Quack Attack!

Today, I had to chance to go on a trip with my local bird club, the Queens County Bird Club, on a waterfowl walk. Formally known as the "North Shore Quack Attack", the group traveled up and down the North Shore of Long Island, searching for ducks.

Unfortunately, I was not able to join the walk until 11:30 AM. I met up with them at Stehli Beach in Bayville. Things were fairly peaceful, the water was blue and serene, and Mary Normandia, the trip leader and a fine birder, was showing me some Long-tailed Ducks and Common Goldeneyes through her scope. (I left mine in the car). Some Brant flew across the water. Suddenly, we spotted seven little shorebirds flying across the water. They were Sanderlings, a brand spankin' new lifer.

Long-tailed Duck

Suddenly, from around the corner of a nearby building, there came the frantic, though faint, cry of "Owl! Owl!" Nothing motivates birders like the Owl Cry. There was a unanimous CLACK as tripods snapped together and a unanimous THUD as boots hit the pavement, running wildly to the trip member who saw an owl. My last memory of that moment was of another birder on the trip grabbing his tripod with his scope on it and dashing away at the pace of an Olympic runner, I right behind him.

And then I was looking towards the sky, my binoculars trained on all the beauty and glory of my very first Short-eared Owl. "It flies like a huge moth", said one of my fellow birders, and, as I looked at the bird's tawny plumage, it's deep, graceful wingbeats and deep yellow eyes, I couldn't help but agree.

Short-eared Owl

Once the owl had left us and his vicious prosecutors, American Crows, behind, we returned to the beach, where we located two Common Loons, again a life bird. 

And so I left Stehli Beach, having procured three lifers in ten minutes.

Next stop, after getting coffee (not for me, no thanks), was Mill Neck Creek. There, Red-breasted Mergansers floated around with their cousins, the Hooded Mergansers. Buffleheads buffled around in the icy water, and sixty Canvasbacks swam, conveniently enough, on the exact opposite side of the water. In with them was a single Redhead, who, equally conveniently, stayed facing away from us the entire time we were there.

Bufflehead

Next up was an area near the Bayville Rod and Gun Club. This was uncomfortable, as a group of men in camo baseball caps kept shooting off various firearms the entire time we were there. But we saw a Common Loon, numerous Greater and Lesser Scaup, and a group of Brant. 

Upon arriving to the other side of that beach, we looked closer at the Greater and Lesser Scaup, as well as looking at some Mute Swans. A Greater Black-backed Gull associated with some Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. 

We headed out and over to the Long Island Sound. And there, we observed around ten Common Loons, quite close. A lone White-winged Scoter and four Surf Scoters were waaaaay out to sea, but the Sanderlings that probed the sand were right there next to us. Several Ruddy Turnstones mixed with them, but they flew before I saw them.

Common Loon

We were heading out to Oyster Bay next, but stopped to look at some waterfowl we had spotted on the side of the road in a small pond. And it was good. Hooded Mergansers hung out with Common Mergansers and Ring-necked Ducks, with Lesser and Greater Scaups mixed in. Green-winged Teal bobbed around, while a lone Great Blue Heron hung around. See if you can find it here.

Find the Heron

An American Wigeon was present, as were Northern Pintails. It was a fruitful stop.

And the very last bird of the day was at Beaver Lake, a Belted Kingfisher swooping over the water low.

Here is my total lifer count from the day:

Green-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Lesser Scaup
Sanderling
Short-eared Owl
Common Loon
White-winged Scoter
Surf Scoter
Redhead
Canvasback
Bufflehead

That's 11 lifers in just a few hours! Thanks so much to the trip leader and other birders on the trip for helping me out!

Northern Pintail