Breakfast and Birding May 13, 2018

The weather wasn't the best but still forty five people showed up to participate in the spring Breakfast and Birding at Connetquot State Park Preserve. The event is a collaboration between NYS parks and Great South Bay Audubon Society. Continental breakfast was served and Pam Hunter from NYS Parks gave an introductory bird lecture, focusing on identifying birds by sound.

We then split into two groups and went into the woods to do some birdwatching. We saw thirty five species of birds on our walks, despite the overcast conditions with poor lighting. Some highlights were, Eastern Bluebird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Osprey, and  Snowy Egret. Every one really enjoyed seeing a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on nest.

This is a very successful and well attended program, look for our next scheduled Breakfast and birding September 15, 2018 and make sure to register.

GSBAS Tuesday nature Walk 05/01/2018

Finally the weather has seemed to realize it is spring. We had a sunny, mild, and clear day for our Tuesday Nature walk. Today it was at Massapequa Preserve. The leaves on the trees are not fully out yet which made for easier viewing.

We had 33 species of birds, with five warblers and multiples of some of them. We did see four Black and White Warblers and four Yellow Warblers and Two Northern Parula. We did not see the Warbling Vireo which I usually expect here. There were three Forsters Terns circling the pond and a first of the year Catbird and Red-eyed Vireo.

All in all a nice day with some nice birds in a nice place.

                                                            Black and White Warbler

GSBAS Tuesday Walk 04/24/2018

Oh what a beautiful morning, it could make a great song title. It was just spectacular this morning on our walk at Norman Levy park in Merrick. Bette Davis said it, "What a dump". The park is a recovered landfill. Nicely laid out for a great walk with different habitats as you walk around the trails.

We were greeted by the resident Monk Parakeets as we gathered at the beginning of the trail.

We walked to the top and back down seeing 25 species of birds despite the trees not having leafed out yet. At the end of the walk we spotted a Little Blue heron to finish the day.

GSBAS Nature Walk April 21, 2018

We had our annual April walk at Connetquott State Park Preserve Saturday April 21. The weather was delightful. A warming feel to the air and bright sunshine and a crowd of 24 people made for a great walk.

We headed to the Mill hoping to see the resident Bald Eagle and were not disappointed. He dida flyover right on cue. We had a good raptor morning, we also saw a Cooper's Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a number of Ospreys flying around. We had two early warblers, Pine warbler and Palm warbler. After explaining to the group about our Bluebird trail we spotted a pair of Eastern Bluebirds approaching box 14 seeming to prepare to nest. We wound up with 39 species for the morning. One of the best April Trips I can remember

April 17, 2018 GSBAS Nature Walk

Wow, another less than stellar day for one of our spring walks. It will get better. The temps were in the forties with a brisk bone chilling wind. Eleven hardy souls ventured forth to see what we could see.

Apparently the birds also felt the impact of the weather and decided to sleep in. We did persist though and managed to squeak out some nice birds for the morning.Some highlights were Great Egrets and  Ospreys flying overhead. There were Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds galore. A few Cardinals and both American and Fish crow were around.

On the way back to the parking lot a Snowy Egret Joined us on the pathway

January 13, 2018 Breakfast & Birding

Thank goodness for a break in the weather. The rain stopped, the temperatures rose and we managed to have another successful Birding & Breakfast program. The program is presented by NYS Parks staff at Connetquot SPP, The Friends of Connetquot supply the breakfast and Great South Bay Audubon helps lead the field walks after the presentation

After the presentation by Pam Hunter of the Park Staff, we went outside to do our walk starting at the main lake. The walk leaders were Helga Merryman, Bob and Edith Wilson, Jack Carlson, and Ken Thompson with assistance from Dave Masone.

At the lake we saw a good sampling of ducks. There were, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Northern Pintail, Mute Swan, Bufflehead,  Canada Goose and as we were ready to leave there two Common Merganser flew in to top off the morning. We the walked in the park and managed to see a good sampling of winter landbirds

Again, another well received Birding and Breakfast, come and join us  May 13, 2018 for our next scheduled Birding and Breakfast. It's always a good time.

Photos by Bob Labuski

GSBAS Tuesday Nature Walk 11/07/2017

Today our walk was at Sunken Meadow State Park. Someone flipped a switch and it felt like winter this morning. Standing on the boardwalk facing into the north breeze was almost bone chilling. But, we persevered and had a good morning of birding.

We had thirty species of birds on our walk today. There were some sea ducks on the sound, both Black and White-winged Scoters plus a Common Loon. There were a few lingering Sanderlings on the beach at the base of the rock jetty.

At the end of our walk where the bridge crosses the inlet waters we had a nice finale. There were a flock of Cedar Waxwings feeding on the berries in the trees. This seems to have become a tradition on our wals here to finish with the Waxwings. Just around the corner from the bridge was a small flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a topping for our finale.