Late morning on May 16, Ann Shaw, Sean Sime and I drove up
from Manhattan to Wurtsboro in Sullivan County, NY to do some scouting for our
annual Great Gull Island Birdathon. Since Ann is still recovering from knee
replacement surgery last year, we checked in to the Days Inn motel in Wurtsboro as soon as
we got there. Sean and I left Ann there icing her knee while we went
scouting. There wasn’t a lot of scouting because of the rain
and fog. On the way back to the motel Sean and I did some final grocery
shopping for supplies for the weekend. When we got to the motel Ann told us
there had been a power failure apparently caused by the rains and only some lights were on powered
by the motel’s back-up generator. We went to dinner at Danny’s in Wurtsboro and
came back to a still partially blacked-out motel. Ann took a picture of Sean and
me making sandwiches for the next day by the light of headlamps. I posted the
picture on my blog when we returned to the city on Saturday night, May 17. Ann and I got some sleep, while
Sean waited up for his brother Dave who was coming up from Long Island to do day one of the birdathon with us.
I look forward all year to this dawn watch at Bashakill. It is one of the highlights of my birding year. As the sky gradually lightened we continued to pick up birds, by ear at first and then by sight as it got light enough: more Barred Owls and Whips, Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, calling Wood Ducks, migrating Common Nighthawks, etc. Other birders, also doing their big days of the spring arrived on the causeway. One of them was local birder John Haas, to whom we owe a lot for local information on birds and birding in Sullivan County. We would not do nearly as well as we do without John's expert help. I was also pleased to run into John Tramontano. John used to live in the area and years ago he and John Yrizarry gave me my first instructions on birding Bashakill. He lives in Pennsylvania now, but returns in the spring annually for a Sullivan County big day. Around 5:15 am I called Ann at the motel. She said she had heard from Jeff Kimball and Chuck McAlexander who were driving up from the city to join us for the birdathon. They were picking her up at 5:30 and then joining us on the causeway. Also meeting us on the causeway were Dale Dancis and Diana Teta who often tagged along with us for at least part of the Bashakill birding. Everyone arrived before sun-up.
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| Bashakill at sun-up © Joseph DiCostanzo |
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| Bashakill at sun-up © Joseph DiCostanzo |
We picked up birds fast now: Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Solitary Sandpiper, Chimney Swifts, Barn and Tree swallows hunting for insects over the marsh, while Red-winged Blackbirds, Swamp Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, Warbling Vireos, Wood Thrushes, Veerys, Yellow Warblers, Baltimore Orioles and others called from the marsh edge and the woods. For Sean and myself, our list was already approaching forty species. When the sun was high enough to be striking the trees of the main parking area we moved from the causeway to the entrance road to the parking area. Northern Waterthrush, American Redstart, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Canada and Black-throated Blue were among the warblers we quickly heard and/or saw. A birder told us he had just seen a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and we hurriedly tracked down this bird (two of them). The kinglets pass through early on migration and this is a species we only occasionally get on the birdathon.
We drove the cars into the parking lot and while Ann set herself up next to the car in a folding chair to spare her knee, the rest of us headed up the stop sign trail. I can't list everything here, or the order in which we picked them up, but among the highlights were Wild Turkeys gobbling from somewhere up the hillside, a female Hooded Merganser flying over the marsh, a calling Hairy Woodpecker , Yellow-throated and Red-eyed vireos, Least and Great Crested flycatchers and Eastern Wood-Pewee, a Sora called once from the marsh, a White-crowned Sparrow on the edge of the farm field. We ran into John Haas again and he told us about singing Worm-eating Warbler and Purple Finch which we successfully chased down. We were able to return the favor with an Alder Flycatcher we heard calling out on the marsh.
Picking up Ann back at the parking lot we headed down South Road to the Nature Trail. A pleasant surprise here was a singing Cerulean Warbler. We usually do not pick up this species until Doodletown at the end of the day. The spring floods had not been easy on the boardwalks and small bridges along the entrance to the Nature Trail but we managed to negotiate our way over the streams and through the mud areas. Among the highlights here were a Common Raven overhead, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue-winged, Black-throated Green, and Wilson's Warbler. When we were finished here we drove down South Road to the "Horseshoe" parking area to try for Least Bittern which John Haas told us had been calling from the marsh there. Our hunt was successful with the bittern even providing some nice views out on the marsh. Additional good finds here were Bay-breasted Warbler and Lincoln's Sparrow. Continuing to the end of South Road we went on to Port Orange Road in Orange County, hoping for the Acadian Flycatchers that nest along this road. The flycatcher wasn't in yet (or wasn't calling), but we did pick up Prairie Warbler and Indigo Bunting under the powerlines. Then it was back to route 209 and a stop for a roosting Eastern Screech-Owl for the people who hadn't heard one during the night. Sean was lucky enough to see the owl peer out of its roost hole, but it then ducked back in out of sight. Ann, Sean and I left everyone watching the owl roost while we drove back to the motel to check out (we were already late for the 11:00 am checkout). Sean also picked up Dave's car there and drove it back to the owl site.
