ML449345521

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

**MEGA, at least on the regional scale, and wildly unexpected. Unbelievable first county record found by Sean Camillieri, and based on how long it took me to find the bird post-knowing they were there, I can only imagine what it took to find them originally. Amazingly done, Sean, and thanks for that very prompt LoHud post! Easily my second rarest county bird (after Tropical Kingbird), and as terns are one of my favorite groups of birds, this sighting holds a special place in my heart. Part of a truly remarkable, unimaginable, and unprecedented fallout of this species along many inland lakes and rivers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. A truly historic day for the region, as a fallout of Arctic Terns has never occurred in the NE on this scale (or really on any scale for that matter since this species is not known to put down in large numbers or venture inland). Based on probability and historical records, an event such as this will likely never happen again in my lifetime. To truly emphasize this, in the immediate region first county records were innumerable — NY: Bronx, New York, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Albany, and Rensselaer counties; CT: Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, and Tolland counties. Even more impressive were the sheer number of birds at some of these locations, because although I only saw one bird, many spots had upwards of 40 individuals. Personally, I’d estimate well over 200 ARTE were in the region today, which is truly mind-boggling. In terms of Westchester in particular, although this particular individual represented our first county record, by the end of the day, the many ARTE moving South along the Hudson (probably around 40 birds) ensured that we had many county records by the end of the day. With the equally incredible — but slightly less shocking, fallout of scoters, grebes, and Bonaparte’s on Apr. 19 this year (another day of awe-inspiring — history-making Hudson birding), this spring migration is turning out to be one of the most ridiculous seasons along the Hudson in recent history As for why this happened, I’ve read at least one plausible explanation for this insane influx of ARTE. From what I understand, the continuous days of stiff NE winds that have stifled all migration in our area trapped a low pressure system off of Cape Hatteras. The final and sudden change of winds beginning yesterday afternoon and continuing through this morning, along with extremely low dense fog that surely forced migrating species down, finally released this low pressure system, and in doing so caused certain migratory species in that low pressure area (e.g., ARTE!) to be dumped upon us. This morning, I checked the Hudson in hopes that the migratory winds plus the low fog would put some birds down, yet nothing showed. For such a profound showing of these birds to arise in the late afternoon is certainly confusing, but then again, I got to see an Arctic Tern so who am I to question when rare birds show up?! I first heard about this bird while sitting in French class, and knew that I would have to go see it (I had heard about the first CT bird of the day earlier on but never imagined we’d get one in Westchester!). As the school day had just ended, I abruptly finished my conversation with my teacher and quickly called Tom Warren to see if he’d like to go see this bird. He agreed and we headed up-county in a hurry, too nervous by the chance of missing such a fantastic bird.. When we arrived at the dam, we couldn’t see the terns (granted, as could no else at other points along the reservoir), but conversation with Sean convinced me to stay put as the birds were bound to eventually re-surface. About 15-20 minutes after arriving, I heard Tom shout, “Julien, I think I’ve got something! It’s by the house!” I frantically got my binoculars on the house on the opposite shoreline, and saw two white terns pass by. Thrilled beyond belief, I quickly got the birds in the scope to differentiate them (one being a COTE and the other ARTE, proving difficult early on as these two were inseparable). Yet views from this vantage point were subpar at best, so Tom and I decided to try the opposing shoreline where the birds seemed to be frequenting. Eventually landing at the main boat launch there, we were able to get much better looks at this MEGA rarity and its more common friend. An extremely attractive tern species that may be my new favorite sterna, though its got tough competition from ROST. With good views, it was easy to notice many of the finer details to differentiate ARTE from other, more typical, sterna species. The ARTE was fairly small with pale silvery-gray wings with faint black edging near the trailing edge of the wing tips, and whiter underwings, a very long, streamer-like white tail, a matte-gray body (well-demarcated from the tail), a small, red, slightly decurved beak, whiter cheeks, and much “fuller” cap (i.e., extending farther down onto face). Additionally, this tern had an extremely buoyant flight style, quite signature to the extent that it was fairly identifiable even without binoculars once studied enough. This suite of features, best seen in the photos I took, are diagnostic for adult ARTE and confidently ruled out all similar sterna. Both FOTE and COTE are larger-bodied and have much more restricted caps; FOTE has frostier wing tips, a longer, orange-and-black beak, and a white stomach/chest area; COTE has darker wings and wing tips, a longer, reddish-orange beak, and a white stomach/chest area. Both species also have shorter tails, though FOTE is closer in length to ARTE. ROST is unheard of inland (though all precedents were thrown out the window today!) but would have a two toned or all black bill, a rosy wash to its stomach, and a body color similar to its tail. While probably unnecessary to state, ROYT, CATE, and LETE are all notably different from this species and identification challenges would therefore not arise. These birds remained mid-way out along the reservoir for the remainder of our stay, only moving marginally closer to our shoreline once, and even then for mere seconds. Although they appeared to be closer to the opposing shoreline, this could’ve been a distance-induced optical illusion. Eventually, after over an hour-and-a-half spent with this bird, Tom and I decided we would return to Dobbs to see if we could nab a Hudson River ARTE (our luck sadly failed us!). An utterly marvelous afternoon with a species that I’m unlikely to ever see again in Westchester. Just wow. Photos to come, though they presented a real challenge as my camera would just not focus on these distant, pale birds backed by a fairly pale setting. Only when the birds passed the true area of dense verdure could my camera really grasp them. **Note: for those who wish to read more than I’ve already written, especially from someone who has much better grasp on the historical significance and climatic conditions that cause this, Marshall Illif’s checklist (as very much expected!) does more than justice! https://ebird.org/checklist/S109892891?_gl=1*3m35it*_ga*NjQ3ODExOTcuMTYxNTIzOTAxNg..*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTY1MjY3MjY3Ny41NzEuMC4xNjUyNjcyNjc3LjYw#_ga=2.69055761.127003969.1627347276-64781197.1615239016

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

ISO

3200

Focal length

600 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Dimensions

741 pixels x 494 pixels

Original file size

101.15 KB