Great Egret (Casmerodius albus)

Great Egret in Non-breeding plumage hunting for food

Caught a Fish!

Notice the Great Egret has all black legs

The Great Egret is about 35-41" (89-104 cm)  in height

Going off to eat its dinner!

North Fork Audubon Society News

The North Fork Audubon Society recently held the Spring Council Meeting for Long Island Chapters in Greenport, NY. Six Audubon Chapters were represented at the meeting - North Fork Audubon, North Shore Audubon, Eastern Long Island Audubon, South Shore Audubon, Great South Bay Audubon and Four Harbors Audubon. Also in attendance were Al Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York; Joe Montouri, Commissioner of Suffolk County Parks and Aaron Virgin, Vice President of Group for the East End. Following the meeting and a great homemade lunch by Diana VanBuren, president of North Fork Audubon Society.  After lunch the group took a nice hike to see the new bird banding stations and went birding at Inlet Pond. A great time was had by all!

Double-Crested Cormorant

 This Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus (approx. 33") was hanging out on a Buoy in Southold, NY. It is our most common Cormorant on Long Island. 

The Double-crests (seen in the photos at left) grow during the breeding season. Cormorants dive and swim under the water eating mostly fish. They disappear under the water and will surface a distance from where they submerged. 
 

Their legs are farther back on their body then a lot of other water birds because it helps them navigate and propel themselves better while they are chasing fish under the water. 

After surfacing they may come out of the water and extend their wings to dry off. They have some trouble taking off so you may see them running across the water while flapping their wings to take off.

*After a Cormorant dives under the water see if you can find them again when they surface.

Osprey Return To Long Island

On the Nest

Osprey with Dinner

Osprey with Fish in its Talons

Bringing Dinner Back to the Nest

Both Male and Female Osprey on the Nest ( Notice the female's head just peeking through the branches to the right of the male. Also notice the House Sparrows at the bottom of the Osprey nest. About 10 of them are nesting with the Oprey. Osprey hunt for fish not birds so the House Sparrows are not afraid of the Osprey.The Osprey took little notice of all the House Sparrow activity.)

North Fork Audubon Society Hosts LI Audubon Council Meeting

The North Fork Audubon Society Hosted the Spring Audubon Council Meeting at the Red House in Greenport, NY. Al Caccese, president of Audubon NY and Joe Montouri, Commissioner of Suffolk County Parks, where also in attendance for a Q & A. Following the meeting everyone enjoyed Diana VanBuren's delicious vegetarian food including her home made soup! After lunch everyone hiked NFAS trails to Inlet Pond to see the new bird-banding areas and to look for local migrants. Great day with great people!