My trip to Sunken Meadow SP(Suffolk County) rewarded me my first of the year Red-shouldered Hawk. This particular bird was an immature and was perched along the stream down in the backwater of Sunken Meadow Creek. Pine warblers had a good flight last night. I had a total of seven individuals and the majority of them were singing too. The only other warbler species I could find was Yellow-rumped warbler, several throughout the park. Also in the backwater of the Creek I had 9 Wood ducks, 6 Green-winged Teal, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, 5 Eastern Phoebes, several Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Hermit thrush, and 5 Swamp sparrows. The expansive thicketed area a half mile in on the Inner Marsh trail produced a Brown Thrasher and only a few Eastern towhees.
The waterfowl that were on Sunken Meadow Creek seemed to have moved out since my last trip on Thursday. The only species on the Creek included Gadwall, 4 Common Merganser hens, American Coot, and a handful of Ring-necked ducks and Bufflehead.I scoped the Long Island Sound from Field 3(eastern end of park) and saw 2 breeding-plumaged Common Loons and about 25 or so Brant. Feeding on the mudflats also at the eastern end of the park were 3 Great Egrets, 2 Great Blue Herons, and two dozen Tree Swallows. The Ospreys were very vocal today and on several occasions were seen bringing nice-sized catches back to the nest. Also doing good for themselves were the 5 Belted Kingfishers hunting on the Sound and in the marsh.
Other fauna present included 2 Mourning Cloaks, Spring Peepers, White-tailed Deer, Painted Turtles, and Eastern Chipmunks.
*All photos were taken today except for the Great Horned Owl which was captured on April 1, 2010
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