Dale and Diana had gone off to pick up lunch and proceed on their way while Ann, Sean and I ran our motel errand. We rejoined Dave, Chuck, and Jeff and drove up Upper Pine Kill Road, another of John Haas's recommended birding routes since it gets into higher elevations and can produce some of the breeders that have already migrated through the lowlands. The road was not as productive for us as last year, but we did pick up calling Acadian Flycatcher and Blue-headed Vireo. Continuing north, we drove up route 17 a short way to get to an access along the Neversink River, another spot John Haas clued us in on last year. On our scouting on Friday, Sean and I had found about ten Common Mergansers on the river here - today we only spotted a lone female flying down the stream and, unfortunately not everyone got a look at it. The stop here did produce Northern Rough-winged and Cliff swallows feeding along the river, a soaring Broad-winged Hawk and a surprise, a calling Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Finishing at the Neversink we headed back down 17 to the Wurtsboro exit and up 209 to Gumaer Falls Road, yet another Haas recommended location. It was a very fruitful drive up the road with another calling Acadian Flycatcher, Brown Creeper, two Blackburnian Warblers and Dark-eyed Junco. By the time we left the vicinity of Bashakill our list was over 100 species.
We continued north on 209 to Ellenville and the road over the Shawangunk ridge on our way to Blue Chip Farm in Ulster County. At an overlook pull-off on the ridge we heard Prairie Warbler again and watched some hang-gliders soaring over the ridge in company with a couple of Bald Eagles. A rest stop at a McDonalds in Pine Bush added a Northern Mockingbird to the list. At Blue Chip, Dave's eagle eyes spotted the hoped for Upland Sandpipers out on the edge of a field. A farm pond produced Mute Swan, Ruddy Duck, Spotted and Solitary sandpipers and a surprise Green Heron. At the nearby Shawangunk Grasslands we picked up a number of the needed open country species such as Grasshopper and Field sparrows, Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark, American Kestrel and Northern Harrier, while Sean picked out a distant, soaring Black Vulture. From here we usually head directly to New Paltz to pick up the thruway south, but Sean had info on a small marsh on the side of the road that might produce Virginia Rail and Red-headed Woodpecker in the dead trees. The Virginia Rail did call for us, but the woodpecker was a no show. Making up for it was a distant Belted Kingfisher sitting on a snag. As usual our only Purple Martin for the weekend was at the colony on the side of the entrance road to the NYS Thruway in New Paltz.
We normally drive Mine Road in West Point on our way to Doodletown Road, just below the Bear Mountain Bridge on 9W, but the army closed the road for maneuvers this year, so we headed straight to Doodletown. This was just as well since we were running well behind schedule by now. At Doodletown, Ann stayed with the cars to spare her knee the steep climb while the rest of us hurried up the hill. At practically the first turn in the trail there was a calling Nashville Warbler and two Pileated Woodpeckers chasing each other. On the trail we encountered a father and son who told us where they had heard a Kentucky Warbler singing. This was great information to have since the bird was not where it had been last year and was in fact lower down and up a side trail. We were happy to hear the Kentucky calling from just where they said they heard it. Doodletown also produced another singing Worm-eating Warbler, the usual numbers of Hooded Warblers and best of all a Tennessee Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler; the latter sometimes a tough bird by this time in the migration.
Coming back down Doodletown, we said goodbye to Chuck and Jeff - they would meet Ann, Sean, and me at Jamaica Bay early Sunday morning. The three of us, plus Dave, did a quick drive out to the end of the road at Iona Island where we saw another migrating Common Nighthawk and had a bonus of a calling Black-billed Cuckoo. Then it was home to NYC for a quick bite to eat and an all too short night's sleep. Before going to sleep, Sean and I compared notes on the day. Our combined total was 138 species, a new record for us for day one of the birdathon. I had missed two species Sean had seen, mainly because I hadn't tried very hard to spot them when they flew high overhead. I knew I would see Double-crested Cormorant and Osprey on Long Island the next day.
