GSBAS - P.O. Box 267 · Sayville, NY 11782 · 631-563-7716
Volunteers Needed!
Seed Sale Chairperson: Have you always wanted to help out but feel you don’t have a lot of time? Then the Seed Sale is just right for you. Our seed sale fundraiser is held twice a year – October and February.

Backyard Bird Feeder Survey Compiler: This position is perfect for someone who enjoys backyard bird watching and would like to be able to work from home. You don’t have to be an expert birder – beginners are welcome!

Annual May Dinner Chairperson and Co-Chairperson: Do you have good organizational skills, like people, and enjoy a good party? If so, why not consider heading up our annual dinner fundraiser. The majority of tasks already have volunteers in place.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Judy Davis at 631-277-5179 or princessjudyann@optonline.net.
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FIELD TRIP / EVENT REPORTS
February 21, 2010 - American Museum of National History, Ornithology Dept. Tour
Click photos to enlarge

Photos Courtesy of Steve D’Amato
January 17, 2010 - Children's Pinecone Feeder Workshop at Brookside
Click photos to enlarge

It was a fun time for all who made pinecone feeders at Brookside on January 17th.  Due to the misty, cold weather, we made our feeders indoors.  It was especially a delight to watch 18 month-old Sadie, with the help of her mother, spread the lard/cornmeal mixture onto the pinecones with a spoon, inspect the various materials we had on hand, and roll the sticky-coated cones in the birdseed and craisins.

Following the feeder making, we gleefully watched as Black-capped Chickadees sampled the pinecone feeders hung up near Brookside's butterfly garden and feeders, and also enjoyed seeing many gorgeous Northern Cardinals at the seed feeders.

Green, age 4, showed a great deal of enthusiasm in spreading cracked corn on the ground for the ducks out around the feeders.  It truly was a pleasure to see the interest shown by all who were there -- the children, their parents and GSBAS volunteers and tour guides Janet Gremli, Judy Davis and President Alice Heller -- in making something to be enjoyed by our feathered friends who are always a delight to watch as they go about their day.

Thank you to all who helped make the workshop a success!

Juliane Wohler, Education Chair

January 16, 2010 - Connetquot River State Park Preserve “Breakfast and Birding”
Click photos to enlarge

This Saturday field trip, which was hosted by Friends of Connetquot, was lead by Steven D’Amato and Alice Heller. It started in the general meeting building at Connetquot River State Park Preserve. Here, while people had breakfast, we showed slides of the possible bird species that could be seen at the preserve at this time of year.

We had a total of 37 people show up, between the members of Great South Bay Audubon and Friends of Connetquot, and saw a total of 35 species. Most of these were birds around the river. There were 15 species of ducks/geese/swans: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Muscovy Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded & Common Merganser, and Ruddy Ducks. The other 6 species of birds in or near the water were: Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, and Ring-billed, Herring, & Great Black-backed Gulls.

The woodland species were a little disappointing. There was a total of 14 species but almost all of these birds could have easily been seen in our own backyards. Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, pigeons and doves, crows and jays, chickadees and titmice, robins, starlings, and Song, White-throated, and House Sparrows, these birds most of us can see just as well around our own neighborhoods. I would say that the Golden-crowned Kinglet was probably the only passerine that was a more dedicated forest species than the rest we saw.

All in all, with the weather becoming sunny, it was still a good field trip.

Steve D’Amato
January 10, 2010 - Montauk Point Field Trip
Click photos to enlarge

So as far as GSBAS goes, there were 5 of us: myself (Mike Cooper), Larry & Helga Merryman and Edith & Bob Wilson, plus Doug Futuyma.

As for the birds, we had a steady stream of Razorbills and a steady stream of smaller numbers of Kittiwakes. At any time you could scan and see a group or two of 8-12 Razorbills and 2 or 3 Kittiwakes. Also, probably a hundred or two of Common Eider and scoters in the low thousands. Doug found a Harlequin along East Lake Drive, which we caught up with later, and another at Ditch Plains. He also re-found Angus' 2nd winter Iceland Gull on the beach near Gosman's, and the Wilson's re-refound it later on. That bird was kind of interesting. Not only an unusual 2nd winter, but also a heavily marked bird with a dark tail band.

Otherwise, some Canvasbacks on Fort Pond, Doug had White-fronted and Cackling Geese in Amagansett...not sure if the GSBAS group caught up with those.

A cold but nice day, when you were out of the wind. Probably birdier than Saturday was.

A couple of pics from Sunday.

Good Birding, Mike Cooper.
November 15, 2009 - Morton National Wildlife Refuge
Click photos to enlarge

Steve D'Amato provided most of these wonderful photos below on the Sunday, November 15th Morton National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip.  Please click the photos to enlarge and view the credits and captions.

