Registrar: Linda LaBella
Participants: 16
Weather: Clear skies and cool temperatures, 45 degrees
Species: 39
Rob Jett’s field trips to Coney Island and Coney Island Creek Park are always fun and often fruitful, and this trip was no exception. Right from the start, while viewing from the boardwalk, we witnessed thousands of Northern Gannets in a continuous stream—diving, feeding, and circling over the bay. It was an amazing sight that continued the entire time we remained at the beach.
On the pier, we were treated to close views of three Razorbills, a seabird of the Alcidae family that has been unusually abundant this winter in the waters around NYC. Along the beach on our way to the 35th Street overlook, and at the jetty, we saw three more Razorbills, Common Loons, and Long-tailed Ducks. We then continued to Coney Island Creek Park, encountering yet another Razorbill as well as hundreds of Brant and other waterfowl, and finished up at the 23rd Street overlook.
Species List
Birds
Snow Goose
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Mallard
American Black Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Razorbill
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-crowned Night Heron
Cooper’s Hawk
American Crow
Fish Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
European Starling
House Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbirds
Northern Cardinal
