Posted by Alex on May 18, 2003 at 00:24:57:
Upon arriving at the beach, the presence of gulls was obvious. Least Terns were everywhere, as were Royal Terns. Frigatebirds soared through the skys, chasing the terns for their catches. I also saw some late sanderlings. They were not the only late birds around.
I was enjoying the least terns when some people with binoculars caught my eye. I quickly ran out of the water, and joined them while they focused at a bird about 200 feet of shore. It was sitting on the water for a while, and then flew inland at a high altitude. I only got about a minut look at it. The birders said it has been there for days, and has been seen also in the surrounding area. It was a very small gull, and had the traditional black head. It was very clearly not a tern or any other bird. I did'nt have enough i.d. on the bird, but it was not a laughing gull. The red feet was obvious. I'm pretty sure it's not the right season for them, but it was a real treat.I'm not sure if it could be anyother larid. It had a black bill and head, small, reddish legs, and black on it's wings. The area was just east of 79th street, near where there is a parking lot and volley ball nets. There are many condos along the beach, and there is a big gap between two building zones, so people can park around there. Gray Kingbirds were present too. A 8-9 foot hammerhead shark was a real treat, only about 30 feet off the shore. The beach was busy, and me and some other man took it upon ourselves to run along the beach and yell "SHARK!!! EVERYONE OUT OF THE WATER!!! SHARK SHARK"! This was at about 7:00 p.m., so it was good shark feeding time, and the lifeguards were off duty. At the North Bay Village Parrot Roost, man Red-masked Parakeets were seen in the palm trees at sunset.
Very eventful day.
It was around 7:00, so