The saga continues

Although the trimester has come to a close and the Ross school Ornithology class of 2011 has seized to exist, I have kept an eye on the skies and trees in my travels. Although I see mostly the regular birds around I have managed to see some pretty amazing birds in the past week. My personal favorite that I saw over the break was the Red-bellied Woodpecker. The amazing red plumage on its head was shocking and breath taking.

No montauk for me!

I was not able to tag along on this trip, but I did do some small scale, highly relaxed, ornithological appreciation. On sunday I went to the duck pond near east hampton village, to investigate the many species of ducks unknown to me. At the duck pond I was greeted by a reverberation eclectic quacks, stemming from various rafts of ducks, scattered throughout the small pond. During my pond visit, I was able to identify a medially sized selection of ducks, namely: the Mallard duck, Mottled duck, and the American Black duck. My very own Day of Ducks.

After the disambiguation of the duck pond, and after a luxurious spell of rest, I turned my ornithological eyes to an equally relaxing beach walk from beach lane beach to the mouth of georgica pond. Although my mind was eager for discovery the moment my feet touched the parking lot, the walk had a certain soporific quality that all but sapped my strength. When I finally arrived the the pond I was greatly worn out and rested for a brief spell. When my cognitive functions were returned to me I observed... The Usual.

Laughing Gulls, Greater Black-Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Royal Terns, Black-Crested Cormorants, Great Blue Egret(s), Sandpipers, and... Well thats about it!

It was nice ;)

West Coast Birding

Birding in San Francisco was a crazy experience that any novice birder would love. This trip to California put me to the test to see if I could correctly identify birds without an experienced birder at my side to help. So, it was just me and my field guide left to discover the birds of the bay area. Saturday was my first day in SF and that evening we ventured over to Twin Peaks to watch the sun set. Twin Peaks are two hills of almost the same heights and are the highest point in San Francisco. On our way up to the top of the hill I heard a few Song Sparrows and when I looked around I saw about fifteen jumping around from shrub to shrub. Also for the first time I saw a White-Crowned Sparrow. These little birds have a white throat, mostly gray stomach, and a black-and-white striped crown. On Sunday afternoon we took the 30 minute drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and headed to Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a national US monument and is full of Redwood trees between 500-800 years old. On our way there I saw three Northern Harriers circling over a mountain. Two were adults but the third one looked like a juvenile. The adults had a chestnut spotting with black wing tips which signified that they were males. The tail was kind of rounded and they have a slim and sleek body. About two minutes after this very exciting sighting, we stopped at a stoplight and just as I looked to my right I saw a slim white bird with a black beak just hanging out in a little river next to the road. Immediately I grabbed my book and already knowing it was some type of egret it took only a glance to figure out that it was a Snowy Egret! The little guy is fairly uncommon at this time of year so it was really great to see it. This egret has a black bill, black legs but bright yellow feet, like little socks. After spotting this great and unexpected bird, I figured that that was definitely the bird of the day. After parking the car and walking towards the entrance of the national park, a gorgeous blue bird flew by about ten feet infront of us. It landed in a tree above us and when I looked up my eyes immediately noticed the black crest on top of its head. I had a hunch that it was some type of jay and because I had brought my guide with me I was able to look it up. This gorgeous bird was a Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri, and now was definitely tied with the egret for first place.

Monday rendered no bird sightings that were really important. A few pigeons and a Red-Tailed Hawk but nothing I hadn't seen before.This morning on my way to the airport I saw a Red-Breasted Nuthatch. This bird has a black eye line and black cap along with rusty underparts. This was a great bird to end a great weekend in San Francisco!

