Jamaica Bay, August 27th

After enduring a lot more traffic than was strictly necessary, I managed 2 hours at the East Pond of Jamaica Bay WR on Thursday. Modest number of shorebirds, OK diversity, and although the tide was not perfect it was the last sunnier day before two days of rain. Best bird was the adult Red-necked Phalarope (pic) which seems like it might have had some trauma (or at least a really hard life) judging from disturbed feather patches at the vent. Not a good thing in a frequently pelagic species. Another good bird was a rather skittish juvenile Baird's Sandpiper and a distant American Avocet (so distant that if Shai Mitra had not pointed it out, it was nigh-on invisible with binoculars).

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Gadwall
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Peregrine Falcon
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Tern
Northern Waterthrush

Jamaica Bay, August 7th

A quiet day at the south end of the East Pond, where in retrospect the action was all happening at the north end. The shorebirds were very skittish, doubtless because of a Peregrine Falcon that was hunting the pond intermittently. The individuals were nearly all adults (I saw one juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs) although we are reaching the point there the juveniles should start arriving. The greening of the mud at the south end was just starting to happen with short grass present, destined to become thicker (and more heavily cropped by the Canada Geese) in the weeks to come.

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Mallard
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Semipalmated Plover
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Gull-billed Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Barn Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Waterthrush
American Goldfinch

Jamaica Bay and Nickerson Beach, August 4th

Arrived at Jamaica Bay to find that in my comatose state that morning I'd left the mud gear at home, so I took a walk along the West Pond before heading further east. There were several Common Yellowthroats as well as single Yellow Warblers and American Redstart. The shorebirds on the West Pond were limited but the usual suspects, lacking some of those that might be considered regular on the East Pond (i.e. no Lesser Yellowlegs or Semipalmated Plover).

After Jamaica Bay I went to Nickerson Beach to check out the Black Skimmer and Common Tern beach colony for the first time. In retrospect I narrowly managed to avoid paying a fairly stiff beach toll by arriving before 8am. At the beach there were a few shorebirds including Semipalmated Plover and Sandpiper, several American Oystercatchers including full-grown juveniles. The colony had many Common Terns (some independent juveniles) and Black Skimmers in a modest-sized roped off area.


Jamaica Bay list:
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Mallard
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Greater Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Yellow Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Baltimore Oriole