NEW ENGLAND 
(Rhode Island), Richard Ferren (RF), Margaret 
Fowle, Tom French, Frank Gallo, Ben Griffith, 
Greg Hanisek (Connecticut), Rick Fleil, 
David Hoag, Eric Hynes, Maine Audubon So- 
ciety, Marshall lliff (eBird), Rey Larsen, Vern 
Laux, Mark LeBarr, Derek Lovitch, Mark 
Lynch, Joey Mason, Massachusetts Division of 
Fisheries and Wildlife, Scott Melvin, Steve 
Mirick, Natural Heritage and Endangered 
Species Program, Blair Nikula, Simon Perkins, 
Project Puffin Seabird Island e-newsletter, 
Chris Raithel, Chris Rimmer (CRi), Marj 
Rines (Massachusetts), Mark Szantyr, Luke 
Seitz (Maine), Bill Sheehan, Robert Stymeist,- 
Jeremiah Trimble, Peter Trimble, Tony Vaz- 
zano (New Hampshire), Richard Veit, Julie 
Victoria, Tom Wetmore. O 
Wayne R. Petersen, P. 0. Box 686 
Hanson, Massachusetts 02341 
(wpetersen@massaudubon.org) 
Hudson-Delaware 
Robert 0. Paxton 
Richard R. Veit 
Frank Rohrbacher 
I t was one of the coolest summers ever. 
Temperatures averaged 3-4 degrees 
Eahrenheit below normal. Rochester, NY 
had only 12 days above 80°, a record. Precipi- 
tation was more variable. Rain and onshore 
winds seemed almost constant on the coast. 
Rainfall was nearly twice normal on the Lake 
Ontario shore and more than twice normal in 
June in the lower Hudson Valley. Poughkeep- 
sie, NY had only six rainless days in June. Fur- 
ther inland precipitation was nearer normal. 
A combination of full moon, rain, and 
northeasterly winds produced exceptional 
tides in June that wiped out beach and marsh 
nests. Marsh nesters had zero productivity in 
Hempstead Township on Long Island, NY 
QZ), and they experienced “total disaster” in 
Barnegat Bay Obu). Rain may have dimin- 
ished the productivity of Long Island Ospreys 
(BL) as well. On the positive side, late mow- 
ing probably helped ground nesters. 
A striking feature of this season was un- 
precedented numbers of tubenoses close in- 
shore, especially off Long Island. Notable rar- 
ities included at least three Roseate Spoon- 
bills, including Delawares first. Two closely 
monitored Mississippi Kites in central New 
York failed, in the end, to provide the long- 
awaited first Regional nesting record. 
Abbreviations; Barnegat (Inlet and Bay, 
Ocean, NJ); Bombay Hook (Bombay Hook 
N.W.R., Kent, DE); Brig (Brigantine Unit, Ed- 
ward R Forsythe N.W.R., At- 
lantic, NJ); Chazy R. (at L, 
Champlain, Clinton, NY); 
Cupsogue (barrier beach e. of 
Moriches Inlet, Suffolk, Long 
I„ NY); D.N.R.E.C. (Delaware 
Department of Natural Re- 
sources and Environmental 
Conservation); Great Gull 1. 
(ternery off the e. end of Long 
L, NY); Fort Drum (Fort Drum 
Military Installation, Jefferson, 
NY); Hamlin Beach (State Park 
and seawatch on L, Ontario, 
Monroe, NY); Jamaica Bay (Ja- 
maica Bay Wildlife Refuge, 
NYC); Montezuma (N.W.R., 
Seneca, NY); N.J.D.EW. (New 
Jersey Division of Fish and 
Wildlife); N.Y.D.E.C. (New 
York Department of Environ- 
mental Conservation); Lake- 
hurst (Naval Air Station, At- 
lantic, NJ); Robert Moses (S.P., 
w. end Fire L, Suffolk, NY). 
WATERFOWL 
THROUGH ANHINGA 
A Black-bellied Whistling- 
Duck at Cape May 25 Jul was 
missing its claws and was thus 
considered an escapee rather 
than an example of this 
species’ recent northward ex- 
pansion (MO’B); one present 
at Rehoboth Beach, DE since at 
least 23 Nov 2008 has become 
semi-domesticated after 
months of handouts. The up- 
state New York Trumpeter 
Swan population, derived ei- 
ther from an Ontario re-introduction project 
or from escaped captives, is surging to the 
point that some already dread the next pest 
species. Dominic Sherony assessed the Wayne 
population at six pairs with 18 cygnets. Mon- 
tezuma contained at least two pairs and 4 
An odd couple at Thousand Acre Marsh, on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, 
New Castle, Delaware, this American White Pelican and Roseate Spoonbill were 
photographed 17 July 2009. American White Pelicans are seen with increasing fre- 
quency in the East, though this bird represents just about the ninth state record. 
The Roseate Spoonbill, present at this location 1 6-22 July, was part of a general ir- 
ruption that brought many spoonbills northward. Photograph by Jay Young. 
Delaware's first Roseate Spoonbill, an immature, was discovered at Fenwick Is- 
land, Sussex County 21 June 2009 by Richard Wood and was photographed 26 June 
(here). At least two and possibly as many as four spoonbills reached Delaware in 
summer 2009, and one made it to New Jersey. Photograph by Maurice Barnhill. 
VOLUME 63 (2009) 
NUMBER 4 
573 
