Dipping on pelagics at Harkness, emboldened by repeated rain forecast delays, and heartened by Dave's and Daniel's ferry sighting of a CT Cory's Shearwater, Abby Sesselberg and I decided to take the ride to Orient Point. We counted 11 Shearwaters (all presumably Cory's but pending a bit more photo analysis) in NY waters to Orient Point, and 6 more Cory's Shearwaters in NY waters during the return from Orient Point. The round trip started at 3 pm but was significantly delayed because of the moderate seas. Only one slip was functioning at Orient Point. Nearing(?) CT waters, a Cory's was observed straddling both the Ferry Route and State Line. Several minutes later 2 Cory's Shearwaters were photographed off the bow, well within CT waters. Times for these sightings were approximately 620 to 630 pm today. Photos will be included in eBird and ARCC reports. Steve Mayo Bethany

Addendum: A single shearwater closely followed our ferry in NY waters for over 5 minutes. It has been identified as a Scopoli's Shearwater. The trip illustrated the need for adequate photography conditions to document pelagic rarities. Dumb luck is a huge factor when there are also high winds, high seas, haze, a threat of rain, and distant birds. Steve Mayo Bethany On Fri, Aug 9, 2024 at 9:48 PM Steve Mayo <scmayo999@gmail.com> wrote: > > Dipping on pelagics at Harkness, emboldened by repeated rain > forecast delays, and heartened by Dave's and Daniel's ferry sighting of a > CT Cory's Shearwater, Abby Sesselberg and I decided to take the ride to > Orient Point. > > We counted 11 Shearwaters (all presumably Cory's but pending a bit more > photo analysis) in NY waters to Orient Point, and 6 more Cory's Shearwaters > in NY waters during the return from Orient Point. The round trip started at > 3 pm but was significantly delayed because of the moderate seas. Only one > slip was functioning at Orient Point. > > Nearing(?) CT waters, a Cory's was observed straddling both the Ferry > Route and State Line. Several minutes later 2 Cory's Shearwaters were > photographed off the bow, well within CT waters. Times for these sightings > were approximately 620 to 630 pm today. > > Photos will be included in eBird and ARCC reports. > > Steve Mayo > Bethany >

Congrats, Steve & Abby! Frank Mantlik Stratford Sent from my iPhone > On Aug 10, 2024, at 12:10 PM, Steve Mayo via CTBirds <ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org> wrote: > > Addendum: A single shearwater closely followed our ferry in NY waters for > over 5 minutes. It has been identified as a Scopoli's Shearwater. The trip > illustrated the need for adequate photography conditions to document > pelagic rarities. Dumb luck is a huge factor when there are also high > winds, high seas, haze, a threat of rain, and distant birds. > > Steve Mayo > Bethany > >> On Fri, Aug 9, 2024 at 9:48 PM Steve Mayo <scmayo999@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >> Dipping on pelagics at Harkness, emboldened by repeated rain >> forecast delays, and heartened by Dave's and Daniel's ferry sighting of a >> CT Cory's Shearwater, Abby Sesselberg and I decided to take the ride to >> Orient Point. >> >> We counted 11 Shearwaters (all presumably Cory's but pending a bit more >> photo analysis) in NY waters to Orient Point, and 6 more Cory's Shearwaters >> in NY waters during the return from Orient Point. The round trip started at >> 3 pm but was significantly delayed because of the moderate seas. Only one >> slip was functioning at Orient Point. >> >> Nearing(?) CT waters, a Cory's was observed straddling both the Ferry >> Route and State Line. Several minutes later 2 Cory's Shearwaters were >> photographed off the bow, well within CT waters. Times for these sightings >> were approximately 620 to 630 pm today. >> >> Photos will be included in eBird and ARCC reports. >> >> Steve Mayo >> Bethany >> > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or "leave" in the subject or body to: ctbirds-request@lists.ctbirding.org > > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing birders together statewide. Please support COA: https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For list rules and subscription information visit: https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/