Collared Plover (Lifebird) and 4 other TX Statebirds - August, 2015

One of the most exciting birding discoveries in summer 2014 was a Collared Plover detected in south Texas.  A second record for the US, this bird was seen quite reliably every day for about a 2-week period in August 2014 at a spot called the Hargill Playa, a 30-minute drive north of McAllen.  Although I don’t typically chase ABA rarities, with monthly business trips to Houston, a number of times I’ve added a vacation day to pursue life birds in south Texas.  And the Collared Plover was no exception – I added a day to my regular August 2014 Houston trip, flying into McAllen to try to look for the Plover.  Unfortunately I arrived in south TX on August 18th which was the first day the bird wasn’t seen.  I spent 3 hours in the heat, humidity, and wind searching for the bird but to no avail. 

The Hargill Playa is a large flat basin with a pond that varies in size based on recent rainfalls.  The pond is surrounded by a salty beach and vegetation that to my un-trained eye looks like saltbush.  All in all, the site looks like one you would see in the Great Basin in Nevada.  On my 2014 trip the site was full of birds – shorebirds, waders, terns, and gulls principally.  I had 48 species during that visit, including family groups of Snowy and Wilson’s Plovers, which were a bit surprising for this inland location.  But alas, no Collared Plover.

Hargill Playa

Fast forward to July 2015 – on the 21st a Collared Plover was again detected at Hargill Playa – undoubtedly the same bird as last year.  I happened to be in Houston at the time, and would have loved to drop everything and run right down to south TX to look for the bird.  But I had a full work schedule and couldn’t break free.  I knew I had another Houston trip coming up in 3 weeks, and would be able to add a vacation day on that trip to try for it.  But would the bird stay that long?  Although last year it was only around to 2 weeks, its last day was August 17th, and this year I would be able to get there a full week earlier.  An optimist might say that this year the Plover would stay at least until last year’s departure date.  A pessimist (or realist?) might say that the bird would be long gone after a 3-week wait.  Ever the optimist, especially when it comes to birding, I booked my August trip with an extra vacation day to head to south TX.  But this time I would drive from Houston, instead of flying, to give me more flexibility to try for other birds in route.

The 3-week wait became agonizing at times.  Although the Collared Plover was reported daily initially, it soon became old news and no reports were posted some days- even though I checked eBird, the TX listserve, NARBA, and a Lower Rio Grande Valley blog.  And then the week before my trip came the first negative posts.  But positive reports were posted the last 2 days before my trip, so I became more optimistic.  And being hopeful that I could find the target bird rather quickly, I developed a gameplan with the help of eBird Needs Alerts to go after 4 other possible TX statebirds between Houston and Hargill.  My flight was scheduled to land around Noon in Houston, and my plan was to head right to Hargill.  With a 5-hour drive that would give me a couple hours of birding time in the evening, and I would have much of the day available the next day as well.  If I had time I would go after my other targets, but only after finding the Collared Plover, focusing on that highest priority target first.

One challenge was going to be the extreme heat wave that TX was experiencing at the time.  With heat indices of 105-110 throughout much of the day, birding out in the sun at the playa would be difficult, if not dangerous, except for the early morning and late evening.  And in fact, recent reports showed that birders were mostly finding the Plover in the morning, so even the bird was avoiding the mid-day heat.  As a result, even though I would have some birding time in the evening the first day I arrived, I was less than optimistic that I would find it then, instead thinking the next morning would be a more promising time.

As soon as my flight landed I quickly checked the various websites and the Plover was indeed seen that morning!  And since my flight had landed at least 30 minutes early I would have plenty of time to try for it that evening.  But as I made my way south, I began to debate whether I should rush down there right away.  With my flight getting in early I would get to the playa by 5 PM, still in the teeth of the afternoon heat.  An option was to make a quick stop along the way to search for one of my other targets, allowing for a later arrival in Hargill.  One of my statebird targets was Purple Gallinule which had been seen in a pond just a 10-minute side trip off my route to Hargill.  But should I take time away from my prime goal?  I’ve missed key targets in the past by pursuing lower priority birds first, and didn’t want that to happen this time.  Just before I had to make the decision whether to head for the Gallinule, I checked my weather app and the heat index at Hargill was still 110.  And since I figured no one would be at the site to tell me I just missed the Plover anyway, I took the turnoff to try for the Gallinule first.

