Registrar: Christina Black
Participants: 14
Weather: Sunny, warm, breezy, 75-85 degrees
Bird Species: 53
It was a beautiful and cool summer day when our group arrived at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at 8:30 am. We quickly consolidated into fewer cars and drove up to the North Channel Bridge parking lot, for access to the north end of the East Pond. Water levels had been very high all summer and several inches of rain had fallen in the previous days, so we did not know what conditions to expect. The northern entrance path was indeed quite wet, with our group needing to wade along the edge of the phragmites to avoid the deeper areas.
Once the pond was visible, we were greeted by Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers and a variety of other shorebirds. Almost immediately, two Red-necked Phalaropes also flew in and landed nearly right in front of everyone! After about a half hour, we returned to the cars, and along the way we were treated to Goldfinches and other songbird species.
Everyone then drove back to the main parking lot and proceeded to visit the south end of the East Pond, and this time, thankfully, we were able to stand on small patches of mudflats. Richard ZainEldeen noted various species including Stilt Sandpipers and Glossy Ibis. Someone then spotted a Western Sandpiper hunkered in some grass, and a Bald Eagle soaring overhead with two more in the distant trees. After leaving the south end, the group walked the path to Big John’s Pond, adding a few new species.
Our group returned to the visitor center for lunch, finally able to shed our muddy rubber boots. After lunch, a walk to the West Pond yielded a Gull-billed Tern flying back and forth, along with a Royal Tern flyby and a few American Oystercatchers, among other sightings. After about six hours of a very successful day, energy was flagging, so everyone headed home pleased that we had seen so many species.
Species List
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Mallard
American Black Duck
Ruddy Duck
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
American Oystercatcher
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Short-billed Dowitcher
Red-necked Phalarope
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
American Herring Gull
Black Skimmer
Gull-billed Tern
Forster’s Tern
Common Tern
Royal Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Glossy Ibis
Black-crowned Night Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Louisiana Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Yellow Warbler
