Fri. 2/8: Long-billed Dowitcher at Stipson's Island; Jake's Landing notes; Kestrel of the Beanery

I split time between Jake's Landing and Stipson's Island Road this evening, and had good results. Stipson's Island is located off of Route 47 in Eldora, a few miles north of the junction of Route 47 and 347, and about 10 minutes from Jake's Landing. It's not really an "island" technically speaking, but it is another dead-end road leading into the bayshore marshes that can result in some productive birding.

Highlights from Stipson's included a fly-by Long-billed Dowitcher which vocalized to give away its identity (my first ever in February, and a testament to the relatively mild winter we've experienced so far), 3 Bald Eagles, and 2 very distant Short-eared Owls out toward Delaware Bay. The three eagles consisted of two adults and an immature bird.

Jake's Landing played host to 3 or 4 relatively uncooperative Short-eared Owls, singing Eastern Meadowlarks, another adult Bald Eagle, a pair of Pied-billed Grebes in Dennis Creek, and 2 Wilson's Snipe. An American Woodcock buzzed in front of me along Route 47 in Goshen at twilight.

Karl Lukens sent us a picture of the American Kestrel that has been wintering in the area around the Beanery. This photo was taken this morning of the bird checking out CMBO's winter birding display at the entrance to the farm.

List from Stipson's Island included-

Location: Stipson's Island

Observation date: 2/8/08

Number of species: 25
Snow Goose 500

Canada Goose 75

American Black Duck 35

Mallard 9

Hooded Merganser 2

Great Blue Heron 1

Bald Eagle 3

Northern Harrier 5

Red-tailed Hawk 1

Clapper Rail 1

Greater Yellowlegs 1

Dunlin 75

Long-billed Dowitcher 1

Ring-billed Gull 40

Herring Gull 125

Great Black-backed Gull 6

Mourning Dove 15

Short-eared Owl 2

Marsh Wren 2

European Starling 12

Song Sparrow 2

Red-winged Blackbird 35

Boat-tailed Grackle 1

House Finch 12

American Goldfinch 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)