The spot I was heading for was called Mittag's Pond/Hays Lake a short distance east of Riviera.  Several Purple Gallinules had been reported here and at 2 nearby wetlands in the last week.  The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that it was teaming with activity – at least 40 Black Terns were skimming low over the water, numerous waders of several species were scattered throughout, and there were at least 50 Fulvous Whistling Ducks sitting in the shade of some small bushes – yes it was very hot there!  I didn’t see any water lilies which I typically associate with Purple Gallinules, but there was a section of mudflats that had dying vegetation as if the water level in the lake had dropped recently.  I started scanning this area and quickly picked out an immature Gallinule – though just a Common.  I saw no other Gallinules, and didn’t think the habitat looked very good for a Purple anyway.  So not wanting to take too much time away from the Plover search, I decided to head to Hargill after this short 30-minute side trip.

When I arrived at the playa I saw another car up ahead and a birder already looking out over the basin.  I drove up to him and asked if he had seen the Plover.  He said he had it about 20 minutes earlier at the water’s edge right in front of us.  He then went back to his car to get his camera, but had not re-found it.  The birder told me a Caracara had flown in and all the birds scattered.  My heart sank.  That was my worst-case scenario – if I had not taken the 30-minute side trip I would likely have seen the Plover the moment I had driven up.  And now it was gone.  Why hadn’t I followed my own rule to go after the key target before trying for any other birds? 

I set up my scope and started my search, first scanning the shoreline where the other birder had last seen the Plover – but it was not there.  In fact there were no shorebirds at all.  I expanded my search area a bit and found 2 Caracaras at the water’s edge – 1 was feeding on something – hopefully not a Plover.  Now my mind jumped to Falcated Duck in CA and my 5 unsuccessful searches for that bird.  Was Collared Plover going to be a similar nemesis bird? 

I scanned the shore again with my binoculars and noticed a small “bump” close to the water’s edge.  Although I had scanned this area several times earlier without this feature getting my attention, this time something caught my eye.  I put my scope on it and realized that the “bump” was actually a shorebird sitting on the sand, with its back almost identical in color to the surrounding sand.  I zoomed in and easily identified it as a Plover, but with Snowy’s and Wilson’s also at the playa, I needed to determine what species of Plover it was.  I started checking for all the key field marks – white forehead with a black stripe just above it at the top of the head, black patch in front of the eye and not behind, and then a complete black band across the chest.  It was the Collared Plover!  Over the next 30 minutes we watched it as it eventually stood up and walked along the shore line giving very good views, including showing those pink legs.  I got these passable phonescoped pictures of the bird despite being a fair distance awat, the scope shaking in the wind, and lots of heat shimmer.

Now that I had checked off my principal target bird, I had quite a bit of time to go after my TX statebird targets.  Though since the heat index was still 106, I wouldn’t be spending too much time chasing after birds out in the heat and sun.  I decided to head just a couple miles to the west of Hargill Playa to Brushline Road where up to 3 Glossy Ibis were occasionally reported in with White-faced, though not in the past 10 days.  And several Purple Gallinules were reported along that road as well. 

When I got to the northern end of the dirt road I was quickly surprised by how many birds were around.  In the drier areas numerous Lark Sparrows were hopping along the road, and I found 3 coveys of Bobwhite calmly feeding along the roadside (can’t remember the last time I saw a Bobwhite).  Soon I arrived at the first wetland which was covered in a flock of blackbirds – mainly Great-tailed Grackles with some Bronzed Cowbirds mixed in.  Then I noticed a lone dark Ibis at the edge of the marsh – just a White-faced (I guess I’d have to be really lucky to have the only Ibis around be a Glossy).  I scoped the back of the marsh and found at least 30 more dark Ibis – but all were too far away to ID.  A bit further along I came upon a flooded field with a number of both Whistling-Ducks and 8 dark Ibis close to the road.  Lighting was perfect but again all were White-faced.  Next I came up to a pond full of water lilies – ideal for Purple Gallinules and a pretty spot, but no Gallinules were in site. 

