Suffolk County birding nets, Arctic Tern, Western Sandpiper, Grasshopper Sparrow + others…

On Sunday, I went on a Suffolk all day, “Dawn to Dusk” birding trip that was pulled together by fellow blogger and birder Corey Finger, (see Corey’s work at 10000birds.com). The two of us left Queens around 4:35 A.M. in the drizzle; however, by the time we got onto the Southern State Parkway, it was raining buckets. Visibility was poor and we hydroplaned a few times along the way. Nevertheless, we made it safely to our first stop at the Calverton Grasslands; within a few minutes of birding, we landed a couple of target birds, in Grasshopper Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark. We did look for Blue Grosbeak and Bobolink, but we did not notice either. Our second stop, we were going to try for Red-headed Woodpecker, but realized that it may be too early and so we changed course and headed to another location trying again for Blue Grosbeak. We also tried at the same location for Bobolink, but no success. We did pick up a nice looking Field Sparrow. The drizzle, which we had tolerated, became a bit more incessant and so we hopped back into the car and headed to another spot. Here we tried for Vesper Sparrow, but struck out. However, we had excellent looks at two Prairie Warblers and another Field Sparrow. Enough time had passed for the Woodpeckers to be out and about and so we headed back to the location we had visited earlier. Within about 5 minutes of walking an Adult Red-headed Woodpecker flew right across the path we were walking giving us great looks as it landed in an Oak Tree. We also picked up Eastern Wood Pee-wee as we headed back to the car. Our next stop we looked hard for Northern Bobwhite and Orchard Oriole, but struck out on both birds. We did get Indigo Bunting, Black-billed Cuckoo, and lots of ticks…thank goodness for knee high boots. We escaped tick land unscathed and headed to another location known for breeding Hermit Thrush. Not only did we get the Hermit Thrush, we also got Ovenbird, Pine Warbler, Veery and a surprise bird we heard was a Least Flycatcher. By then, it was time to head out to one of the prime locations for the day, Cupsogue Beach. We made one stop at a local airport before heading out where we heard and saw Eastern Meadowlark and Killdeer. While on our way to Cupsogue, Corey put in a call to Shaibal Mitra, one of the top birders in NY State, who we were meeting at the said location. Shai relayed to Corey that a possible Leach’s Storm Petrel was spotted at Tiana Beach by Andy Baldelli. We again changed course and headed over to the location and joined another top NY state birder, in Tom Burke who was accompanied by Gail Benson. A few minutes later, we were joined by Shaibal Mitra, Pat Lindsay and Andy Baldelli. We did some sea watching in the hopes of spotting the bird, but could not locate as it probably was long gone by then. We did get nice looks at a Northern Gannet and a Wilson’s Storm Petrel. The group then decided to leave for Cupsogue. We were informed of breeding Roseate Terns just east of Triton Lane and Tom Burke pointed them out for us. After circling back to the Tiana Beach parking lot to view an immature Lesser Black-backed Gull that Shai had found, we headed out to Cupsogue. Out on the mudflats near Moriches Inlet, we picked up a second year Arctic Tern along with a Western Sandpiper. What does one do in the presence of such top birders who were generous in sharing their time and knowledge; well, I just kept quiet, observed and listened. It was a joy to observe and listen Shai, Pat, Tom and Andy discussing the Arctic Tern and all the possible things you could think of with regards to its plumage and presence. It was a humbling and learning experience. The entire trip was great, but the time spent in Cupsogue was unique and a definite highlight of the trip making the ride all worth it rain and all. Tags: Suffolk, birding, Cupsogue, Arctic Tern, Western Sandpiper, Calverton Grasslands

Total Species seen: 91

1. American Crow
2. American Goldfinch
3. American Kestrel
4. American Oystercatcher
5. American Robin
6. Arctic Tern
7. Baltimore Oriole
8. Barn Swallow
9. Black Skimmer
10. Black-bellied Plover
11. Black-billed Cuckoo
12. Black-capped Chickadee
13. Boat-tailed Grackle
14. Brant
15. Brown-headed Cowbird
16. Canada Goose
17. Carolina Wren
18. Cedar Waxwing
19. Chipping Sparrow
20. Clapper Rail
21. Common Grackle
22. Common Tern
23. Common Yellowthroat
24. Double-crested Cormorant
25. Downy Woodpecker
26. Dunlin
27. Eastern Bluebird
28. Eastern Kingbird
29. Eastern Meadowlark
30. Eastern Phoebe
31. Eastern Towhee
32. Eastern Wood-Pewee
33. European Starling
34. Field Sparrow
35. Fish Crow
36. Glossy Ibis
37. Grasshopper Sparrow
38. Gray Catbird
39. Great Black-backed Gull
40. Great Crested Flycatcher
41. Great Egret
42. Hermit Thrush
43. Herring Gull
44. House Finch
45. House Sparrow
46. House Wren
47. Indigo Bunting
48. Killdeer
49. Laughing Gull
50. Least Flycatcher
51. Least Sandpiper
52. Least Tern
53. Lesser Black-backed Gull
54. Little Blue Heron
55. Mallard
56. Mourning Dove
57. Mute Swan
58. Northern Cardinal
59. Northern Gannet
60. Northern Mockingbird
61. Osprey
62. Ovenbird
63. Pine Warbler
64. Piping Plover
65. Prairie Warbler
66. Purple Martin
67. Red Knot
68. Red-eyed Vireo
69. Red-headed Woodpecker
70. Red-tailed Hawk
71. Red-winged Blackbird
72. Ring-billed Gull
73. Rock Pigeon
74. Roseate Tern
75. Ruddy Turnstone
76. Sanderling
77. Seaside Sparrow
78. Semipalmated Plover
79. Semipalmated Sandpiper
80. Short-billed Dowitcher
81. Snowy Egret
82. Song Sparrow
83. Tree Swallow
84. Veery
85. Western Sandpiper
86. White-breasted Nuthatch
87. White-rumped Sandpiper
88. Wild Turkey
89. Willet
90. Wilson's Storm-Petrel
91. Yellow Warbler