Registrar: Mary Beth Kooper
Participants: 20
Weather: Sunny, 31 degrees, little wind
Bird Species: 33
Our trip started on the west side of Shinnecock Inlet in Shinnecock County Park where we observed a nice assortment of sea ducks including White-winged Scoters and many Long-tailed Ducks. From there our group made a couple of stops along Dune Road where we saw a Snowy Owl nestled in the dunes, a lone Snow Bunting, a number of Common Goldeneyes and more. Our caravan of hardy winter birders continued traveling back west and stopped at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge where we observed some land birds before our last stop at EPCAL (the Enterprise Park at Calverton, formerly Grumman), which has the largest remaining grassland on Long Island. While there we were delighted to see some new birds for the day, including Horned Larks and a very beautiful Eastern Meadowlark. Many thanks to our leaders for showing us such warm hospitality and sharing their extensive local knowledge.
Species Lists
Birds
Brant
Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck
Common Eider
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Loon
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Snowy Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Peregrine Falcon
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Horned Lark
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Snow Bunting
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Mammals
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
