Mountain Bluebird

This morning I set out to find the Mountain Bluebird that has been present in the Calverton area for approximately a week. There were a few other birders who were out there as well which helped because one of them located it along the fencing at the Haunted House on 25A and alerted me to it. While the bird didn't come nearly as close as I'd hoped, it was still a pleasure to photograph this rare visitor from the West.

Since I was out and about I figured I'd try and see if anything else of interest was around. Some time at EPCAL produced a flock of Eastern Meadowlarks and a handful of Savannah Sparrows - but there were some raptors as well. Two Red-tailed hawks were perched in a tree next to each other, Northern Harriers were hunting near the runways and a couple American Kestrels were seen including this one which was a bit more cooperative than usual.

In addition to the above mentioned birds were a couple male Eastern Bluebirds (which were far more attractive than the drab Mountain Bluebird).  Another Red-tailed hawk was spotted on a light pole in Aquebogue, and I had time for a brief visit to the new North Fork Preserve Suffolk County Park which yielded a Red-tailed hawk being chased by a Cooper's. All in all a nice cold winter day with some raptors and a species of bird that's new to me.

For more on birds that can be found around Long Island - check out this book by John Turner: Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island

Flying Eastern Meadowlark

NIkon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/9, 1/2000s, ISO 500, -.33 EC, cropped to 37%

I told myself I wasn't going to go to EPCAL today after work - but the clear blue skies and sunshine were calling and I couldn't resist. . . It was the same as it's been the past couple weeks - tons of Kestrels and a few other birds that are all annoyingly skittish but I had some success today including the Eastern Meadowlark seen in flight above.

In related news, The Town of Riverhead (owners of EPCAL) are suing the NYS DEC over new legislation regarding the Endangered Species Act.  Riverhead fears that the new regulations are too stiff and will make it impossible for them to sell the acreage available at EPCAL (and that's a bad thing...?).  For more information please see the story at News12 (sorry for those non-Cablevision subscribers who certainly will be blocked from accessing this).  An abridged version of the story reads below:

Riverhead sues DEC over endangered species regulations

(03/29/11) RIVERHEAD - The Town of Riverhead has filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Conservation over new regulations aimed at protecting endangered species, claiming they could place a financial burden on property owners.

Farmer Lyle Wells says before the new regulations, property owners would only have to buffer an area around endangered species, but now owners must hire a consultant to identify endangered species and monitor their growth forever. That could cost thousands of dollars a year.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter says the new regulations will kill jobs and complicate the town's efforts to sell 1,400 acres of property in Calverton. Walters also complains the rules were enacted without any public input.

Dick Amper, of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, says if Riverhead can't sell its land, it has only itself to blame.

"We've been protecting endangered species for 100 years, and no one has gone out of business as a result," he says.

To learn more about endangered species on Long Island and across the globe, pick up a copy of Carl Safina's The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World

Juvenile Bald Eagle

A Bald Eagle shows off it's massive wings in flight

This morning as I turned onto Rt. 104 at the intersection of Pleasure Drive (just North of Sunrise Highway) in Flanders I saw a large raptor perched upon a telephone pole.  I turned north onto Rt. 104 and pulled over to get a better look and take my camera out - unfortunately the bird flushed after I had sat there for a minute or so but was rather lazily flying and I was able to photograph it.  In the image directly below you can see a fish in its talons that it had been eating.  This is only the second Bald Eagle I've seen on Long Island in the past 3 years (both juveniles) so it was a nice start to my morning.  While I was almost positive it was  Bald Eagle - I never see them and wanted to be sure I wasn't mistaking it for something else.  Fortunately I just received my copy of Jerry Liguori's Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors which provided me visual evidence I needed to be positive that's what I had seen and photographed.  This book is a great resource and different than any other raptor ID book - plus it's a ridiculous value.

If you look close you can see the fish in the talons

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Wood Duck pair on a small pond in East Quogue on the North side of Montauk Hwy.  But, wood ducks being wood ducks, they didn't want to get too close even though I remained in my car.