 
 
November 10, 2009 - Sunken Meadow
Tuesday’s, November 10, 2009, Louise Titus Memorial Mid-Week Field Trip to Sunken Meadow was attended by 22 happy birders. Pictured is Field Trip Coordinator, Larry Merryman. Click photo to enlarge

 
November 8, 2009 - Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
NOTE:
1.Weather conditions: Sunny and mild temperatures
2. Three (3) painted turtles seen @ trail marker 14.
Please see photos below courtesy of Steve D’Amato.

Trip Leaders: John Gluth, Robert Grover, and Alice Heller

Field Trip Report submitted by: Alice Heller and Steve D’Amato

Special thanks to GSBAS’s Trip Leader, Mike Cooper, who also attended and heard, identified birds in flight and excelled in the art of phishing.

Bird Species seen/heard (“H”) at Wertheim’s Impoundment Area and river trail listed in phylogenetic order:
  1. Mute Swan
  2. American Black Duck
  3. Mallard
  4. Northern Pintail
  5. Lesser Scaup
  6. Hooded Merganser
  7. Pied-billed Grebe
  8. Double-crested Cormorant
  9. Great Blue Heron
  10. Great Egret
  11. Northern Harrier
  12. Sharp-shinned Hawk
  13. Red-tailed Hawk
  1. Virginia Rail (H) (glimpsed by some)
  2. American Coot
  3. Greater Yellowlegs
  4. Least Sandpiper
  5. Dunlin
  6. Great Black-backed Gull
  7. Belted Kingfisher
  8. Downy Woodpecker
  9. Northern Flicker
  10. Blue Jay
  11. American Crow
  12. Black-capped Chickadee
  13. Tufted Titmouse
  1. Marsh Wren
  2. Golden-crowned Kinglet (H)
  3. Eastern Bluebird (H)
  4. Hermit Thrush
  5. American Robin
  6. European Starling
  7. Cedar Waxwing (H)
  8. Yellow-rumped Warbler
  9. Savannah Sparrow
  10. Song Sparrow
  11. Swamp Sparrow
  12. Red-winged Blackbird (in flight)
  13. Eastern Meadowlark (in flight)
Click photos to enlarge

Steve D'Amato took some of these wonderful photos below on the Sunday, November 8th Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip.
 
September 26, 2009 - Connetquot River State Park Preserve
Click the photo to enlarge

Through a collaboration of Great South Bay Audubon, Connetquot River State Park Preserve and Friends of Connetquot a Bird & Breakfast program was held, as an Important Bird Area (“IBA”) activity. A group of 20 people led by John Gluth and Edith Wilson walked the trails of the park from 9:30 to 12:00p.m. and observed the following birds:
  1. Am Robin
  2. Am. Black Duck
  3. Am. Goldfinch
  4. Am. Kestrel
  5. Belted Kingfisher
  6. Black-and-White Warbler
  7. Black-capped Chickadee
  8. Black-throated Blue Warbler
  9. Blue Jay
  10. Canada Goose
  11. Carolina Wren
  12. Cedar Waxwing
  13. Chipping Sparrow
  14. Cooper’s Hawk
  15. Double-crested Cormorant
  1. Downy Woodpecker
  2. Eastern Phoebe
  3. Eastern Towhee
  4. Gadwall
  5. Gray Catbird
  6. Great Black-backed Gull
  7. Great Blue Heron
  8. Hairy Woodpecker
  9. Herring Gull
  10. House Sparrow
  11. Mallard
  12. Mute Swan
  13. No. Pintail
  14. Northern Flicker
  15. Osprey
  1. Pine Warbler
  2. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  3. Red-breasted Nuthatch
  4. Red-eyed Vireo
  5. Red-tailed Hawk
  6. Ring-billed Gull
  7. Scarlet Tanager
  8. Song Sparrow
  9. Swamp Sparrow
  10. Tufted Titmouse
  11. White-throated Sparrow
  12. Wood Duck
  13. Yellow-rumped Warbler
All attendees got to see a beautiful rainbow as we wound up our morning Connetquot Birding Field Trip and a small painted turtle.

— Co-Field Trip Leader, Edith Wilson
May 9, 2009 - GSBAS Celebrates International Migratory Bird Day At Wertheim NWR
On Saturday May 9, 2009, a group of 12 led by GSBAS Chapter President, Alice Heller, met at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley for the International Migratory Bird Day bird walk. In the trees around the refuge headquarters, there were many Yellow Warblers, Northern Parula, and a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Ken Thompson and I saw a drake Wood Duck flying up the river.

