Registrar: Lisa Kroop
Participants: 8
Weather: 76–84°F; humid, hazy, high cloud cover; calm, 0–3mph
Bird Species: 55
We began our day at the southernmost point of New York State, at Conference House Park. There, we walked a loop through woods, with a couple of detours onto the beaches overlooking Arthur Kill and Raritan Bay. In the woods, we listened and looked for White-eyed Vireo—a known nester at this location and found in previous years on Linnaean trips—but this year we were unsuccessful. Instead, the quiet was broken by the emphatic song of a nearby Carolina Wren that perched out in the open for all to see. Catbirds were singing as we walked along the path, and a red mulberry tree—covered in ripe fruit—was filled with bird activity, especially young robins going after the berries. From the beach, we saw a Double-crested Cormorant nesting colony on a channel marker, a flock of Canada Geese serenely swimming by with a few goslings in close-to-adult plumage among the adults, and a Red-winged Blackbird vehemently protecting its territory from an Eastern Kingbird that had just alighted on the same tree.
As the day started to noticeably warm up, we headed to our next stops. At Mount Loretto Unique Area, Warbling Vireos and Indigo Buntings were singing, Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron were perched along the edges of the pond, and a few swallows and Chimney Swifts were flying overhead. Next, we headed to the Cemetery of the Resurrection to see the Little Blue Heron that had been reported, and it was still there. Then we made a quick stop at Lemon Creek Park to observe the long-established colony of Purple Martins and the terns flying over Lemon Creek. We moved on to Wolfe’s Pond Park for a lunch break and a short survey of the birds around there. While we ate, a very loud Fish Crow vocalized its unique caw.
Our final destination, a highlight for this trip, was the nesting colony of Bank Swallows at Great Kills Park. The Bank Swallows were there in abundance, constantly flying, but eventually three landed and perched on a dead branch overlooking the cliff. A few of our group climbed down to the beach and had an unexpected sighting—a Monk Parakeet perched in a tree at the top of the cliff. Our trip concluded with the last species of the day, a female Boat-tailed Grackle that flew onto the grass nearby and began foraging.
Many thanks to Seth for leading us on this bird walk to some of the summer birding hotspots of Staten Island. And thanks to Dave Eib for the lists of butterflies, odonates, and other invertebrates.
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
American Oystercatcher
Killdeer
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster’s Tern
Common Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Little Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Monk Parakeet
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern House Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Eastern Towhee
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Yellow Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Butterflies
Cabbage White
Common Wood-Nymph
Silver-spotted Skipper
Least Skipper
Odonates
Common Green Darner
Eastern Amberwing
Slaty Skimmer
Needham’s Skimmer
Spot-winged Glider
Common Whitetail
Halloween Pennant
Black Saddlebags
Familiar Bluet
Fragile Forktail
Other Invertebrates
Marsh Flies (Euthycera flavescens)
Common Micropanther
Cicada Killer
Dusky Stink Bug
Little Black Ants (Complex Monomorium)
Modest Katydid
Sculptured Resin Bee
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Western Honey Bee
Syrphid Flies
Orchard Orbweaver Spider
Buffalo Treehopper
Red Milkweed Beetle
Dogbane Leaf Beetle
Variegated Lady Beetle
Spur-throated Grasshoppers (Melanoplus sp.)
Green-striped Grasshopper
Rugged Flower Weevil
Hackberry Star Gall Psyllid
Spicebush Swallowtail (Caterpillar)
Cuban Laurel Thrip
Sand Hammertail
Milkweed Stem Weevil
Oriental Beetle
Chrysanthemum Lace Bug
Shore Flies (Tribe Discocerinini sp.)
Common Hentz Jumping Spider
Banded Bee Flies (Villa lateralis)
Herps
American Bullfrog
North American Snapping Turtle
Mammals
Striped Skunk
Cat
Eastern Chipmunk
Groundhog