 

Two other wetlands featured a family group of Common Gallinules, at least 200 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, and several more distant dark Ibis.  I reached the end of the road, and came upon a nice group of Groove-billed Anis and several Pyrrhuloxias, but still no target statebirds. 

I turned around and thought that I’d check out those same wetlands one more time on the way back to the playa.  When I reached the pond with the water lilies I noticed some movement, quickly hit the brakes, and noticed an adult Purple Gallinule dancing across the lily pads – statebird #2.  With so much birding time in TX I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to get this one for my statelist.  TX was the 8th southeastern state where I’ve seen this species, along with 3 in New England as a rarity (see my statebird map below).

The next wetland I returned to was the flooded field, but it had the same 8 White-faced Ibis I saw before.  And there was just 1 wetland left where I had 1 close White-faced earlier.  Once again there was one dark Ibis close to the road which was still a White-faced.  But then it took off and landed a few feet away next to 2 other dark Ibis that I hadn’t yet spotted.  The first one was again a White-faced, but when I checked the last bird I was having trouble seeing red eyes.  This bird was in basic plumage, whereas all the others were in pretty high breeding plumage.  I spent a couple minutes scoping this last bird, seeing only dark eyes and no white around the face.  It was a Glossy Ibis – statebird #3.  TX was my 3rd central state for this otherwise eastern US bird.

It was now 7:00, and although the heat index was still 105, I headed back over to the Hargill Playa to try to get additional views of the Collared Plover.  Two other birders were there when I arrived, but they had not seen the bird.  I did a quick scan and didn’t come up with the Plover, so I called it quits for the day, very happy to have seen the Plover earlier.

With 3 of my target birds out of the way, there were only 2 possible new statebirds to pursue on day 2 – Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Magnificent Frigatebird.  There had been many recent sightings of Buff-breasteds at multiple sod farms, including two fields with over 1,000 birds 2 days before.  So I was pretty optimistic, and rightfully so.  As I pulled up to my first spot, the Dacosta Turf Farm, I noticed some movement in the taller grass near the road.  Within seconds I had 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers right along the road – statebird #4.  I took this phonescoped photo of one of the nearby birds –the 499th species that I’ve photographed.

Within just a few minutes of scanning I counted 29 Buff-breasted Sands, probably the most I’ve ever seen in 1 day, let alone 1 field.  Although this is a regular migrant in the central portion of the US, TX was only the 2nd central US state where I’ve seen this species, though I’ve seen it in 9 eastern states as a rarer migrant. 

And while I was at the field this Upland Sandpiper flew in and landed right next to the road – not a new statebird but still a nice sighting.

My last target was the Frigatebird, which had been seen occasionally at several inlets on the upper coast.  I decided to make the small park at the inlet on Surfside Beach my first stop to try for this bird since it also looked like it would be a good spot to do a seawatch.  I arrived at the park and found a shady spot where I could stand and look out onto the Gulf.  Within seconds I noticed several birds soaring out over the water – they were Frigatebirds lazily circling over the inlet.  Within a couple minutes I counted at least 6 birds – that was easy – statebird #5.  I’ve now seen Frigatebird in 4 Gulf states, as well as Michigan as a rarity.

Since I got both of my targets so quickly, I had some free time and continued to bird Surfside Beach to work on my trip list.  I added a number of new birds for the trip – giving me a total of 91 species for the 2 days.  But it wasn’t long until the heat and humidity were a bit too much to take, and I made the short trip back to Houston.

What a successful trip!  Most importantly I saw Collared Plover as ABA lifer #746 and Lower 48 lifer #724.  It was the 10th lifer I’ve seen in TX in the last 6 years as a result of adding a vacation day to a Houston business trip.  And I also saw all four of my other TX statebird targets giving me 426 for my TX statelist. 

White-faced Ibis, North Hampton, NH, July 2015

Although White-faced Ibis is now seen annually in MA and ME, it is still quite a rarity in NH with only 3 state records before this year - all one-day wonders and all in April.  I was very close to seeing the bird back in 2010 the last time it was found in NH, but work commitments kept me from squeezing in a trip to the coast to see it.  Elsewhere in New England, I’ve recently seen White-faced Ibis in CT and RI, to go along with earlier sightings in MA and ME.  And since it isn’t yet on the VT statelist, that meant that NH was the last state I needed to complete the New England portion of my statebird map.  So given my near-miss 5 years ago, needless to say I really wanted to see White-faced Ibis in NH.   