Saturday Birding

On saturday I indulged myself in a birding adventure of my own through a walk on Maidstone beach and various locations throughout the three mile harbor area. As usual I saw the common gulls, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, and Laughing Gull, I also saw the usual Double-Creasted Cormorants as well. However, a long red bill stuck out from the group, I immediately thought it was an American Oystercatcher, but I figured they don't stay around in New York during the fall / winter season. But I double checked in my field guide to find that the American Oystercatcher is in fact a year round bird. After my excitement of seeing the American Oystercatcher at this time of the season I hit a "dry spell." I kept finding the usual birds and decided to stop by a friends house who lives by Gerard Drive on Springs Fire Place Road. We "explored" the yard of what an acre of farm like property, which had a garden, a couple bird feeders (although it looked like squirrels were using them more then the birds were) and a colloquial stye house. While there I saw a myriad of different Sparrows, all though identifying sparrows is not my strong point I believe I spotted a few Field Sparrows ( due to the white ring and the red / pink tint to the bill), Swamp Sparrow (due to gay breast and brownish red top of the head) and I thought I saw a chipping sparrow but it turns out I was mistaken and it was in fact a American Tree Sparrow. Towards the end of my adventure I managed to see what I thought weretwo Northern Bobwhite quails, but then I remembered that they were Ring-Necked Pheasants, because Pheasants are larger then quails are. (I remembered their names from when we had raised them while i was in middle school, sadly all the quails got eaten by Raccoons and only the pheasants survived).

MTK

Woken up by a text from Ella on Sunday morning, I wasn't planning on coming birding, but I'm SO GLAD I CAME. Besides muffins and coffee, here are my favorite birds from the Montauk trip:
Surf Scoter: This crazy "skunk head" has a black body, with a white patch on its forehead and back of neck. Its beak is red, orange, and white with a big black spot in the middle, and it can only be found down around here in the winter.
Long-tailed Duck: This is the most excited I've ever seen April about anything. This black and white duck has a fantastic, get this, long tail. Insane, I know, but the spiky black tail on this bird is a sight to behold. I apologize to Gaby for doubting her naming skills, and to humanity for the slightly off color jokes Hughbert and P.P. made about the bird's former name, Oldsquaw.
BROWN PELICAN: That's right, a pelican in Montauk. It's basically the only thing I've talked about since birding. A PELICAN IN MONTAUK. IN NOVEMBER. WHAT? I'm glad the rest of the birders shared in my excitement for this find too, or else this would be seriously embarrassing. It was so surprising to peer through the scope on Gosman's deck and see, nestled in with some boring old gulls, the iconic head of a pelican. AND NOT JUST ONE, BUT TWO. Their dark, gray-brown coloring means the blended into the sand and the flock of gulls, but nothing can escape Doc and Peter's sharp eyes.
Greater White-fronted Goose: Okay, so this may sound like nothing after a pelican, but I'm really quite fond of this silly bird. We spotted this medium sized, dull brown goose in a flock of Canada Geese, where it's plumage, orange beak and legs, and white patch on its head made it stick out like a sore thumb.
Not-my-favorite birds: Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, Common Loon, American Coot, Black-bellied Plovers, like a million Red-tailed Hawks from the car, Brant, and American Wigeon.

Bake Shoppe, Birding, and Boarding Brunch

To start the day off, Doc picked me up from the Walderdorff residence at around 8:50 (slightly late due to the inconsistent ferries). Thomas already waiting, the three of us set out to pick everyone else up. As the car quickly filled up, including some non-birders... we met up with "P.P" at Ross, and picked the other strays up along the way. When we arrived in MTK, we agreed to meet at the MTK Bake Shoppe, where I knew my long lost godparents owned and worked. (By long lost, I mean not lost at all, but simply haven't talked or seen them in a good ten years.) We caught up briefly, received a free Suddyn CD, (the Irish band in which my god brothers started), and left. We started heading towards our first stop, Suddyn playing through the stereo that was not meant to be touched due to Michele's audio tape's marked spot. We arrived, got out, and connected with the other car, which held a fake birder named Sam Kramer. Sam was not the only impostor, for there was Ella Stoloff as well. While I felt like they were imposing, (just kidding), their presence was quite welcomed, seeing as Sam was more prepared and well-informed than most of the class. While at the Lobster Deck, we spotted a Common Loon, identified by the black beak, black head, red eyes, and black and white stripes and spots on its body. We also saw a wide array of Gulls, and an American Coot, which has an all black body, except for a bright white beak and blood-red eyes. Moving on to the next stop, I felt the urge to give the giant lobster a hug, which Thomas took as a photo-op to make an exceedingly weird face ;). Ella was left there to be picked up, missing some of the most enjoyable parts of the trip. Getting out at the dunes, we all walked up to a little spot up high, looked around and spotted "Skunk Heads", AKA Surf Scoters, which are recognizable by their hard-to-miss back body, white skunk stripe on top of their heads, and very distinct beaks, which are a very unusual shape, yellow-tipped, and gradually blend into a bright orange into an almost neon red. They were very cool! Not only did we see these beauty-beaks, but we also saw... and wow did I get excited at this one, none other than the LONG-TAILED DUCK!! It was so cool with its black and pink beak, and multi colored body. However, the most beautiful part was definitely its long and up-curled tail! It was an exciting find! Along the shore, we also spotted a Black Bellied Plover. At the next stop, Gaby and I saw a huge amount of gulls in the parking lot sitting in the rain water, preening, taking baths, and just chilling like the villains that they are. While Doc and P.P got out their scopes, Gaby and I exchanged glances, wondering why we were getting so intense with these boring gulls that were so close by. We realized, (as everyone was walking away on a mission), that they were in fact, going someplace else to look at real things. While we rushed out of the car to catch up, I realized we had not seen the "special visitor bird" that was so frequently talked about at the other stop. We posted at Gourney's dock, binoculars and field guides in hand, searching the water, sky and island opposite us for birds. More gulls, and some Brants across the water, which are Geese that are mostly black with a white stripe on the front of their necks and black feet. There was nothing else too exciting.... UNTIL (dot. dot. dot.)

