I've actually seen Northern Gannet's foraging inside Jamaica Bay a number of times. There were 5 or 6 there today and a similar number were present on 27 Mar when I stopped by on the way home from the Freeport pelagic. On that day six Gannets were foraging all the way up to the Belt Parkway at the Mill Basin Bridge. Apparently good numbers have been in the Outer New Harbor as viewed from Coney Island and today a bunch were feeding close to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. How often do they enter the Inner Harbor and are they ever visible from Manhattan? Doug Gochfeld told me that both he and Shane Blodgett have seen Gannets in Jamaica bay on several occasions, mentioning 5 sitting on the water between Floyd Bennett Field and the Ruffle Bar on 8 April 2009. I'd have to dig through my notes (or old postings to this forum) to dredge up other dates.
Gannets are regular in the outer Peconic Bay during the spring and fall and it is not at all unusual to see them between Gardiner's Island and the 'Springs/Accabonac' Peninsula, if not further west towards Shelter Island. During one storm, I watched numbers of Gannets were flying back and forth over Hick's Island or through the narrow channel between Hick's and Lazy Point to feed in Napeague Harbor itself, which is so shallow it seemed risky for a plunge diver. So I think Gannet's, unlike shearwaters, will comfortably forage in relatively confined channels and bays if the fishing is good. There were a bunch of charter boats fishing in the southern portion of Jamaica Bay today, around where the gannets were feeding and perhaps someone knows what they were after. Angus Wilson New York City/Springs This early-mid April period seems to be when Gannets are most likely to penetrate inshore waters, in our bays and sounds, where they are normally rare. John and Kirsten's observations at Jamaica Bay are really very unusual. My companions and i had some similar experiences yesterday--a Gannet north of Hicks Island, in Napeague Bay, and then 26 Gannets resting on the waters of Shinnecock Bay, north of the main sandbar there. I can't ever recall seeing so many in there. Today, Marc Brody mentioned seeing them inside Jones Inlet. This time of year seems to be when the Gannets push their boundaries-- https://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz/ThereYouAre#5375001706807305570 --and I wonder if they are tracking a migratory prey species, like one of the anadromous herrings. Shai Mitra Bay Shore < our most interesting sighting of the day however, was that of two adult n.gannet off the southwest side of the west pond. the birds were quite active. we eventually lost sight of them in the heat haze. > -- 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/ --
