I wasn’t exactly too hopeful. When I got outside to my yard, I immediately caught a young Bald Eagle heading south, then nothing. And I mean nothing. Like not even an airplane nothing. About an hour passes and I’m ready to give up when a young Red-tailed Hawk cruises by. Probably not a migrant but at least it was something, so I stayed. Another ten minutes pass and there’s a dark shape off to the NE. A BIG dark shape, so I figure it has to be a Turkey Vulture. But in Golden season, all TVs are carefully examined. And for good reason.

White wing patches!!! It’s a Golden!!!!!!!!!!! But it wasn’t finished there. It wrapped around back south (it was heading west at first) and stooped over a few properties to my north. What a bird!!

What an AMAZING bird! A Golden Eagle, probably the most formidable of all North American raptors, and an emblem of the wild, untamed west soaring over my yard not 20 miles from Manhattan!

Golden Eagles have a small eastern population that breed in northern Quebec and winter in the most remote regions of the Appalachians. They’re a rarity over here, as the entire population east of the Mississippi may number around 2,000 birds. And most are observed still a few hundred miles to the west of here in PA.

That was the last migrating raptor I counted in 2014. What a season, and what a way to end it!!

Snow Buntings

I’ve never been too much of a songbird person, and especially not for sparrows. But if there is any one sparrow that has made me grow to like and admire that whole group of birds, it’s the Snow Bunting. When I saw my first Snow Buntings in Stratford, CT early this year, I never expected them, nor did I really care if I saw any or not. But when a flock of about 10 birds landed on a fencepost right near me, for some reason I became hooked. I took hundreds of photos of the group and had a real admiration for their hardiness, agility, and sociability. Ever since then, I’ve had more of an appreciation for all sparrow like birds. And of course, I still love seeing Snow Buntings on those rare occasions when I can.

I saw these Snow Buntings a few weeks go at Croton Point Park

Here is part of that fateful flock that landed in front of me in March.

Coyote Controversy

I happen to love Coyotes. They’re beautiful canids that have taken on an important niche- one that was once filled by Eastern Wolves until humans came along and found it necessary to facilitate (and even encourage) aggressive eradication programs that wiped out the wolf. Now, Coyotes are here to stay, whether or not we want them to. Hating them and killing them is only cruel and ignorant. The chances of a Coyote causing any harm are next to nothing.

My advice? Enjoy Coyotes and every component of the natural community around you. Coyotes may be here to stay, but there are many other species that will only stay if we let them. Using Coyotes to help get accustomed and along with nature is one of the best things we can do at this point.

I saw this beautiful individual in northern Westchester County. I kept a respectful distance, and the Coyote even still backed off, with no intention of harming or approaching me. Enjoy the photo!

Central Park Wood Duck

Today I was walking through Central Park and saw this beautiful adult male Wood Duck in with a group of Mallards. It’s wonderful that an otherwise shy and sensitive species can find refuge in the middle of the city. Central Park is an incredible place!

Other birds I saw included two American Coots and a brief view of a Red-tailed Hawk.

4/12/14 birds

Not too much today… I did get some Yellow-rumped Warblers at Van Cortland Park (not in Westchester, sorry!) that were willing to pose for the camera.