Registrar: Christina Black
Participants: 12
Weather: Sunny, very warm, 75-85 degrees
Bird Species: 42
For five delightful hours, Paul Sweet led our group through the area of the Fire Island National Seashore east of and in Watch Hill, NY. Also providing birding IDs and local commentary was Deborah Swamback, a Queens County Bird Club member who birds in and around Watch Hill and Davis Park for about half each year.
We spent most of the day along the walkway that leads through the sheltered dune areas between the ocean and the bay, which include low tree/bush cover, some fresh water ponds, and a large saltwater marsh. The shadier sections were fairly birdy, including a number of the warblers, along with scolding Gray Catbirds and singing Carolina Wrens. After about 90 minutes, the group walked up to a high platform overlooking the marsh, where a small Goldfinch, watching us from a nearby bare branch, contrasted with a Northern Harrier soaring overhead. Eventually, the group made it down to the marsh, which had less bird activity but included some Egrets and a Great Blue Heron near a pond, and Northern Flickers dashing about; it was too late in the fall for Seaside or Saltmarsh Sparrows.
After lunch, the group spent time on the beach discussing Gull and Tern IDs, before heading back to the woods and marsh. A first-of-season Dark-eyed Junco was spotted, and, later, the final bird of the day was a Palm Warbler (Western) right after a pair of Least Sandpipers were seen on a wee marsh beach.
Species List
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Least Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Forster’s Tern
Royal Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Peregrine Falcon
Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Northern Cardinal