On Sunday, May 18 Ann, Sean and I left home about 4:15 am and got out to Jamaica Bay in Queens around 4:45. Sean and I immediately headed for a spot where we could see one of the Barn Owl nest boxes. We were treated to views of two Barn Owls; one peering out of the box and a second flying in to land nearby. On the way back to the parking lot where Ann was waiting, Sean and I were surprised to hear a Black-billed Cuckoo call. From the parking lot the three of us headed out the West Pond trail. Of course, there is no longer a West Pond since Super Storm Sandy breached the pond and turned it into a small saltwater tidal bay. Starting at the parking lot and on the way out to the breach we picked up new birds fast: gulls, Forster's Tern, Glossy Ibis, Brant, and many more, including of course, the Double-crested Cormorant and Osprey I had missed the day before. We even had three Clapper Rails chasing each other around the marsh. Willow Flycatchers called from the side of the trail. Once we were out where we could scan the flats our list took another big jump as we added shorebirds: Ruddy Turnstone, American Oystercatcher, Semipalmated Plover, Red Knot, Willet, Semipalmated and Least sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, and more. My cell phone rang with a call from Chuck letting us know he and Jeff were driving down Cross Bay Boulevard and would be joining us shortly.
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| Chuck, Jeff and Sean birding at the "Breach" at Jamaica Bay. © Joseph DiCostanzo |
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| "The Breach" © Joseph DiCostanzo |
In other years, after Jamaica Bay we have often stopped at Forest Park in Queens to try and fill in passerines we may have missed the day before. This year we decided we would skip it since we had already done so well. The only warbler we could realistically hope for was Cape May, which was certainly not a given and proved to be another one of our few misses this year. Instead, we headed west on the Belt Parkway a few exits to Hendrix Creek in Brooklyn to try for Green-winged Teal and Greater Scaup which Doug Gochfeld had told Sean he had seen there. Hendrix is behind a large shopping mall and Sean led the way out of the parking lot to a overgrown path that led through some underbrush to the tidal creek. Suddenly Sean stopped and waved for us to catch up calling back to us. Jeff asked me what had Sean said. I replied it sounded like Prothonotary, but that was crazy. It was indeed a male Prothonotary Warbler, a first ever for my birdathon list. The Prothonotary was my 268th species for the GGI Birdathon since I did the first one in 1980 and the first new bird to the cumulative list since we found a White-faced Ibis at Jamaica Bay in 2010. We also got the Greater Scaup, but couldn't find the teal. We were happy to swap the teal for the warbler, our 28th for the weekend. We now headed east on Long Island, out total at this point was 176 species. We knew we were working on a good grand total since 176 is often in the range of the weekend total on a run-of-the-mill birdathon weekend.
Our next stop was Cow Meadow Park in Nassau County. Here Sean heard a Saltmarsh Sparrow when he was up ahead of the rest of us. Unfortunately, it was a species the rest of us never did get. There were a number of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons here, but disappointingly few shorebirds. However, as we were about to leave the observation platform looking over the marsh a Yellow-billed Cuckoo called from the wooded area behind us. Another disappointment at Cow Meadow was missing Monk Parakeet, a bird we had always gotten here in recent years. Now it was off to the West End of Jones Beach. The island across from the Coast Guard Station provided Sanderlings and some repeat shorebirds. Best of all here was a flock of nine Black Skimmers, a species we have often missed in recent year's birdathons. At the West End 2 parking field there was a Horned Lark at the edge of the field and a Piping Plover sitting on its nest in one of the protective enclosures. The drive along the Jones Beach strip produced nothing new - we often get Peregrine on the water tower. We went out to Robert Moses State Park and were just setting up scopes for a short seawatch when Sean saw a post on his smart phone that a White-faced Ibis found a day or two earlier at Captree Island had just been seen. We folded up tripods, jumped in the cars and drove quickly to Captree I., where we found the juvenile White-faced feeding on the marsh in company with a few Glossy Ibis.
Ann took over driving our car for the run east so Sean could nap in the back seat. Hunters Garden and the bike trail parking lot along Co. Rd. 51 did not add anything new, though we had hoped to finally pick up Orchard Oriole here; this species proved to be another of our bad misses for the weekend - the species nests in Inwood Hill Park, practically outside my apartment window . A short run into Gabrieski Airport picked up Vesper Sparrow where Dale and Diana had found it earlier in the afternoon, a repeat from last year. A stop at the pond in Eastport along Old Montauk Highway produced no ducks, but as we were headed back to the cars Sean spotted a young Lesser Black-backed Gull flying overhead. Time was now pressing as we drove Dune Road to Shinnecock Inlet, stopping at several places to check the ocean and the bayside. We continued to pick up species, adding Red-throated Loon, Northern Gannet, Surf and Black scoters, Common Eider, and Common and Roseate terns. While scanning through some scoters from the parking area at the old Ponquogue Bridge, I spotted a Long-tailed Duck on the bay.
