ML646813685

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Confounding mystery bird, encountered three or four times and observed for several minutes cumulatively as it flew north, then south, then north, then south again, appearing to slow down to bounce and skip on the surface a few times. Small, dark bird* with fast, “flippy”, almost rowing, tree swallow-esque wingbeats and a short blunt head/front end. Wings appeared significantly shorter than the several common terns I saw in the same lighting at similar distance. Based on its behavior and overall impression, my first thought was Wilson’s storm petrel, although this seems sort of outlandish on the narrows outside the context of a major storm, which we are most certainly not experiencing at the moment. At its closest points, I momentarily felt a few times as though I could make out a white rump, but this was not a consistent impression (though I wouldn’t expect it to be at this distance/in the dusky light) so I decided to take it with a grain of salt. Other possibilities to consider - Purple martin: have seen this species while seawatching from Fort Wadsworth and nearby Midland Beach, and it also created a storm petrel scare. However, the bird in question appeared shorter winged, with a more frenetic and somewhat less steady flight style, and never soared for extended periods. While it was distant, it did not seem to have a long broad tail like a martin. However, hawking insects over the water could certainly give the false impression of a bird skittering and bouncing on the surface like a storm petrel. Chimney swift: did not seem diminutive enough; clearly smaller than common terns seen during the same hour watch but larger and bulkier than a chimney swift, with slightly slower wingbeats, less “stringy” narrow wings, and a slightly longer body - less like a fat cigar. Also did not rock back and forth as it flapped like a chimney swift. Black tern: less elongated, with shorter wings and shallower, more swallow-like wingbeats. While watching black terns with Jeanne Cimorelli recently, we both noted that, among Sterna, black terns sort of impart a pigeon-like impression. I tried to fit the bird in question into this mold as I observed it and the whole GISS was wrong. Shorebird: fast, similarly sized and proportioned, with a vaguely similar proportional wing length and wing shape. Could even potentially explain the appearance of a white rump. Most shorebirds are notably not apt to land or skitter on the surface, but this doesn’t feel like enough to fully exclude this option especially given the outside possibility of a phalarope, which will happily land on the water. Not sure any of this can account for the swallow-like impression, however Bat: I considered this as I was watching it, and decided it was unlikely; however, I have seen them on the narrows before in this context. It was certainly none of the usual suspects (eastern red, little brown) owing to its fast, steady flight style. I am not well versed in bat ID whatsoever, though I feel fairly confident ruling this option out and narrowing it down to at least Aves, I acknowledge that quite a few bat species have been recorded in the coastal northeast and bats do vagrate and migrate, lending the possibility of an unfamiliar bat that I am not equipped to recognize as such in this context. I do have a few seconds of digiscope video, which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was a small dark object flying around on the narrows… and probably not much else. Screenshots from the video that show even less