Registrar: Dom Ricci
Participants: 18 (including leaders & registrar)
Weather: High 40s F, sunny & clear, light wind
Bird Species: 15
After several consecutive weekends of rain, fortune smiled upon a group of Linnaean birders: they were greeted by ideal conditions when they gathered on Veterans’ Day morning at the Coney Island beach. The objective of this outing was educational—to take part in Bobbi & Dennis’s masterclass in gull identification—and there was no shortage of study subjects among the abundant flocks lining the sandy shore. All five of the most frequent local gull species were present: Herring, Ring-billed, Laughing, Great Black-backed, and even two Lesser Black-backed. As we walked back and forth along the beach below the boardwalk, our leaders instructed us on how to analyze the features of each individual bird—its size, plumage and other coloration, and behavior—to determine its species and age. We were also treated to some non-gull sideshows, including a flock of ruddy turnstones scurrying about among the rocky jetties, a common loon preening in the surf, an animated flock of fish crows, and a solitary kestrel surveying its domain from on high. By the time the walk ended around lunchtime, we had all gained a foundation of knowledge to carry forward to our future gull-watching experiences.
Species Lists
Birds
Brant
Mute Swan
Rock Pigeon
Ruddy Turnstone
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
American Kestrel
Fish Crow
European Starling
House Sparrow
