November 24th, 2007
On a bracing late November day, nine intrepid birders met at the West End Coast Guard Station . The sand bar was a vision of black and white. Closer inspection with spotting scopes revealed the identity of the black and white crown of American Oystercatchers on the west end of the bar (100+, red eyes and beaks gleaming in the early morning sun) and a large flock of murmuring brant on the east end. Scattered among them were dunlin and sanderlings.
A small flotilla of Long-tailed duck bounced on the bay nearby and occasional Double-crested Cormorants dove for breakfast in the cold,clear water.Although gulls flew overhead, none were Bonaparte's. In fact that species eluded us the entire day. Hope remains for the Point Lookout trip in early January. Moving to the line of the no-longer black pines, we found that their absence had a definite effect on the avian world. Only a few Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows fed on the bordering grass where once we would have had flocks of seed eaters. A lone White-crowned Sparrow made up for our loss. It was quite satisfyingly dapper in its clean crown striping and pearl-gray breast.
The traditional walk out to the jetty revealed many juncos, yellow-rumped warblers, house finches, goldfinches, mockingbirds and flickers. Untraditionally, we did not observe any seals in Jones Inlet . At this point we divided into the median walkers and the median drivers. The drivers missed Red-breasted Nuthatches, but the walkers were unhappy to miss out on owls, raptors and irruptive species . It was not for lack of attention. Rick realized later that he was so busy looking in the pines that he missed the British Soldier lichen and earth stars that he was hoping to find in the median. Actually, the driving team was treated to a fly-by Peregrine Falcon as we approached the Coast Guard Station parking lot. And we also observed a pair of Purple Finches at a quick rest stop at Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center.
A longer walk at the nature Center did not reveal the hoped-for Horned Larks , Pipits and Longspurs, so we proceeded to West End #2 , where a flock of Snow Buntings circled overhead and cooperatively settled down to feed within twenty feet of our wondering eyes. At one point they took off in a nervous flurry, but thankfully returned to their original spot so that we could fully admire their varying plumages before they bounced off to a new location.
A stop at Zach's Bay added a Hermit Thrush, a large Number of Red-breasted Merganser and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet to our growing list. At this point, hunger for lunch overcame our hunger for birds and we repaired to the sunny benches of Cedar Beach. Although many fishing boat plied the offshore waters, none were followed by Gannets. May they be waiting for us off Montauk Point! A side-trip to the east end of Cedar Beach added an American Tree Sparrow and several White-throated Sparrows. At this point, we decided to forgo our usual walk in JFK Sanctuary in search of ducks. Rick and I drove out from the Tobay parking lot to the sanctuary and found two Great Blue Herons and a late Great Egret in one of the channels. The Egret soon flew off, so we were thankful that he had waited for us before taking off for parts unknown. A lone raptor sat in a dead pine at the edge of the parking lot. A we approached, it gave us a supercilious glance and dove at our car. Flinching at the fly-by of this proud little Merlin, I was happy not to be a small bird at that moment. As we returned to the Coast Guard Station we were thrilled by another close fly-by from a Peregrine Falcon, an altogether satisfying way to end yet another great day of birding (are there any other kind?).
By Linda Kedenburg