South Brooklyn Shorelines

     I met up with my friend Tom and be birded along the shores of Brooklyn. I biked and met up first at Gravesend Bay, then to Coney Island. and last to Sheepshead Bay. I racked up a few more year birds and Tim, some life birds!
     It was nice to ride my bike around Brooklyn, get some birds, and bird with a friend!

It's an Iceland Gull.
I'm very happy it's an Iceland gull, I just time after time after time, can ID a glaucous no problem. But Iceland's I second guess too much. Perhaps my second guessing should be a tip off for me that I am looking at an Iceland. That's a valid field mark, right?

Always Purple Sandpipers along the rocks of Gravesend Bay. These were life birds for Tom. Woot!

Also confusing the life out of me... scaup.
This is a hungry scaup.

This is a float on a back scaup.

This is a rub the belly scaup.
(I think the last two pics are greater.... and the first one lesser.)

More Iceland Gull. A good year bird- a big miss in 2018. Glad to have it in 2019 early on.

The more I see black scoters AND close up, the more I fall in love. Right under us at the Coney Island Fishing Pier.

So many scoters still in the area, enough to get you a flag on your ebird count.

Gaddamn, this bird is good looking!

Speaking of good looking ducks...

IT IS A LONG-TAILED DUCK!
(super cute yawn action!)

This is the long-tailed duck drake.
It has a long tail, just as it's name states.

It also makes a funny noise.

They are also super cute.