A BROWN PELICAN WAS SPOTTED. It was lying down on the island across from us, doing such a great job of hiding that Gaby could not even see it. The long beak stood out, while it was sedentary and listless, relaxing from its large meal of fish earlier this morning. Then....... we saw the other one!!! This ones back was towards us, giving us a different view of the bird entirely. JULIA AND I WERE SO EXCITED!

We drove back to the ranch we had previously been to, and along the way, we spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk. When we arrived, we spotted the Greater White Fronted Goose we had seen there previously. After waiting there for a while, we moved on to the final stop of the day...
There we spotted a bloated and drowned deer, but also spotted some Mallards, with a Widgeon swimming about. A Widgeon has an iridescent green patch on its face, a white beak with a black pointed tip, and a cream colored strip on top of its head.

Overall... this trip was really nice and SUPER exciting to see such cool ducks and geese and PELICANS.
We ended on a nice note of brunch with the boarders, and Gaby and I played bird word search in the gym for a while. I beasted...

Noah, Maddy, Anthony, Zeb, and Mamoun.... you were greatly missed. Hope you had great birding experiences as well and I can't wait for our trip on Wednesday together as a group! :)

Flock of starlings AKA Murmuration

CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME VID! quite a cool phenomena!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/murmuration-starlets_n_1072687.html

LOONIES in the boonies

WORFF.....i am mentally exhausted from all that birding excitement today. I have to say the morning did start off rather dull. My energy started off low on this brisk sunday morning and the mundane long island gulls (Herring, Greater Black-back, ring billed) along with the wide array of double crested cormorants were not helping the situation. However, without a doubt my birding zeal emerged with the close up siting of the common loon. Throughout the trip the loons stayed present, some up close, some in the distance and all of them diving. The loon caught my eye and its loony behavior seemed to attract some particularly peculiar species. The next new species which some people enjoyed was the American Coot. As a novice ornithologist i mistook this swimming rail for a real duck. It has an all black body and a completely white bill which apparently looks a lot different from Ducks. The Surf Scoter, however, really caught my eye. Also known at the Skunk head, named after their black bodies with a stripy patch of white on their head. The males bill os large and swollen at the base of the upper bill. It has white, red, and yellow patters on it with a black patch near the base. From a distance however the colorful patterns look solely orange.

Now things just started to get crazy. This medium sized duck appears out of the water and all looks normal except it has this extremely long black tail coming out of its behind. Its peculiar design made it quite a show to see and ironically as everyone (april) shunned me for calling it a "Long-tailed Duck" i turned out to be right!

Other unimportant species: Black-bellied Plover, Red-tailed Hawk(lovely, yet common to our trips), Brown Pelican, Brant (an interested bird in the Goose family), White-breasted Goose which like to blend in with the Canada Goose and American Wigeon (common Duck with white stripe over its head and green patch).

