Follow the signs – Fish. Here.
Gulls working north side, Fishers Island Sound.
*Support Seagrass Preservation!
From the Field, Video Snippet, Justine Kibbe, Oct. 1, 2018
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I’m delighted to know that our Island’s favorite Duck Pond is a real local hangout for returning bird residents.
This shy bird can still be observed on a shadowy mud flat, a few yards in on your right; Bell Hill Ave.
~ From the Field, Field Note by Justine Kibbe, Sept. 26, 2018
Yellow warbler:
Frequently sighted while walking or bicycling lovely Fishers Island.
*Becoming a “summer resident”.
Field Note, From the Field by Justine Kibbe, Aug. 1, 2018
High within the canopy of an American Elm off Silver Eel Cove this Ruby-throated Hummingbird nestles within her delicate nest which she has donned with tiny lichen flakes.
A Video Snippet, From the Field, by Justine Kibbe, July 18, 2018
Riding home from the Village Market this eve (don’t forget your satchels!) I heard the call of a Northern Flicker – pedaled home to get my camera… So amazing to spy this nest cavity with young birds awaiting an evening meal.
PS. Keep your eyes peeled nearby Seven Gables driveway.
– from The Field by Justine Kibbe June 23, 2018.
I sat in an unobtrusive spot on South Beach for just a few minutes to get this “snippet”…
This is the “alert” call of a nesting Killdeer.
*Please keep all dogs on leash these weeks.
*Please help support our Island and save critical and delicate shore bird habitat-Keep all vehicles off the Beach.
– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 31, 2018
There is a breeding season and a time to every purpose “under Heaven”
– The Byrds
I am humbled as I sat patiently, and “caught” this moment in The Field…male Common Tern courting its mate. Keep your eyes peeled for this “fly & plunge for minnows ritual” within Hay Harbor, Fishers Island.
– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 25, 2018
I sat within the tidal pools along what I love to call Sanctuary of Sands west end; parallel to the runway here on Fishers Island. So happy to “report” what certainly appeared to me as an increase in this spring’s shorebird activity. Breeding and non-breeding plumage is visible on Ruddy turnstone, Killdeer and Black-bellied plover standing “Sentinel”.
** Please be mindful and leash dogs during this precious nesting time.
– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 24, 2018.
Shorebird Reunion!
I sat within the tidal pools along what I love to call Sanctuary of Sands west end; parallel to the runway here on Fishers Island. So happy to “report” what certainly appeared to me as an increase in this spring’s shorebird activity. Breeding and non-breeding plumage is visible on Ruddy turnstone, Killdeer and Black-bellied plover standing “Sentinel”.
** Please be mindful and leash dogs during this precious nesting time.
– from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 24, 2018.
FIConservancy’s 2018 Spring Migratory Bird count, held May 6 in collaboration with the National Audubon Society, was a huge success! Three hundred birds, comprising 55 species, were recorded from one end of the Island to the other, compared with 45 species recorded last spring.
An overcast sky and the threat of rain did not deter a group of 13 birders in four vehicles, led by Adam Mitchell from University of Delaware. Following Audubon bird count rules, the group made 15 five-minute stops. At each timed stop, the birders would count birds and call out what they saw.
Sites with the greatest number of bird species included:
- Race Point (15)
- Money Pond (15)
- Demonstration Garden/Theater (13)
“It is likely that the increased number of birds in the Parade Grounds correlates directly with the removal of invasive plants,” Mr. Mitchell said.
Although 55 is the number for the official count May 6, a few dedicated birders informally added nine more species as they scanned the sky on the ferry ride to the Island May 5 and at an informal birding tutorial that afternoon.
Birders also reported hearing an American woodcock calling out on the Parade Grounds the night before the official count.
Photo by Kristen Peterson.
Recorded bird species, both official and unofficial:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
American Black Duck
Common Eider
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Common Loon
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Merlin