Feeder Survey JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

Jun 15, 2023 | Bird Feeder Survey, The Sandpiper

Photo-Credit-Bhargav-Dandamudi-inbound802531894576817066-1

Years ago, while walking through a park in Manhattan, I noticed a young man eating his lunch, a male house sparrow hopped over, cocked his head and looked at him, the young man immediately responded by tossing a bit of bread to the bird. It made me wonder why we have the urge to feed things? Birds will feed the residents of their nest even though their own babies have been replaced by parasitic birds such as cowbirds. In “little shop of horrors” Seymour feels obliged to feed “Audrey” the plant from outer space when she demands “feed me”. When our dog sat up and begged we threw him a snack.

Some feeding urges seem to be a response to instinct while others a response to some type of positive feedback. When we threw a snack to our dog the feedback was thinking how smart he was. Feeding the birds in our yard gives us a benevolent feeling and the feedback is the joy we get by bringing the birds close so we can view them. The GSBAS feeder survey has been run for many years, I have enjoyed compiling the survey for more than 10 years, I will no longer be running it after this last survey.

Over the years I have enjoyed hearing from everyone, and hope you will continue to fill your feeders and stay aware of the nature on your doorsteps.

Thank you, Helga Merryman!

We had 8 participants; Banaszak, Cafarelli, Fogarty, Gale, Horman, Merryman, Preisinger and Wilson.

7 areas were represented; Babylon, Blue Point, Brightwaters, Deer Park, Medford, Ridge and West Islip.

Red-tailed Hawk 0/2/1

Sharp-shinned Hawk 0/0/0

Cooper’s Hawk 1/3/2

Mourning Dove 59/54/44

Red-bellied Woodpecker 4/7/8

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 0/0/0

Downy Woodpecker 8/9/10

Hairy Woodpecker 2/1/2

Northern Flicker 1/2/1

Blue Jay 17 / 15

Blue Jay 14/23/9

American Crow 10/4/1

Black-capped Chickadee 15/19/11

Tufted Titmouse 5/5/9

Red-breasted Nuthatch 2/2/4

White-breasted Nuthatch 8/4/6

Carolina Wren 4/6/6

American Robin 0/0/4

Northern Mockingbird 3/2/1

European Starling 68/18/22

Fox Sparrow 0/0/1

Song Sparrow 10/1/14

White-throated Sparrow 14/13/15

Dark-eyed Junco 10/16/18

Northern Cardinal 12/12/11

Red-winged Blackbird 0/1/17

Common Grackle 15//7/66

Brown-headed Cowbird 0/0/1

House Finch 24/21/39

American Goldfinch 15/13/13

House Sparrow 43/37/41

OTHER SPECIES

Raven 2/0/1

Turkey 1/0/0

Herring Gull 1/0/0

Bald Eagle 2/2/1

Great Blue Heron 0/1/1

Purple Finch 0/0/1

Olllie

Mar 3, 2025 | The Sandpiper

Life has changed in leaps and bounds this year. If you have met Ollie, you know I mean leaps and bounds. On February 12, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, it was one year since I had to release my precious Penny into the arms of eternity. After a much too brief period of doglessness, Ollie came into my life – the personification of leaps and bounds. I don’t think this dog’s feet touch the ground. He just springs along. With my pup of boundless energy came some changes.

Changing of The Guard

Mar 3, 2025 | The Sandpiper

Great South Bay Audubon has not held elections since before Covid. Many of our board members have stayed on passed what our bylaws designate. Our organization, like so many others, does not have volunteers beating down the doors and, so, the officers stay.

Brookside Park

Mar 3, 2025 | Brookside County Park, The Sandpiper

It’s a new year and the New Years Resolutions have been made. It’s time to make changes to improve ourselves and that is exactly what we are about to do at the homestead. I’m talking about the Caretaker’s Cottage at Brookside. It’s time for a facelift and for that we need volunteers. We always need volunteers, I think every organization on the planet needs more volunteers.