Montauk Weekend with Joseph DiCostanzo, 2/8 – 2/9/2025
Registrars: Amanda Bielskas & Kristin Ellington
Participants: 14
Weather: Cold, around freezing, clear skies for most of Saturday with snow (3-5 inches) overnight into Sunday morning and then overcast.
Bird Species: 73
Participants met in Manhattan and carpooled to our first stop, the Jones Beach Coastguard Station. Most of the groups were greeted there by a perched Peregrine Falcon, and some early arrivals also spotted Horned Larks in one of the medians in the area. Additionally, good numbers of ducks were seen, and there were distant views of a Common Loon and a Northern Harrier.
Our next stop was at Point Lookout, where a flock of Harlequin ducks was hanging out at the end of the closest jetty; there was also a large group of sanderlings foraging at the shoreline. After Point Lookout, we stopped briefly at Jones Beach again in search of some rarities that had been reported, but moved on after not finding them.
Our next stop, Eastport Lake, showed us large numbers of ducks and geese, including American Wigeons, Black Ducks, Northern Pintails, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, three types of Mergansers and one continuing Pink-footed Goose. In addition to the waterfowl, we had a Snowy Egret, a Belted Kingfisher, a Black-crowned Night Heron, a pair of nesting Bald Eagles, and a flyby Turkey Vulture and Cooper’s Hawk. At Mecox Bay we saw a Common Goldeneye and a Killdeer.
Last, we stopped at Sagaponack Pond, where a Dovekie was spotted in the surf just offshore, in addition to three types of Scoters. We proceeded to our hotel in Montauk for a quick break before heading to The Shagwong Tavern for dinner.
Sunday morning greeted us with a bit of lingering snow. After a quick stop at The Hampton Coffee Company for breakfast and/or coffee, we headed to Montauk Point, where we saw many Common Eiders, three types of Scoters, and—new for the trip—a handful of Razorbills. Second stop was at Camp Hero, where we spotted some Long-tailed Ducks and a Red-throated Loon.
After the morning stops we had a full breakfast at Jon’s Pancake House before heading back to the hotel to check out. Early afternoon stops included Lake Montauk, where we added Iceland Gull and Great Cormorant to our list, and Napeague, where we saw a Greater Yellowlegs; this species was also new to the trip.
One of the biggest highlights of the trip was a roadside stop in Water Mill, where we saw a rare (to the region) Northern Lapwing. There was also a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, among which were some Savanna Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, and, towards the end of the stop, some Snow Buntings that flew in.
We then stopped at a farm stand—also in Water Mill—where a Lark Sparrow had been hanging out; we almost missed it, but it popped up right in front of some of the cars as we were about to leave the parking lot, giving us great views. Our last stop out east was at Shinnecock inlet, where there were large rafts of Common Eiders and a single continuing King Eider. We also had some nice views of Long-tailed Ducks and another Northern Harrier that flew over the inlet entrance.
We cruised Dune Road in search of more birds, but other than a few sparrows, gulls, and a Great Blue Heron, we didn’t add any new species to the trip list. Everyone then headed off in their cars and made their way back to Manhattan after a very successful weekend.
Species Lists
Birds
Pink-footed Goose
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Wigeon
Mallard
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
King Eider
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Killdeer
Northern Lapwing
Greater Yellowlegs
Sanderling
Razorbill
Dovekie
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Iceland Gull
Horned Grebe
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-crowned Night Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
House Finch
Snow Bunting
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Red Fox
White-tailed Deer