Just kidding, we saw a BROWN PELICAN: the magical bird, the bird of the day, the remarkable, the outstanding and the uncommon bird to long long island, the brown pelican! It took me a considerably long time to identify the pelican blending in amongst all the gulls, but non the less i got to see two brown pelicans. Just looking at the large dark waterbird was sensational, although it was even more impressive when looking at its range. Brown Pelican's are usually found along the ocean shores of the southwestern United States and around a few lakes. The Brown Pelican is unique to all dark pelicans for its habit of plunging from the air into the water to catch sea life. It would have been quite an experience to see it fly, however Doc and PP were not fond of the idea of spooking them. On Long Island Brown Pelican's have only been sited in Montauk because of its abundance of fish, which the Pelican's feed off of.

Lovely trip. We may have not seen that many birds, but you know what they say "QUALITY NOT quantity" and we sure did get some good quality birds.

AWWWW I WANT IT IN MY BELLYYYYY

http://www.videobash.com/video_show/baby-hummingbird-5801?utm_source=zaparena&utm_medium=PT&utm_campaign=zaparena-pranks

too cute... extra credit for how cute it is :)

Cool link on extinct birds

Found this link on extinct birds and I thought it was really cool.

http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/lists/birds.htm

A Day for Ducks

I’m not usually the biggest fan of birding on a Sunday morning but for this birding trip it was worth it. We didn’t see as many birds as I’ve seen on past trips but still I got to see lots of new ducks that I’d never seen before. Right off the bat we saw a mockingbird on our way to hook pond. There we saw a few mute swans, and one of the coolest ducks I’ve ever seen; the Hooded Merganser. The males have this gorgeous white triangular crest that they can put up or down and a white breast with two black bars on each side. Following the sighting of this amazing duck we saw the common Mallard Duck, the males sporting their meadow green head and the females a sort of blah but nice brown pattern as to help them blend. Right next to the mallards were some Mottled Ducks in which all the males and females have the coloring of a female Mallard. Through the scope we spotted a little Belted Kingfisher, who has now it seems become a common sight on our birding trips. After getting back in the birding mobile and heading over to Wainscott Beach and walking a quarter of a mile to Georgica Pond, we arrived at our new birding spot. About 150 feet away from us were a handful of Royal Terns. These terns are identifiable by their long orange beak and during this time of year the top of their heads has much white but towards the back of their head there is almost entirely black, and they also have a forked tail. Now came the part of the birding trip where we put our gull identification skills to the test. From the left side swooping down came a Laughing Gull with it’s grey and black-tipped back, and followed by that was a Herring Gull. After this we drove over to a pond near Cook’s Lane in Bridgehampton. In between Georgica pond and this little pond we spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk! Setting up the scope was somewhat of a hassle on a little strip of lawn opposite the pond but what we spotted was really exciting. Hanging out on the other side of this little pond were about four Wilson’s Snipes. They’re fairly common but I’d never seen one so that was just one more bird to add to my life list. This adorable little snipe with it’s bigger than life eyes and extremely long bill were just lounging and eating in the shade of a tree. Our last stop by the golf course really made it official that today was the day for ducks. Here we spotted a Bufflehead, a common bird, in which their puffy head that has a sort of bonnet splotch of white identifies the males and the front of the head is green. Next on the duck sighting list came a little creature that when breeding has a bright blue bill but during this time of year it’s a speckled brown color and the females have a brown slice across their cheek. After the Ruddy Duck we saw a small group of Northern Shovelers. These birds look like real life Daffy Ducks with their huge bills. The last duck of the day was the Green-Winged Teal. The males of this species have a gray body with a muddy brown color and a green patch around the eye. The female Green-Winged Teals are like most female birds, overall they have a speckled brown color and aren’t as beautiful as the males, which is sad but that way for survival reasons. Overall, I would say that this was definitely a duck day and almost all of the ducks we saw I had never encountered before so that made me happy.

Owls

There are two Great Horned Owls outside my bedroom window right now chatting with each other, and it's just about the coolest thing in the world.