Now we knew we were really racing against time and the sun to get to Montauk for our final birding stops of the day. We skipped Mecox Bay because of a lack of time, but stopped briefly in Amagansett to scan the ocean - more of what we already had. On the Montauk peninsula we pulled over by the road to Ditch Plains and Sean ran across the road to check the farm pond there while the rest of us waited at the cars to save time in case there was nothing there. Sean started waving and we ran over to see the American Wigeon that was on the grass on the other side of the pond. The inlet to Montauk harbor disappointed us with no Great Cormorants or Purple Sandpipers on the jetty. At Montauk Point itself, the south bluffs produced a White-winged Scoter mixed in with the other scoters and Common Eiders lingering there. This proved to be the final species of the weekend for Sean and myself. At the pavilion on the north side of the point we scanned the ocean, only seeing more scoters, eiders and Common Terns. At sunset we gave our traditional wave to Great Gull Island in the distance. Though Sean and I did not add anything new, our birding wasn't quite done yet. As the dusk started to settle in we were treated to a show of Common Nighthawks hawking around after insects, some flying within six feet of our heads. This was a new species for the weekend for Ann, Chuck and Jeff who had been too late to get them at the Bashakill causeway the previous morning. Our very last stop was back to the entrance road to Camp Hero on the south bluffs to listen for American Woodcocks. In most years this is our last bird pick-up, but Sean and I had heard one before dawn at the Chang's at Bashakill. Now Ann, Chuck and Jeff picked it up. Even better we had a chorus of Whip-poor-wills, one of which flew in and called from a bush directly in front of us, allowing us to see it briefly by flashlight.
Now full dark, we drove back to Montauk where we checked in to the Daunt's Albatross Motel where Ann and I have stayed at Montauk for many years. Over dinner we all double-checked our lists. Sean and I agreed on a total of 195 species, one short of our record. (Chuck and Jeff had 178, a new record for them.) Sean and I each at missed one bird the other had gotten. For me it was Saltmarsh Sparrow; for Sean it was the Common Raven I had seen overhead at Bashakill while he was back under some trees. Our elusive goal of breaking 200 species on a weekend remains for another year. There were enough misses of birds that we had good chances for to show that the 200 mark is far from impossible given a little luck.
The birdathon would not be possible without my fellow birders who are all listed in the above account. It certainly would not be anywhere near as much fun without them. Our list would also not be possible without the help and input we get from other birders along the way, but most especially without information and pointers from local birders, especially John Hass for the Bashakill area.
Following is Sean and my total list for the weekend. I have not indicated every location for every species, some are widespread and were encountered in many places, but I have given an indication of the birds seen in the main birding areas we hit using the following abbreviations: B = Bashakill and vicinity (includes Neversink River to the north), C = Blue Chip Farm/Shawangunk Grasslands, D = Doodletown/Iona Island, J = Jamaica Bay, M = Montauk, S = Shinnecock/Dune Road, W = Jones Beach West End. I think all of the special birds can be found in my account above.
Brant - J, W
Canada Goose - B, J, W
Mute Swan - C, J
Wood Duck - B
Gadwall - J
American Wigeon - M
American Black Duck - J, W
Mallard - B, J
Greater Scaup - W
Common Eider - M, S
Surf Scoter - M, S
White-winged Scoter - M
Black Scoter - M, S
Long-tailed Duck - S
Hooded Merganser - B
Common Merganser - B (see account)
Red-breasted Merganser - W, S
Ruddy Duck - C, J
Wild Turkey - B, C
Red-throated Loon - S, M
Common Loon B, J, S
Pied-billed Grebe - B
Northern Gannet - S
Double-crested Cormorant - J, W, S, M
American Bittern - B
Least Bittern - B
Great Blue Heron - B
Great Egret - J
Snowy Egret - J
Green Heron - C, J
Black-crowned Night-Heron - J
