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.