Brrr

I am planning on a Christmas bird count on sunday and maybe some owling on saturday, but its going to snow. 8-12 inches predicted by sunday here in NY.

To prepare, I stocked up :-) ...

Its getting colder...

...but the birding is getting better.

Today I went to the Edith Read Sanctuary in Rye, NY. The sanctuary is right behind a large amusement park, and can only be accessed through the parking lot. There is a large lake on one side of the road and the long island sound on the other. The lake is known for wintering ducks, such as canvasbacks and scaup.

We (that is to say, my dad and I) stopped there first, and scanned. Bufflehead, DC Cormorants, and Mallards were common. There were two american widgeon as well. A Canada x Snow goose hybrid was also interesting. Then I spotted a group of scaup.

Scuap ID is tricky, to say the least. One bird seemed a fairly easy greater. Greenish gloss, forward peak on the head. The other male had purple gloss and a slightly differently shaped head. As close to a definite lesser as I'm ever going to get. I counted it. Life bird.

A red-tailed hawk perched in a tree right next to the nature center. There was one there last february too. Maybe the same bird. This guy was not going to move just because a couple of birders walked by his tree. We got amazing looks. Reddish tail, talons, piercing brown eyes, and all.

Reaching the sound, we stopped and scanned. I spotted a cluster of blobs moving on the rocks pretty far offshore. We moved closer, and got the view of behavior and silhouette that clinched the Id- my life purple sandpipers.

No one has ever been astounded by how purple these sandpipers are, and no one ever will be. They are most definitely gray. They are pretty cool birds though. And tough. That water was freezing, and they were on slippery rocks partially submerged in it. They must have some seriously warm feathers.

Back to the name. Rock Sandpiper, the western version, is well named. So I propose changing the purple sandpiper to the Atlantic Rockpiper, and the Rock Sandpiper to the Pacific Rockpiper. The sand part is a misnomer too. Hence the Rockpiper label. It's perfect.

After pausing to look at the hawk, who was still in the same place as before, we departed.

Before today I had not seen a lifer since September 26. Not a bad way to end a drought.

Below: Purple Sandpiper. Photo from Wikipedia.

Oh, and for anyone waiting for a follow-up on that owl- We missed it. I will try again when the long eared owls arrive, and get 2 species in one trip. At least, that's the plan. It won't work though. They hate me.

Whooping Crane Shot

http://www.commercial-news.com/local/local_story_343220729.html

^^^^^Read the Link first^^^^^

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Some conservation efforts involve people who like animals but need to make money, and stuff like that. Compromises are necessary.

Others involve an idiot with a gun and an urge to kill one of the rarest and most beautiful animals in the country (or even the world.)

That one crane is the same fraction of the total population that 12 million people would be.

With snow predicted for tonight and a saw-whet owl expedition planned for tomorrow, my winter birding has officially begun!

Why Geese are Smarter than People

Above- Shore park brant near sunset.

My local waterfowl spot in winter is Shore Park, a small grassy area with a playground that borders the long island sound on two sides. I have found 9 species of waterfowl there, including all three mergansers and a Black Duck x Mallard hybrid.

So I was slightly worried when I saw the column in the local paper claiming victory in the war against the geese. There are large flocks of canada geese and brant that reside at the park, and most people (birders excluded) don't like them. True, the grass is constantly covered in droppings, and I can see how people might not want that, so the efforts were probably justified. The town bought some sort of lightbulb thing that was installed at knee-height, and is supposed to look like light reflecting off the eyes of a predator. This would make the geese uncomfortable, and they would not sleep there.

I was a bit concerned that the light would drive off all the other waterfowl too, which would make a waterfowl spot somewhat useless (the whole lack of waterfowl thing). I shouldn't have worried.

The first time I biked down this winter, it seemed as though the light was working. That didn't hurt the birding any though. Shore park was completely goose free, but the neighboring yard was covered in geese. I bet the people who owned that house were a lot less amused by that than I was.

The second time I checked, it seemed as though the town was wrong. The park did not actually have any geese on it (they were in the water), but it was again covered in droppings.

I have to look again sometime, but it seem like the geese have the upper hand here.

An imagined converstion between two geese:

Goose 1- Hey, that coyote still hasn't moved.

Goose 2- Yeah, its been in that exact same spot for 3 months.

Goose 1- Pretty stupid coyote. You think it's dead?

Goose 2- Maybe. Lets check it out.

Goose 1- Wait! That's a light! Not a coyote.

Goose 2- Wow. You mean we've been avoiding that place for months because of a light?

Goose 1- Well, at least it's not a coyote. We can go back there now.

Goose 2- Nice.