Montauk trip

What a fantastic day for birding! Our trusty group of ornithologists headed out into the wild expanses of Montauk and were justly rewarded for the effort. Our first stop was along Deep Hollow ranch, where we learned to differentiate between brown-headed cowbirds (smaller, brown head, and a conical bill) and common grackles (long tail, iridescent purple sheen). Also spotted were a pair solitary sandpipers pecking in the mud, with yellow-green legs, a white chest, speckled wings, and white eyerings, a juvenile robin, and a long-tailed, pointed-wing Peregrine falcon spotted by Mr. Sam Kramer. The Peregrine was a juvenile, with a striped underbelly. The next exciting spot of the day was the uncommon lark sparrow, recognizable with its rusty cheek patch, stripe on the side of its throat, and dark patch on its breast, sighted over by Third House. PRETTY AWESOME. Our second bird of prey sighting was the smaller, darker badass merlin falcon, espied by yours truly. Three black turkey vultures, with their fingertip wings, hung around for a while as well, and I got to see the red-winged blackbird I'd been hoping for (in addition to either a female or young male of the species, which was neither black nor red-winged. A mystery to me.). All in all, a successful day for the Ross birdwatchers.