I would finally have the chance to try for this bird in July 2015, though not without some significant challenges.  A White-faced Ibis was found early on a Sunday morning with a flock of Glossy’s and numerous Egrets in the marshes off Huckleberry Lane in Hampton, NH.  The good news was that the bird was present for several hours.  Unfortunately I didn’t get the news for a while, and I arrived at the site about 30 minutes after the last sighting.  Despite searches of several nearby marshes I saw no Ibis at all.  Another frustrating miss.

But there was hope - on Thursday that week the White-faced Ibis was again reported, this time at the large Little River marshes just to the north.  The bird was still around – this time it wasn’t a one-day wonder!  And then on Saturday a flock of dark Ibis was seen at the same marsh.  But since they were seen at a distance, only half could be identified as Glossy’s.  Could the target bird have been in that flock?  In any case, it seemed like it was worth a shot to try for the bird again, so I made plans to give it a go the next morning. 

I arrived at the coast at 6:45 Sunday morning and first headed to Huckleberry Lane, but found no waders at all.  Then I went to the Little River marshes and found just one Snowy Egret in the distance in the northwestern portion of the marsh.  Within a few minutes it was joined by 5 other Snowy’s.  Could this become the critical mass of waders needed to attract the Ibis flock?  Unfortunately, after another 15 minutes of waiting, no other waders came in.  So since the Ibis flock was not in the marsh now, I decided to take a quick drive north up the coast to check other places where waders could be feeding.  Then if I didn’t find them to the north, I’d return to Little River in hopes that the Ibis flock would return there.  But despite making multiple stops all the way to Odiorne, I found just a few Egrets and a Great Blue, and no Ibis.  The waders certainly weren’t north of Little River. 

As I turned around and headed back to the Little River marshes I wondered if I had made the right choice to take the hour round-trip drive north – not only did I not find any Ibis, maybe I had missed the target bird at Little River.  I returned to the Little River overlook on Route 111 and quickly refound the Egret flock – there were now at least a dozen birds feeding in a distant channel.  Notably they were only occasionally in view, even though they were tall white birds in a sea of green.  I kept scanning the area and after just 5 minutes I noticed a dark Ibis fly out of that same channel.  I quickly got on the bird with my binoculars and watched it fly in profile low over the marsh for maybe 10 seconds before it disappeared behind an island of trees in the marsh.  Even though it was pretty distant I definitely noticed that its face was much paler than the rest of the head and body.  The pictures I had seen of the target bird (when it was much closer!) showed that although it did not have a bright white ring around the face it did have a broader, less well-defined pale area.  It sort of reminded me of the graying face of an old dog.  And that was exactly what I saw, even though the bird was quite far away.  Another concern was that this morning’s bird was feeding with Egrets and not Ibis, even though earlier sightings of the White-faced put it with other Ibis.

I was pretty sure I had just re-found the White-faced Ibis, though I was troubled about the distant view and the fact that the bird was with Egrets.  The bird may well have dropped into the southeast part of the Little River marsh, so I headed to Appledore Ave. to try to get a closer look at that part of the marsh.  Although all the property here is private, I was able to talk one of the homeowners into letting me walk through their trees to the marsh edge.  From here I stood and watched the marsh, finding up to 20 Egrets, but no Ibis.  After nearly an hour wait I noticed 4 dark Ibis fly into the northern part of the marsh, roughly the same distance from me as my first Ibis sighting.  Even though I only got fair looks at 3 of the 4 birds, I could tell they did not have the required white area on the head to make any into a White-faced.  I now felt much better about my ID of the first bird as a White-faced Ibis. 

Just as I was about to leave my post on Appledore Ave. a dark Ibis flew out of the marsh near me, and flew off to the far northwestern part of the marsh.  Although I watched it for 10 seconds or more, I never saw the head of the bird due to its flight direction.  I wouldn’t be surprised that this was the White-faced Ibis I saw earlier – luckily I saw the first bird in profile and was able to see its head.

