Today was our final Tuesday walk for the fall season. It was bright, crisp and windy. A typical fall day on the north shore of Long Island. We had fifteen people show up to brave the NW winds on the boardwalk. The whitecaps on the sound hid any seabirds from view.
Later on during the walk we had our annual look at Cedar Waxwings feeding on the berries on the bushes and trees
See you in March.
We had a very unusual weather situation today. In my recollected history of fall birding at Jones Beach the temps have never been this mild. The temperature was near if not seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Not that I'm complaining but I do wonder about global warming.
The tide was high when we started. so we walked the hedge row and then went into the median. Ther were not many species of birds on that part of our walk. Although we did see enough Yellow-rumped Warblers and Red-breasted Nuthatches to fill the morning. A nice sighting of a Cooper's Hawk and a couple of lingering Ospreys helped fill that phase.
After the median we headed back to the boat basin and sand bar and as hopes the tide was lower and the bar exposed. There were hundreds of shorebirds and terns and gulls on the bar, We had Black-bellied plovers, and Sanderlings and Forster's Terns. and Dunlin. There were a pair of Royal Terns, some Ruddy Turnstones and Short-billed Dowitchers. A really nice finish to our morning.
Another great group of folks showed up today for our fall walk at the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area. The weather was good, not too hot, not too cool and plenty of sunshine and mild winds. Sixteen people showed up for the walk.
The bird of the day was the two Clapper Rails we saw near the bridge at the pond
We didn't see the usual quantity of bird we see here but the quality was high with the good looks at a Clapper Rail. The rails are normally reclusive and hard to see. Another high light was a spotted sandpiper foraging with two Short-billed Dowitchers. Plus with the usual mix of Egrets and Lesser Yellowlegs, all in all we had a good morning
GSBAS Nature walk September 13, 2022 Shinnecock inlet and Dune Rd.
A rainy forecast did not prevent seven hardy birders from making the trip out east to Shinnecock Inlet this morning. Between the rain and the high tide we had some flooded road conditions to deal with as we made our way down Dune Rd.
The bird of the day was Egrets. we had over forty egrets, a mix of Greater and Snowy. There were a couple of Great Blue Herons just to be different. The high tide kept us from seeing the usual number of shorebirds we see on this trip. We only saw a few Black-bellied Plovers and a small flock of Sanderlings plus on Greater Yellowlegs.
While viewing from the Tiana Beach Pavilion we did see some dolphins and one whale breach.
We mad the best of a challenging morning.
