Firstly, thank you to Anthony for posting about this bird a bit earlier.
Around 2:10 this afternoon, on a high rising tide, I found an adult
male Curlew Sandpiper on the Cupsogue flats. It was feeding with a
small group of knots and Dunlin in the mussel bed at the northeast
corner of the flats. Although the tide was rising very quickly, my
mom was able to get out onto the flats to see this great bird.
I stayed out on the flats as long as I could studying this bird. Just
prior to 3 o'clock, the Curlew Sandpiper flew off to one of the higher
marsh islands to feed with the larger group of Red Knots. It stayed
there until the rising water washed away that area of mud. At that
point, it flew north with this group of knots into the grasses on the
south side of the largest island.
It should be noted that I did not see it earlier in the tide cycle.
Tern numbers were rather paltry, so I spent a good amount of time
scanning the shorebird and gull flocks. It was not until just before
I planned to leave (when the water was significantly higher) that I
spotted this bird. Furthermore, although it may have been on the
flats earlier, it is somewhat more likely that it was feeding
somewhere else around the inlet (i.e., at Pikes Beach, or in an area
of the flats that I didn't cover today).
Photos can be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/117391989476777248424/CurlewSandpiperAtCupsogueJune14th2012
.
Good luck to those who go looking for this bird.
Michael McBrien
East Patchogue
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