Eastern Bluebirds and Rough-Legged Hawk

NIkon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/8, 1/800s, ISO 500

I was able to make it to EPCAL before the sun went down late this afternoon and was happy I did.  In addition to a Turkey Vulture that spent a little time perusing the grasslands looking for a snack and a grey ghost (male Northern Harrier) that was briefly spotted, 4 Eastern Bluebirds were singing and flitting around the center grass median while a Rough-legged Hawk was busy catching a vole.  (Learn how to ID rough-legged hawks from afar by reading Jerry Liguori's Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors)  It was certainly one of the more productive visits to EPCAL in recent weeks - and as I left I noticed a herd of at least 60 deer to the North of EPCAL on the adjacent grasslands piece.  Seeing all of those deer grazing on native grasses is such a rare sighting on this island you simply have to see it to appreciate it.  (Above: Male Eastern Bluebird / Below: Female Eastern Bluebird)

EPCAL Grasslands Safe for....

A Northern Harrier taking a break

... at least Two more years! According to today's Newsday (February 2, 2011), Riverhead has hired the consulting firm of Vanasse, Hangen Brustlin Inc. of Watertown Mass. for just shy of a half million dollars to review EPCAL (Enterprise Park and Calverton). The consulting group will conduct a comprehensive study to come up with a new zoning plan for the property which has mostly languished for the past 12 years since the Town of Riverhead received ownership of the property from the Federal Government.  Recently two mega projects have fallen through the cracks, with the Rechler's (a dynamic cousin duo with deep pockets and a penchant for holding local governments hostage over development plants) backing out after being told they could not construct housing on site, and the infamous "Riverhead Resorts" plan (which called for an indoor ski resort, among other things) was finally shot down by the Town after a long lapse in payments.  The fact that the Town strung Riverhead Resorts along for so long was pretty pathetic with the developer looking like someone owing a mobster a big debt and "promising" to pay next week.  Well thanks to these ineffective business plans, the grasslands at EPCAL and the 1,200 plus acres they cover are safe for a few more years.

Savannah Sparrows galore

Savannah Sparrow

It seems that each time I visit EPCAL, I come away with something different.  While there were some raptors around (and even a surprise fly-over by a Merlin) Savannah Sparrows stole the show.  I got down on the ground and crawled my way toward their preferred perch on a barberry perch and was able to get nice and close.

Savannah Sparrow on a Thorny Perch

Perched atop a Bayberry Shrub

Merlin in Flight

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: