It's freezing

The temp was minus two when I got up this morning. Later in the morning I did a beach run. pretty quiet but very beautiful. It looks like the tundra in some spots. the bay is frozen over and the Captree marsh is solid ice. On Ocean Parkway I spotted a Rough-legge Hawk sitting on the top of a black pine tree. He continued to pose for me and I got a good picture.

The rest of the run was quiet as expected

Jones Beach West End Feb 2015

Today was the annual February field trip to Jones beach West End, led  by Mike Cooper. Ten folks showed up on a relatively mild day for this annual event. The temps were in the high twenties to low thirties, with a moderate wind. Don't get me wrong, it is still cold on the beach in winter with any wind, but a better day than most years.

I added three FOY birds to my list, A beautiful dark phase Rough Legged hawk, White-crowned Sparrow and Ruddy Turnstone. The Turnstones were on the pier pilings at field 10 as usual in the winter. There were a whole bunch, maybe thirty or more, of seals hauled out across the state channel marsh. Also there was a beautifully colored Lapland Longspur along with another in a flock of Horned Larks.

It turned out to be a good morning of winter birding with not so bad weather.

Sunny day but still cold

I headed to the beach for lunch and birding by car. The sun was shining and the temperatures were in the mid twenties with little wind. All the Cedar beach lots were closed, Oak beach and Captree Roads were open but with all that snow cover not much to see, The marsh is completely covered with snow and looks spectacular.

Lunch along Oak Beach rd was enjoyable. The brilliance of the sun reflecting off the inlet water  is something that is hard to describe, The glare off the ripples produces a shimmer that is hard to look into. Ther were not many sea birds or ducks in the water.

In Robert Moses SP there were bands of Horne Larks roadside, flying up at every car except the band in the marina, I pulled right up next to the and snapped a picture

Super Bowl Sunday

The temperatures managed to get near 40 degrees so I decided to take a walk in Heckscher. I parked in Field 6 as 7 is closed. Some how "Gimpy" found me in field 6 and got his snack bar. I headed along the bike path in the direction of field 7. Just in front of the pool there was a small group of sparrows, some Trees, a Song and a Swamp. This must be the same group that was working the median the other day.

The Swamp was willing to pose for a picture. I finished the walk without seeing any thing of further interest. The walk back to the car was into the wind and much harder and colder.

Winter has set in

The last couple of days/weeks have been dominated by the weather. Very cold temperatures, wind and a major snow storm of 21 inches have slowed my birding down.

I manged to drive through Norrie Park in upstate Hyde Park and didn't see much. WE spent a few nights at the Beekman Arms complex in Rhinebeck, a winter getaway.

After the snowstorm today I finally managed to get out for a drive in the park. Heckscher was mostly cleared, the loop was open completely around the park. Fields 6 and 5 were open and 7 was closed. I did manage to see a Fox Sparrow and  Swamp Sparrow plus a look up close ata Hooded merganser.

Driving Dune Rd 01/20/2015

I headed to Dune rd to chase some birds this morning. The sun was shining and temps were mild and the birds were not disappointing. My first bird was an American Bittern, it was working the roadside ditches.

After that I went to Tiana Beach looking for the reported Redpolls. They were nowhere to be found, On to the inlet for the Male King Eider. Strike two. I went back and forth for a while and eventually went back to the inlet to try to see the Eider. This time I was luckier. It was swimming with a large flockmof Common Eider north of the inlet by the sandbar/island. Once spottedit was easy to recognize.

A return trip to Tiana beach also proved fruitful as there was a flock of passerines flying around which included the Common Redpolls.
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January 17, 2015 Birding and Breakfast

We had our annual winter Birding and Breakfast this past January 15. This is a function sponsored and supported by three organizations. NYS Parks is the host at the Connetquot River State park Preserve. Great South Bay Audubon Society provides the nature walk leaders. The Friends of Connetquot supplied the breakfast and moral support.

Breakfast was at 8:00, the room was full. Coffee and juice and tea were served along with  fruit and cake and bagels. After a hearty breakfast we started with a presentation of potential winter birds that might be seen, by  Pam Hunter. Pam reviewed the ducks that would probably be on the pond and some of  the land birds we might see as we walked the park trails,

After breakfast we headed to the pond. At the pond, with a very cooperating sunny day, we saw most of the ducks that was presented in the earlier session. Highlights were Common mergansers, Canvasbacks, Northern Pintail, Red Head  and all the expected regulars. We spent time making sure everyone saw all the ducks that were there.

Then we walked the trails and again saw almost all the birds that were presented in the morning. The selection for the presentation by the park staff was spot on. High lights were Both Red and White-breasted Nuthatches. There  were Chickadees and Titmice and White- throated sparrows hanging around the feeders. We saw a couple of different woodpeckers,We saw Red-bellied, Downy and a highlight was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which gave everyone great looks. Some groups saw a Red Fox scamper across the paddock, and some folks saw a Bald Eagle fly over the main pond.

It was a beautiful winter day with mild temperatures and bright sunshine. Everyone had a good time and the birds were very cooperative. We saw over thirty species of birds. Winter birding can be fun. NYS parks and GSBAS and Friends of Connetquot would like to thank every one for coming and enjoying our park.