Date: Sunday, 21 February 2010 (11:18a-5:30p) Location: Arthur Von Briesen Park to Miller Field Observers: Eve Levine, Ben Cacace Reported by: Ben Cacace
This turned into a 5.5 mile walk from the Arthur Von Briesen Park overlook of The Narrows to Miller Field. We passed through Fort Wadsworth, South Beach and Midland Beach. The walk netted us 28 species. The 3 mile walk along the beach, heading south into the sun, showed basically the same mix of water birds on the bay. The most common were Common Goldeneye followed distantly by American Black Ducks and Horned Grebes. Sanderling were finally spotted at the end of the walk at the jetty just north of Miller Field. An adult Red-tailed Hawk was seen coming in from the east over the Lower New York Bay. It was being "escorted" by a Herring Gull. When they arrived at the shoreline the gull headed back out to sea. The view from the top of Arthur Von Briesen Park was a pleasant surprise. The entrance to the park is near School Road. A nice grouping of birds were spotted on The Narrows on the north side of Battery Weed east of the park. These included Great Cormorant, Gadwall, Red-breasted Mergansers, Mallard and American Black Ducks. A Red-throated Loon was seen just west of the park. Birding was carried out by use of public transportation. I'm working on a map for getting around Staten Island. It can be found here. If you spot any errors please contact me: http://tinyurl.com/bird-si Weather for 21-Feb for Newark, NJ (10:51a-5:51a) < http://tinyurl.com/yj6rnmj >: - Conditions: partly cloudy / scattered clouds - Temperature: 43.0 to 48.9 F (+6.1 to +9.4 C) - Wind direction: WNW / NW - Wind speed: 11-21 mph (gusts to 29 mph) ** Total species - 28 ** Abundance categories below from 'The Birds of Staten Island' checklist last updated in 2000. Abundance categories below for 'Winter'. 'Rare' seen every 2-5 years [1 spp]: - Carolina Wren - 2 incl. Fort Wadsworth & South Beach 'Occasional' seen a few times per season [1 spp]: - Red-throated Loon - 2 with 1 on The Narrows & 1 on Lower N.Y. Bay 'Uncommon' present but may not be seen [2 spp]: - Great Cormorant - 4+ on The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - American Robin - 1+ 'Common' certain in proper habitat [6 spp]: - Common Goldeneye - 50+ along Lower N.Y. Bay - Red-breasted Merganser - 4 incl. 1 male & 3 females on The Narrows - Horned Grebe - 10+ on Lower N.Y. Bay - Sanderling - 18 on the jetty N of Miller Field - Downy Woodpecker - 1 heard at Arthur von Briesen Park - Northern Mockingbird - 2+ along the beach & at Miller Field 'Abundant' sure to see [18 spp]: - Brant - 10+ on Lower N.Y. Bay - Canada Goose - 14+ - Gadwall - 1 male on The Narrows - American Black Duck - 15+ on The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Mallard - 4+ - Bufflehead - Male & female on Lower N.Y. Bay - Red-tailed Hawk - 1 adult coming in off the bay attacked by a gull - Ring-billed Gull - On The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Herring Gull - On The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Great Black-backed Gull - On The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Rock Pigeon - 24+ - Mourning Dove - 1+ heard at Fort Wadsworth - American Crow - 3+ at Fort Wadworth and 1 over the bay - European Starling - 2+ along the beach - Song Sparrow - 1+ at Fort Wadsworth - White-throated Sparrow - 1+ at A. Von Briesen Park & Fort Wadsworth - Northern Cardinal - 4+ at Fort Wadsworth and beyond - House Sparrow - 12+ at Miller Field Taxonomic order: - Brant - 10+ on Lower N.Y. Bay - Canada Goose - 14+ - Gadwall - 1 male on The Narrows - American Black Duck - 15+ on The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Mallard - 4+ - Bufflehead - Male & female on Lower N.Y. Bay - Common Goldeneye - 50+ along Lower N.Y. Bay - Red-breasted Merganser - 4 incl. 1 male & 3 females on The Narrows - Red-throated Loon - 2 with 1 on The Narrows & 1 on Lower N.Y. Bay - Horned Grebe - 10+ on Lower N.Y. Bay - Great Cormorant - 4+ on The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Red-tailed Hawk - 1 adult coming in off the bay attacked by a gull - Sanderling - 18 on the jetty N of Miller Field - Ring-billed Gull - On The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Herring Gull - On The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Great Black-backed Gull - On The Narrows & Lower N.Y. Bay - Rock Pigeon - 24+ - Mourning Dove - 1+ heard at Fort Wadsworth - Downy Woodpecker - 1 heard at Arthur von Briesen Park - American Crow - 3+ at Fort Wadworth and 1 over the bay - Carolina Wren - 2 incl. Fort Wadsworth & South Beach - American Robin - 1+ - Northern Mockingbird - 2+ along the beach & at Miller Field - European Starling - 2+ along the beach - Song Sparrow - 1+ at Fort Wadsworth - White-throated Sparrow - 1+ at A. Von Briesen Park & Fort Wadsworth - Northern Cardinal - 4+ at Fort Wadsworth and beyond - House Sparrow - 12+ at Miller Field -- 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 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
