Bob Kurtz and I birded the East Pond (at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge) this morning; first the north end, then the south end up to the Raunt. We tallied an excellent 22 species of shorebirds on the pond. The Short-billed Dowitchers on the Pond are now probably comprised of over 30% juveniles, and Least Sandpipers are at around 90% juveniles (we only saw 4 or 5 adults the entire time). Also there were more Semipalmated Plovers than either of us ever remember seeing there, and the number of Black-bellied Plovers is pretty good for the date.
Highlights: Red-necked Phalarope- 1 (Juvenile, first at the NW corner, then went to The Cove (where it remained)) Wilson's Phalarope- 3 (2 juveniles and 1 of undetermined age, North End) Hudsonian Godwit- 1 (Mostly North End) Marbled Godwit- 1(East side about half way up the Pond) Semipalmated Plover- 1,060 Black-bellied Plover- 177 Killdeer- 2 Short-billed Dowitcher- 2800 (A substantial percentage is now juveniles) Long-billed Dowitcher- 2 (Adults @ Raunt) Semipalmated Sandpiper- 1800 Least Sandpiper- 90 (85 juveniles) White-rumped Sandpiper- 5 Western Sandpiper- 1 Pectoral Sandpiper- 1 Lesser Yellowlegs- 195 (Lots of juveniles) Greater Yellowlegs- 9 (no juveniles) Ruddy Turnstone- 22 (Including 1 juvenile, overall a large number for the East Pond). Red Knot- 2 (adults) Willet (Eastern)- 3 (2 juveniles, 1 adult) Stilt Sandpiper- ~20 Spotted Sandpiper- 3 American Oystercatcher- 15 Black Tern- 2 Juveniles are now hanging around (Raunt) American White Pelican- 1 Blue-winged Teal- 10 (Here they come!) Green-winged Teal- 12 Northern Waterthrush- ~18 Osprey- 1 carrying nesting material ... (Huh?) Good Birding -Doug Gochfeld. Brooklyn, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
