Great South Bay Audubon Nature Walk 04/02/2024

 Our walk today was impacted by the forecasted rain. The weather in the am was a very light rain. Jack and I, Ken, showed up just in case some folks had nothing better to do and wanted to try to sneak some birding in. Some folks did show up and we then decided to try to squeeze in some birding

We did some BBC, Birding By Car, through the Hecksher SP  parking lots for and hour. We did get to see some of the regulars that frequent the puddles in the parking lots. We managed to see 21 of the local birds. Making the best of a dreary morning

Great South Bay Audubon Nature walk 04/26/2024

 This was our first walk of the spring season 2024. Fourteen hardy folks showed up to brave the elements and kickoff our spring season. The temperature was slightly cold, in the low forties, but with a northerly wind it felt much colder

As we started heading to the boardwalk a Bald eagle flew overhead  for our first bird of the day. Not a bad start. There was a scattering of sea ducks on the sound. Another highlight was a pair of Purple Sandpipers on the rock jetty. 

Our species total was 31, not bad for a cold spring start to our season

Great South Bay Nature Walk 10/24/2013

 Our walk today was at Jones Beach West End. WE had good attendance, twenty people shoed up on a fine, cool crisp fall morning.

We started by scoping the sand bar for shorebirds. We saw Oystercatchers, Sanderlings, Black-bellied Plovers and some Dunlin. In the bay were some Black Scoter, a couple of Common Loons and Double Crested Cormorants.

One of the highlights was a Dickcissel in the grass near the parking lot. On the walk down to the fisherman's lot we encountered bunches of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Golden Crowned Kinglets and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Add a couple of Hermit Thrushes and Chipping Sparrows and it added up o a good morning walk

GSBAS Nature Walk Tuesday Nov. 8 Sunken Meadow SP

 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

We see them here every year, it's a constant I have come to count on over the years. Sunken meadow is a very enjoyable location for a fall walk. We saw our first Buffleheads of the year also. At the end of the walk we had a close flyover Red-tailed Hawk. 

See you in March.

GSBAS Nature Walk Tues 10/25/2022 Jones Brech West End

 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.

GSBAS Nature Walk 09/20/2022 Oceanside MNSA

 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.