After failing to connect with the Pink-footed Goose for a third time early this morning at Sunken Meadow State Park (also checking King's Park High School and Nissequogue S.P.) I headed to Point Lookout, hoping to partake of the Kittiwake parade. Thankfully I was successful at that, able to make positive IDs on at least 9 of the gulls. The first was a first-winter bird which flew a short distance into the inlet before reversing course. The second was an adult spotted ~250-300 yards offshore between the two western jetties. I followed the bird through my scope until it landed on the water among a small raft of 7-8 other kittiwakes. All eventually took off and flew farther offshore. Also seen inshore were 10-12 Common Eider, a few Red-throated Loons, and several Bonaparte's Gulls. 110-120 Sanderlings and 2 Dunlin were out on the easternmost jetty. A single Pipit flew overhead, heading east across the inlet.
I next checked the dump area and the narrow wooded strip which borders the north end of the parking lot. Except for a Cooper's Hawk that made life interesting for a large flock of Starlings, things were generally quiet. That is until I came across a pocket of activity at the eastern end of the aforementioned wooded strip. Most of the birds there were House Sparrows, Juncos, and House Finches, but then a small, bright greenish bird caught my attention. At first glance I thought it was an Orange-crowned Warbler, but further observation revealed characters inconsistent with that ID. Most notable were the bird's intense coloration, an almost chartreuse green that was brightest on the uppertail coverts. I've never seen an O-c Warbler that colorful. But even more telling were the white undertail coverts and narrow but distinct wing bars. The bird's underparts also lacked the blurry streaks typical on OCWA, instead being unmarked with a pale yellow wash on the breast that extended down the flanks. According to Bull this would match the extreme late date for the species. I uploaded 2 frames from video I captured of the warbler to my Flickr page, located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgluth_brb/ I finished my day afield at Jones Beach west end, where I walked the outer beach to the inlet. Offshore I saw another 5 Kittiwakes (4 first-winter, 1 adult), 12 Common Eider, 1 Laughing Gull and a fair number of Gannets. Also saw my first pinniped of the season, a Harbor Seal. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
