Beautiful Weather To Bird

     Winter finally decided to drop in, with high temperatures in the 30's, but feeling like far less. I picked a great day to bird and have my friend, the infamous, Jeffrey of Bronx and twitter Birding fame, join me for the never ending 20mph+ gusting wind on the beach!
     We first made a stop to nab a year bird that isn't always easy to grab, in Valley Stream at Arthur J. Hendrickson Park, a cackling goose. After that we hot Jones Beach State Park and Point Lookout, and a gas station, before going back to the city for a STEM Women's event. The themes of the day were wind, layers, and granola bars.

Took this picture for comparison.
Cackling geese are like smart cars among Canada Geese. They are super compact and get all those parking spots that are just a touch too small for your Honda Civic.
Cackling geese are probably safer to drive than smart cars...

Cackling geese also have a faint to very visible white collar (depending on the individual) where that grey/taupe chest meets the black neck.

Also. They cute.

Like a fat loaf of bread.

We saw this. So did a lot of others.
As always, this is cropped, taken with a 500mm zoom and we didn't linger for too long. I would say the photographers were well behaved today. And honestly this bird must have looked on as if saying, "foolish, fur-less, mal-adapted mammals."

Always important to remember when observing sensitive species is to, especially in parks and preserved to stay on trail and not trample the dunes-- as the dunes themselves are special and sensitive to foot traffic. 

This is probably a female, not just able to tell from the large size of this bird, but also the heavy barring. As we were leaving a Northern Harrier was tediously scanning the dunes and maneuvering as best as it could in the very high winds. I bet the interaction if that bird came upon the snowy, would be pretty crazy. I wonder if the harrier would just not bother a snowy since it is in general, larger in size and not worth the scuffle.

I took a lot of crappy photos just to try and make some ID's. Nature threw me a hint for the duck (female surf scoter) on the water.

Ever feel like someone is watching you? This seal followed us a bit along he shoreline. Probably a good day to stay in the water, considering the salt water was freezing on the rocks of the jetties.

We saw a few Norther Gannets-- but unable to photograph as I just enjoyed the moment in my bins- we spotted a flying black and white football-- a razorbill! While not a lifer, it is my first in New York State!

Found some birds taking refuge in the parking lot... a group of black-bellied plover had a look of absolute disgust with this weather on their little birdie faces.

In the car, Jeffrey noticed this bird. A solo snow goose among some Canada's. They didn't seem to want to really hang out together, with the Canada's landing on a median to graze and the snow opting for the frozen puddles in the dunes.

At point lookout the wind was harsh, and the jetties were filled with shorebirds and gulls. A few brave dunlin (pictured) and sanderling foraged in the surf. How do little birds that weigh well under 1 pound not get blown away?! It blows my freaking mind.
After Point Lookout and getting through the day on a diet strictly comprised of granola bars, it was time to head back to NYC to Pre-game our Brains and support a number of organizations supporting Women in STEM.

At the event I attended last night, my friend Molly gave us first looks at the 2019 Feminist Bird Club Patches. They are pretty fab- keep an eye on her website for purchasing information. Funds this year will support Pueblo Sin Fronteras, many others and myself always look forward to helping support an amazing organization through birding.