Interestingly, later in the day, another birder reported the White-faced in the Little River marshes, again associating with Egrets and not with Glossy’s just like my sighting that morning.  Although this time it sounded like the bird was a lot closer - I was jealous!

White-faced Ibis was #357 for me in NH.  And despite the fact that NH is by far my best statelist as a percentage of the total ever recorded in that state, this was my third NH statebird in just over a month.  As shown in my statebird map below, I’ve now seen White-faced Ibis as a vagrant in 5 New England states and New York.  And with their numbers increasing in the east, maybe it will show up in VT some time soon too.

Long Island, NY – 9 Statebirds, July 2015

With an upcoming July vacation on Long Island of course I wanted to squeeze in some birding time.  My NY list was pretty good at 267, with many of those birds coming from upstate while I was at grad school at Cornell.  By comparison my downstate birding has been somewhat limited, featuring a couple trips to Jamaica Bay NWR, and some incidental birding through multiple work trips to New York City.  But since there are quite a number of NY species only seen near the coast, or at least much more likely downstate, I figured I would have some significant statebird potential. 

So now it was time for a bunch of research.  My first step was to set up my new favorite tool – the e-Bird Needs Alert.  Of course NY is a big state, but by focusing in on reports from Suffolk and Nassau Counties I was able to find quite a number of likely statebird possibilities.  They generally fell into 4 categories –

• Regular birds that should be relatively easy to find, though nothing is guaranteed – Whip-poor-will, Pine Warbler, Orchard Oriole (filling in some gaps in my NY statelist);
• Less common local breeders – Roseate Tern and White-eyed Vireo;
• Stakeout rarities – White-faced Ibis, Yellow-throated Warbler; and
• Rarer possibilities but not necessarily likely at any stakeout site – Any pelagic, Royal and Arctic Terns, Chuck-will’s-widow, and Blue Grosbeak.

I would have a couple early mornings available, generally before the family was awake, and at least 1 evening, so I developed itineraries for each day and hoped to get at least 4 or 5 new NY statebirds.

Day 1 Evening -

Whip-poor-wills had been reported from a number of sites in central Long Island, and there were also a couple Chuck-will’s-widows reported.  Though the Whips were reported into early July, the last Chuck report was from early June so I was less optimistic about finding that one.  I picked out Rocky Point Natural Resources Management Area as the best spot – with many Whip reports, one older Chuck report (though without a specific location), and many Pine Warbler reports, and only about 30 minutes from the hotel.  I arrived at Rocky Point about an hour before sunset hoping to hear the Pine Warblers before dusk, and with overcast skies hoping that I could hear the Whips a bit earlier than normal.  My first 2 stops didn’t yield any Warblers despite good habitat, but on my third stop I heard a Pine Warbler singing as soon as I stepped out of my car (statebird #1).  I heard another one at the next stop, but those were the only 2 I heard despite over an hour in good pine habitat.  NY was an obvious gap in my statebird map (how did I miss it during my time birding upstate?) – I’ve now seen it throughout all of its regular eastern range except MN, and as a rarity in CA and CO. 

 

I was driving around the area to look for likely places to listen for Caprimulgids at dusk, when I came upon a large field that seemed like good habitat for Blue Grosbeaks.  So I decided to get out of the car to see what I might find.  Within a few seconds I heard what I thought was a singing Blue Grosbeak in the distance.  I’m not too familiar with their song, so I pulled up my bird song app and it seemed like a pretty good match, though not perfect.  Since I wasn’t 100 percent sure I played a little tape to see if I could elicit a response.  Within a couple seconds I heard the sharp “chink” calls that I am familiar with – it was indeed a Blue Grosbeak (statebird #2).  The bird had flown right in to some trees near me, and although it was getting quite dark, I was able to see all the features of an adult male.  Although there were a few recent Blue Grosbeak reports from Long Island, none seemed like reliable stakeouts, and it appeared like this species was not a regular local breeder at least in significant numbers.  So I was very happy to find this bird listed as a rarity in e-Bird.  Although I still need it in a few of its regular states out west, I’ve seen this species in 37 states, including 5 New England states and now NY as a rarity or accidental.

