Some additional access notes for East Pond visitors. On July 9th, I had a blog post up that mentioned an area on the east side of the pond that was not passable. This was addressed VERY QUICKLY, once the issue was raised with NPS. NPS recruited the assistance of MTA who used their heavy machinery to spread gravel and create a walkway around the breach. If you bird the East Pond and are ambitious to do the schlep up on the East side, you will see what I am talking about. Note: the area is past the Raunt.
NPS and the helpful and gracious folks from MTA deserve huge credit for responding in a speedy manner. You should have no issues save a bit of clambering up or down the rock pile as you get to the breach (this might not be to everyone's liking depending on one's mobility). Look for the path I bushwhacked on the north side of the walkway onto the pond; it should suffice for users, but there is Poison Ivy in the area, so please watch your step. With boots, you should have no problem as I have used it several times already with no issues but it doesn't mean you should do the "river dance" through the area. The valve on the North End is closed, meaning the drawing down of the pond has stopped for the moment. This is just a little over the target mark but good enough given the dry spell. Should we have any excessive rain, I am sure the valve will be reopened. I think I have covered everything that I thought would be of assistance to visitors, but should you have any questions on accessibility, please drop me a note offline. I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner and hopefully address any questions you may have. Regards, Andrew Baksh Queens, NY www.birdingdude.blogspot.com Sent from my iPad On Jul 19, 2013, at 5:09 PM, Andrew Baksh <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello all, > > Here is a link to photos of today's Ruff at Jamaica Bay East Pond > (http://birdingdude.blogspot.com/2013/07/ruff-redux-at-jamaica-bay-wildlife.html) > . The birds looks a lot like last year's "Rufus"/'Rufous" Ruff. > > Included in my post are the shorebird numbers from today, for those of you > who are interested in what shorebirds are present. Lots of birds, but the > diversity has not started building as yet. It is very, very hot out on the > East Pond, so if you decide to visit, have lots of water and light clothes. > Remember knee high boots are best to shorebird on the East Pond. > > Good luck and Good Shorebirding! > > Andrew Baksh > Queens, NY > www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > > > > On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 1:03 PM, Andrew Baksh <[email protected]> wrote: >> A Ruff that looks a lot like last year's "Rufus Ruff" was seen first >> near the south end of the East Pond. The bird relocated and I refound >> it near Dead Man's Cove on the west side of the North End of the East >> Pond. It has ventured right at the entrance so if you are going to >> twitch this bird, be careful as you enter as it may just be there. >> >> I would stick around but I have been working the pond since 5:30 this >> morning and I am out of water. Good luck if you try for it. For >> those of you not too familiar with the pond. Check my blog for a >> recent post on how to bird the pond with the changes since Hurricane >> Sandy. >> >> Photos of the Ruff will also be posted later. >> >> Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! >> >> Andrew Baksh >> www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
