(About) Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens (& just a wee bit of
Brooklyn), N.Y. City -
How to bird " the bay " is a question folks from nearby & away may
have. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (a unit of the federally-managed
Gateway National Recreation Area which takes in multiple sites in 3
NYC boroughs = 3 counties of NY state, as well as the Sandy Hook
unit, in New Jersey), comprises not only the pedestrian-accessible
West Pond & East Pond sections but a number of low-lying islands &
marsh habitat within the bay. It also happens to be in fairly close
proximity to NYC's busy J.F.K. international airport & is not far at
all from the Rockaway peninsula of New York City, which includes much
of the outer barrier beach located within the city, at Long Island's
nearly westernmost reach. The closest neighborhood is called Broad
Channel. It may be pointed out that this (unfortunately) was never
designated a National Wildlife Refuge, although once a NYC refuge, it
was made part of the much larger Gateway National Recreation Area
complex, made up of the refuge, plus Bergen Beach, Canarsie Pier,
Plumb Beach & Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn NYC, Jacob Riis Park,
Fort Tilden & Breezy Point in Queens, NYC, and Fort Wadsworth, Miller
Field & Great Kills Park in Staten Island NYC, and the one major New
Jersey natural area component, Sandy Hook, plus a number of other
smaller &/or mainly historical or more inaccessible sites in the
N.Y.C.- New Jersey metro harbor area. Nevertheless there are rules &
regulations to follow, & violators may be ejected, fined, or arrested.
For first-timers to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a stop at the
visitor center, located by the refuge's large parking lot at Cross
Bay Blvd. just north of the small neighborhood of Broad Channel,
Queens may be a good idea. The visitor center is open daily in summer
- see web pages of the Brooklyn Bird Club for more details -
including hours, maps of the 2 largest ponds, advice, facilities and
more. It should be added that for access to all parts of the East
Pond, a very long walk or, for many birders, a drive up to a
separate, smaller parking area near the northwest corner of the East
Pond (on Cross Bay Blvd, immediately south of the bridge going north
towards the Howard Beach neighborhood) is necessary. The East Pond is
quite long & shorebirds will utilize many or almost all parts of its
shoreline, mudflats and shallow waters, while many birders tend to
congregate mostly near the access points of the (usually easiest way
in) southwest corner, the (somewhat more walking required) northwest
corner, & (often slightly more difficult) northeast corner - & any or
all of these access point paths & the entirety of the East Pond
itself are likely to result in mud-encrusted footgear, with the mud
conditions varying from dry (in very dry summers) to (typically)
mucky-sticky to (in wet years or when the pond has not been well-
drained prior to summer shorebird migration) almost sopping wet or
even very obviously under water, with extremes of up to 8"+ of
water. There are usually small warning signs to let all visitors
know to stay out of the northern end (away from the corners) & there
may be any number of other potentially dangerous soft spots. Tread
carefully, see if others have obviously gone where you intend to, &
exercise caution. The West Pond is encircled by a flat & dry pebbled
walking path (NO jogging or running permitted anywhere in the refuge!
- OK, maybe if a Broad-billed Sandpiper is called, as happened a few
years ago there, drawing birders from all over the world..) & will
not require special footwear, and there can be shorebirds to see
there as well, just (usually) not quite the numbers that occur on the
East Pond. (However the bay's islands & lower marshes are viewable
only from the West Pond side, not the east, & at lower tides may
occasionally produce excellent, if more distant sightings. You can
check the bird sightings log just behind the refuge visitor center,
although don't expect it to be the most complete or accurate source
of sightings as will be seen after kids & others give their versions
of "rare birds"... still, many visiting birders do faithfully record
their genuine sightings.
You may want to pack a lunch, drinks, or snacks (to be eaten only in
the small designated "picnic" area by the visitor center), or as many
birders do, visit any of the many fairly nearby (if driving)
restaurants, delis, diners, etc. in Broad Channel and (more choices)
in Howard Beach or beyond, all located on Cross Bay Blvd. The refuge
& all other NYC units of Gatway N.R.A. are accessible via NYC subway
&/or bus, as well as by bicycle. (NO biking is allowed within the
refuge, although a pedestrian/bike/non-motorized recreation path runs
alongside (actually just inside the refuge's former perimeter, off-
street) the adjacent western length of Cross Bay Blvd.)
Another tip that many or all "regulars" who seek shorebirds at the
refuge know - the East Pond will generally have more shorebirds (at
least in numbers, if not species variety) when the tides on the
adjacent bay are high, or at least when not at their lowest ebb. The
reason is simple, when the bay's tides are in their low ebb, there is
much exposed mudflat & marsh habitat for shorebirds (& many other
"water" birds) to utilize (& the finest optics in the world will
never reveal many of them to us, far out in the bay) & when tides are
in a higher (often within 2 or 3 hours either "side" of peak high
tide) cycle the shore (& other) birds may be much more likely to
visit the East Pond (especially) as well as any bits of flat or marsh
along the West Pond (& adjacent bay shores), much of which can be
viewed with proper optics - which almost always means a spotting
scope for optimal viewing. For one decent website that works well
(there are many others also) to see tides, try: http://
saltwatertides.com/pickpred.html (go to NY, then for Jamaica Bay
click No. 4, the south shore of Long Island, & from there look for
the part of Jamaica Bay you prefer to use in selecting (about any
will approximate) & choose your date selections, & then "get tides".
It's fast & simple... any search for "high tide selector" should do too.
Official U.S. National Park Service website for Gateway National
Recreation Area (with map viewer feature, but lacking trails & other
map detail, however may be useful in locating the wildlife refuge &
other Gateway NRA units within the N.Y. City metro area): http://
www.nps.gov/gate/index.htm
the Brooklyn Bird Club's Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge web page &
maps: http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/jamaica.htm
East Pond MAP: http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/eastpondmap.htm
West Pond MAP: http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/westpondmap.htm
Checklist of Birds of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, originally
compiled by the great Tom Davis (with assistance from many other
birders since): http://www.nps.gov/archive/gate/jbu/pdf_files/
nature_birds_of_jamaica_bay_brochure.pdf (a PDF file download, of
about 1.3MB, containing 10 total pages, with all or nearly all
regular species noted in each season.)
For possible updates on the bay & surrounding areas, check the NYC
RBA online (posted weekly to this & other lists, occasionally updated
more frequently when mega-rare birds are sighted in the region), as
well as these (mostly greater NYC-N.J. metro region) local lists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebirdsnyc/messages along with http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/btblue/messages (a list intended for rarer
species only, guidelines available from the list-owner); other lists
will occasionally mention Jamaica Bay refuge sightings as well, as
it's visited by birders from all around the country & the world.
Above all, while enjoying a birding trip to Jamaica Bay Wildlife
Refuge, please do nothing that disturbs the birds. This is an
essential feeding, rest & recovery area for vast numbers of migratory
birds, some of which stay on for long periods &/or breed here, & many
that stop over on their way to & from breeding & wintering sites
between the Arctic and South America, & in some species, even beyond.
Good birding, knees above the mud...
Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
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