Bird watching on Great Gull Island

A small group of us went out to Great Gull Island (GGI), Suffolk County, off  Orient Point on Fri, May 4 to start getting the field station there set up for the tern nesting season (Helen Hays, Matthew Male, Melissa McClure, John Walsh, and Joe DiCostanzo).

A large migration fallout was in evidence on the island with one of the most memorable migrations ever seen on the island in decades of field work there. We arrived in the late morning on Fri, May 4 and after off-loading gear quickly found there were many migrants on the island. We recorded 53 species that day and 53 species again on Sat, May 5. By Sun, May 6, when I left the island, most of the migrants were gone, but we had totaled 76 species, including 17 warblers, in a bit over 48 hours on the tiny island. Highlights included Warbling Vireo; Cape May and Kentucky warblers, and Orchard Oriole. Full list follows.

Canada Goose (5/6 – pair)
Gadwall (5/4 – pair, unusual on GGI)
American Black Duck (5/5 – 1; 5/6 – 2; unusual on GGI)
Mallard (5/5 – 1; unusual on GGI)
Black Scoter (5/4 – 1 male offshore)
Red-breasted Merganser (5/6 – 1 female)
Common Loon (5-10 birds offshore, some calling all 3 days)
Northern Gannet (5/4 -1)
Double-crested Cormorant (migrants flocks and individuals all 3 days)
Great Blue Heron (5/4 – 2 flying over)
Great Egret (5/4 & 5/5 – flyovers)
Snowy Egret (5/5 – 1 with Great Egrets)
Osprey (5/4 & 5/5 – single flyovers)
Northern Harrier (5/4 – 1)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (5/4 – 2; 5/6 – 1)
American Kestrel (5/4 & 5/5 – 1)
Merlin (5/4 – 2; 5/6 – 1)
Peregrine Falcon (5/4 – 1)
American Oystercatcher (5/5 – 1)
Greater Yellowlegs (5/4 – single calling birds flying over)
Spotted Sandpiper (5/4 – 4; 5/6 – 2; breeds on GGI)
Purple Sandpiper (5/5 – 3; on rocks on eastern end)
Bonaparte’s Gull (5/5 – 1; with roosting terns)
Herring Gull (all 3 days)
Great Black-backed Gull (all 3 days)
Roseate Tern (all 3 days; island nester)
Common Tern (all 3 days; island nester)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (5/4 – 10 to 15 birds; 5/5 – 5 to 10 birds)
Belted Kingfisher (5/5 – 1)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (5/5 – 1)
Least Flycatcher (5/4 – 2)
Great Crested Flycatcher (one all 3 days)
Eastern Kingbird (5/5 & 5/6 – 1)
White-eyed Vireo (5/4 & 5/5 – 1)
Blue-headed Vireo (5/4 & 5/5 – 4)
Warbling Vireo (5/4 – 2)
Barn Swallow (all 3 days; breeds on GGI)
Carolina Wren (all 3 days; breeds on GGI)
House Wren (5/6 – 1 singing)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (5/4 – 3; 5/6 – 1)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (all 3 days – 10-15 birds; fewer on 5/6)
Hermit Thrush (5/4 – 1)
Wood Thrush (5/4 – 1)
Gray Catbird (all 3 days; breeds on GGI; only 1 bird first day, many arrived 5/5)
European Starling (all 3 days; breeds on GGI)
Blue-winged Warbler (5/5 – 3 to 4 birds)
Nashville Warbler (5/4 & 5/5 – 2)
Northern Parula (5/4 & 5/5 – 2 to 3)
Yellow Warbler (all 3 days; large numbers first 2 days, only 1 last morning)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (5/4 & 5/5 – 1)
Magnolia Warbler (5/4 & 5/5 – 2 to 3)
Cape May Warbler (5/5 – 1 female)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (5/5 – 1 male)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (5/4 & 5/5 – 10)
Black-throated Green Warbler (5/4 – 1)
Prairie Warbler (5/4 & 5/5 – 1, male)
Palm Warbler (5/5 – 2)
Black-and-white Warbler (5/4 & 5/5 – 10)
American Redstart (5/5 – 1, male)
Ovenbird (5/5 – 1)
Kentucky Warbler (5/5 – 1, male)
Common Yellowthroat (5/4 & 5/5 – 2)
Scarlet Tanager (all 3 days; at least 2 males and 1 female)
Eastern Towhee (5/6 – 3)
Chipping Sparrow (5/5 – 3)
Savannah Sparrow (5/4 & 5/5 – 2 to 4 birds)
Song Sparrow (all 3 days; breeds on GGI)
White-throated Sparrow (all 3 days; but only 1 first day; numbers arrived 5/5)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (5/4 – 1, male)
Indigo Bunting (all 3 days; at least 10 – 12 on 5/4; numbers dwindling after)
Red-winged Blackbird (all 3 days; breeds on GGI)
Common Grackle (5/6 – 3)
Orchard Oriole (5/4 – 1, male; 5/5 – pair)
Baltimore Oriole (5/4 – 4; 5/5 – 15+)
House Finch (all 3 days; breeds on GGI)
American Goldfinch (all 3 days – 2 to 3 birds)