Birds of a Feather is back with our new blog, Birding and Bonding! Our previous objective remains the same. Our goal is to find all birds that live on Long Island year round. The only rule is that in order to add a bird to our list, we must see it when we are together. That's where the bonding comes in. Life can get so hectic that we sometimes fail to enjoy the more important things. This gives us a wonderful outlet to make sure we take the time.

Of course, Long Island has many migratory birds, as well. We certainly don't want to ignore them. We will blog about them as well. Armed with new cameras and renewed incentive, we look forward to getting back on the birding trail!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Birding and Bonding and Beaching!

Haven't done much birding of late, but we were able to do some "gull spotting" as we chilled on the beach yesterday.  It was the last day of our three day heat wave and the ocean breeze felt good.

Saw the always present Herring Gull.  This photo is of a slightly immature one.  They are here all year long.

Immature Herring Gull

Surprisingly, the Ring-Billed Gull was ever present.  Surprising because according to the good, old Peterson's Field Guide, they only winter on Long Island.  Perhaps their range is changing.  If we find they are here year round, we will add them to our list.

Ring -Billed Gull

Another year round gull that is already on our list is the Great Black-Backed Gull.  Here he is below.

Great Black-Backed Gull

The fourth gull we saw is a summer resident on Long Island.  It's year round range is further south and in the Gulf of Mexico.  It is the Laughing Gull.  We saw adults and juveniles.  Below are some pictures.

Adult Laughing Gull
Adult and two juveniles

So while we mainly went to the beach to bond, we were able to get some birding in as well!  Until next time....
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