Andrew, Huge THANK YOU to YOU for all of your efforts at the East Pond. You deserve enormous credit for keeping this issue front and center and for this year’s success. Heroic effort IMO.
NPS deserves a lot of flack for the many shortcomings at JBWR. In particular THEY should be leading the charge to maintain the East Pond. They should be leading the charge to protect this special place, instead they need to be prodded constantly by you and Don and so many others who represent the members of organizations that care about and/or use this treasured space. They should heed to calls to pro-actively protect the Refuge rather then avoid them or worse, resent them. Kathryn Sent from my iPad > On Jul 26, 2022, at 7:38 AM, Andrew Baksh <birdingd...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Salutations all, > > I am delighted to report that we are almost at our target mark for the East > Pond water level. We will close the valve upon hitting the target but > continue monitoring. NPS has received a lot of flack for a number of things > related to the Refuge. Some legit, some just bollocks. Take a moment when > visiting, to let the Rangers at the Visitors Center know how happy you are > with the condition of the East Pond. While those you speak to may not have > been involved in the water level management, the message will get across and > reach the “proper” party. > > Now that pond is attracting visitors from far and wide. I feel the need to > remind folks to please be mindful of your conduct. > > Voices carry and it adds to many of the variables that make birds jumpy. > Avoid excessive chatting while out there. > Don’t push the birds around to get photos. > If a photographer has position, wait or ask to if you could move; don’t > barrel past and flush the subject (s) as it takes patience and time to get > into position. The reverse applies when birders are in position before a > photographer gets on site. > Remember to credit finders for your birds in your checklists, it’s a nice > thing to do. > For those of you leading walks; be mindful of your party size. > No littering 😡 > I could go on but you by now should get my drift. And now for the birds. I > will only mention highlights. The Hudsonian Godwit, Bonaparte’s Gull, > Black-headed Gull and White-faced Ibis (1 of 2) continue. The latter getting > harder to pick out as it is almost in full basic plumage and often times the > light makes it very tricky. Here is a Digiscoped image taken yesterday for > reference. > https://twitter.com/birdingdude/status/1551725685416366081?s=21&t=48be0O8kkF6a6pkHEPWm-g > > Gull-billed, Royal and Caspian Terns also continue but not consistent. Recent > uncommon sightings include Piping Plover and Whimbrel (flyby/flyover). We > will begin seeing the volume of birds drop off but the diversity will pick > up. An early Dunlin was observed yesterday and a flock of Sanderlings dropped > in for a bit. > > Several Long-billed Dowitchers (LBDO) continue; I noted 4 yesterday. Please > be wary of Hendersoni subspecies of Short-billed Dowitcher as there are a few > in play and are often confused with LBDO. A couple of Western Sandpipers also > are in play but losing their color fast so a keen sorting of the peeps is > required. > > Adult and immature Peregrine Falcons have been straffing the pond so be > prepared for some frustrating moments. I fondly remembered the late Bobby > Kurtz yesterday as yelled at an immature Peregrine for its shenanigans 😬 > > The hose is setup near the visitors center to wash up after your visit. Try > and keep it in the shade as the metal piece on the nozzle will get very hot. > Lastly, please try and stay hydrated. The pond gets very, very hot. On days > when there is no breeze it could be very stifling. > > Get out there and enjoy the East Pond and the birds. Not since Hurricane > Sandy has it looked this good. > > Happy Shorebird Birding! > -------- > “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves could free our > mind.” ~ Bob Marley > > “Tenderness and Kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but > manifestations of strength and resolution” ~ Khalil Gibran > > "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule > of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ > Frederick Douglass > > 風 Swift as the wind > 林 Quiet as the forest > 火 Conquer like the fire > 山 Steady as the mountain > Sun Tzu The Art of War > >> (\__/) >> (= '.'=) >> (") _ (") >> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! > > Andrew Baksh > www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
