Winged Runners

Red-headed Woodpecker - iScoped with Meopta S2 Spotter and Meopix Adapter  Before I begin, I'd like to extend a tremendous thank you to Meopta Sports Optics for sponsoring our team in this years efforts. It was a true honor to have such a reputable optics company support our team. Meopta has pioneered the industry with their top of the line equipment and, without question, has developed some of the worlds finest optics in the game. I raise my binocs to Meopta for supporting bird conservation efforts in the Northeast. The Meopta Mud Hens consisted of 3 members. Chase Cammarota, James "the Godfather" Blumenstein, and myself, Derek Rogers. We were missing our 4th member this year, my brother, Chris Rogers. He was busy cheering us on and tending to his newborn daughter Braelyn Lily Rogers. Perhaps she'll be entering in the World Series of Birding in the near future. The Mud Hens chose to participate in the LGA category (Limited Geographic Area) as we have done in

The day started off pretty well. I led a bird walk at the David Weld Sanctuary in Nissequogue with some friends. Despite the lack of migration movement the typical, site faithful breeders were in and put on a nice show. My first of season Common Terns were working the outside of the Nissequogue River, calling and dipping into the shallow bar. The wind was calm this morning and it looked like a perfect day to be out on the Sound. I was envious of the terns. We were eventually seen off by a female Orchard Oriole near the parking area. The morning ended just a bit too quickly and I was off to Calverton Ponds Preserve where some minor trail work needed to be taken care of. I decided to swing by the grasslands in Calverton, also known as EPCAL. EPCAL sits just north of the preserve, seperated by Grumman Boulevard. There is a section of grassland along the north end of Grumman Boulevard where one can pull off to the shoulder and have a decent view of the landscape. My interest was to see if