This afternoon I stopped at EPCAL again after work and was underwhelemed with the severe lack of birds. A few Eastern Meadowlarks and Kestrels, a Brown Thrasher, some Eastern Towhees, a Prairie Warbler in the distance (heard the unmistakeable call) a Turkey and a lot of ticks. On my way home I was feeling a bit dejected and decided to stop at the Canoe launch/fishing spot along the Peconic River directly across the road from Snowflake Ice Cream in Riverhead (there is a small roadway on the South side of the road that leads to a LIPA substation. A small parking lot is located here as well). I remembered that last year an aggressive Yellow Warbler had been reported - pecking its reflection in the mirrors of cars - so I wanted to see if I could find any warblers. I almost didn't bring my camera to the river but thought I should "just in case". Not more than a minute later this Osprey appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a freshly caught herring (?) in its talons. It saw me and made a quick U-turn and almost lost the fish in the process.
This is only the 3rd time photographed an Osprey with a whole fish (the first time had poor lighting, the second time I had the wrong lens on) and I was so thrilled! My settings weren't perfect, so the images aren't as great as they could have been - but a wonderful surprise regardless. This convinced me to stay a bit and I found the following birds:
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (a new species for me)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (in full breeding plumage - a new feather set for me)
Yellow Warblers (at least 2)
Eastern Kingbirds (always happy to find them - especially with a pleasing background)
Baltimore Oriole (there were at least 2 males - possibly more - calling for females attention)
I also had a Pine Warbler that was not as cooperative as the others.
For help ID'ing birds (like the swallows) I used the following book: National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America