We proceeded to the Impoundment area of the refuge. A group of raucous crows alerted us to the presence of a large bird perched in a pine. The crows flushed a Great-horned Owl from the tree; it flew across the Impoundment road, landed briefly, and continued to fly from the pursuing crows.

When we arrived in the marshy area of the Impoundment, the fog began to roll in. We noted that the water level of the marsh was quite high. We found numerous Great Egrets. As we continued on, we found Forster's Terns, many of which were perched on the Wood Duck boxes. Tree Swallows were seen flying low over the marsh, with one pair nesting in a dead snag. A Canada Goose nesting pair was closely guarding their roadside nest containing 4 eggs. Farther up the trail, our group found Savannah Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, and a few Common Yellowthroats.

In the wooded area of the Impoundments, we found many songbirds, namely Brown Thrasher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Magnolia, Black-and White, and Pine Warblers. A few members of our group had the privilege of seeing a Ruby-throated Hummingbird zoom by. Back in the marshy area, there were three White-crowned Sparrows perched in a bare bush.

On the way out of the Impoundments, members of the group found Eastern Towhee, Wood Duck, and Blue-winged Warbler. Our trip had a grand total of 52 species.
Saturday, March 14, 2009 - Bluebird Nest Box Installation
Photos from the Bluebird Nest Box Installation at Connetquot River State Park Preserve
(Pictures courtesy of Mike & Michael McBrien)
Saturday, February 7, 2009 - West End/Jones Beach
Photos from this trip: Click photos to enlarge
 
Here are some photographs from the February 7th, 2009 field trip. Basically the only three species of birds I took photographs of were the Northern Saw-whet Owl, Savannah Sparrow, and Harlequin Duck. With the detail sections of the Savannah Sparrow and Harlequin drake, I also brought them into Adobe Photoshop to modify those details brightness and thus bring out the colors a little better. It didn't help that much with the Harlequin drake. - Steven D'Amato
Below are some photos taken by Michael McBrien on 2/7/2009:
Below are some photos taken
by John Gluth on 2/7/2009:
Steven D'Amato reports: Between my communication with Ken Thompson and John Gluth, hopefully I have the list for the field trip to West End, Jones Beach corrected and complete. Now not everyone saw all of these species (I know I didn’t), but as the group goes, here is the list:
American Black Duck Horned Lark Red-breasted Nuthatch
American Crow House Finch Red-necked Grebe
American Robin House Sparrow Red-tailed Hawk
American Tree Sparrow Lapland Longspur Red-throated Loon
Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck Ring-billed Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull Mallard Rock Pigeon
Bufflehead Merlin Ruddy Turnstone
Chipping Sparrow Mourning Dove Sanderling
Common Loon Mute Swan Savannah Sparrow
Cooper’s Hawk Northern Cardinal Sharp-shinned Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco Northern Flicker Short-eared Owl
European Starling Northern Harrier Snow Bunting
Great Black-backed Gull Northern Mockingbird Snowy Owl
Great Cormorant Northern Pintail Song Sparrow
Harlequin Duck Northern Saw-whet Owl Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Herring Gull Peregrine Falcon Brant
Horned Grebe Red-breasted Merganser Canada Goose

Now if any of you can remember any other birds which I am leaving out, let me know. If any of you would like to know where we saw any of the birds listed above that were not seen by all of us, I will try to get back to you with the answers.
February 1, 2009 - American Museum of National History, Ornithology Dept. Tour
Photos from this trip: Click photos to enlarge
(Pictures courtesy of Michael McBrien Sr. & Barbara McBrien)


Michael McBrien Jr. Reports: Our group of 14 began the tour of the Ornithology Department of the American Museum of Natural History, lead by Peter Capainolo from the museum. Peter first showed us and discussed, in depth, the study skins of the Birds of Paradise and the evolution of these birds by isolation and genetic variation. We saw a species of racquet-tailed hummingbird, and a Harpy Eagle whose talons were enormous. He discussed and exhibited three subspecies of the Peregrine Falcon.

Mr. Capainolo took out skins of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Unlike the male and female Pileated Woodpecker, the male Ivory-billed has a red crest and the female a black one. He showed us the differences between the underwing pattern of the Pileated and Ivory-billed Woodpecker. After seeing the Ivory-billed skins, we proceeded to the laboratory where the ornithologists prepare the skins. We saw Pileated Woodpecker skins that Mr. Capainolo had recently prepared, as well as a Broad-winged Hawk family, Ruffed Grouse and Blackburnian Warbler. In the lab, were also skeletons of many species of birds, including Black Vulture, Wild Turkey and Common Redpoll.

We concluded our trip by viewing a few of the bird mounts that previously had been on display in the museum. Herons, Loons, and Grebes were just a few of the species we saw.