The Search for the Tundra Swan

This sunday we had perfect conditions for a solid day of birding. The day started off with my first sighting of a Great Blue Heron standing knee deep in the Salt Marsh off of my house. I managed to capture a couple of photographs of the majestic bird standing in the marsh. I walked to the car where I spotted a Golden Crowned Kinglet fluttering across the woods, I couldn't identify the bird right away until I noticed its small "yellow crown" which rested upon its head and the streaks of yellow across its back and wings. I drove to the Ross School where I met up with the rest of the birding crew. We piled up into the back of Doc's car and sped off to Hook Pond. On the way we passed Town Pond and saw a group of at least 20 male and female Mallards, which can be identified by the males green heads and females light brown color. There were also two adult mute swans and one juvenile mute swan as well. When we reached Hook pond I noticed a Great Blue Heron, for the second time, take flight as we pulled in. While we were birding at hook pond, Doc told us to keep our eyes out for the Tundra Swan, which has a black bill opposed to the Mute Swan's orange bill. We also saw quite a few other marine fowl at Hook Pond, including a flight of Double-Creasted Cormorants, American Black Ducks, a Hooded, Canada Geese, Pide Bellied Grebe, and a female belted kingfisher (which was determined to be a female due to the red/orange color of its breast. When we left Hook Pond we decided to head to Georgica Pond where Doc figured there should be Tundra Swans. To our dismay we did not find any Tundra Swans, however we did see a flock of herring gulls, ring-billed gulls, sanderlings, and a lone Great Egret, which stuck out like a pickle compared to the other birds. While driving to our next destination we saw a red tailed hawk flying above in the sky roof, which was the second sky roof red tailed hawk that I have seen on the trip. On our final stop we managed to find what could be the coolest bird on the east coast. THE WILSON'S SNIPE! I small brown bird with an incredibly long bill and large eyes. At first it appeared that there were no birds to be found at the pond, but with Doc's expertise he managed to spot 3-4 relaxing under a tree. This was with out doubt the best part of the trip. So overall we had a very successful trip, even though we didn't get to spot one of the rare Tundra Swans.

Ornithology a branch of Zoology

With the sun beaming hard, a walk on the beach, and no tundra Swans,the birding trip felt as though fall was just beginning. Today we focused on water birds, and some good water birds we did find. At hook pond we contrasted the east end routine water species, mallard ducks, and mute swans with the new species we were inquiring to see. Right off the bat Julia confused the American Black duck with the female Mallard. However, apparently her confusion was quite impressive because American Black Ducks are confusion species with the female mallard. We quickly learned that female Mallards have lighter bodies which is the same molted streaking of brown on the head.

I was able to add the American Black Duck along with 9 more species to my life list:

Hooded Merganster (easily identifiable with the males large white patch on its crest)

Pied-billed Grebe (Small water bird, great divers, with dark brown body and head)

Mocking Bird (a common bird and i had the delight of seeing)

Laughing Gull (He stood on one foot as Doc laghed to give as a hint about the species)

Wilson's Snipes: I felt honored to see these guys. Wilson's snipes blend into their surroundings and rarely are out in the open. Not just one, but we had the honor of observing 3 Wilson's sniped at the side of the road. This shorebird has an extraordinary long bill, (i would say 3/4 its body length) short legs, brown with bold stripes on back and head.

Green winged teal (iridescent green stripe on wing, male brown and green head)

Norther Shovelers (beautiful shuffle like beaks)

Ruddy Duck (small duck with its large white cheek patches and black caps making them easy to identify)

It was also quite enjoyable to see my Belted Kingfisher friend chilling in the trees, observe 8 royal terns looking fly, and to have the pleasant accompaniment of the myrtle warblers song.

I also utilized my ears to aid me with the identification of Canada geese or double-crested cormorant flocks. The geese are easily identified by their annoying constant noises and fly in a flock with a tighter V shape.

