Jones Beach: how to miss the birds you came for

Today, I went to Jones Beach and missed my nemesis birds again.

In fairness, I also saw some other nice birds. Once again forgetting fairness, I really need to see my nemesis birds and Jones Beach is where they are. But on to what I did see.

Arriving at the Coast Guard Station, I instantly found a flock of Bufflehead hanging out among the pilings and some Brant on the grass. Some little birds in the brush caused a stir when I imagined they could be Horned Larks, my #1 Nemesis, but they proved to be Song Sparrows. However, a close scan revealed a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a new addition to my year list.

The Coast Guard Station

Out in the bay, I counted twenty Buffleheads, in addition to three Red-breasted Mergansers, two Horned Grebes and an American Wigeon. Further out, I found a Common Loon and then promptly lost it as it dove; while trying to re-find it (which I eventually did), I instead found some Long-tailed Ducks. There was a Killdeer in the grass next to the bathrooms with some Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.

I moved on, driving down the loop to the West End II parking lot. There was nothing in the actual parking lot or surrounding territory. But on the side of the road there were some American Tree and Song Sparrows, as well as a very close-up Northern Flicker which unfortunately flushed before I could take advantage of the great photo opportunity.

American Tree (bottom and top right)  and Song (top) Sparrows.

The final stop of the day was parking field 10, a known hotspot for seals. Unfortunately, my parents drove literally to the next county looking for it, due to the lack of a sign indicating the presence of a parking field. By the time we turned around and got there, it was getting late, but there were a few Red-breasted Mergansers hanging around, in addition to more Brant, Bufflehead and some Lesser Scaup. All three gull species common here in the winter were present: Ring-billed, Herring and Great Black-backed.

The last treat of the day was not, in fact, a bird. It was watching the wonderful sunset, an experience everyone should have at one point in their life or another. Often, after a day birding, watching the sunset is a great way to either end a fantastic day or let go of what you missed and relax. And so it was.

Now that I've not gotten hung up on what I didn't see and appreciated the birds I did, I will go get my nemesis birds! Just not today.

Lesser Scaup

Great Black-backed Gull in the Sunset

             

To see the other video from the day, go here.

        

The sunset

Examining a Pigeon

Today, I found a pigeon in my yard.

Why am I saying this? Because there was something very special about this pigeon. It was missing a very curious appendage, one that almost every single other pigeon in the world has.

In other words, this pigeon ain't got no head.

Yes, the pigeon wasn't born that way. The pigeon was decapitated by a hawk, who then kindly left it's remains strewn a few feet away from a massive pile of blood and feathers for me to find. I suspect that the bird caught the pigeon, plucked it, and then was flushed by one of my parents taking the dog out. It is probable that the bird first headed one way and then collided with the ball net that my evil neighbors have put up on the fence, causing it to drop the pigeon. It then most likely turned around and high-tailed it out of there.

Either way, I found the headless pigeon in the afternoon and pulled out the camera to do a photographic study of it. Enjoy.

WARNING: IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO GRAPHIC IMAGES, YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK AWAY!

Scene of the crime

The Feathers

A different view of the feathers

The body

The organs

I turn the body over for a different shooting angle

Note how the hawk removed the wing coverts. Oh, and the head.

Is this the bird's esophagus and is that a sunflower seed in it?

That pigeon ain't alive no more.

Runnin' the North Shore Route

Hooray for the Great Backyard Bird Count, another excuse to go birding!

I was more than happy for such an excuse. However, it was not good weather, unless you define good weather as snowing and in the 20s, plus being dark and overcast. Nonetheless I checked my patches up on the Hempstead Harbor in Nassau County, NY.

First up was Tappen Beach, a place I've written about many times before on this blog. Between the snow and the dreary conditions, it was somewhat hard to pick out much, especially since most of the harbor was frozen over, providing a neat resting spot for the Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls. It being Valentine's Day, there were numerous lovebirds hanging around, but I was more interested in studying the greater wing coverts of a juvenile Herring Gull. A scope scan on the western side of the harbor revealed some Red-breasted Mergansers and Bufflehead. 

Someone had dumped birdseed in some bushes and they were now full of sparrows, specifically, White-throated, Song and Dark-eyed Juncos. A little further up the beach was a crew of American Tree Sparrows hiding from me as best they could until they gave up and showed themselves. A Killdeer alerted me to it's presence by voice and then ran around on the sand.

American Tree Sparrow

A diligent count of the Mallards in the water revealed that there were 90 present, but said count had to be redone when it was discovered that there were actually five Gadwalls mixing with the Mallards. See the video here.

Mallards Departing

Gadwall

The next stop was Sea Cliff Beach. Here, there was a grand total of 17 Red-breasted Merganser, hanging around all over the water. Also present were 14 American Black Duck, three more Gadwall, three Bufflehead, and three Common Goldeneye, one of which came in very close and offered great photo opportunities, if only the light would have cooperated.

Common Goldeneye

The final stop was by accident. As we whizzed by a tiny pond with no real name, I spotted a Canada Goose with an orange neck collar. We pulled over and read the collar, coded F5A6, with binoculars. I have found numerous tagged Canada Geese in this area before.

Here's the banded goose...

And here's the info I sent to the Bird Banding Labratory.

I would have liked to bird more, but it was dark, cold and snowing, and so the day was done. Not wasted, however!

            

Sibley Guide Comparisons

Most of you know that David Allen Sibley released a 2nd edition to his well-loved Sibley Guide to Birds. Most of you also probably know that people went nuts over it due to the extensive typos and color errors. So the publisher released a second printing with all the errors corrected and many people are now contacting the vendors they bought their first printings from and getting replacement second printing books.

My second printing copy arrived in the mail today. I purchased my first from Amazon, and they refunded me so I could buy a second book and also keep the first.

Second printing at left, first printing at right

One of the big things people complained about was the type. They complained that it was small and light gray, making it hard to read. I didn't have so much of a problem with this, but I agree that the corrected version is much easier to read. 

First printing at left, second printing at right. See how much easier the second
one is to read?

Another big problem was the colors. The reds were too dark, people said. That is true. However, it's not's Sibley's fault, it's the publishers fault. Take a look at the comparison:

First printing at left, second printing at right

Also, you may notice that in the first printing book in this picture (on the left) the red Scarlet Tanager with the black wings at the bottom of the page is labeled "Nonbreeding male". This is of course not accurate. In the second printing, the one on the right, it is corrected. This is one of the typos that people jumped on. Other notable ones include the sex indicators being reversed on the crossbills in flight and my favorite, the Re-tailed Hawk. 

So if you have a chance to get your first printing book replaced with a second printing, do it! It's worth it.

The Great Backyard Bird Count 2015

Yup, it's that time of year again. Every year in February, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology collects data on what birds are where. It's kind of like the Christmas Bird Count, but with the Great Backyard Bird Count you don't have to join a count circle. You just go birding.

The GBBC also has a fun photo contest, with some nice prizes.

Have fun this February 13-16!