Always a nice sight to see

Dune Rd. was very slow despite having a low tide.  Two Killdeer were seen feeding and on my return trip West I also found 2 Great Egrets.

I usually find these birds in fields - not along the water

This bird is ready to breed with those long plumes and green facial patch

EPCAL was full of Kestrels but not much else - I'm looking forward to when the Bluebirds and Swallows are breeding so there is a little more activity up there since you can't get anywhere near Kestrels most of the time.

One of a dozen Kestrels at EPCAL

American Kestrel @ EPCAL

This bird eventually got tired of my vehicles presence

American Kestrels are notoriously skittish (and it doesn't help that they are so small).  They regularly line the runways of EPCAL and thus present a fun challenge for the photographer.  Every now and then I get a bird that's a little more cooperative than the rest and today was such a day.

Politely Posing

In addition to the above Kestrel above, there were 4 Turkey Vultures riding the thermals searching for carrion and an active Eastern Bluebird singing his heart out.  As expected, Eastern Meadowlarks and Northern Harriers were also present.

1 of 4 Turkey Vultures at EPCAL

And while Herring Gulls are not the most interesting bird, I thought some of you would be interested in seeing this portrait taken the other day at the Shinnecock Inlet along the jetty.  This was at just about the limit of my lenses focusing abilities and is full frame.

Full Frame - as close as you can get!

Be sure to view the post below featuring an image of the 'Supermoon' and also be sure to check out Theodore Cross's life's work in his book entitled Waterbirds

Morning Migrants

An American Kestrel waits for the sun to peak back out

This morning I set out at sunrise to see what was around on the day before Spring.  I started at EPCAL since Low Tide wasn't due at Dune Rd. until the afternoon.  When I got on the runways a little after 7 I saw two bright white birds flying overhead and the photo below confirmed my suspicions that they were Great Egrets (moving northwest) which are the first of the season that I've seen.  I was hoping to spot some Eastern Bluebirds but was shut out - the same can't be said for Eastern Meadowlarks which were busy calling for mates and a couple of Horned Larks that are still hanging around.  On the Eastern runway a Savannah Sparrow was signing atop a small shrub.

A welcome sight to see the day before Spring

Turkeys are always a nice species to note at EPCAL:

It's amazing how skittish this species remains

This is easily the closest I've been to a Horned Lark and it gave me a pretty clear shot:

Horned Lark scavenging for food

A Savannah Sparrow was seen singing

On the raptor front were at least 7 American Kestrels busy hunting and hanging out.  I did not see a "pair" like I did in my previous post, but females and males were both present.  A few Northern harriers were lazily hunting over the grasses and a Red-tailed Hawk was also spotted - but Rough-legged hawks were unfortunately absent.

Just hanging out on a Rose bush along the Eastern runway

When I got to Dune Rd. I was disappointed to not spot any wading birds but after waiting around for a bit these American Oystercatchers showed up just east of the Ponquogue Bridge.  Aside from that things were very slow.  My backyard, however, has played host to American Goldfinches all morning which is always a nice treat - too bad they are so camera shy.

A pair of Oystercatchers hunting along their new territory

If you're like me and have a real love of raptors big and small - then you'll want to pick up a copy of Jerry Liguori's latest title Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors which features one of my Gyrfalcon photos.

Lots of Raptors @ EPCAL

Cropped to about 50% off the original - this Roughie is soaring high

On Wednesday the sun was shining and it was the start of a few warm and blue-sky days.  On my way home from work I visited EPCAL and was happy to see so many Kestrels.  In just 20 minutes I observed 7 including what appears to be a pair (see below).  Additionally, 2 light-morph Rough-Legged Hawks, several Northern Harriers and a Red-tailed Hawk were present.

