North Babylon, Montauk

I started the day at North Babylon High School looking for a reported Barnacle goose - did not see any geese there so headed over to a nearby park I saw on a map and found it in a pond with Canada Geese.  I decided to make the trip out to Montauk to find some lifers that were reported.  A quick stop at Captree I found about a dozen Boat Tailed Grackles - along the way where Route 111 intersects with Sunrise Highway I saw my first Long Island Raven flying overhead.  My first stop out east was Big Reed Pond to look for Virginia Rails - I wasted a few hours there getting lost - my only sighting were 2 Red Tailed Hawks calling to each other.  I went to Montauk Point looking for a reported male King Eider and Razorbills that was seen earlier in the day- no luck  - I scanned through the flocks of waterfowl  - scoters, Common Eiders and Loons.  I realized I don't enjoy birding trying to look at a bird from such a distance - I prefer getting good looks at a bird I'm looking at - not just species identification.  I went by Gosman's Dock and on the east side of Montauk Lake Inlet - my target birds were reported Iceland Gulls but did not find them among the many gulls there. (I did not yet realize I had seen one already at Camman's Pond)  I saw a juvenile Gannet struggling to fly against the west wind - I wasn't used to seeing so much black on the back wings so I thought I had some unusual for a moment.  Some Great and Double Crested Comorants were on the tower on the east jetty.

Barnacle Goose

Barnacle Goose

Boat Tailed Grackle

cropped image of a juvenile Gannet

juvenile Gannet