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FW: [nysbirds-l] FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York

scottjstoner
 

FYI -Scott

-------- Original message --------
From: "Johnson, Alyssa" <Alyssa.Johnson@...>
Date: 9/28/21 12:22 (GMT-05:00)
To: Nysbirds-l@..., oneidabirds@..., Cayugabirds-L <Cayugabirds-L@...>, geneseebirds-l <GeneseeBirds-L@...>
Subject: [nysbirds-l] FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York

Another congrats to Sarah, for this exciting first sighting!

FLCC grad’s bird sighting is a first for New York

“It’s not a standard job title: piping plover technician.

For nearly a year, Sarah Forestiere, a 2018 graduate of Finger Lakes Community College, has monitored two nesting pairs of the federally endangered shorebird at Sandy Island Beach State Park on Lake Ontario, for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Only 60 nesting pairs are known to be scattered throughout the Great Lakes.

She has kept records of the birds’ activity, taught park visitors about piping plovers, and set up snow fence around their nests to protect their eggs and the chicks, which she describes as “cotton balls that weigh the same as two pennies.”

All this made Forestiere qualified to recognize that a visitor to Sandy Island on Sept. 13 was a plover, but not a piping plover.

She checked guides and concluded it was a snowy plover, common to the southern and western U.S. and the Caribbean. She confirmed her find with an amateur birdwatcher, Matt Brown, who encouraged her to post it on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird app.”

 

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Alyssa Johnson

Environmental Educator

315.365.3588

 

Montezuma Audubon Center

PO Box 187

2295 State Route 89

Savannah, NY 13146

Montezuma.audubon.org

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers

 

From: bounce-125911115-79436705@... <bounce-125911115-79436705@...> On Behalf Of Jay McGowan
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2021 11:28 PM
To: Nysbirds-l@...; oneidabirds@...; Cayugabirds-L <Cayugabirds-L@...>; geneseebirds-l <GeneseeBirds-L@...>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Snowy Plover and Common Ringed Plover, Sandy Pond (Oswego Co.)

 

Matt Brown found a SNOWY PLOVER on the beach at Sandy Pond in Oswego County this morning. The bird was still present this evening, on the lake side of the south spit. At about 6:04PM, it took off to join a passing flock of Sanderlings and they headed south out of sight down the beach. It's possible they stopped farther down, but they were definitely gone from the pond outlet area before dusk. Access to this area is best by boat, but you can reportedly also walk north from Sandy Island Beach State Park.

 

Then just before dusk I found a juvenile COMMON RINGED PLOVER on the sandy shoal on the west side of Carl's Island in the bay. I was checking out some of the array of shorebirds there, which included Red Knot, American Golden-Plover, and Long-billed Dowitcher. As it was getting dark, I got on a small plover giving melancholy calls in flight, quite unlike Semipalmated, and I immediately suspected it was a ringed. Once it landed I was able to get closer and call Drew Weber and Larry Chen who I had been birding with back over to the island, and we were able to get some documentation shots in the fading light. Plumage seemed consistent with a juvenile Common Ringed: overall noticeably larger and plumper than nearby Semipalmated. Dark breast band distinctly broken in center and bulging down on both sides. Lores dark and no white wedge at gape. Closeups on photos show no sign of paler orbital ring around eye. It continued to call occasionally when other shorebirds would vocalize. It was still present on the south side of the shoal when we left well after sunset. This flock would be visible by scope from the south spit of the pond outlet, but ID would be challenging at that distance. Otherwise access is by boat, putting in either at Greene Point marina (paddlecraft launch fee $7) or the public launch on Doreen Dr. at the far east side of the bay.

 

Checklist with photos and a recording of the ringed plover here:

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