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - J
Glossy Ibis - J
White-faced Ibis - see account
Black Vulture - C
Turkey Vulture - B
Osprey - J
Bald Eagle - B
Northern Harrier - C
Red-shouldered Hawk - B
Broad-winged Hawk - B
Red-tailed Hawk B, C, D
American Kestrel - C
Merlin - B
Clapper Rail - J
Virginia Rail - see account
Sora - B
Common Gallinule - B
Black-bellied Plover - J, W, S
Semipalmated Plover - J, W, S
Piping Plover - W
Killdeer - C
American Oystercatcher - J, W
Spotted Sandpiper - C, J
Solitary Sandpiper - B, C
Greater Yellowlegs - J, S
Willet - J, W, S
Lesser Yellowlegs - J
Upland Sandpiper - C
Ruddy Turnstone - J, W, S
Red Knot - J
Sanderling - W
Semipalmated Sandpiper - J, W, S
Least Sandpiper - J, W, S
Dunlin - J, W, S
Short-billed Dowitcher - J, S
American Woodcock - B, M
Laughing Gull - J, W, S, M
Ring-billed Gull - W, S
Herring Gull - J, W, S, M
Lesser Black-backed Gull - see account
Great Black-backed Gull - J, W, S, M
Least Tern - J, W, S
Roseate Tern - S
Common Tern - S, M
Forster's Tern - J
Black Skimmer - W
Rock Pigeon - C, J, W, S, M
Mourning Dove - B, D, C, J
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - see account
Black-billed Cuckoo - D, J
Barn Owl - J
Eastern Screech-Owl - B
Barred Owl - B
Common Nighthawk - B, M
Eastern Whip-poor-will - B, M
Chimney Swift - B
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - B,
Belted Kingfisher - see account
Red-bellied Woodpecker - B, D, J
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - B
Downy Woodpecker - B, D, J
Hairy Woodpecker - B
Northern Flicker - B, D
Pileated Woodpecker - B, D
Olive-sided Flycatcher - D
Eastern Wood-Pewee - B, D
Acadian Flycatcher - B
Alder Flycatcher - B
Willow Flycatcher - J
Least Flycatcher - B
Eastern Phoebe - B
Great Crested Flycatcher - B, J
Eastern Kingbird - B, D, C
White-eyed Vireo - J
Yellow-throated Vireo - B
Blue-headed Vireo - B
Warbling Vireo - B, D, C
Red-eyed Vireo - B, D, J
Blue Jay - B, C, D, J
American Crow - B, C, D, J
Fish Crow - J
Common Raven - B
Horned Lark - W
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - B
Purple Martin - see account
Tree Swallow - B, C, D, J, W
Bank Swallow - J, M
Barn Swallow - B, C, D, J, W, S, M
Cliff Swallow - B
Black-capped Chickadee - B
Tufted Titmouse - B
White-breasted Nuthatch - B
Brown Creeper - B
Carolina Wren - J
House Wren - B, J
Marsh Wren - J
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - B, D
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - B
Eastern Bluebird - C
Veery - B, D, J
Swainson's Thrush - B, D
Wood Thrush - B, D, J
American Robin - B, C, D, J, W
Gray Catbird - B, D, J
Northern Mockingbird - see account, J
Brown Thrasher - B, J, W
European Starling - C, J
Cedar Waxwing - D
Ovenbird - B, D, J
Worm-eating Warbler - B, D
Louisiana Waterthrush - B
Northern Waterthrush - B
Blue-winged Warbler - B
Black-and-white Warbler - B, J
Prothonotary Warbler - see account
Tennessee Warbler - D
Nashville Warbler - B, D
Kentucky Warbler - D
Common Yellowthroat - B, C, D, J
Hooded Warbler - D
American Redstart - B, D, J
Cerulean Warbler - B, D
Northern Parula - B, D, J
Magnolia Warbler - B, D, J
Bay-breasted Warbler - B
Blackburnian Warbler - B
Yellow Warbler - B, D, J
Chestnut-sided Warbler - B
Blackpoll Warbler - B, D, J
Black-throated Blue Warbler - B, D, J
Pine Warbler - B
Yellow-rumped Warbler - D, J
Prairie Warbler - B
Black-throated Green Warbler - B, D, J
Canada Warbler - B, D, J
Wilson's Warbler - B
Eastern Towhee - B
Chipping Sparrow - B, C, D
Field Sparrow - C
Vesper Sparrow - see account
Savannah Sparrow - C
Grasshopper Sparrow - C
Seaside Sparrow - J
Saltmarsh Sparrow - see account
Song Sparrow - B, C, J, W, D, M
Lincoln's Sparrow - B
Swamp Sparrow - B
White-crowned Sparrow - B
Dark-eyed Junco - B
Scarlet Tanager - B, D, J
Northern Cardinal - B, D, J
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - B, D, J
Indigo Bunting - B, D
Bobolink - C
Red-winged Blackbird - B, C, J
Eastern Meadowlark - C
Common Grackle - B, C, D, J, W, S, M
Boat-tailed Grackle - J, S
Brown-headed Cowbird - B, C, W
Baltimore Oriole - B, D, J
Purple Finch - B
House Finch - C, J
American Goldfinch - B, D
House Sparrow - C, J, W, M
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