Hermit Warbler at Sunken Meadow State Park LI...

Some of the early birding paparazzi lining up to get a glimpse.

No, there is no typo in the title. Indeed, a Hermit Warbler was found and confirmed at Sunken Meadow State Park Long Island NY.  The bird was found by Vinny Pellegrino, who was also involved in another good warbler find. A Yellow-throated Warbler, found earlier in the year in the same area.  Today's find was a terrific one by Vinny who immediately reached out to other birders including, Norm Klien and Shai Mitra and thus the identity of the bird was eventually nailed down.  I was at Jones Beach again looking to do some Gull studies and for a look at the Jones Beach Shrike (more on the Shrike in another post).  When I received a call from my friend Joan Quinlan who happened to be with Shai and Pat Lindsay.  Within minutes I was heading down the highway towards Sunken Meadow followed by friends Steve Walters and Andy Guthrie who were in the vicinity of the Shrike and had gotten the message about the Warbler.  We all got there in good time and enjoyed really excellent views from a very cooperative Hermit Warbler.  My hope, is that the bird sticks around for others to see it. If accepted by NYSARC (New York State Avian Records Committee), this will be a state first for NY. According to many of the older birders present today, there was a possible Hermit Warbler sighting in 2002 at Jones Beach, but it was not accepted by the records committee because the subject was believed to be a hybrid bird. From today's, discussion with many of the seasoned birders, it appears the Sunken Meadow bird does not have such an issue. Here are some of my photos from today.

Tags: Birding, Sunken Meadow State Park, Hermit Warbler

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