First, thanks to Lloyd Spitalnik for getting the word out, re: the above, so
fast.
On Tuesday, 7/12, Tom Moran and I arrived on a falling tide, stayed during low
tide, and left on a rising tide. The # of terns were greatest when we first
arrived, and proceeded to drop throughout our stay. Common Tern was far and
away the most abundant specie, followed by Least (~25) Forster's (4), Roseate
(2), and Black (2).
We decided to approach the mud flats by the long way (toward the inlet, rather
than straight across the marsh, in hopes of seeing the Glaucous Gull, which was
reported yesterday, on the sand bar, nearest the inlet, inside Moriches Bay.
Once we found it, and saw it move a bit, we concurred with yesterday's
assessment, that it probably is the same (injured leg) bird that hung around
the Orient Ferry slip all last winter, and where Tom and I had seen it
previously.
We then headed east toward the flats, and in the first standing water you come
to from the w/end of the marsh, we observed the godwit feeding, and after a
short while, watched it take off and land, out of sight, on the flats. We never
caught up with it as we walked the flats, but did see it again as we headed
out, in the same spot we first saw it. Although we had initially seen the 2
Black Terns, at rest, on the flats, we enjoyed seeing them feeding over the
a-fore mentioned marsh, as we made our exit. During this time, we also noticed
that the sand bar which had hosted the GLGU was gone, along with the gull...but
in the case of the latter, not for long.
We then made the "executive" decision to buy a beer at the concession stand,
and have it while doing an abbreviated, seated "seawatch", lasting only as long
as it took to finish the brew. While engaged in this endeavor, 2 birders
stopped and asked how we were doing. Names were exchanged, and this is when
Peter Murphy and I realized we hadn't seen each other, since a Central Suffolk
CBC, over 25 years ago. The younger man with Peter was Nickolas Cupiniello (sp
?), who, without the benefit of binoculars, pointed out the Glaucous Gull, as
it stood on the beach, with bathers, blankets, and umbrellas all around it. I
am very happy to report, that at least for the duration of our stay, we didn't
see Larus hyperboreus take any handouts !
On Monday, 7/11, after reading Shai Mitra's post of a South Polar Skua, earlier
in the morning, at RMSPk, I made a beeline to that location, constantly
repeating the mantra " hey, you never know" ! The bad news was that of all the
species Shai reported, the only species I saw were Laughing Gull & Common Tern.
The good news was, that for the very first time, I walked from W/End P/lot #2,
all the way out to the west-most end of Fire Island, Democrat Point, passing a
myriad of bathers, sun worshipers, and fishermen. Upon reaching my destination,
I found the concrete foundation of a long gone "light", surrounded by big,
jetty rocks, with a driftwood pole jutting out of the rocks at a 45 degree
angle, from which someone had stuck a miniature "Old Glory". As a strong south
wind kept this tiny flag flying straight out in a northerly direction, this
patriotic "canvas", coupled with the backdrop of 5, or 6 colorful surf boarders
"doing their thing", made me reflect how fortunate we are to be able to live
the way we do. Freedom to do anything, within reason,...even to bird !
Cheers, Bob
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