Thanksgiving Birding Weekend

The tradition continues, although the weather is not too cooperative.

Yesterday we went to Jones Beach. The Teddy Roosevelt Nature Center and their conveniently located bathrooms were closed. The really cool the "countable" birds were found in the parking West End 2. There were Tundra Swans flying overhead and Snow Buntings. I love this picture of the Snow Buntings. They were very skittish, which is a good survival mechanism if you are a bird and intend to spend your time hanging out in a parking lot.

It was sort of early by the time we called it quits at Jones Beach, we decided to be adventurous and try to find the Norman J. Levy Nature Preserve. The preserve is built on a land fill and to reach it you have to drive though the town of Merrick's Sanitation Department. We passed the front gate, we passed the recycling center, we passed the parked garbage trucks and found the Center. Greeting you in the parking lot were the center's free range Helmeted Guinea Fowl. What is it with birds and parking lots today?

All last night we heard that the weather was going to be in the mid 40's with wind gusts up to 35mph today. Not ideal birding conditions. You can't hold the scope steady and you can't see a thing because of your eyes tearing from the wind. We figured that we wouldn't go out today, I would go to the Museum of Art and Design and Larry would stay home and do Larry stuff. I read my email and saw that there was a Barnacle Goose at the parking lot at Orchard Beach. The temptation to add another Life Bird to the list was too powerful a lure to resist. We bundled up and off we went. The bird was supposed to be among a group of roaming Canada Geese in the parking lot (again birds in parking lots). I parked the car and mixed in with the second group of geese I scanned, there s/he was. But it was a sad sight, the bird was banded and the band slipped partially over the birds foot and s/he limped around and couldn't stand on it foot. I posted the injured bird to the NYS Listserve, hoping that a wild life rehabilitator would come, catch the bird and fix the band.

I reported the banded bird. Maybe I will find out the sordid details of the bird's life.

After walking around Hunter's Island and Twin Islands, we went to lunch at The Lobster Box, located at the end of City Island, overlooking the water. After lunch, we gave Long Island Sound, one last scan and from our parked car we saw 3 Common Loons.

One more day left of the Thanksgiving Bird-a-thon.