It was now almost dark so I drove to a small parking area I had found earlier and started my efforts to listen for Whips.  Although I didn’t hear anything right away, I’ve had good success over the years in getting them to respond to tape a bit earlier than when they might start on their own.  So I played some tape and almost instantly one called back in the distance (statebird #3).  Within a couple minutes 4 birds calling simultaneously.  My statebird map for Eastern Whip-poor-will is very spotty as I still need it for a number of states especially in the southern portion of its range.

Then I switched to tape of the Chuck but got no response.  It was a similar story at a second stop – 3 calling Whips but no Chuck.  Though a third stop had no Caprimulgids at all.  Although I had hoped to hear a Chuck-will’s-widow, since the most recent report was almost a month old, and with no specific location provided, I decided to call it quits.  Despite missing this long shot, getting 2 of my expected targets and a bonus bird was a great start to the trip.

Day 2 Morning –

The first of four stops the next morning was at Connetquot State Park where a pair of Yellow-throated Warblers had been singing most of the summer.  This is a rarity for NY, since breeding birds typically get no farther north than central NJ.  The birds had been reported close to the entrance, so I was able to hear and then see one male very quickly (statebird #4).  NY was my 6th state (in addition to 5 New England states) where I’ve seen Yellow-throated Warbler as a rarity.

 

My next stop was a short distance away at Captree State Park where a White-faced Ibis had been reported since spring with a flock of Glossy’s.  I got to the spot where most of the sightings had been posted on e-Bird only to find a very large expanse of suitable saltmarsh habitat.  I would likely need to get real lucky and have the Ibis flock close to me in order to pick out the target bird.  But there were no waders in sight at all.  Finally after some scanning with my scope I noticed a very distant flock of Egrets feeding in the marsh, and then began to pick out some Ibis.  The smaller Ibis were only occasionally visible as they fed, though sometimes a single bird would fly out of the marsh, circle around and then drop back into the flock.  At more than 200 yards, even with a scope, my chances of picking out the White-faced were really slim.  But this bird was a nice breeding plumaged adult with a broad white ring around the face.  I spent the next 10 minutes staring at the flock hoping to see that distinctive face pattern with no luck.  Was I just too far away to see the white pattern?  But finally as I watched one bird drop into the marsh I thought I saw a flash of white on the face.  Over the next couple of minutes this bird briefly raised its head above the grasses several times and again showed the white face pattern.  Success!  (statebird #5).  Never thought I’d be able to pick it out at that distance.  NY was my 22nd state for White-faced Ibis, including the 5th as a rarity.

The next stop was Robert Moses State Park where some recent seawatches had included small number of various pelagic species – multiple shearwaters and Wilson’s Storm-Petrel.  But that morning a nice cold front had just come through, turning the winds around from the south to the northwest.  Although it made for very pleasant weather, it certainly was not the best conditions for pelagic birds to come close to shore.  And not surprisingly, all my scoping across the ocean yielded nothing of interest except a few Common Terns.  So I called it quits after about an hour and headed to the next stop.

The last stop of the morning was at nearby Gardiner’s County Park.  There were a few recent e-Bird reports from the park that included White-eyed Vireos, and an occasional one with an Orchard Oriole.  So even though neither was regular, nor were specific locations mentioned, I thought it was worthwhile to spend at least a little time trying for these 2 targets.  I walked the length of the central trail that goes to the beach, going through a number of wetter areas with thick undergrowth that looked to be good Vireo habitat, but had no luck.  Then on my way back I thought I heard a bit of song that could have been the Vireo.  I walked back into the brush a bit and sure enough heard a White-eyed Vireo singing several times (statebird #6).  NY fills in a big gap in my statebird map for this species.

I was happy to have gotten the Vireo, but none of the habitat I had been in so far seemed good for Orchard Oriole.  When I got back toward the car I noticed more open habitat in the northeast part of the park that could be good for the Oriole.  I got to the area and started to play some songs.  Within just a couple minutes I heard an Oriole give its “chit-chit” call.  The problem though was I couldn’t say for sure it wasn’t a Baltimore Oriole.  And even though I searched the area for the next 15 minutes, I couldn’t find the bird.  One that got away I’m afraid.

