GSBAS Nature Walk 05/25/2021 Dune Rd.

 The hits keep coming. Another day with great weather and a good turnout of 11 folks plus a nice assortment birds. We had 38 species of birds today. Our trip this week was to Shinnecock Inlet and Dune Rd. WE followed our usual pattern of starting at the inlet and then caravanning along Dune Rd making stops at the pullout roads.

We had a good assortment of shorebirds. Highlights were, American Oystercatcher, plenty of Willets and at Tiana Bay over 50 Ruddy Turnstones on the docks. At another of the road pullouts we had a dozen Egrets both Great and Snowy. There was a flyover Black Crowned Night Heron. We got to watch a Piping Plover bathing.

Another great day, come and join us.

GSBAS Nature Walk 05/18/2021 Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area

 Great weather, great place and great folks made for a morning  of  great birding. MNSA is always an interesting place to bird. The birds cab close up and easy to see most of the time. We had 27 species and some highlights were both Black and Yellow-crowned Night Herons. Snowy and Great Egrets plus really good looks at a Clapper Rail. There were plenty of shorebirds to see as well.

We then went to Jones Beach West end to check out the shorebirds there.  We had a good mix of shorebirds, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Semi-palmated plovers, Ruddy Turnstones. Dublin and American Oystercatchers.

All in all a good moring all around

 

GSBAS Nature Walk 05/04/2021 Belmont Lake State Park

Today's trip was even better than last week's. We had 42 species of birds during our walk, A tottal of 9 folks showed up for annual walk at Belmont Lake State Park. Birding in May always has the potential to be good because it is the month of migration.

Some of the highlights were, Scarlet Tanager, Great Crested Flycatcher and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, all nice birds to see anytime. We had seven species of warblers. At the end of the walk we went to the south end of the park and saw an Eastern Screech Owl for our finale.

Next weeks trip is to Hempstead State Park and has the potential to outdo the two previous trips. Come and join us

GSBAS Nature Walk 04/27/2021 St Joseph Campus Brentwood NY

 What a great walk for this time of year. Fifteen people turned out for what was a pleasant day with some decent birding. The day started slightly cloudy but the sun did break through and warm up.

We were joined by Sister Karen Burke and Amanda Furcall. They are the folks that are reestablishing the campus to a more natural and self sustaining environment. We had thirty species of birds on our walk. Some highlights were, Black Vulture, Blue Headed Vireo, Black and White Warbler, Pine Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler. At the end of our walk we were treated to seeing a Killdeer on nest.

The campus is open to the public 6:00 to 6:00 and is a great place to visit to enjoy the outdoors

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 10/08/2019

A cloudy overcast dreary day greeted us at Robert Moses SP. As we gathered in the parking lot a pair of skirmishing merlins passed over us to start our morning.  Seven of us made our way along the boardwalk to the Hawk Watch platform. The wind was out of the north east which should have been good for seeing hawks migrate past the platform. The morning flight did not occur. We then made our way to the light house and back to look for land birds. The land birds were also not cooperating. We managed 18 species for the morning. The highlight was a very cooperative palm warbler. Photo by Bob Glasser

It is always a pleasure to walk the board walk at Robert Moses State Park and the Fire Island National Seashore, the scenery is spectacular and the the different plants that can be observed make it a nice morning

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 09/24/2019

What a beautiful day for a walk. An overnight cold front and a brief shower cleared the humidity and lowered the temperatures.Eight people showed up for the walk at The Suffolk County farm in Yaphank. We spent the first half hour watching Merlins and Kestrels patrolling the fields and interacting with each other. There were three Merlins and two Kestrels. They put on a fine show.

We continued our walk past fields of corn and potatoes and passed a large field of sunflowers, which was lit up by the bright sun. We the headed into the barnyard past the livestock and headed to the butterfly garden. It was a nice day with some wonderful nature to absorb and enjoy

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 09/17/2019

Today our walk was at the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area. The weather was spectacular. Brilliant sunshine and mild winds across the spartina gave a  beautiful waving color to marsh. The area has boardwalks through the marsh which lets you get up close to the wildlife.

We were initially greeted by a Little Green Heron, viewable from the parking lot. We had 16 species of birds for our efforts for the morning. We had both Great and Snowy egrets, Glossy Ibis and lots of Yellowlegs. Oystercatchers and Black-bellied Plovers added to the morning.

A couple of us stopped at The Jones beach Coast Guard Station and found a Caspian Tern. Another good morning with some good birds