Two Pelagic Species in Long Island Sound, NY – but not CT, August 2017

Each of the last few summers there have been scattered reports of pelagic species seen from the Cross Sound Ferry that passes between New London, CT and Orient Point, NY.  Any pelagic species is a good find in Long Island Sound, which is certainly the only locale to try to add these species to one’s CT list.  Back in August 2015 while on the ferry to NY to drop my daughter off at school I spotted 3 Cory’s Shearwaters in NY waters.  Or at least I think I was in NY waters since at the time I didn’t have an app on my cellphone that showed the location of the NY/CT stateline.  They were new for my NY list, but I sure wish I could have seen them in CT, and still wonder if they could have been in CT waters after all. 

I’ve taken two ferry trips since that time solely as a birding passenger.  In September 2015 I spotted a Pomarine Jaeger flying along with the boat, and luckily I was able to see it fly from CT to NY, adding it as a statebird in both states.  And then I went again in summer in 2016 though I didn’t see any pelagic species on that trip. 

So with Cory’s Shearwater still haunting me in CT, I was excited to see a post from Dan Rottino in August 2017 that he had Cory’s on a ferry ride - both in CT and NY.  And he had Wilson’s Storm-Petrels in both states too.  Although I have Wilson’s in CT, it would be new for my NY list.  So with two possible statebirds to aim for, I made plans to head out on the ferry the next day.

As I boarded the 2 PM “Mary Ellen” ferry out of New London, joined by CT birder Alex Delehanty, I was optimistic that we would get some pelagic birds.  A birder on an earlier boat that day had Cory’s and Storm-Petrels in CT, but not NY.  And a birder on a later trip only had the Cory’s in NY, though Storm-Petrels in both states.  So certainly not a slam dunk.  As we got to the mid-Sound area where most of the sightings were concentrated, we picked up the first Wilson’s Storm-Petrels “fluttering” along in CT waters.  Soon we picked up a couple more single birds, along with a flock of 5 others, giving us 8 total.  I occasionally glanced at my app, and was sad to see us reach the NY stateline without seeing any Shearwaters.  But as we crossed into NY we picked up the first of 9 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels in NY waters, though no other pelagics.

Wilson’s Storm-Petrel is a regular species for NY, but much more often seen looking south from Long Island onto the Atlantic rather than in Long Island Sound.  Wilson’s was #280 for my NY statelist, and my 8th northeast state for this common pelagic species (see my statebird map below).

Though we struck out on Cory’s in CT on the trip south, we of course still hoped for one on the way back to CT.  Not too long after we left the Orient Point, NY harbor I spotted an adult Parasitic Jaeger flying right across the bow.  I quickly checked my app and we were well within NY waters.  But would it fly north into CT?  We continued to watch the Jaeger in flight but it unfortunately flew almost directly east and disappeared in the distance.  Despite our best efforts we couldn’t will it into CT waters.  Certainly a good bird for the Sound (the first to be reported from the ferry this summer), but in the “wrong” state if you’re trying to concentrate on your New England lists.  But could that be my first Parasitic Jaeger for NY?  I’d have to check my lists after I got back to my car.

We continued to search the waters around the boat on our way back, and spotted 5 Storm-Petrels in NY and 1 more in CT.  But there were no Shearwaters in sight in either state.

Once we got back to land I checked my lists and the Parasitic Jaeger was indeed new for my NY list - #281.  NY was my 11th state for this species – 7 from the Atlantic and 4 from the Pacific.  Plus I have a “Jaeger, sp.” in VT.

So although I wasn’t able to add anything to my CT list, it was certainly nice to add 2 new ticks in NY.

And now a postscript –

After the ferry ride I got a hotel nearby, and went out on a boat the next morning for my second try for a Bridled Tern that had spent a couple weeks on Falkner Island off the CT coast.  Unfortunately, though the Bridled Tern was seen the evening before, it and 90% of the colony left the island by the time we arrived the next morning.  An extremely frustrating missed opportunity at a life bird, let alone dipping on another possible CT statebird.