Shorebirder

juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger Long Island Sound Pelagic Birding...it's not always an oxymoron! Outside of tropical cyclone landfall, I'd say there are three times of year during which the thought of birding the protected waters of Long Island Sound actually packs some juice. One such time is during early winter, like mid-Dec into January, when the southbound push of alcids results in a not-ridiculously-small chance of uncovering a Dovekie or Common Murre or the like. Another period arrives mid-late summer, when shearwaters sometimes settle into the far eastern Sound. It doesn't happen every year, but it has become more frequent over the past decade.  And finally, we have a very narrow window for two rare species. During the last week of August and the first couple weeks of September, Long-tailed Jaegers and Sabine's Gull migrate overland from their arctic breeding grounds to the open ocean, where they will spend the next several months. Every now and then, an individual w...