American Kestrel "hovering".  Cropped to just 20% of the original

Perching on the ugly but useful Common Mullein:

I'm including this shot even though the quality isn't great because it was just about full frame:

For more about birds and wildlife on Long Island I highly recommend John Turner's Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island which features a dozen of my photos including a photo of a Snowy Owl found last year on the beach in Hampton Bays.  This is a must read for bird lovers on Long Island

Grasslands Migrants

Eastern Meadowlark

I visited EPCAL (Grasslands @ Calverton) this evening after work in hopes of spotting a Short-eared Owl as a few were seen over the weekend at Robert Moses State Park.  No luck on the owls, but I did however find some Eastern Meadowlarks and Horned Larks (both a surprise for me) in additional to Kestrels and a flock of Turkey.  I apologize for the poor quality of the images in advance - the lighting and birds weren't cooperating.  

Turkey

Horned Larks

American Kestrel

This afternoon on my way home from work I couldn't bring myself to go inside a stuffy gym when the weather was so awesome and I had a little bit of light and time before the Twins / Yankees game.  As some of you may be aware, the Town of Riverhead erected a barrier near the entrance to the Western runway denying access by vehicle.  This was quite frustrating as the runway is a large area that makes photography via walking near impossible (at any large scale level anyhow).  I thought I'd try my luck and see if anything had changed, and sure enough it had.  While the barriers are still present, the "road closed" signs are gone, and just to the left of the sign is a big parking lot near the old control tower.  The parking lot leads to an access road for the runway where the gate is always open - access secured!  The diversity was light, but there were plenty of grasshopper sparrows (who were playing hide and seek) and Kestrels nearly everywhere I looked.  It's roughly the peak migration time for this species, and EPCAL provides the perfect habitat for them to stock up on food - I estimate there were at least 15 present on the western runway, but it is likely there were quite a few more.  Unfortunately for me, the runway is never used by vehicles, so the birds were all very skittish and wouldn't let me get anywhere near them on almost all occasions - but i did have a little luck, as seen above and below.

While the Grasshopper sparrows I spied today wouldn't come out in the open, here is a shot from earlier in the year:

First Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret:
A trip on Friday to Montauk gave me my first Cattle Egret that I spotted along Montauk Hwy. feeding in a swollen marsh in Napeague.  This egret is almost in full breeding plumage - it's lacking the deep red on the bill and the purple around the eye and is somewhat of a rare site on Long Island.  While there were 5 individuals seen this week (this one included) they are not common, though they've been increasing over the past few decades as they expand their range north.

Harlequins:
Also out in Montauk were some gorgeous Harlequin Ducks in full breeding plumage - which I was not able to photograph earlier in the winter with the harlequins that were hanging around Hampton Bays.  One of the ducks was quite aggressive in chasing off this White-Winged Scoter for unknown reasons.  The male Harlequin would run across the water (see below) then when the Scoter dove, the Harlequin would follow suit.  Not quite sure what the Harlequin was going to do if it actually caught the Scoter but it was amusing to watch.

Shu Swamp:
A trip to Shu Swamp in pursuit of Owls left me disappointed - but I did see a few Wood Ducks which are a secretive species and flush easily.  This pair flew onto this tree branch and were hanging out in the late afternoon sun.  Wood Ducks are an interesting species as they nest in the cavities of trees - sometimes at significant distances from the water.  Once the young hatch they jump (fall) out of the tree and march to the water with their parents.

Others:
On Thursday I went out on a boat with the USFWS to an island we were doing habitat restoration on.  The boat was docked at Wertheim federal wildlife refuge and a long trip down the Carman's River to Moriches Bay provided some good photographing opportunities:

Unfortunately I clipped the top of the wing on this action shot of a Double Crested Cormorant:

The Carman's River was full of Osprey and I was able to get pretty close to this one as it flew overhead in search of fish:

EPCAL Evening:
I ended my day with a trip to EPCAL where the Kestrels were somewhat cooperative and I added a new bird to my files, the Horned Lark (notice the "horns" on the head):

I spotted this female Northern Harrier along the taxiway which posed before taking off - I like how the side-lighting splits the bird in half:

This Eastern Meadowlark gave me a pose similar to the American Kestrel above:

As I was leaving I noticed a Killdeer on the side of the road being lit up by the setting sun: