Registrar: Ursula Mitra
Participants: 10
Weather: 40 deg F, sunny, winds NW 5 mph
Species: 46
The morning started out mild and sunny with light winds only, a perfect setting for this trip. Richard asked the ten of us to meet for morning coffee and a bathroom break at the Colonnade Diner, followed by a short walk to the nearby New Creek Park, a new location for our Staten Island trips. This park yielded some Hooded Mergansers and a Red-tailed Hawk, among other birds.
From there, we drove to Great Kills Park, where we stopped at three locations and saw a small flock of Horned Larks. Horned Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Buffleheads, and Brant were plentiful. We also saw a few Long-tailed Ducks here.
Arden Avenue Beach was our next stop. When we arrived, some of us saw a large Harbor Seal appear as if it was resting on the water’s surface. It swam away after 10 minutes but was seen several more times, as it occasionally popped its head out of the water. Sanderlings, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, and Black Scoters were notable here.
Next was Wolfe’s Pond Park where we stopped for lunch and a bathroom break. We spent quite some time here but seemed to be missing all the raptors we saw the year before. Besides many of the birds we had already observed, we saw some Common Mergansers and a Hairy Woodpecker. Then, to our surprise, we spotted a Peregrine Falcon sitting in exactly the same spot as the previous year as we exited the Park, the only raptor we saw here this year.
Richard added the Lemon Creek Park fishing pier as our final stop, hoping to see a Razorbill. We were rewarded with a large number of Surf Scoters and a Belted Kingfisher, but no Razorbill.
As always, it was an enjoyable trip in gorgeous weather with wonderful company. Thank you to Richard ZainEldeen for leading another successful Staten Island Field Trip.
Bird Species:
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Mallard
American Black Duck
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Horned Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Sanderling
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Peregrine Falcon
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Additional Species:
Domestic goose sp.
Mammals:
Harbor seal
