Red-tailed Hawk Encounter...

I went out in the field yesterday for short stint and walked right up on this Red-tailed Hawk without seeing him until I was almost walking by him.  He was camouflaged nicely against the Phragmites.  I slowly backed off and took some digiscoping shots when I was at a reasonable distance.  Looks like a squirrel was down for the count.

Tweet

Today's Photos - Red Crossbill...

Tweet

Town to Rezone EPCAL

On January 26th, I posted about new plans afoot for EPCAL, the site where one of the last remaining frontier of Grasslands exists on Long Island. Today, several media outlets reported that an agreement was signed off to bring in consultants to help in rezoning the area. See this article written by one of the local news outlet in Riverhead - Calverton Town considers rezoning EPCAL

Tags: EPCAL, Calverton Grasslands

Tweet

Superbowl Summary...

The Bloggerhead Kingbirds focusing on the task at hand.

Well, I am back from the Superbowl of Birding that was held this past weekend in MA. Instead of narrating the event like I did last year, I will just provide a summary on how the competition went. As you may recall, this was an event that involved nonstop birding for 12 hours in some pretty cold conditions. Unlike last year, we did not win anything this year…not even one of the 40 + door prizes that were raffled off.

We finished with 142 points and 73 species. Which compared to last year’s 70 species and 127 points, one would think it was good enough for a top tier place, but it was not. Local teams dominated the results taking all the top spots. The winners were the Burger Kinglets and you could read all about their exploits here. Our loss was not a result from a lack of hard work. We battled hard hustling from one location to the next pushing each other to find birds. Birds we did find, but in the end it was not enough.

Despite the results, the consensus among our team was that we had a great time birding together. I can’t say enough about how well this team worked together. From Corey who managed all of the driving to Nate who battled a cold throughout the competition, to John who was quick on the accipiters, to Mike who examined the Gulls with an all critical eye to Chris our Captain who did all the local scouting.

It was a solid team effort, things just did not fall into place as we would have liked. Yet, even though we did not place, there was plenty to be cheerful about. Good company, good birding and some lifers for a few of us. Nate picked up his life King Eider (Somateria spectabilis), number 500 on his ABA list, John picked up three lifers in Dovekie (Alle Alle), Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) and Barrow’s Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica). Mike also got in on the lifer act with the Dovekie (Alle Alle) being a lifer for him.

No lifers for Chris, Corey or I, but we had quite the good time! Of course, you could expect that this team will analyze the results and tweak strategies in an effort to improve on our results. If this team decides to do it again next year, you could bet we are going to bring it! Be sure to read my Bloggerhead teammates take on the competition.  Corey Finger from 10000birds, John Beetham from a DC Birding Blog, Mike Powers from Feathers and Flowers , Nate Swick from The Drinking Bird and our Captain Christopher Ciccone from Picus Blog.

Tags: Dovekie, Superbowl of Birding, Barrow's Goldeneye, King Eider

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday...

Tweet

Backyard Winter Wonderland...

Just some random photos I took after Wednesday's storm.

This is what I saw when I looked out into the backyard early yesterday morning!

One of the bird baths covered with snow.  Gives an idea on how much snow we had!

Black-capped Chickadee visiting the peanut feeder.

A successful visit by a Black-Capped Chickadee, as it leaves with its prize.

My resident Northern Mockingbird comes in really close to visit when I am re-filling feeders.

Tweet

Status of the Calverton Grasslands...

Breeding Grasshopper Sparrow at Calverton Grasslands.

The recent find of the LeConte Sparrow at the Calverton Grasslands prompted me to look into the status of the area.  As many of my readers might remember, the area was considered for an indoor ski mountain that would undoubtedly have destroyed what is considered Long Island’s best remaining grassland habitat. The development was opposed by many, especially Long Island birders who were concerned about the environment and the welfare of wintering Short-eared Owls and breeding Grasshopper Sparrows.

It took some digging around, but I finally got some information from Jennifer Skillbred from the Group for the East End.  According to Jennifer, "the development projects proposed at EPCAL, both the somewhat smaller proposed industrial development and the massive resort and man-made lake project have been cancelled at this point. However, this does not mean that the battle to protect the Calverton Grasslands has ended. The Riverhead Town Supervisor and town board have decided to create a new reuse plan for the EPCAL site, which we feel is a great first step. It is also one that we are working to stay involved in. As this planning process begins to move forward, we will certainly be in communication with the hired consultants as well as the town board and the DEC, and will be reaching out to all who are concerned about the protection of this rare habitat. Hopefully with the help of all these people this re-development plan will clearly take into account the importance of this grassland habitat and the wildlife it supports, so any proposed development in the future will be more compatible with the natural resources present.  Also, the DEC recently released the regulations for managing state-endangered species which is an important step in enforcing protection of the Short-Eared Owls and others at EPCAL". 

So there you have it, proving that we must continue to monitor and stay in touch with all of the negotiations and proceedings involving the Calverton Grasslands.  Birders, Photographers and all nature lovers please visit the the EPCAL Coalition website to keep in touch with all of the developments and find out how you could assist. I would like to thank Harry Mass, of New York City Audubon for his encouragement during my quest to look into the status of the Calverton Grasslands and Jennifer Skillbred, from the Group for the East End who was very helpful in providing a status update.

Tags: LeConte Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Short-eared Owls, Calverton Grasslands

Tweet