Not all ducks are Mallards, and other things I've learned

What a fantastic day for waterfowl and decimating my previously held worldviews! The Ross Ornithologists headed out today for some serious birding, and birds we did find. Passing Town Pond in East Hampton, we spotted our first birds of the day, Mallards (Males rusty and gray with a green head, females mottled brown, both with a blue patch on wing lined in white) and Mute Swans. These birds also happen to be the only birds I could have previously identified in a pond My mind was then blown at Hook Pond in East Hampton, where we found American Black Ducks, which are similar to female Mallards, but with a darker body, lighter head, all yellow bill, and no white on the wing, a Hooded Merganser (a crazy looking black and white bird with a circular crest on its head), a Pied-billed Grebe (a small brown waterbird with a a short bill that can dive underwater for an insane amount of time), and flocks of Canada Geese and Double-crested Cormorants flying above. Our next stop, Georgica Pond, allowed for some sweet shorebird spotting- Royal Terns (with their orange beaks and crazy black tufted heads), Laughing Gulls (a medium dark gull with a black head and wingtips), Sanderlings, Ring-billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls. After Georgica, we were off on the road again, and we saw a Red-tailed Hawk through the moon roof of Doc's car. Excellent car birding! After scoping out some disappointingly populated ponds, we stopped at what was essentially a puddle on the side of the road to catch a glimpse of some adorable Wilson's Snipes. These medium sized, brown and white striped birds with exceptionally long beaks and large black eyes were well camouflaged in the grass, but Doc spotted them. Lastly, we swung by some golf course in Bridgehampton-ish to look at more ducks. SERIOUSLY, THESE WERE PRETTY MUCH THE COOLEST DUCKS EVER. We saw a Green-winged Teal, which had a gray body, rusty brown head, and bright green stripe through its eye and down its neck, Northern Shovelers, which have green heads, black backs, white and brown bellies, and crazy wide beaks, and... Ruddy Ducks, maybe? I don't know, I left my phone in the car. Anyway, pretty much the most mindblowing birding trip of my life, and if anyone wants to buy me a hand carved waterfowl from that guy in Sag Harbor, I'd like a Wood Duck please.

FOUND NEST!!!!!!

On a photo-documenting trip with a fellow 12th grader, I found what I believe to be a robins nest in the large bush by the 12th grade history room; window to the far left. Leaving the nest there only for the photo opp, I took note on how the nest was built around the live branches of the bush. Being a specimen collector, how so ever, I did take the nest out of said bush. It can now be found in the Orno- lab for observation.

Turkey News Report

Shelter Island, N.Y
Osprey Road, south side of the island
The Martino Dorm

Shelter Island, one populated with hundreds of wild turkeys, is now only home to around 6 known turkey flocks reared up by the islands residents in an attempt to bring the fowl back to the island. Ususally a peaceful game bird, the flightless turkey spends much of its time in the woods and open tall-grass fields looking for food, which usually consists of seeds, green vegetation and flowers, berries, and bug or small lizard when lucky. Not contempt with this natural diet, rafter of around 12 turkeys have been visiting the Martino dorm during the hours between 12 pm and 8:30 pm in search of cat food. The outside doors of the dorm are always left open to allow the indoor-outdoor cats (Lilly and Mr.Cow) to go in and out of the residence. Almost every night for a week straight, the house has been subject to the turkeys fowl play.

On the date of 13.Oct.2011, dorm resident Thomas Rückert, senior at the Ross school, witness the turkeys intrusion. “I was at the dorm sick with some off illness” said Thomas. “I heard a few loud bumps on the deck up stairs, so I ran to see what was going on and there was a colevey of around 12 turkeys on the deck trying to get into the house” Thomas continued to say. “I was in shock so I grabbed my camera phone and started taking pictures for a class Im taking in school. I also tried feeding them some of my dorm parent’s English muffins. They were not interested”.

Closing doors and keeping the cats inside during the day are a few of the steps the Martino dorm is taking to prevent further intrusions.

Hawk Stories from Bas Bleu Farm

Mass pandemonium struck the flock of mixed breed bantam chickens. Hens ran to save them selves. The roosters ran at attention. Young mother hen, distraught over the death of 12 of her babies in one-week time, gathered her remaining two under her wings. The horror that caused this commotion was an adult red tailed hawk. Silent and swift, down it came from the trees, over the paddocks, and in front of the barn. Trying to get at the chicks, still in their juvenile plumage with a crop full of stuffing, the hawk attempted to break up the mother-chick trio. Pumpkin and fallowing three roosters ran at the hawk, which in a shocked disposition, retreated to the riding ring fence. A loud shout from Mona, the estates owner and horse caretaker, send the hawk back to the woods on the out skirts of the farm.

… the flock is safe for another day

NOFO FO SHO

On Saturday, I went to the beach and walked around a park that is connected to it on the North Fork.

On the beach, I saw 24 to 25 gulls sitting calmly and relaxing by the shore.
About half of them were little gray Glaucous Gulls, I believe, based off of their very gray wings, the little black spot on their yellow beaks.
There were Ring Billed gulls, and Herring gulls as well. It was strange to see them all sitting, quietly, without much movement.

I continued walking through the park and saw what I believe was a small flock of Dark Eyed Juncos, which I had never seen before, or even heard of. These small sparrows are identified by the dark gray, or almost black head, white chest, short triangular beak- like most sparrows, tiny black beady eyes, and light orangey- gray legs. They are very cute!

