Painted Bunting, Oceanside

 Saw a continuing immature male/ female Painted Bunting at the Oceanside Marine Study feeders.

Geese

 There was a Pink Footed Goose, Cackling Goose and a Greater White Fronted Goose around the area of Northport High School.  I went early in the morning and saw the Pink Footed Goose and Cackling Goose fly in but not the Greated White Fronted.  Was mostly hoping to see the GWF Goose.

Calliope Hummingbird, Eastport

 I had a chance to see a continuing Calliope Hummingbird at a private residence in Eastport - it took some patience but did get to see it and eventually got to see it well and it's "gorget"/ throat.  Thanks to the homeowner for her hospitality and letting birders get a look.  Lifer for me.

my house in Massapequa

 I haven't been posting much because I've been busy with other things, so there's a lot I haven't reported lately (example 5 Marbled Godwits at Jones, yard birds etc)  Today there was a juv White Crowned Sparrow in my yard.

Mottled Duck returns

 The Mottled Duck from last spring at Ketcham's Creek, Amityville returned to the same spot, found by the original birder who found it.  The vegetation grew in a lot so there weren't many vantage points but I did get to see it well enough.

Sedge Wren: Crabmeadow Beach/ marsh

 Another birder found a Sedge Wren at his local patch in at Crab Meadow, as luck would have it, I was "passing through" the area the next day.  When I arrived, another birder told me it was right in front of him in the marsh plants. (I don't list other birder names on my blog unless I ask for their permission)  It took a little while but my lifer Sedge Wren came up long enough for some good looks.  The bird was right in front of me so I took a bunch of photos with my iphone but did get at least one with my camera!

Jones Beach Coast Guard Station

 I found a Lincoln's Sparrow near the hedgerow  - was calling too.

Massapequa Preserve

 I have been going to the preserve recently when possible.  On Sept 16th, I found a Lincoln's Sparrow and Philadelphia Vireo, 2 Cape May Warblers.  Last weekend there were a lot of warblers there including Parulas, Magnolias and a Northern Waterthrush.  The biggest miss I had were 2 Connecticut Warblers last Wednesday.  I working in the city so I didn't have any chance of seeing them.  My new nemesis bird.

Over the weekend I saw a Northern Waterthrush and continuing Common Yellowthroat by my house.

Massapequa Preserve

 I went to the south side of Massapequa Preserve to try to locate a hidden pond for the naive reason of trying to find a Limpkin or something else exciting and unexpected.  I found the hidden pond but couldn't get a good view into it because of lots of vegetation blocking my view.  I did find a particular spot on the "green tail" that had several Redstarts, Chestnut Sided Warblers, Black and White Warblers and an unexpected Blue Winged Warbler.

I quickly stopped by the west side by New Hampshire Avenue and found an immature Canada Warbler.

Rockland County: Anhingha + Great White Heron

 I had the opportunity to go birding before work so I went to try to find the continuing Anhinga and Great White Heron "upstate".  After a little while I found the Great White Heron and was sure it was the target bird because it had a patch of oil or something on it's back.  I went birding by the Piermont? Pier nearby on the Hudson and was surprised to find some sandpipers such as Semi-Palmated and Sem--Palmated Plovers.  I had some extra time before getting to the office and decided to also try for a continuing Anhinga at Old Tappan.  It took me a while and I had to use the scope that luckily was in the car, but I did get to see it.  While not a lifer, I only saw an Anhinga once before years ago in Florida and it was flying high above for about a minute.

Florida Keys: White-Winged Dove, White Crowned Pigeon, Scissortailed Kites

 I went on a family vacation to Key West and was excited to re-confirm some lifers that I thought I saw before I was into birding but not 100% sure.  The main example was a White Crowned Pigeon that I thought I saw years ago in Key West but that was before I was a "good birder".  After driving through the Keys and possibly sighting some lifer White Winged Dove, we arrived at our hotel on the north side of Key West.  Within a minute I saw a White Crowned Pigeon, not predicting that I would see them during most of my visit.  I also saw great views of Frigatebirds within my first day.

One of my other target birds was White Winged Dove that I had unsuccesfully chase sightings up in New York and once in Boston, MA some yeats ago. (long story after Boston)  On a whim, I walked to a nearby housing development near our hotel and counted 9 WW Doves all in one tree.  It seemed anti-climatic to find a life bird so easily that I chased for so long before.  I saw several other the rest of the trip.  

We went on a boat trip with other people to look at dolphins and go snorkeling and I saw 3? terns that I was hoping were lifer Bridled Terns.  I did not get good photos but looking at ebird, seems more likely there were Bridled Terns than Sooty Terns.

My family did a swim with the dolphin visit, and while we were there I was happy to see about 9 Swallowtailed Kites flying overhead.  Little did I know, that they could be seen in the hundreds during this time since it's their migration.

On another boating excursion, we rented a private boat to take us around snorkeling etc.  On the way out, we saw lots of Frigatebirds and a Great White Heron.  The captain had an opinion that I disagreed with saying all Great Blue Herons go through a white morph phase.  On the way back, we looked for a continuing Wurdermaan's Heron that the captain told me about but instead we found an Anhinga.

Cupsogue: Bar Tailed Godwit

 Initially ID'd as a Marbled Godwit, a nice rare Bar Tailed Godwit was reported a day or 2 earlier on the Cupsogue mud-flats.   I went early in the morning and just as I gave up hope, I got to see it for a few minutes before it disappeared.  I lost it when I was reporting it to other birders. Not the best view since it was distant but a lifer is a lifer.  I was also treated to see lots of other "common" shorebirds. Lots of Hsort Billed Dowitchers.

