A Rarity for Brooklyn

The arctic blast that hit our region over the past weekend was so extreme that I cancelled both my Saturday and Sunday walks. In general, I'll go out in nearly any weather as I have the gear for it. I wouldn't assume the same for people who sign up for my birding walks, though. Saturday's walk was supposed to be at Coney Island. The forecast windchill for the start time was 5º with 25mph nortwest winds. My typical route would have had us walking into that sand blowing gale. Not ideal for seeing any birds. Sunday's forecast was similar, so I opted to cancel that walk, too. That said, Michelle, Angela and I decided to drive to Floyd Bennett Field in search of a reported rarity.

My friend Josh had spotted, then broadcast to the birding community, a Pacific Loon sighting on Friday offshore at Floyd Bennett Field. During the winter months Common Loons and Red-throated Loons are regularly seen around coastal New York City. As you might assume by its name, the Pacific Loon is not ordinarily observed in the Atlantic Ocean. In February of 2019 I checked off my first New York State Pacific Loon as one was hanging around a marina in Oyster Bay on Long Island. We hoped that the Friday bird would still be around over the weekend ... and that we didn't get frostbite looking for it.

Crow guarding the parking lot that overlooks Ruffle Bar

Pacific Loon favoring this area

We headed to a large parking lot on the east side of the park. Several birders were already gathered at the edge of the bay that faces east towards Ruffle Bar. The wind was pretty bad, but we were informed that it was much worse at the other side of Floyd. The loon hadn't been seen yet, so I suggested our group drive the 300 yards to the south edge of the parking lot for a different view of the bay and the nearshore pilings. A quick scan just pulled out a few Red-throated Loons, Brant, Red-breasted Mergansers, a bunch of Bufflehead, a Horned Grebe, but not our west coast visitor. The assembled group of birders gradually got into their cars and headed off to other vantage points of the bay. A few minutes later we joined them.

Teeth chattering viewing of Pacific Loon

A few minutes after getting back into the car a birder named Jeanne Cimorelli sent out word that she was currently looking at the loon near Raptor Point. We were only about a mile a way, so got to her spot pretty quickly. The next challenge was setting up the scope in gusting winds and finding the loon within the choppy water. It also didn't help that the freezing air and much warmer water created a lot of distortion across the horizon. That said, everyone present managed to get eyes on the Pacific Loon. Taking some identifying photographs might be another story. Of the dozens of photographs I took, several show definitive key fieldmarks. It's interesting to note that, at one point, I watched a Common Loon, Red-throated Loon and Pacific Loon all together in one field of view. Neat.

Pacific Loon

Pacific Loon

We spent a fair amount of time at the edge of the water taking photos and hoping the loon would come closer. It never did. Eventually, Michelle, Angela and I decided to thaw out in the car, then drive around looking for land birds. American Pipits are now overwintering in Brooklyn and we spotted several. Most were foraging at the border between the salted roadways and snow/ice covered grasslands.

American Pipit, Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, NY

By 11am we decided to leave Floyd Bennett Field, making a stop at Sheepshead Bay before calling it a day. A rare Glaucous Gull has been seen at this spot so figured it'd make a nice addition to an already great birding morning. It's a strange body of water adjacent a busy commercial area along Emmons Avenue. Most of the locals go here to distribute copious amounts of unhealthy bread to feed the birds. The dominant resident waterbirds are Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, American Black Duck (and Mallard/Black Duck hybrids). In the winter that increases to include Brant, Northern Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser and Ruddy Duck. Also, an occasional uncommon or rare duck turns up and tries to blend in with regulars (I've seen Northern Pintail, Canvasback and Harlequin Duck). There is also a large gathering of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull and Greater Black-backed Gull. Every winter it seems like an odd gull or two appear here: Iceland Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Black-headed Gull being the usual suspects. The Glaucous Gull would be a new one for me here.

Ring-billed Gull, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY

Ruddy Duck, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY

Female Greater Scaup, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY

We circled the edges of the bay and walked some of the piers towards the east end, but couldn't locate the Glaucous Gull. One last look at the western terminus of this oddly rectangular bay wasn't successful. However, as a consolation prize we did spot a 2nd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. I'll take it.

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY