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| WNOVEMBER |
| JAMAICA BAY WILDLIFE REFUGE 11/04/00 Saturday accommodation in Essen Leader: Joe DiCostanzo | ||||
| There were approximately 10 people in the group. The weather started out sunny and ended up coudy and cool. The highlights of the trip were the Ross's Goose and Eared Grebe seen at Jamaica Bay and the Eastern Meadowlark seen in a field at Fort Tilden. SPECIES SEEN 11/4/2000 Jamaica Bay/Riis Park/Fort Tilden
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| WDECEMBER |
| PELHAM BAY for OWLS & SEALS 12/02/00 Saturday Leader: Robert DeCandido | RIIS PARK, BREEZY POINT 12/16/00 Saturday Leader: Richard ZainEldeen | |||||
| A joint Linnaean Society/New York City Department of Parks field trip to Pelham Bay Park on Saturday, December 2nd provided a good, albeit chilly day of natural history investigations in the city's second largest park. At the landfill we found a kestrel and red-tails. The harrier was not seen here (but later by Professor Gil Schrank with Jackie and Emily) in a nearby salt marsh. In the waters adjacent to the landfill were three horned grebes spotted by Richard Lieberman. Also present were a number of gadwalls (10-15) taking refuge from the wind in the lee of the "big dune." Overall, the number of ducks (especially greater scaup and canvasback) have declined precipitously here in the last 5 years. Even the author can remember days in the early to mid-1980's when several hundred scaup and 200-300 canvasbacks seemed normal. Perhaps the closing and cleaning of the landfill has somehow affected the nearby waters (i.e., less nutrients) of Eastchester Bay. Red-breasted merganser numbers seem to be down this year as well, but perhaps it is still early in the season. Other factor(s) affecting duck numbers are at work as well. Try as we could, the only black and white sea birds we could find for Harrison Freund and his father David, were distant buffleheads and a black-backed gull. These seem to be in our area in the same number as previous years. Leonard Miller and his son Andrew (Bronx natives) were impressed with the extensive grassland of the area and promised to return again. Other interesting species seen at the landfill included a lone tree sparrow, cedar waxwings and a small flock of snow buntings (John van Dort). In the trees above us, red-winged blackbirds fed upon the seeds contained in hanging sweet gum (Styraciflua liquidamber) seed pods. As we were leaving, Ellen Hoffman spotted a flock of about 115 migrating snow geese. We would later see another three flocks of these white geese against the bright azure blue sky, making it seem as though snow squalls were passing above us. In all, we saw close to 500 snow geese heading south above us today. On to Hunter Island, where two chickadees greeted our arrival. John (Zen) had suggested to look for signs of owls first, and then the owls themselves. Before the speaker had even concluded his pep talk to persuade the group that they would find said owls, Signe Hammer made the first discovery. Perched in a young white pine was a saw-whet owl. Nearby, John van Dort found a great-horned owl along with his Japanese friends (Maki and Eugene). A few minutes later Laurie and John Cairns found a second great-horned owl affording the group long and good views. To several birders including Ruth Yarden, Arlene Hedlund, Bernie Nathan, Terrence, Jan Manna, Evangeline Legones and especially Nick Baxter, these owls alone were worth the price of admission (free). Next on this A to Z tour (Archaeology to Zoology), we were off to the rocks of the Twin Islands (450 million years old). From here the fearless leader committed a most interesting faux pas: After convincing the group that the blobs on the distant rocks in the Long Island Sound were indeed harbor seals, he had to make a quick revision. Thanks to some gentle prodding by Richard Lieberman, Tom Renner and others, we collectively decided that these mammals had metamorphosed into birds. Another instance of punctuated evolution right before our very eyes! We had found Great Cormorants. On a positive note, Irene Bertoni and her mom were re-united after each went off to look for the other. Returning to the bus, Laurie Cairns found a sharp-shinned hawk. Added to the Cooper's Hawk and a high peregrine falcon we had seen earlier, this made 8 raptor species seen by some or all of us for the day. Unlike 1999 when Murray Brettschneider spotted a rough-legged hawk, we had no such good luck for the rarer species today. However, we did have uncommonly good camaraderie, zen and chi. Lunch was not bad either. We finished our day with a possible distant loon and three close hooded mergansers. A high rattle in the trees bid us farewell from a kingfisher. My thanks to all those that came today especially Canty our driver. For those whose names I have forgotten or mis-spelled, and others that wished they could be here (Murray Liebman), please forgive me. Finally, my thanks also to Deborah Allen who smiled through poor jokes, cold lunch and proofreading this short offing. Submitted by Robert DeCandido, Urban Park Rangers | The trip to Riis Park/Breezy Point led by Richard ZainEldeen on December 16 had just two participants. The morning started off cloudy, but not extremely cold. The group had just time to bird Breezy Point, before the rain started to come in. On the way back, we also stopped at the marina just opposite Floyd Bennett Field. We never got to bird the Fort Tilden or Riis Park areas. Highlights include Snowy Owl near jetty and 2 Gannets flying offshore. Here is the trip list:
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| WJANUARY |
| JAMAICA BAY WILDLIFE REFUGE 1/06/01 Saturday Leader: Richard ZainEldeen | CAPE ANN WEEKEND 1/13/01–1/15/01 Sat.–Mon. Leader: Rick Cech | ||||||
| The January 6, 2001 field trip to Jamaica Bay led by Richard ZainEldeen had 5 participants. The weather early in the morning was calm. The West Pond was totally frozen over, with ice extended out into the bay a rather long distance. Consequently, duck numbers were low. The group decided to go on to Fort Tilden, and spent the rest of the time walking along the beach and brush areas west of the fort in an increasing wind. Best birds: Red-throated Loon close to shore/A large mixed flock of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings feeding on an open grass patch at Fort Tilden. Species Seen:
| The 13th annual winter trip to Cape Ann/Newburyport, Essex County, Massachusetts (Jan 13-Jan 15), sponsored by Linnaean Society, set a new high count for species (85). Topping the list were high-quality looks at Dovekie, Razorbill, Short-eared Owl, Eared Grebe, 3 Northern Shrikes, Lapland Longspur and numerous Black-legged Kittiwakes. Other target species (with more ordinary looks) included Red-necked Grebe, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck (more than 60 individuals), Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, Purple Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Thick-billed Murre, Black Guillemot, Eastern Screech Owl, Snowy Owl, Horned Lark, Snow Bunting, and Pine Siskin. And the best part: no below-zero wind chills this year, even! Species Seen:
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