Jones Beach, TOBAY, Massapequa Preserve

 There was a report of a Marbled Godwit yesterday at Field 10 so I tried to find it but didn't have any luck.  The Coast Guard Station didn't have many sandpipers anymore - assuming shorebird season is over - there were some Oystercatchers, Yellowlegs, Semi Palmated Plovers.  I noticed some spider crabs were beached up on the dock, so I kicked them (gently) back into the water so feel like my visit wasn't wasted.  I stopped by Massapequa Preserve - not as many warblers as yesterday but did see Parulas, one unidentified one that I'm guessing was a female Black Throated Blue (still not sure), Great Crested Flycatchers, Warbling and Red Eyed Vireos and Redstarts.

Massapequa Preserve Warblers, Red Eyed Vireo

 Although the radar wasn't strong recently, I heard birds flying over my house at night the other day and had a feeling some birds had moved into the area - I wasn't disappointed when I went to the preserve early and saw lots of warblers - most were female Redstarts, lots of Chestnut sided. Also saw a male Redstart, Least Flycatchers, a Pewee, Canada Warbler, Parulas, Warbling Vireos, Blue Winged Warbler, Common Yellowthroats, Chimney Swifts, Wood Ducks and oddly my first Red Eyed Vireos for the year.

Curacao

American Flamingo

Pigeon

Scaly-naped Pigeon

Bare-eyed Pigeon

White-tipped Dove

Eared Dove

Common Ground Dove

Groove Billed Ani 

Blue-tailed Emerald

Killdeer

Southern Lapwing 

Greater Yellowlegs

Willet

Laughing Gull

Royal Tern

Magnificent Frigatebird 

Brown Pelican

Tricolored Heron

Reddish Egret

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

Green Heron 

Great Blue Heron 

Osprey

White-tailed Hawk (possible)

Crested Caracara

American Kestrel 

Brown-throated Parakeet (endemic Curacao subspecies)

Barn Swallow 

Tropical Mockingbird

House Sparrow

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Venezuelan Troupial

Yellow Oriole

Carib Grackle 

Yellow Warbler

Safron Finch

Bananaquit

Black Faced Grassquit 

Smith Point Beach

 My family and I stopped by Smith Point to enjoy the beach - of course I had my bins with me.  There were some Royal Terns and a few Shearwater species that were too far away to identify - I would assume they were Cory's.  I might be making a thing of it, but I too notice that the Great Black Backed Gulls that were flying over the ocean seemed to be flying in groups of around 4.

Jones Beach Coast Guard Station

 I got home early and was son was bored so I suggested we go look at "sandpipers" at the Jones Beach Coast Guard Station - he was so bored he said yes.  We saw lots of swallows all around us which he thought was cool - on the sandbar I pointed out some Short Billed Dowitchers and Ruddy Turnstones to him, but his favorite birds were the Black Skimmers which he got to see what they do best.  Some were up close which was neat for me too.

Robert Moses, Captree, Jones Beach, Massapequa, TOBAY

 I had the car at my disposal for the day - I could have gone to see lifers out of state - Sabine's Gull in New Jersey or a Mississippi Kite in Connecticut but chose not to take the time to drive for hours.  I tried a seawatch at Robert Moses with a SW wind, then went to Captree and saw Glossy Ibis and Lesser Yellowlegs, heard a Willow Flycatcher.  I visited the Jones Beach Coast Guard Station right before the rain - saw Sanderlings, lots of Dowitchers, Ruddy Turnstones, very vocal Laughing Gulls which I assume were after Horseshoe Crab eggs. Also saw 2 Black Scoters.  Later on, it was hot so I didn't go to Massapequa Preserve so went to the firehouse pond but only heard Bullfrogs.  In the evening I stopped by TOBAY hoping for seabirds, but only saw gulls and some shorebirds flying low.

White Eyed Vireo, Masapequa Preserve

 I was out unexpectedly this morning and heard a White Eyed Vireo calling from the preserve (around Pennsylvania Ave X Parkside Blvd).

2 Turkeys?

 My neighbor said he had 2 Turkeys on his lawn earlier in the morning - a boy and girl!

morning around my house

 I went to get gas early in the morning and heard a Blackpoll as soon as I went outside!  I also saw the Turkey on my street a few houses down.

