August Birds

I never posted my July birds, mainly because I only added one new species - Gray-Hooded Gull (which I think got pretty good coverage by the media, myself and other bloggers). August was surprisingly productive, however. Last year I only added 4 species during the month of August, 2 of which were in Brooklyn. This year I added 10.

One of the things I've learned over the last couple of years is that August is a time to look for shorebirds and seabirds, so this summer I concentrated on birding the coastal habitats. All but one of last month's new species was found along the coast at either Plumb Beach or Floyd Bennett Field. As I mentioned in a previous post, Hurricane Irene proved to be a bonanza of unusual birds around New York. Two of the three new birds for my Brooklyn year, Black Tern and Caspian Tern, I did not see in 2010 and came in with the storm. I ended August with 227 species seen in Brooklyn.

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New York State total: 238
Kings County total: 227

228) Gray-hooded Gull (Coney Island, 07/30/11)
229) Seaside Sparrow (Plumb Beach, 08/13/11)
230) Piping Plover (Plumb Beach, 08/13/11)
231) Solitary Sandpiper (Plumb Beach, 08/13/11)
232) Pectoral Sandpiper (Floyd Bennett Field, 08/15/11)
233) Red-necked Phalarope (Floyd Bennett Field, 08/15/11)
234) Baird's Sandpiper (Floyd Bennett Field, 08/26/11)
235) Lesser Yellowlegs (Floyd Bennett Field, 08/26/11)
236) Black Tern (Prospect Park, 08/28/11)
237) Royal Tern (Floyd Bennett Field, 08/28/11)
238) Caspian Tern (Floyd Bennett Field, 08/28/11)