Linnaean trip 2017

Every year at about this time, I lead a trip for the Linnaean Society (the 2nd oldest natural history society in the country and located a the American Museum of Natural History). The aim is to find Eastern Long Island specialties and the trip usually begins at the Shinnecock Inlet, works its way all the way west on Dune Road and then goes upland in the afternoon. This year followed the traditional pattern although the Dune Road part of the trip ended up at Pike's Beach and the nearby bay overlook. Cupsogue Beach Park was omitted for a number of reasons -- one of them being that the Shinnecock part of the run took a lot of time and another reason being that someone's car had to be pulled out of soft sand; luckily a young Coast Garder who was passing by in his truck came to the rescue. The upland part of the trip was a visit to the EPCAL (ex-Grumman) grasslands, still one of the most beautiful areas out here and one of the most outstanding sites for birdwatching but severely threatened by Riverhead Town's ambitions to develop and expand its commerical operations there with one hare-brained scheme after another.

61 species seen or heard. Missed were all the pelagics, both marsh sparrows and Blue Grosbeak

Double-crested Comorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron (two flying over Moriches Bay)
Black-crowned Night Heron
Glossy Ibis
Mallard
Osprey
Northern Harrier (EPCAL)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Clapper Rail
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Snowy Plover
American Oystercatcher
Willet
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Black Skimmer
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Northern Flicker
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe (near EPCAL)
Great Crested Flycatcher (Line Road near EPCAL)
Eastern Kingbird (EPCAL)
Red-eyed Vireo (many along River Road near EPCAL)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Barn Swallow
Tree Swallow (EPCAL)
Eastern Bluebird (EPCAL)
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Prairie Warbler (heard at EPCAL)
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee (heard at EPCAL)
Chipping Sparrow (EPCAL)
Field Sparrow (EPCAL)
Grasshopper Sparrow (EPCAL)
Song Sparrow
Baltimore Oriole (heard at EPCAL)
Eastern Meadowlark (EPCAL)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
House Sparrow
House Finch

Eric Salzman

P.S.: Yesterday's photos from the SOFO/ELIAS walk in Vineyard Field were all by Bob Gunning. He was also on today's trip and I will post some of his picture tomorrow.