July nearly over

Some say that July is the slowest month, maybe only compared to February, maybe it's a toss up. In either case thankfully it coming to and end. In the spirit of hope springs eternal maybe August will start to show an improvement in availability of birds. The backyard is doing well. An occasional hummingbird shows up and the blue jays are all over my blueberry bushes. One of these daya I may get to taste my own blueberries.

Chasing a lark sparrow

After a doctors appointment I heade to RMSP field 2 to chase a reported Lark Sparrow. Every one in a while you get lucky

All is well Gimpy is back

On doing my coffee run early today I pulled into Heckscher Field 7 and did my usual tour. Up at the beach edge of the lot was a single Ring-billed Gull, it was our buddy Gimpy. I guess Gimpy is not a politically correct name but it is his and he is stuck with it. He has not been seen since the late spring. Maybe the Gulls go somewhere to breed and then return. In any case it is good to see him back.

Rainy day Puddlepipers

Did Heckscher and Timber Point and Ocean parkway including Captree Rd. Major Thunderstorm while doing the Robert Moses Section of the Ocean Parkway run. While in the Captree SP upper parking lot there were at least 20 Least Sandpipers in a road puddle created by the thunderstorm. Maybe things are moving

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First Heckscher Puddlepiper

On my afternoon coffee run through Heckscher I noticed some shorebirds in the puddles at Heckscher field 7. There were five Killdeer and four Least sandpipers. I did manage a BBC picture of one of them. Maybe this is a portent of things to come.

Calverton catch up

I finally got out to Calverton this year. I went with Mike, Bob, John, Tim and a friend of Mike's. Pat Aiken. We had a good morning. We walked into Calverton off Rte 25 near the J&R Staekhouse. It was a paved path with a fair amount of birds. Blue grosbeak, Indigo Bunting., Prairie Warbler and some usual suspects. We them went to the west side and walked in to see Grasshopper Sparrow and Eastern meadowlark. a Nice morning with a nice group of folks.

Chasing a Bird 7/11/2015

A lat minute decision to chase a bird this morning turned out well. Yesterday there was a Red Phalarope reported at Jones Beach West End. It was in the ponds between the Nature center and Field 2. This is a female in breeding plumage. A rare bird to see and rarer in breeding plumage. When I got there there was the usual kluge of birders to help me see it and I spent time after seeing the bird to chat with the known birders.

A stop at Captree Rd. on the way home got me another look at the White-faced Ibis. The roadsie was loaded with Seaside Dragonlet  Dragonflies.