Registrar: Louse Fraza
Participants: 11
Weather: Partly sunny, 40 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit
Bird Species: 55
Trip included Robert Moses State Park, Jones Beach, Tobay Beach, Unqua Lake, Arthur J. Henderson Park in Valley Stream.
Eleven Linnaean members showed up for this early winter trip. We started at the north end of the Massapequa reservoir area called Mansfield Park. Almost right away, Gabriel heard a Carolina wren, which he coaxed out into the open. Soon both members of a pair were showing climbing on the creepers along the stream. Then Gabriel noticed an old nest in the vicinity of the birds, which he said could very well have been where they had nested last spring. This was suggested by the proportion of twigs to grasses as well as the shape. Several different nests were then found and analyzed. Gabriel turned out to be an all-round naturalist who delighted us with information about the birds, trees and plants we encountered. This was a fast-paced trip that covered several ecological areas such as woodlands, creeks, reservoirs, lakes and shores and included some impressive landscapes along the Robert Moses Causeway. We made about 10 stops. Our final tally of 55 species included 17 duck species. We were happy to find redheads (at Capri Pond), northern pintails (Massapequa Lake), and surf and black scoters (Robert Moses). We had great looks at a red fox who was crossing the lawn at the needle at the Robert Moses State Park. Our last stop was at Valley Stream’s Henderson Park where the Pink-footed Goose was awaiting us.
Species Lists
Birds
Pink-footed Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
American Coot
Sanderling
Peeps
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
gull sp.
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Peregrine Falcon
American Crow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
