So, I went down to Long Island in search of summer southern specialties. One of these is the Chuck-will’s Widow, a bigger cousin to the Whip-poor-Will. Both these species get their popular name from their song. The “Chuck” having a louder, more resonate rolling rendition of its name than the more familiar Whip-poor-Will. Like the Whip-poor-Will, the Chuck sings at night. So to “count” one, you might have to be content to just hear it, which works for a big year tally.
The Chuck-will’s Widow is yet another one of those southern species that have moved northward in the last few decades. There are only a very few Chucks nesting on the island. So the idea is to talk to local birders down there and ask where they can be found.
My son already had one location down pat, so off we went. Actually we spent the whole day criss-crossing Long Island ticking off one specialty species after another.
We started out before the sun came up, and went to the East End where we visited a productive grassy field. The first new year bird for me was several Bob-whites calling but not seen. Then, a Yellow-breasted Chat singing and also not seen. After a long walk through these tick infested grassland, we heard a Blue Grosbeak calling - again not seen. They all counted though. One more specialty to go for this productive field was the Grasshopper Sparrow. If this guy were singing, it wouldn’t do me any good since their song is above the my hearing level. Andy did hear one and was able to pin-point his location where I was able to put my scope on it and get pretty good, though distant, looks at this elusive species. I even managed to snap a few fuzzy photos.
After that we went to a tidal flat where we found a number of new species such as Royal, Least and Forster’s Terns, sandpipers including Semipalmated, Ruddy Turnstones, Red Knots, and others that I had seen previoulsy this year. One of those sandpipers turned out to be a mystery to everyone. It had characteristics that didn’t match those of any one species. By then we were joined by some of New York’s top-notch birders and none could determine just what this bird was. I love it when this happens. All the possibilities are discussed including rare species from the Siberian Tundra. We spent several hours out in the sun, taking photos, detailed notes, and making cell-phone calls to other birders. In the end, it flew off and remained unidentified. Wow! Talk about “Stump the Experts”! It was relocated later in the day by others summoned by the phone calls and again the next day. Even after more scrutiny, and lots more photos, it still remains as “unidentified”. If you’re curious, some of the best photos can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/tixbirdz . Look at the link to “Calidris Sandpiper at Pike’s Beach, Long Island, NY”. What do you think?
We spent the afternoon visiting a salt marsh where we found Seaside Sparrows, and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows singing away. These are species found - as their names imply - only along the coast. Then we set up on one of the several ocean viewing sites to see what was going by off shore. For this, we went to Shinnecock Inlet. Sure enough, we did manage to find lots of Gannets (already seen on our pelagic trip in February) and a few Sooty and one Manx Shearwaters. Plus, it does one good to experience on-shore breezes laden with salt air every now and then. An unexpected bonus was that with our spotting scopes set up, we tend to draw curious folks in who want to know what we’re looking for. One of them turned out to be a sea captain who had lots of sea stories to share, and another was the step-son of an old friend who passed away a few years ago. I had never met his family and was pleased to make this connection. Remarkable bonuses of birding - and a reminder - open up and talk. You may meet a friend you hadn’t met before.
After dark, it was off to the pine barrens for the night songsters. We entered the sandy lane and right away heard several Whip-poor-Wills. After a rather long walk in the dim backlighting of waning twilight, we heard the repeated rolling: “chuck-wills-Wid-OW” (emphisis on the last sylable).
Early Sunday morning we were off to the famous Jamaica Bay Wildlife Sanctuary near Kennedy Airport. This remarkable site is within the city limits of the biggest city in the state, and hosts some of the best birding opportunities in the country. It’s a must do spot for any serious birding in New York.
Here we added some more “southern” specialties such as Gull-billed Tern, Yellow-crowned Night, Little-blue, and Tri-colored (Louisiana) Herons, Glossy Ibis, and White-eyed Vireo. I also had a chance to see the new Visitor’s Center for the first time. That place has come a long way since it was transformed from a vacant sandpit and “speak easy” hangout I used to know of as a kid. I can still remember the pretty good bird call imitations the soldiers at the now gone army base next to the unmarked entrance back then.
More than eighty species for the weekend, and 27 new ones for the year. Not too shabby.
So that brings my Big Year tally to: 249.
Next: off to the Adirondacks for northern specialties