Our group had a great day and learned so much. It's a field trip we won't soon forget.
September 26, 2008 - Gardiner County Park Owl Walk
Our first owl walk for the 2008-2009 season was on Friday night, September 26th at Gardiner County Park. The leaders, Alice Heller, Bob Grover, and I, met up with a couple of other people to take the walk. There had been the threat of rain from Thursday through the whole weekend, so unfortunately, I’m afraid that may have prevented others who might have come. Luckily for those who did go, the rain had stopped.

We started our walk down the main trail which leads through the forest towards the Great South Bay, all awhile having Bob Grover whistling the mimic of the ’whinny’ call of an Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio) while I was mimicking its ‘trill’ and Ken Thompson played both on his iPod. Unfortunately, all the way down the main trail, we got no response. About 100 yards back from the end of where we stopped on the main trail, we came to a cross trail which led east to a parallel trail back to the parking lot. Bob suggested we take these trails, which seemed a bit darker than the main trail. At first, our whistling the screech owl calls got no response. We then decided perhaps we could try for a Great Horned Owl (Bubo Virginianus), since they also reside at Gardiner County Park, and we might get a response from that species. Surprisingly, after Ken Thompson played the hoo hoo-HOO hooooo hoo call of the Great Horned Owl on his iPod, we now started to hear the ‘whinny’ of a screech owl. So Bob started ‘whinnying’ the screech owl call again, and the screech owl started getting louder, suggesting it was coming in closer to us. It got to the point where it was very loud, and using our hand held spotlights, we attempted to find the bird in the upper tree branches around us. Bob got the owl in his spotlight, a gray-phase Eastern Screech Owl, which was leaning flush against the side of a branch, being about the same diameter as the owl, and both now being ~70-75º off the horizontal. The owl stared at us while we were all excited looking at it.

After observing the owl for 2-3 minutes, we decided to move on, continually playing screech owl calls, and heard a second owl, definitely identifiable as such because the call’s pitch was noticeably higher. So the field trip turned out to be a success.

Walking back to the cars, we talked about the fact that the screech owl didn’t start his calling until AFTER the ‘call’ of the Great Horned Owl. This seemed somewhat of a paradox because Great Horned Owls will eat screech owls, and since nocturnal owls hunt by sound, it seemed strange that the screech owl would only start calling after hearing a potential predator nearby. Well, I’m sure Mother Nature knows what she is doing, even if we don’t.
September 13, 2008 - Connetquot River State Park Preserve, Birding and Breakfast
This was an interesting ‘field trip’ through the Connetquot River State Park Preserve. We first started with a ‘workshop’ wherein a slide presentation showing those who attended the possible birds that might be found at the preserve during this time of the year, resident, migrant, and Fall visitor. So we had our ‘breakfast’ first while watching the slide presentation, then we headed out into the field.

We saw a total of 32 species of birds. Using their field card, the BIRDS OF CONNETQUOT RIVER STATE PARK PRESERVE, and looking at the Summer/Fall columns (I know, technically Fall wasn’t starting until September 23rd, but since this was very close to the Summer/Fall boundary, some birds may have been finishing their Summer season whereas other species may have started their Fall migration), using the state park preserve’s field card’s presence status categories: A-Abundant, C-Common, U-Uncommon, O-Occasional, and R-Rare, the highlights were Pied-billed Grebe (F:U), Double-crested Cormorant ((Su:O, F:O), Great Blue Heron (Su:O, F:C), Wood Duck (Su:C, F:U), Gadwall (Su:U, F-C), Osprey (Su:C, F:C), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Su:O), Eastern Phoebe (Su:O), White-eyed Vireo (Su:C), Cedar Waxwing (Su:C, F:C), Northern Parula (F:U), Black-throated Blue Warbler (just listed as Common in Spring column, not listed in any other season columns, however, we saw a female Black-throated Blue Warbler), Black-throated Green Warbler (Su:O, F:C), Pine Warbler (Su:C, F:C), American Redstart (Su:U, F:C), Common Yellowthroat (Su:A, F:C), Red-winged Blackbird (Su:C, F:U), and American Goldfinch (Su:C, F:C)

There are over ½ dozen bird species which are recorded only in the Spring and Fall columns. One can see they are just migratory species, some actually being listed as common here as they migrate through in the Fall (e.g. the Blackburnian and Palm Warblers).

For those who would like to visit the preserve on their own, a permit is required to gain access. This can simply be acquired by writing to Connetquot River State Park Preserve, P.O. Box 505, Oakdale, New York 11769, giving name, address, purpose of visit, and the expected number of family members in party. Permits for groups can be obtained by contacting the preserve office at (631) 581-1005.
GSBAS - P.O. Box 267, Sayville, NY 11782 · 631-563-7716
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