Registrar: Anne Lazarus
Participants: Nineteen including leaders
Weather: 40’s-50’s F, partly sunny, breezy
Bird Species: 60
We thank our excellent and energetic leader Ethan Goodman for an outstanding trip, and we thank Miriam Rakowski for generously offering her skills as a co-leader.
April is a month of avian transition. Many wintering species are leaving and traveling to other areas where they will nest. Many southern species are migrating to our local habitats. Some will nest in the vicinity, and some will continue their journey north. We visited three sites where we observed both arriving birds and birds preparing for their departure.
Our first destination was Hempstead Lake State Park. This park, with its wooded areas, grasses, bushes, ponds and lake is an attraction for migrating passerines and other birds. We were greeted by the singing and calling of both arriving and resident birds, hearing Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Flickers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Song Sparrows and other species. We saw one Palm and one Yellow-rumped Warbler, both in striking alternate plumage. A scouting trip the previous Wednesday produced several Pine, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, but most of them had evidently moved on. We were fortunate to see ten Ring-necked Ducks and five Ruddy Ducks, which will soon depart, but the beautiful pair of Wood Ducks that we saw will nest in the park. Other signs of spring were the Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows.
Our second destination was Point Lookout. Point Lookout is a coastal site, where the beaches, beach grass, ocean and jetties attract wintering and nesting birds. We were lucky to see ducks that will soon travel north and inland to breed and raise families, including Common Eiders, three Harlequin Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks (in breeding plumage), two Surf Scoters and one Black Scoter. We also observed shorebirds and estimated about 450 Dunlins, over 200 Sanderlings with two Black-bellied Plovers among them. The flocks were flushed by a Peregrine Falcon, and took successful aerial maneuvers. Many of these shorebirds were changing into breeding plumage. They will soon fly to the tundra where they will raise their families, and they are being replaced with nesting shorebirds, such as the American Oystercatchers. Suddenly we spotted Forster’s Terns, the first tern species to usually arrive-a certain sign of spring. About 50 Northern Gannets were flying over the ocean.
Our third and final stop was Nickerson Beach. It has carefully-designed, protected nesting sites for the endangered Piping Plovers, whose plumage helps them to blend in with the colors of the sand and pebbles. We were so happy to see three of them. Killdeer are another sign of spring, and we saw two in the grass.
Species Lists
Birds
Hempstead Lake State Park
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Herring Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
European Starling
American Robin
American Goldfinch
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Point Lookout
Brant
Canada Goose
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Sanderling
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forster’s Tern
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
House Finch
Brown-headed Cowbird
Nickerson Beach
Brant
Scoter Sp.
American Oystercatcher
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Boat-tailed Grackle
Mammals
Muskrat
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Butterflies
Cabbage White
