Long Island 4-19-13

I guess it is a busy time of year, both in real life and in my birding life. I have managed to get out birding, but it has been harder to find the time to write posts about it. On Friday I had some work on Long Island, so I decided to stay the night with my sister Meghan and her husband Tim. After my appointments I went up to Lloyd Harbor to do some birding. I stopped at West Neck Beach briefly and got some good looks at a flock of Brandt and took some photos of a cooperative Great Egret:

Great Egret at West Neck Beach in Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.
Great Egret at West Neck Beach in Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.

 

I then continued up to Target Rock NWR, which was a nice spot and fun to explore but relatively few birds were present. I did get a nice look at a couple of Little Blue Herons (a life bird for me!) and several Snowy Egrets.

A juvenile Little Blue Heron at Target Rock NWR, 4-19-13.
A juvenile Little Blue Heron at Target Rock NWR, 4-19-13.
Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron at Target Rock NWR, 4-19-13.
Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron at Target Rock NWR, 4-19-13.

I only stayed at Target Rock for a short time; I was going to meet Meghan at Heckscher Park in Huntington. There had been a Tufted Duck at the pond there for quite some time. On my way back I stopped on the road where I had 10 Long-tailed Ducks (out too far for photos), a couple of Osprey and many Greater Yellowlegs.

An Osprey stretches its wings. Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.
An Osprey stretches its wings. Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.
Osprey in flight, Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.
Osprey in flight, Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.
Osprey on a wire with what I am pretty sure is a goldfish! Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.
Osprey on a wire with what I am pretty sure is a goldfish! Lloyd Harbor NY, 4-19-13.

 

 

 

I kind of like this shot of three Greater Yellowlegs, which seemed to be everywhere in Lloyd Harbor.
I kind of like this shot of three Greater Yellowlegs, which seemed to be everywhere in Lloyd Harbor.

We did not locate the Tufted Duck at Heckscher Park, but we did have a good look at an Osprey looking for fish in the pond, many Double Crested Cormorants, and this leucistic Canada Goose that was causing a ruckus:

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On Saturday, Tim and I played golf at Bergen Point Golf Course on the south shore of Long Island. I had my camera with me but I did not manage to get any photos of the many Osprey that where fishing in the ponds on the course. It was a short but sweet visit to Long Island with good birding too!