Registrar: Junko Suzuki
Participants: 12
Weather: Sunny, 65–80 degrees at Robert Moses State Park; sunny, 80–84 degrees at Captree State Park; partly cloudy, 86 degrees at Willow Pond; strong SW winds throughout the day.
Bird Species: 48
We started the sea watch with our leaders, Mary Normandia and Seth Ausubel, at Field 5 of Robert Moses State Park around 7:30 am. The group was soon joined by Shai Mitra and Pat Lindsay. We had an amazing expert team to lead us, but unfortunately the strong southwest wind was not favorable for seabird watching. We still saw Northern Gannet, several species of terns, including Roseate; Lesser Black-backed Gulls; a couple of shorebird species; Black Scoters; and Blue-winged Teals.
Then the participants were treated to a delicious bagel breakfast with lox, cream cheese and fruit, thanks to the generous Pat and Shai. After this enjoyable break, we attempted some more seawatching before separating into two groups. One group, led by Mary and Seth, headed toward the lighthouse. The other stayed with Shai and Pat at the beach, eventually seeing several shearwaters, while the lighthouse group had a Cape May Warbler and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Although the official part of the trip ended around 11:15, 10 of the 12 participants decided to drive to nearby Captree State Park, where they sighted two of the best birds of the day: a Tricolored Heron and a Royal Tern.
After Captree State Park, eight participants decided to check out the Roseate Spoonbill, a mega rarity reported earlier in the day at Willow Pond in Hewlett Bay Park. After struggling to find the closest parking lot, we anxiously walked down the road to the pond, where we were treated to the sight of the beautiful pink spoonbill among numerous Great Egrets. This bird ended up being the outstanding highlight of the day.
Species Lists
Birds
Blue-winged Teal
Black Scoter
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Least Tern
Forster’s Tern
Common Tern
Roseate Tern
Royal Tern
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Tricolored Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Roseate Spoonbill
Osprey
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Common Yellowthroat
Cape May Warbler
Northern Cardinal
