Pikes Beach

I took a visit to Pike's Beach this evening hoping for a Black Tern - I was unsuccessful on that front but found some non-breeding plumage Plover's (never photographed one of them before) and some other shorebirds and had a beautiful sunset.

A few Greater Yellow Legs were also hanging around

To help ID birds - I use my National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition book

Early Migrants

This evening I took a challenging kayak trip to Goose Creek against a very strong wind (though the waves remained small).  I was rewarded with lots of early migrants feeding on the extensive mud flats including Least Sandpipers and Black-bellied Plovers.  While these birds have already nested and raised young, Least Terns remained on eggs nearby and Piping Plovers were also present (though guessing by the number [4] I think they hatched and fledged out young).

To learn more about the birds on the east coast, check out this fantastic ID book National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America (National Geographic Field Guide to Birds)

Shooting from a Kayak

I recently acquired a kayak and have been keen to use it in the evenings around the Flanders Bay / Gooseneck Creek area but lately the gnats have seriously inhibited the enjoyment factor.  This evening was nice and warm with a steady breeze that kept the bugs at bay and allowed me to get out and find some birds.

Along the shoreline were Ruddy Turnstones, Semi-palmated Sandpipers, American Oystercatchers, a Piping Plover and several Saltmarsh sparrows.  Unfortunately not all of the birds were cooperative, but there is always tomorrow.

Another angle:

Even a pair of Mallards and Swans were hanging around. . .

One of the Swans:

Speaking of birds that don't cooperate, this afternoon I checked out a colony of Bank Swallows in, of all places, the middle of the island - Farmingville to be exact.   One of my co-workers had done an inspection in the area and noticed the Swallows had taken up residence in the artificial banks created by the construction of new homes.  I was excited about this because I don't have any photos of that species and the lighting was perfect and some of the cavities were pretty low to the ground, but lo-and-behold the birds just would not cooperate.  They were too fast and unpredictable to photograph so I will have to make some return trips in the hope of photographing them.

What makes this colony interesting, however, is its location.  It is located at one of the highest points in Suffolk County (only rivaled by near by Bald Hill) and you can clearly see to the Long Island Sound and Robert Moses Park from the top of the bank.  However, one would expect a nearby water source for these insect eaters - but the closest "stream" is the Carmans River which is 5 miles to the east, and Lake Ronkonkoma which is 4 miles to the West.  The only time I've seen these colonies were at the beach at Mecox in Bridgehampton and along the eroded dunes in Sagaponack along the Atlantic Ocean.  So if you are in the area and want to check out a unique bird colony, take Lidge Dr. North from Horseblock Rd. in Farmingville and check out the big banks on the East Side.  (Note: this site is just to the East of the County Park on Horseblock)  Just make sure you stay on the road and off the private property.

The spit at Goose Creek remnids me of Lazy Point which you can read all about in Carl Safina's book: The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World which I highly recommend.

summer shots

I've been going through some folders organizing my images and came across a few that have never been posted here on the blog so I wanted to share them with all of you.  The theme (incase you didn't notice) is shorebirds.  Enjoy.

Above: Eastern Willet with what I believe to be a long-clawed hermit crab.  Below: Oystercatcher flying over Shinnecock Bay:

This Ruddy Turnstone stopped in the Hamptons for a layover during migration:

A Short-billed dowitcher appears lonely @ Cupsogue, but its friends were just out of frame.

It's the lighting, stupid!

In photography, 9 times out of 10 a great wildlife photo is great because of the lighting.  The 1 time out of 10 it's because of the behavior.  I have no idea if that is true, but it sounds good and applies here.  I got out this evening and actually stayed shooting until close to sunset which I have not done in a long time.  It's quite difficult on Long Island as the sun is generally blocked by development when it gets real low, or it's difficult to get between your subject and the sun - but the Ocean solves most of these problems and a plover obliged.

Now below are three plover photos from Sagg Main Beach over Memorial Day Weekend - it was about 3 hours after sunrise and you can see the difference.  The photos are still wonderful, but there is a big difference between the two sets.