I also saw a few song sparrows... Below is the Dark Eyed Junco!

Bird Watching - November 6th

Today was an unexpected birding day for me. I woke up not expecting to go but ended up meeting the gang at Hook Pond. I could not find the group at first, so I sat in the car for a minute and saw a huge adult Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). The plumage coloring was one of the give aways along with the long black plume coming off of the back of the head, The long yellowish bill, and piercing gaze from its white eyes. After a couple of minutes, I decided to move on down a road and found the group. The minute I got there, the group had spotted a Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon). The shaggy plume on the top of its head and blue plumage was very noticeable. After Hook Pond, we moved on to a beach which I do not know the name of. Here we saw Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) which was not only given away by Doc's constant fake laughter, but also by its plumage. Soon after, we spotted some Royal Terns (Sterna maxima) which was noticeable in the crowd of Gulls because of its bright red bill and black plumage on its head. After spending a little bit of time at the beach, we moved on to the field next Wosnofski's potato farm. Here we saw the bird of the day, three Wilsons Snipes (Gallinago gallinago) which we were not expecting here. The long bill and multiple shades of brown stripes were hard to spot among the grass and browning pine needles. The eyes and light stripes on its face were what helped us spot it. After this amazing find, we moved on to a golf course in Bridgehampton where we saw a Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) which was noticed due to its bright green patch on its rust colored head. We also saw Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) which were identified quite by its thickly striped head.

so much death

For the third time in about a month a Hermit Thrush has crashed into the window and died instantly. This time I got to see it happen..... immediate death.

Seems like the poorly sighted individuals are being eliminated from the Thrush family; natural selection right in front of my eyes. Hopefully in a thousand years Thrushes will have stronger vision.

Halloween Birding

On this lovely four day weekend, I went out three of the four days to go birding.

I saw a lot of the same things, but there were a few that stood out.

While in Southampton, I went to the beach and saw a huge swarm of Herring gulls and Ring Billed gulls.

I later took a walk through town, and journeyed to the duck pond. On my way to the pond, I saw 5 very fat Greater White- Fronted Geese, mixed in with a family of Canada Geese. They were waddling across the street, looking exceedingly out of place surrounded by Mallard ducks (identifiable with bright green heads and yellow beaks), and what I believe to be Mottled ducks, which I had to figure out based off of the dark brown bodies, multi-colored feathers (blue peeping through), yellow beaks, and orange legs. It also had a darker brown eye line, which could have been confused with another duck.
When at the pond, more excitingly, I spotted a Great Blue Heron, calmly picking at the reeds with its long, slender neck and dark legs.

Overhead, I saw many, various birds, all flying in their traditional, usually migratory "V" shape. Almost every specie I saw this weekend, I saw flying together in a larger group later on.

The birds that flew overhead consisted of:
-Great Cormorants (large and very black with a white flank patch)
-Sea Sparrows (olivey-gray body with a yellow spot in front of their eyes, white throat, and no wingbars). I saw these up close, but a huge cluster flew out of nowhere from a little bush nearby.
- Song Sparrows
- And these black birds which I strongly believe were small herons, all flying slowly and gracefully in a "V" shape, but I am still unable to identify them.

Even though there was no group trip this weekend, I certainly got my fill of birds. Not only that, but I was forced to not only dig through my bird guide for a long period of time, but also to look up certain traits and characteristics to attempt and identify the black bandit.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend, and that the birds didn't eat too much candy... er... trash.

November 1st Bird Watching

Today My birdwatching adventure started at Quail Hill where I did not see much. There was a large bird flying further down the path that I was not able to identify. There was not much action so I decided to move on. I walked further down the path through the tree farm on the south side of town lane and noticed a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) flying by. I was able to find it in my binoculars with ease and took note of the Diamond shaped tail with white tips and black subterminal bands. I continued walking and went up onto the train tracks. Even though the scattered piles of deer bones fascinated me, I was able to spot some birds. Three or Four Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) which were easily spotted even without my binoculars due to their bright plumage. I also spotted a Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)and Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinenis) which I was able to identify by its black and white head, short conical beak, and grey edged feathers. I continued walking off of the train tracks and through the potato fields where I saw a Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) sitting on an electrical Pylon. The shaggy crest, long bill, and dark breastband were the main factors in its identification. I pressed onward to Amagansett school where I sat in the frigid winter evening. Although I was not able to feel my feet, I was able to catch sight of a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), which was somewhat hard to find among the bushes due to its striped multiple shades of brown plumage. The grey and brown underbelly was more noticeable when it finally turned around. I was panning across the field through my binoculars and spotted an American Robin (pale)(Turdus migratorious). The orange breast was easily spotted amongst the green grass. I think I might have seen an American Goldfinch fly overhead, but I am not sure. The field marks that I was able to see seemed extremely similar, but I was not able to get a great look at it.

