Given the strong SSE winds I decided to head over to Robert Moses State Park this morning to test my luck with a seawatch.
Beginning at 0700, there was a moderate inshore movement of birds all heading east which was dominated by terns, loons and gannets. All three scoter species were represented with Black Scoter far outnumbering a few singles of White-winged and Surf Scoters. I compared notes with Mike Scheibel, who was seawatching from the FINS tower at Smith Point, and noted similar movements and numbers. The hour that I spent was highlighted by 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS, both of which were trailing behind a small group of Northern Gannets heading east and quite close to shore. A single MANX SHEARWATER also made a very brief appearance before it disappeared behind the surf and into the offshore haze. Four LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were seen in and around the beach/parking area, courtesy of Shai Mitra who was also able to dig up 3 ROSEATE TERNS as they migrated east along the sea. Best, Derek Rogers Sayville -- 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/ --