Massapequa Preserve

 I went to the preserve in the morning hoping to find the turkey, didn't see it but there were a lot of birds singing - I was using Merlin and heard a very load sound that was ID's as a Northern Waterthrush.  I did confirm it visually and saw it briefly in the little muddy area near the bridge/ stream.  I also saw a Magnolia Warbler which are always nice/ pretty to see in the Spring.  I also found a Baltimore Oriole nest right above the bridge with 2 orioles going back and forth.

Turkey in my neighborhood

 On the Massapequa Dad's FB page, someone posted he saw a turkey in front of his house (near Parkside Drive)  I went looking for it and after a while I found it!  Nice addition to my area.  It would cross Parkside between front yards and the preserve.  I hope it stays safe since we don't have the best drivers around here.

Massapequa Preserve

 There was definitely a large migration overnight - heard/ saw a Yellow Warbler, Baltimore Oriole around my house.  There were many Catbirds, and Yellow Rumps...Merlin picked up Indigo Bunting and Parulas.

Massapequa

 Saw my FOS Black and White Warbler in the preserve and an Osprey.  I also saw another Osprey flying above my house.

Massapequa Preserve

 Heard my FOS Yellow Warbler and saw my FOS Chimney Swifts.  Bring on the spring migration!

Great Horned bay Owl, Massapequa Preserve

 Off the path, I saw a well documented baby owl -around the 1.5 mile marker on the path.

Grey Breasted Martin - MEGA - Staten Island - lifer

 There was an incredible report of a Grey Breasted Martin for a few days in a neighborhood bordering a marsh in Staten Island - I didn't think I would have a chance to see it - although not a "pretty" bird it was the first time one has ever been recorded in the USA.  Luck was on my side since my daughter and wife were going to a trip to Florida and my son was staying at his friends house - I dropped my wife at the airport/ LaGuardia and looked at the Waze App which said I was 30 minutes away from this lifer - yeah, I went.  At first I met some other nice birders who pointed it out flying above in the sky - I "saw" it but not great, but luck struck again when it landed on some telephone wires and I got some nice looks and decent photos.  First lifer for 2025!

Jones Beach West End - End of Winter

 I took a look at Jones Beach West End, not expecting much.  I refound a continuing/ cooperative Horned Grebe at the Coast Guard Station - got nice looks/ photos.  Also got some good looks at a pair of Long Tailed Ducks, Loons and a Marsh Harrier on the ground by the fisherman's parking lot.  Every year I feel like the the wintering birds are more settled in/ more cooperative at the end of the season right before they depart for their spring/ summer destinations.

Northern Lapwing, No Gulls, Red Headed Woodpecker

 I had some time so took a trip out to Halsey Lane to find a continuing Northern Lapwing - I had seen one once before but only briefly/ in bad light near Santapogue Creek some years ago.  After not seeing the bird for while it appeared on a horse farm where it had been previously reported - got some good views and better photos.  I was the only one there for a while so posted the sighting on some chat.  I went to Old Field Point to refind the previously reported "European Herring Gull" etc but didn't have any luck.  I did see some Great Comorants which I sort of consider "uncommon".  I checked up on the Sunken Meadow Red Headed Woodpecker and was able to see it.

Commom Mergansers, Masapequa Lake

 I saw an ebird report of a lot of Common Mergansers at Massapequa Lake so checked it out for myself and found around 23 on the lake (but were out in the distance).

"the mystery gull/ European Herring Gull"

 Back in March 2, 2022 I saw a few gull at Old Field Point Lighthouse that caused a stir - around the same time there was a Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull (did not see), and an odd/ mystery gull that no one could ID.  I got photos of it and photos of the gull were posted by me and other birders on different forums such as North American Gulls and Whats This Bird on FB.  It seemed that no one was willing to definitively ID the gull and put their name on the line in case they mis-identified it.  Now, the gull has returned to Old Point recently and one birder who got excellent photos of it is sure that it is indeed a European Gull after examining all the feathers etc (something beyond my expertise since I don't know feather names.)  The rest of the local birders are agreeing with that ID so I will also.  This will be my "first" life bird for 2025 even though I saw it years ago.  In the meantime, there was another gull I saw that had lighter wings and lighter yellow legs.  I can't help but think it could be a Yellow Legged Gull since they both have the same "ugly mustard" yellow looking legs.  At the time, it was dismissed as an "odd" gull of a common local type, but when I have the chance I might go looking on my older SD camera cards and see if I have any more photos of it and also of this likely European Herring Gull.  I should point out that since 2022, herring gulls were one species/ 2 subspecies but have now been separated into 2 species - Atlantic and European.