Birding around Springs

On my solo birding adventure I had decided I would start by walking around maidstone to see what birds I would see today, I saw the typical birds; American Robins, American Crows, Tufted Tit Mice, various different Sparrows, Cardinals (both male and female), and a few Blue Jays. As well I so what I thought was just another American Crow but on further examination, I noticed it had a different color eye then the crow. I did what any birder would have done during this situation and flipped through my "Peterson Field Guide" to figure out type of bird it was. I was leaning towards it being some type of Grackle but I was unfamiliar with the common names so I flipped to page 392 and BAM there it was, the Common Grackle. I educated myself on the differences between the two birds before continuing my birding expedition. I had another exciting moment when I thought that I saw a Lark Sparrow, I quickly looked at the map in my field guide to find out that Lark Sparrows don't occur in this region of the United States, disappointed I looked back to find the little sparrow, but it had flown away. In hindsight I figure that it was in fact a Swamp Sparrow. Coming away from this birding experience today I feel successful, I saw a few new birds including the Red-Winged BlackBird, which I have not seen this fall / winter. As well I noted a few Cowbirds, Black-Capped Chickadees (or a Carolina Chickadee, I had a hard time figuring out the differences).

First...

On a brightly chilled October 31st, I went birding. First I investigated the areas closest to home, namely my very own feeder. Equipped with my Peterson's Guide, and my inherent skill, I identified the usual. Three Northern Cardinals, four Blue Jays, several Tufted Tit-mice, a gazillion House sparrows, intermingled with Song and Vespa, as well as a lone Downy Woodpecker. These are the normal birds of my house they have taken up a more sedentary lifestyle, arranged around the single bird buffet in my front yard. The next stop was the telephone wires, where i had the delight of putting a face, this face to be precise,

http://www.thedauphins.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/EasternScreech-Owl-8.jpg.w300h249.jpg

with the call that I had been attempting to imitate. Yes my friends! an Eastern Screech Owl! As well as Owly I saw a number of distant birds in flight, and, along with the neverending flood of Sparrows, which is to be expected, I saw a Red-Winged Blackbird, identified by its colored wings. I wrapped up my birding extravaganza, by closely studying the remaining chicken in my refrigerator.

The End.

There's no such thing as baygulls

The jitney ride home this morning jumpstarted my birdwatching day. Nearing Manorville I was able to spot a speedy little Peregrine falcon--spotting on the belly + dark malar stripe-- zip around a couple of trees before dropping below the horizon. Then, passing through the Napeague stretch and almost into Montauk Town a gorgeous Great Egret was flying in the direction of Montauk Elementary School (right by my house.) After getting home I walked down to the bay to do some late afternoon bird watching. Today it seemed that all I could spot were gulls so, I decided that this was the afternoon I would start learning my gulls. I already knew the Ring-Billed gull with the black circle around the edge of it's beak and when it's not breeding it has a sort of dark speckled/streaked black area on the top of its head. The following 25 minutes were pretty birdless and so I found myself deciding to turn in when I saw through my binoculars one gull with a black head. Flipping through the field guide I thought it would be a Laughing Gull but couldn't determine that until I saw the top of i's wings. Waiting a little longer it finally took off and it was a Bonaparte's Gull! The difference between the Laughing and the Bonaparte is best recognized in the wings; the Laughing Gull has grey wings that fade to black towards the primaries while the Bonaparte's wings are white toward the tip but the tips are all black and it has a grey back. I remember seeing two a few weeks back when we went birding with the SOFO group so it wasn't a completely new bird for me to see. After seeing the oh so common Herring Gull I decided it was time to call it a day since the sun was starting to set. Today wasn't the best day of birding but definitely a start for getting better at identifying gulls!