GSBAS Nature Walk 11/08/2016

Our walk today was at Sunken Meadow State Park. The weather was again spectacular. If not for the lack of rain we cannot complain about the weather we have been having for our walks.

We started by going to the boardwalk to check the Long Island Sound for seabirds and ducks.  We ddid manage to get looks at a few, and sometimes far waterfowl. There were Common Loon and White-winged Scoter seen through the scope.

After we left the boardwalk and headed to the hedgerow we spotted a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which gave most of us good looks. The we headed to the brush piles at the western end of the parks and saw Song Sparrows and Juncoes.

The second half of the walk was at the eastern end of the park by the spillway. We did a loop around the near pond. At the bridge over the ponds we encountered a flock of Cedra Waxwings feeding on berries in the trees, The sunshine and the waxwings were spectacular, well worth the price of
admission.

Tuesday GSBAS Nature Walk 10/25/2016

Today our walk was at Jones Beach west End, near the Coast Guard and Marina. The weather was once again spectacular. Brilliant sunshine and cool temperatures made for a nice walk. The winds were strong out of the north west making for a very clear sky with good visibility.

We started at the hedgerow near the Coast Guard Station and spent some time looking at a variety of sparrows, mixed in with some Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. We then headed over to the median and were almost overrun by Golden-crowned Kinglets. It seemed that every tree had at least two or three jumping around in it.

Then all of a sudden they all disappeared and we noticed over head a flight of Sharp-shinned Hawks patrolling the area hunting for a meal. No wonder they hid.Five Sharpies passed over head in less than a minute. Another benefit to birding at Jones Beach in the fall.

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 10/18/2016

Today's walk was at Avalon Preserve in Stony Brook. It was a gorgeous day for our walk,even though we could use the rain we still enjoyed the morning.

Avalon gives us a mix of habitats, woods and fields and a pond. On starting our walk we spotted a Wood Duck in the main pond. Further up the path at a small man made pond we saw some green frogs and some warblers. There were a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers drinking in the stream.

Midway through the walk we were led to a Praying Mantis

At the end of our walk we were told of a Ring-necked Pheasant being very cooperative, and he was.

We all got very good looks at a very pretty bird.

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 10/04/2016

In previous years our fall walks at Massapequa Preserve have been less than stellar. Not today though. We had one of our best days there in a long time. Eight of us gathered for the walk at the entrance at Pittsburgh Avenue. As a group we had over thirty species for bird for the morning.

As headed up the path  we encountered groups of birds foraging. There were hundreds of American Robins and  Grey Catbirds everywhere. An isolated group had several Cedar Waxwings again foraging in the trees for berries. Furthee on two distinct groups contained warblers. We saw, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped, Northern Parula, Black and White, Blackpoll, and Common Yellowthroat. It also seemed like it was a good day for vireos. There were multiple Red-eyed Vireos all along the path, and we also saw a couple or Blue-headed and White-eyed Vireos.

The highlight was a Scarlet Tanager in a transitional plumage. We discussed that it might be a Summer Tanager but analysis after the trip confirmed it was a Scarlet Tanager. It was a good morning in spite of the sun not peeking out as predicted.

Tuesday Sept. 20, 2016
 Marine Nature Study Area Oceanside

Our walk today was quiet, with only a few species of birds seen at MNSA Oceanside, But one of our regulars did not disappoint. A Green heron posed for us at the end of our walk

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After that we headed to Jones Beach West End.  Again it was somewhat quiet. We did get to see hundreds of Oystercatchers and Hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers on the minimal sand bar as it was high tide.

Tuesday Nature Walk Sept 13, 2016 Shinnecock Inlet & Dune Rd.

We had a beautiful morning for our regular Tuesday walk. We started at The inlet and proceeded to caravan down Dune Rd. As we drove from one point to the next there was a cloud of Tree Swallows dipping up and down across the road and the marshes and shrubs, and lining the utility lines.

Further on down the road we saw a group of egrets congregating along a shoreline,  apparently feeding on a pod of baitfish

We did wind up seeing 27 species of birds for the morning and we all had the pleasuer of the beautiful weather and some really nice sights.

Birding & Breakfast May 10, 2016 Connetquot SPP

This Saturday we held our fall Birding and Breakfast at Connetquot State park preserve. AS usual this was aj oint effort between The Connetquot State Park Staff, The Friends of Connetquot and Great South Bay Auudubon. Again we had a full house, the program is very popular and we always have a wait list.. The breakfast was supplied by the Friends of Connetquot and the bagels donated by the Melville Deli. Annie McIntyre from the Park Staff did an intro to birds presentation, after which the Great South Bay Audubon folks led the bird walks.



Birding was a little bit slow but we all managed to see some birds and everyone was oleased with a very delightful morning. There was a fight between a Merlin and some Blue Jays that did give us some excitement. Our next Birding and Breakfast is January 14, 2017, come and join us.

GSBAS First Fall Nature Walk Sept. 06, 2016

Today our walk was scheduled for Heckscher State park. We met in the field 5 parking lot and proceeded west into the marsh and woods from there. The birding was slow and the mosquitoes were heavy so we shifted to the parking field 7.

Things got immediately better. We spotted a pair of Royal terns on the beach, just off the parking lot. Without getting out of the cars we all had good, if not great looks at the terns.

After that we parked and walked to field 8 , and at field beach side we saw Black-bellied Plovers, and Sanderlings. We started slow and finished well. Then the rains came and we called it a day.

Finally a nice Tuesday in April

The first two April Tuesday nature walks were canceled due to inclement weather. Today made up for those days. Twelve people attended today's walk in Gardiners Park, taking advavtage of a  superb morning to be outside. Comments were made as to what seems to be a delay in some trees budding and leafing out. We did manage to eke out twenty species of the usual suspects. A highlight was five Snowy Egrets in the marsh down by the bay. It is good to see them coming back to Long island.