Yard Birds/ Bird Feeder

 This morning when I brought the garbage cans back from the curb I saw a Blue Jay and Cardinal sitting in my Crape Myrtles on the side of my yard - they didn't seem bothered by me even though I was less than 10 feet away - I assume they found a nice spot to warm up since it was cold out - maybe they recognize me as "that big thing that puts food in the feeder for us"?  Later on, I saw some birds at the feeder - the usual but first time I saw Starlings.

Bohemian Waxwing - no

 I had some time in the morning before work so I decided to try again for the Bohemian Waxwing that was near Jones West End.  It hadn't been seen again but I gave it a shot anyway.  I didn't find any flocks of Robins that it had been associating with.  I did see a couple of flocks of Horned Larks on the median but no Lapland Longspurs.  I saw a few Ravens here and there.  The biggest highlight was actually Yellow Rumped Warblers - there was a group of them together by the Coast Guard hedgerow which I thought was unusual.

Bird Feeder in the yard again

 I decided to put bird seed in the feeder again, hoping to attract and see something rare in my yard.  The birds took to it quickly and already have seen an assortment of birds including: Juncos (first to notice the feeder), Blue Jays (second to notice), good amounts (4-5) of White Throated Sparrows, Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Song Sparrow (assuming my resident), and House Sparrows.

Cardinals singing again

 I walked my son to the bus stop this morning and along the way heard 2 Cardinals singing in the neighborhood.  Nice to hear them - makes it seem like the start of the end of winter is here.

Yellow-breated Chat, Mill Pond, Bellmore

 There had been reports this past week of a Chat as well as an immature Red Shouldered Hawk continuing on the east side of Mill Pond in Bellmore.  It seemed rather cooperative for most birders so I tried my luck in the early morning to try to find it.  Other birders had reported it in the area of the east trail/ side of the lake near a house being renovated and had a blue tarp on it.  I found the house and did a thorough search of the area - no luck.  I think I was there for about 30 minutes when I decided to give up and leave.  Not to be totally defeated I walked slowly back and the Chat popped up but a while south of the area where everyone else was reporting it.  I got some good views of it as it was looking for food heading back north to where it had reported the day before.  I wanted to get totally unobstructed photos of it since I had seen other birders photos of it out in the open, but it was doing it's thing traveling through the shrubs so I didn't want to bother it too much and let it be.

I can't help but think other birders who tried and didn't find the chat like I did were relying too much on the observations of other birders.  I have seen several times where birders will just stick to one particular location where a bird was last seen - not making any other attempt to look around it and take some initiative.  I was sort of guilty of doing that with the chat but decided not to give up and it paid off eventually.

(I ran out of time for my morning outing so I did not attempt to find the Red Shouldered Hawk)

Happy New Year 2025

 For the last year or two, I've tried to go out birding on Jan 1st/ start of the new year - I know a lot of other birders do that so they can start their year list - I do it for good luck, hoping that I see a decent amount of life birds in the upcoming year.  The day started when I heard my "reisident" Song Sparrow singing a beautiful song in my backyard.  As I left the house, I saw gulls flying over - a nice start to the year/ day.  I started by going to Jones Field 10 and the Coast Guard Spit hoping to see a continuing Marbled Godwit, but the tide was high and didn't see either.  I did see some Cooper's Hawks, Raven, Kingfisher and lots of gulls.  When I got back closer to home, I checked out my "patch" at Massapequa Preserve and the Tackapausha spot by the firehouse.  Saw lots of Robins especially at the school yard grounds since it was warm out I guess they were looking for worms.  I also saw a Golden Crowned Kinglet and a female Ring Necked Duck which was a first for me at my "patch".  Later on, there was a report that the Marbled Godwit was seen at the Coast Guard Station so I drove over there, but wasn't there.  I checked Field 10 where it was sometimes reported by didn't see it either.  A family of birders noted that they also missed the Godwit.  They were looking at a continuing Black Headed Gull which I got to photograph - it was hanging out by a "tunnel" in the cove where also a Great Blue Heron was in.  When I got home, I saw that someone ebirded the Marbled Godwit at the Field 10 marsh area shortly before I arrived so I assume it was actually there, just hiding when I went looking for it.  I think Marbled Godwits are currrently my favorite birds - would have been nice to see one for the new year, but sometimes the best birding plans just don't always work out.  Better luck next time. (hopefully).....................