Richard Kaskan found a Sandwich Tern at Cupsogue, just east of Moriches Inlet, this morning. Earlier, he had seen several Cory's Shearwaters over the ocean. The tern was not present when he left nor when Patricia Lindsay and I arrived around 11:00, but it showed up again a little later. It is a near-breeding plumaged bird with just a little white flecking on the forehead.
It stuck around long enough for Tom Burke and Gail Benson to see it just as they were coming out into the marsh, but then disappeared again after the flock was flushed by a clammer. Again, it reappeared some time later, and Gerta Fritz was able to see it. It disappeared once more just before we all left the now flooded marsh, but was back again on a bit of high ground when I scoped from the restaurant. The point is that birds come in and out of the loafing flock quite unpredictably. By this time it was early afternoon and the sun came out--both counter-indicative for seawatching. Even so, Tom and Gail stayed focused and found us all a Greater Shearwater cruising by fairly close inshore. Motivated by this, our group persevered and ultimately recorded 3 Cory's Shearwaters, a Wilson's Storm-Petrel, and two immature Gannets. The near-breeding plumaged Common Loon remains on the marsh. Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only as of July 1, 2011<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
