Bird Board
Crandon
Posted by Dan
almost 9 years ago
4 Comments
Conditions were pretty good at Crandon this morning with the strong winds. A flock of Black Scoters flew by and there were several Jaegers flying relatively close to share. Most were too far out to ID without a scope and based on their shape, I believe most were Parasitic, however, a non-breeding adult Pomarine flew against the wind only 50 yards out or so. I also had my first Caspian Tern this fall/winter.
Comments
The rain cleared enough by noon to scope the offshore laser regatta and I also saw good birds pushed in by the winds. I had a flock of 12 Red-breasted Mergansers, 30 rafting Lesser Scaup with a couple of larger birds in the mix, Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Northern Gannets, numerous Magnificent Frigatebirds and 2 Pomarine Jaegers that came close to the beach.
Bill and I also had a Horned Grebe close to Seaquarium early this morning.
I would not even attempt to ID a distant jaeger to species. Pomarine and Parasitic are very close in size and shape, and this time of year 99% of the jaegers we see flying south are Pomarines. I expect there are Parasitic in the mix as well, and even a late Long-tailed, but I would rather see it up close before making the call. We had one on the recent pelagic that was flying low to the water about 150 yards out, and I put it down as jaeger sp. Could have been a parasitic, but they deserve more caution that most people realize. Believe it or not, jaegers are the empids of pelagics!
I once had a dark-morph adult Parasitic make a pass at the terns at Crandon, coming to within 20 feet of me! Would I have had a camera then.
I hear you man. I would never call an ID at that distance, but they did have a slender appearance to me. The only one that I could ID, the adult Pomarine, was quite close to shore. That being said, I've always heard that Parasitic is more likely to be seen from shore, but don't know if that really holds down here.
Luckily, the Pomarines seem to get close to the beach at this time of year. Their heavy-bodied look is apparent and they seem to fly with a purpose. A very experienced birder clued me in to the Pomarines' flight style - they tend to fly low to the water and in a straight line. They, more than Parasitic Jaegers, will form small flocks. These tips from Mark Berney have helped me when I scope from the balcony.
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