Yesterday, I scouted the water level on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens and as they promised NPS, have opened up the valve to lower the water for shorebird season. Please be aware, that the water level was very high on the pond and it will take some time to get it down to where it needs to be, so please be patient. I will continue to monitor and report on the situation.
Since, the subject is the East Pond, I should add that the Scaup species that Jack Rothman and Bronx Brenden tentatively reported last week, is indeed a Greater Scaup. Over on the other side of the road. The highlights were Acadian Flycatcher on the "West Trail Long Walk." No I am not kidding, that is the name used by NPS instead of "West Pond." Draw your own conclusions. Black-billed Cuckoo and White-eyed Vireo - South Gardens, Red-breasted Merganser - West Pond and Glaucous Gull at Terrapin Point. Note, no nest reconnaissance or "rabbit holes" were involved with the Acadian sighting :-) Today: Out east today, at Pikes Beach LI, not many shorebirds were around. I had one small flock of 35 birds made up of Dunlins, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Sanderlings. On my way out, I found my first tagged horseshoe crab at that site; unfortunately, it was dead. At Cupsogue, I waded out to the flats well before low tide and spent a good 4-5 hours working the birds, mostly spending time with the Terns. Roseate, Forster's and a few 1st summer Common, Forster's and 1 Least were the only notable terns. The shorebird numbers were even lower than Pikes with 1 Western Willet being they only new arrival. Tom Burke and Gail Benson who took their turn at Pikes Beach, while I did the flats, ended up pulling out a White-rumped Sandpiper down the road at Tiana Beach. I later caught up with the bird before joining Tom and Gail at Shinnecock, where we did a late afternoon seawatch for a few hours. A total of 4 possibly 5 Great Shearwaters were the highlights there. Cheers, Andrew -- 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/ --
