About Jamaica Bay Refuge's East Pond (& applicable to various other
shorebird hot-spots world-wide!) is that the times of high & low tide
are important to how many shorebirds may be found there at any given
hour. On this Thursday, 15 July, the high tide was (very
approximately) at about noon & again at midnight. The low tide was
near 6 pm, & at that hour (or within an hour either side of that) the
numbers of shorebirds might be quite a bit lower than at times of
higher tide cycles - when tides are low, shorebirds utilize various
islands out in the bay & other shoreline or mud-flat areas that get
covered up at times of higher tide - and that is why shorebirds seek
out the good feeding that's normally possible at Jamaica Bay's East
Pond... at peak migration times for shorebirds, that pond's flats &
shallows have been able to support many thousands of shorebirds daily
for an extended period, and that is why it is an important resource
for these migrants!
There are many sources on-line for tide tables for our region, or
anywhere in the United States, or elsewhere. I happen to use one
called http://saltwatertides.com but there are plenty of others (and I
have no stake in any!)
Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
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NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
ARCHIVES:
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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/
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