Day 2 Afternoon -

The family outing for the afternoon was a trip to Greenport near the northeast fork of Long Island for some shopping.  As we headed east along SR 25A we soon got into rural habitat with farms and the occasional home surrounded by a few planted deciduous trees.  I had just remarked to myself that this could be good Orchard Oriole habitat when I thought I saw one fly from one tree to another surrounding one of the farmsteads.  Maybe I just wanted to see an Orchard Oriole.  But just in case I made a mental note of the location and wondered about maybe stopping at this spot on the way back at the end of the day.

We eventually made it to Greenport, and I dropped the family off for shopping as I headed to Orient Point for a bit of birding.  My key target there was Roseate Tern - there were a number of e-Bird posts of the Tern apparently nesting on Plumb Island off the point, and sometimes they were seen in small numbers with larger numbers of Commons from the point.  I made it to Orient Point County Park and took the half mile walk to the point.  As the water came into view I could see a number of Terns feeding off the point in the rips – I guessed maybe 60 birds.  It took a while, but eventually I picked out a paler tern in the distance.  As it came closer it was easy to identify this very pale tern as a Roseate with the longer tail and mostly dark bill (statebird #7).  With a little more time I found 3 other Roseates that eventually came quite close to the point.  I’ve now seen this species in all of its regular nesting states (both in the northeast and FL) and in DE as a migrant.

Other notable birds at the point were a pair of Oystercatchers and a Piping Plover, along with 2 out-of-season Great Cormorants.

After rejoining the family for a bit of shopping, we headed back west to the hotel.  Along the way I kept my eyes open for the location where I may have seen an Orchard Oriole earlier in the day.  Amazingly I found the same group of trees where I had seen the bird, and got out of the car to try to re-find it.  My first thought was to play some Oriole tape, but with excessive road noise I quickly gave up on that idea.  So instead I started to walk over to the tree where I had seen the bird.  Just then a bird flew out of the tree and right over my head – it was a juvenile oriole.  And a then a second bird followed it.  I had found a family of Orchard Orioles (statebird #8).  Seeing it in NY fills a big hole in my statebird map – WI is the last state in its regular range where I still need this species.

Day 3 Morning –

My plan for the last morning was to bird two adjacent locations on the coast - Cupsogue Beach County Park and Moriches Bay Inlet.  Good numbers of terns had recently been reported at both sites, with occasional sightings of Royals, Arctics, and Roseates mixed in with the Commons.  I arrived shortly after dawn, parked in the large parking lot for the County Park, and then started my hike west toward the inlet.  There was a strong northerly wind that morning which made it almost chilly, and which also meant that I would be looking into the wind to scope the flats to the north. 

When I got to the inlet the tide was very high but dropping, with few flats exposed for roosting birds.  There was a distant island with many nesting gulls and a few Oystercatchers, but there were few terns to be seen.  And a small flock of Dowitchers with a couple Willets were the only other shorebirds in sight.  Not the best of starts.  But as the tide dropped the exposed flats attracted more birds - the Dowitcher flock grew to over 100, 5 Piping Plovers were running about, and at least a few Common Terns were now roosting on the sand.  I continued to scan the expanding flats and suddenly I came upon a roosting Royal Tern in full breeding plumage (statebird #9).  I certainly hadn’t seen it on my many earlier scans so it must have just flown in.  And less than a minute later it took off and disappeared up the bay to the east.  I was able to get this phone-scoped photo as it took off.

 I’ve now seen Royal Tern in every Atlantic and Gulf coastal state as well as CA.

I spent a little more time at the inlet but didn’t see much of anything else of interest.  So I headed over to the beach for a bit of a seawatch, but again saw nothing notable.  Even a passing fishing trawler had only attracted gulls and a few terns.  So I headed back to the County Park and scoped the newly exposed mudflats from the parking lot.  There were quite a number of roosting Common Terns along with 1 Roseate.  And the mudflats had at least 100 Dowitchers, along with a few Semi and Least Sands and both Yellowlegs, but nothing spectacular.  But after having seen 3 Tern species including the Royal I was very pleased with my morning’s results, and I decided to call it a day.

All in all this was a most successful trip, adding 9 NY statebirds including just about every reasonably likely possibility.  Not only did I fill in some glaring gaps in my NY list (now at 276), and holes in my statebird maps, but also found a few rarities.  Plus I was able to squeeze in the birding time without taking too much time away from the family.