Species 58-60: On the Shoulders of Giants (or birders)

One of the easiest ways for a birder to find novel species for their life lists is to rely on word of mouth from other birders. To that end I always check the New York birding listserv, the ebirdsnyc Yahoo group, or libirding.com before I head out. Last year it lead me to Inwood Park during the summer where I saw a very out-of-season Red-throated Loon loafing about in the boat basin. In some ways it feels like cheating. But, cheating feels good sometimes because it gets you somewhere you want to be without having to do all the work on your own. After all, science is a collaborative endeavor, so it's okay that I sometimes rely on other birders for easy sightings. There, I've just rationalized this.

Today was another such example in the long list of peeking-over-the-proverbial-shoulder. I found myself at the Coast Guard Station at the Jones Beach West End, following a tip for Lapland Longspur and Horned Larks. I've seen a Horned Lark on the south shore before, but I've never seen a Longspur (at least not that I know - they look a lot like a sparrow). It was a quick proposition to get out of the car, locate the spot I read about on the NY birding listserv, and get these harder to get birds in my spotting scope. It was doubly nice because I did not have to spend lots of time fighting the gusting chill winds off Zach's Inlet searching all over the West End (I can't complain though - I have no idea how these birds managed to get blown about as they did in the wind today, yet still land on their feet to forage). I was in and out in the time I had before I had to go pick up my better half from her morning playdate with a friend.

I wasn't the only one taking advantage of birding tips either. In the 25 minutes I was there, 3 other birders came for sightings or photos. It's nice to have that community out there. However, you always have to balance these types of outings with the garden variety "just looking". You never know when you'll go walking with no particular idea of what's there and find the bird that everyone else is going to read about.

Lapland Longspur in the back, watching the Horned Larks feed.

Row #	Species	Count	Location	S/P	Date
58	Brown-headed Cowbird	40	Jones Beach Coast Guard Station	US-NY	19-Feb-10
59	Horned Lark	21	Jones Beach Coast Guard Station	US-NY	19-Feb-10
60	Lapland Longspur	2	Jones Beach Coast Guard Station	US-NY	19-Feb-10