Aruba: Tropical Birding

 My family and I went to Aruba for about a week on vacation.  Our hotel was right by the Bubali Bird Sanctuary so I had plans to visit there when possible.  I had high hopes of getting some life birds but didn't set my expectations too high so I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't work out as planned.  Aruba did not disappoint.  It was a weird island with desolate fields/ properties surrounded by a beautiful coastline.  The good thing about the "desolate" areas is that provided more diverse habitat to find more birds.  My "wish list" for the trip was Neotropic Comorant, White Cheeked Pintail, Venezuelan Troupial, Bare Eyed Pigeon, Eared Dove, Carib Grackle, Crested Caracara and Burrowing Owl.  I was able to find everything except Burrowing Owls even though I was in the "right location".  The very friendly locals explained that introduced pythons have decimated their numbers.  The Crested Caracara was an especially nice find since I decided to not bird Bubali so much and turned my attention to one of those "desolate" fields where I found a pair on the last morning of my trip.

Other life birds included: Southern Lapwing (found incidentally in a ditch on the side of a road), Northern Scrub Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Shiny Cowbird, Black Faced Crassquit, Sooty Tern, Brown Throated Parakeet, Blue Tailed Emerald Hummingbird, Cabot and and Cayenne Sandwich Terns.

I saw the Sooty Tern and Sandwich Terns on the ocean side of Baby Beach, which is a beautiful lagoon.  There were other terns there that I believe to be Brown Noddys but I could not confirm 100% since they were at a distance.  From what I could tell, they were darker than the other birds, but had a lighter cap on their heads.

When I was driving around, I saw a "crane-like" bird that could have been a flamingo - it had an outstetched neck which rules out herons.  At Bubali, I saw a long tailed bird which might have been a Fork Tailed Flycatcher but was at a long distance so could not positively 100% ID.

Massapequa Preserve: Yellow Throated Warbler

 There were reports the last couple of days of a Yellow Throated Warbler around the Pittsburgh Ave pond - I was lucky to refind it on the southeast corner of the pond on a branch right above the paved trail.  It disappeared into the woods and I couldn't relocate it.  It's a county first for me.  I also found a Brown Thrasher and noticed lots of Comorants migrating northeast.

Ketham's Creek, Amityville: Eurasian/ Green Winged Teal Hybrid

 I had some time before work this morning so I went back to Ketcham's Creek for a reported Eurasian/ Green Winged Teal that was probably only found because of the attention surrounding the Mottled Duck.  The Mottled Duck was not present when I went this morning but was lucky enough to find the hybrid teal - the white lateral line wasn't too dramatic but distinctive enough to make a proper ID.  On the way out, I heard but did not see a continuing White Eyed Vireo and some Monk Parakeets that set up nests on the light poles on Merrick Road.

Ketcham's Creek: Mottled Duck, yes

 There was a reported Mottled Duck earlier in the week at Ketcham's Creek, Amityville recently that was with a female Mallard.  After several attempts the weekend earlier etc I finally lucked out and saw it early Friday.  I had noticed some American Black Ducks/ Mallards that I thought had potential to be the Mottled Duck but when another birder put me on the target bird, it was obvious.  (it had just flown in)  It's not known where the Mottled Duck and the female Mallard go when they're not at the creek.  As of Easter weekend, the female Mallard was not seen but the Mottled was, so hopefully nothing bad happened to her***.  This is a lifer for me.

*** update, from late Monday, the female Mallard was reported with the Mottled Duck in the afternoon

Massapequa Preserve: Orange Crowned Warbler

 I had some time before work this week so went to the preserve just to get outside.  On Tuesday, I found an Orange Crowned Warbler by the Pittsburgh Ave pond.  I refound it again today but it flew into the woods.  I thought it sounded like a wren.  I also saw my FOS Yellow Warblers.

Pine Warblers

 When I dropped my son off at school, I noticed a couple of warblers singing in the tree at the school that I suspected were Pine Warblers - when I got back home I heard a warbler singing down the street and was able to see that it was a Pine Warbler before it flew into the preserve.

Seagulls

I started the day at Mill Pond where I found my target bird - the continuing Common Gallinule.  I had to walk around the entire pond/ lake but eventually found it.  I've seen it before but wanted to check it out again since I saw photos online showing it had more color.

There were reports of an odd gull at Old Field Point Lighthouse so I went with a friend to check it out.  We arrived at the scene and I separated myself from the other birders that were searching for it and I found the gull on the rocks that stuck out into the sound.  Later on I saw a continuing white Glaucous Gull and a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls.  Other birders saw an Iceland Gull but the vantage point at Old Field isn't birder friendly so couldn't see it.  The gull in question hasn't been confirmed as of yet.  The default would be Lesser Black Backed x Herring (Appledore) but a bunch of birders suggest it's the argentus subspecies AKA European Herring Gull.  The photo of the bird has been posted on FB pages North American Gulls and Western Paleartic Gulls and an almost equal amount of birders have said the gull is one or the other.  

We also tried looking for a continuing Shrike at North Fork Preserve but came up empty handed.

Common Gallinule

potential European Herring Gull

potential European Herring Gull

potential European Herring Gull

potential European Herring Gull

odd Herring Gull? also had yellowish legs

Glaucous Gull