May-October, 2011

Although, I already signed off with my last regular post for the year, I thought a brief review of the season in East Quogue -- May 1 to November 1 -- might be in order.

There were two big bird news stories in the summer of 2011. One was the Raven nesting on the Hampton Bays water tower, the first ever recorded in Eastern Long Island. There were three young, one of which didn't make it (not sure of the fate of the other two). Traditionally, the Common Raven in Eastern North America has been regarded as a northern wilderness species but it has been expanding its range south along the coast and it has even nested in a Queens park. Even so, the Hampton Bays nesting can be considered a considerable range extension.

The other big story was Hurricane (or, if you prefer, Tropical Storm) Irene which brought an amazing bonanza of pelagic and tropical seabirds: Bridled Tern, White Ibis, several Brown Pelicans and Sandwich Terns (also non-tropical Caspian Terns). A "skua" was picked up in East Quogue and taken to the Hamptons Rescue Center in Hampton Bays where it turned out to be a Long-tailed Jaeger! And in the cage right next to it was a Cory's Shearwater, another hurricane casualty found in East Quogue! Both of these birds are 'pelagic' and can usually be found well out in the ocean. The Jaeger, which didn't make it, is one of the most sought-after pelagic birds and the rarest of three Jaegers. I believe the Shearwater recovered and was released. Other exotics were reported; a dead Tropicbird (I forget which species) turned up in East Marion and a Black-capped Petrel was seen in Mecox Bay (but not, alas, by me).

The Bridled Tern, a gorgeous tropical seabird, also usually found far out to sea, was on Weesuck Creek on Hurricane Sunday morning flying with Black Terns (and a Black Skimmer) so it gets added to the East Quogue list! Two other new birds turned up in 2011: a Common Merganser in the spring (sitting in the water at the mouth of the outflow from our pond) and a Red-shouldered Hawk which hung around in our woods for two or three days this fall. A few Common Mergansers can be found on East End ponds in the winter but this is not a bird that we normally see in breeding season. And the Red-shouldered Hawk is one of Long Island 'missing' species -- along with Barred Owl (which has a similar habitat) and Pileated Woodpecker -- i.e. species that are not uncommon on the adjacent mainland but are no-shows on LI. That made three new East Quogue species for a total of 239. However, for various reasons, I've taken Little Egret off the definite list and demoted it to 'hypothetical' making the total 238+1 (the Little Egret is an Old World species with two long nuptial plumes and I have seen such a bird twice on our place over the years; but apparently Snowy Egrets -- or perhaps hybrids between Little and Snowy -- can sport these double plumes).

The big disappointments in 2011 were the 'neo-tropical' migrants; both warblers and thrushes were notably scarce in both spring and fall. There is no doubt that the much-anticipated movements of these birds have fallen way off in the last few years. We can look for explanations in several directions but the simple truth is that the populations of these birds, nesting in the north and migrating to the tropics, are dramatically diminished.

The migrants that still turned up in some numbers are the vireos (Red-eyed, Warbling, White-eyed, Blue-headed and, notably, Yellow-throated) and flycatchers (Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-pewee and the empids). Also Yellow-breasted Chat (not considered a warbler anymore), Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Scarlet Tanager, both orioles, the mimids (Catbird, Brown Thrasher), Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a few other finch and sparrow types. In the last-named category' are the Eastern Towhee and a number of sparrows including Song, Swamp and White-throated which arrive in considerable numbers plus White-crowned, Chipping and Lincoln's, all seen in migration this fall on my morning walks around the place. It should be noted that most of these birds are local or near-by nesters and perhaps should not be considered long-distance migrants like many of the warblers and thrushes.

Eric Salzman

end of migration

Tuesday morning I did a 'final' walk around the place in time to see a medium-sized hawk flying with and even diving at a much large raptor. It took me a moment to figure out what was going on as the bigger bird was a powerful looking creature with broad wings and a long tail. Only when it tilted a bit soaring on the strong winds was I able to see the white rump. Northern Harrier in migration, flapping and soaring overhead, is quite a different bird from the marsh-hunting Harriers that we usually see with their up-titled V-shaped wings and slow coursing flight. The bird attacking it was an accipiter, almost certainly a Cooper's Hawk.

The N. Harrier was not the largest raptor of the day. While turning onto Eastport Manor Road a little later in the day, a huge raptor suddenly appeared right above the road, flying away from us with a series of shallow flaps followed by soaring on wide, flat wings. It was, without a doubt, an eagle, although on the basis of a rear silhouette alone, I couldn't be absolutely certain which one.

The midday winter feeding flock was active with its very handsome male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -- red crest, red throat, yellow belly and all -- plus Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-throated Sparrows, the other three woodpeckers and the usual Chickadees and Titmice. Flocks of American Robins are still on the move and there are many Swamp Sparrows in the marsh along with American Goldfinches and House Finches feeding on the Baccharis. But most of the passerine migration seems to be over. In fact, our personal migration is over and so this will be my last regular post for a while.

Eric Salzman