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.
"I'm sharing my photos and stories of my bird watching adventures on Long Island. I also feature my sightings from around the USA and other countries when I travel. I hope you enjoy them." - Rob (from Massapequa)
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
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.
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