GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 10/20/2015

Today's walk wast at a blustery Jones Beach West End. Heavy winds out of the west had all the birds hunkered down, but us persistent birders managed to get some birds for the morning.

There was a beautiful Peregrine falcon sitting on top of the Coast Guard radio antenna. He was holding on for dear life. We scraped an assortment of sparrows out of the bushes as the were trying to stay out of the wind. We saw Savannah, Song, Swamp, White-crowned, White-throated, Chipping and Slate Colored Juncoes. You can always find something.

There were large numbers of Tree Swallows and Flickers and Yellow-rumped Warblers migrating through the beach area.

The wind was ruffling feathers all morning, even the Yellow-rumps.

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 10/06/2015

What a gorgeous morning for a walk. We had clear air, bright sunshine and little wind. A perfect fall morning to walk along the beach side in the park. The patches of goldenrod were being frequented by migrating Monarch Butterflies.

We had a fairly good bird migration today also. There were plenty of Eastern Phoebes and our first of the season Kinglets. Both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned were feeding in the cedars in the swales, We walked all the  to the Fire Island Lighthouse, stopping at the Hawk Watch platform to see Merlins, Kestrels and Sharp-shinned Hawks flying by. We also saw our first of the season White-throated Sparrows, and Slate-colored Juncoes. The seasons are changing, get out in nature and enjoy.

GSBAS Nature Walk Tuesday 09/29/2015

Our walk today was at Massapequa Preserve. The sky was overcast and the temperature was warm, humidity was high. It is early in the fall season and there were no new ducks on the pond, There was a pair of Mute Swams with six cygnets.

The land birds were scarce also. We did spend some time discussing and observing the wild flowers along the pathway. On of the  wild flowers was Jewelweed, or sometimes called Touch Me Not. It is liked by humingbirds. It also has medicinal properties. It is known to relieve itches from insect bites.
Another plant was Chicory, the roots can be dried and ground to make a substitute coffee.

There is more to our walks than just birds.

GSBAS Weekend Nature Walk 09/26/2015

The sun was shining through the clouds as we approached Robert Moses SP for our weekend nature walk. As it peeked through one area it created a sun dog, sort of a mini rainbow light display, a nice way to start our day.

We gathered in the parking lot and then walked the boardwalk to the Lighthouse. It was relatively quiet. On our return we stopped at the hawkwatch platform to spend time ad hopefully see some raptors. We had a couple of  Merlins fly by, and just as we were leaving a Northern Harrier flew by and gave us a good show. It was slow at the watch as well.

Then we drove to Jones Beach West End. On the distant sandbar in the inlet there were a couple of hundred Black Skimmers with young. Steve D'Amato spotted a Lesser Black-backed Gull resting on the near bar. We finished the trip up by walking the roads and median and then called it a day. We had 32 species for the day. It took some work but it was worth it for a nice day walking on the beach.

Tuesday GSBAS Nature Walk Sept. 22, 2015

A slow day at Jamaica Bay still beats a days work. The waether started chilly an warmed up as the day went on. The birding started slow and stayed slow throughout the morning. Still, all in all, we managed with a little effort to turn up 24 species of birds. We had Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Heron and a flyover immature Black-crowned Night Heron. The usual suspects, Mockingbirds, Catbirds and Cardinals were around also. We did turn up three species of Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Rumped and American Redstart. Again making the best of what nature gives us.

GSBAS Nature Walk Sept. 12, 2015 Oceanside MNSA

Today we did a nature walk at the at the Oceanside Nature Study Area. The weather was delightful in the early morning, Beautiful, crisp, clean air,  and really bright sunshine which highlighted the colors. The color of the water was a deep blue and the marsh grass, the spartina, had a golden hue to it. With a light breeze the ripples of both the grass and the water were very pleasant to look at.We some of the usual suspects, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Palm warblers were on the pathways accompanied by Common Yellowthroats.

Then we decided to go to Jones Beach West End at the Coast Guard station to look for migrants. Sometimes things work out well. We had some really nice birds to look at right in the hedgerow by the Coast Guard building. The highlight was a Dickcissel, a very pretty bird, rare to see and always pleasure to enjoy. We had some warblers as well.  We saw Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Common Yellowthroat and Pine warbler. There were looks at Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a tree full of Cedar Waxwings.

Birding & Breakfast At Connetquot River State Park Preserve.

On Saturday Sept 12, we had our fall Birding and Breakfast. This is an event sponsored and supported by Connetquot River SPP staff, The Friends of Connetquot park support group, and Great South Bay Audubon Society. This is a very popular event, well attended and drawing a lot of repeat attendees.

Prior to the presentations we had a continental breakfast supplied by the Friends of Connetquot. There were pastries, cake, bagels, fruit coffe and tea and juice. The bagels are provided by the Melville Deli. The tables were set and folks fixed their plates and sat for the presentation. As we are approaching fall and the change of seasons Pam Hunter, from the park staff did a presentation on the changing of the birds as they prepare for fall and winter. It was very informative and showed the different plumage on some of the birds as they change from breeding to non breeding

After the presentation the Great South Bay Audubon Folks led two groups for a bird walk in and around the park. We saw over twenty species of birds and the highlights were, Northern Flicker, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. For a finale a Great Blue Heron did a beautiful flyover.

A good time was had by all and we are looking forward to our next Birding and Breakfast scheduled for Saturday January 16, 2016. Come and join us it's a lot of fun.