ML646381612

פרטי השורה

*Very rare in Brooklyn (though my second in the county this year). Was walking with Jeff and Richard to go check out the huge Sterna flock on the old pier at Norton Point, and during a cursory glance noticed a shockingly pale Sterna with day-glow orange legs. I looked around to point it out to the others, but Jeff seemed to have seen what I’d seen, and was intently looking at the same bird. A second glimpse revealed a subtly slimmer and longer shape, and a very narrow bill with a slight curve. We all looked at it through my scope and got some photos, confirming roseate tern. Soon a dog walker passed under the old pier and flushed the tern flock, and I watched the roseate fly around Norton Point towards Coney Island - presumably lost. But, while looking at warblers in the dunes, Richard pointed out a mass emergence of Sterna flying in and landing on the beach, and sure enough, the rosy was in there. We inched closer, watching the flock fly and shuffle a few times, and went through the ritual of following the roseate in flight (where it was also extremely pale and gave a frantic, caffeinated impression with its wingbeats and directional changes, typical of the species) until the flock re-settled, and re-found it several more times. The bird was still present when we left, and seen by another observer hours later in the early afternoon. Edit 5/28/25; I had previously referred to this bird as a molting adult with retained breeding plumage, but while flipping through Terns Of North America (Cameron Cox) I was reminded of this sighting by the following: “Adults in nonbreeding plumage are very unlikely to be encountered, because adults depart North America while still in breeding plumage. Breeding adults are the most likely Roseate Terns observers will encounter, though immature birds are also regularly seen on the breeding grounds and, occasionally, with large gatherings of Common Terns south of the breeding range.” This is clearly not a juvenile bird, and bears some resemblance to late summer/early fall 2cy (first summer)-type birds, so I presume that’s actually what this is. Interesting that they turn pink in first alternate, if I’m correct in my aging of this bird.