10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2017

But after a long weekend in Niagara Falls and Toronto with my extended family, which featured virtually no birding, I was more than willing to get out at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday morning (the 4th of July) to see what was out and about.

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds Breeders 40

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

It is extremely unusual that we birders can still walk the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in November. … Trips Jamaica Bay November shorebirds' By now water levels should be high and the pond should be full as ducks, both dabbling and diving, are making their way south from cooler climes.

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Jamaica Geese Ducks Species 70

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2015

That place is the fabled home of shorebirds, both common and rare, the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. American Avocet on Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond. It being mid-August in New York City there is one place where I have to be as often as I can.

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Jamaica Wildlife New York City Falcons 65

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

The national bird of Jamaica is the Red-billed Streamertail , known colloquially as the Doctor Bird and scientifically as Trochilus polytmus. It is endemic to the island of Jamaica, which means that Jamaica is the only place in the world where the Red-billed Streamertail can be found. But Jamaica is loaded with nice birds.

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Jamaica Birds Species Family 50

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2018

That means it is time to look for shorebirds on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay. It is summer and I live in Queens. And look I did this weekend with visits to the pond on both Saturday and Sunday mornings despite the ferocious mosquitoes that insisted upon a blood donation as the price of admission to the pond.

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Jamaica Birds Wildlife Geese 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Saturday morning, 30 August 2014, was a perfect time for shorebirding at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond. … Trips Jamaica Bay Queens shorebirds' Wouldn’t you agree? By the way, all of the images in this post were digiscoped that morning. Where else can you get this many shots of shorebirds in one morning?

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Jamaica Bald Eagle Birds Eagles 79

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2011

Just like last year when I spent a goodly chunk of a Saturday at the end of May at Jamaica Bay I spent this past Saturday birding one of the premiere birding destinations of the northeastern United States, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

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Jamaica Birds Wildlife Breeding 65

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2013

If I had my druthers I would be birding the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge pretty much every day from July until September. Isn’t Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge a great place to see them? … Trips Jamaica Bay Queens shorebirds' Aren’t shorebirds awesome? Go find some shorebirds!

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds Species 67

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

When you live in Queens and you only have one morning of an August weekend to go birding there is only one place to go – the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Get out to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond and enjoy those shorebirds. What makes it so good? Shorebirds! Well, it is. See you out on the pond!

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds Falcons 70

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2012

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY, 3 August 2008 It was while watching flocks of shorebirds on Friday on Cape Cod (an adventure I will soon describe) that I first heard of a Red-necked Stint being found at Jamaica Bay. They both breed in Siberia, which is pretty far from Jamaica Bay. … a.

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Jamaica Birds Breeding 2008 66

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2017

Fortunately for me, a kind birder pointed out a ruby-throat in the process of building a nest at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last week and the nest is relatively low and unobstructed.

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds New York City 40

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2023

This post is not a twitch, but it is much more fun to read if you first dwell upon the sentiments from the last picture of Corey’s post from East Pond, Jamaica Bay, 2015 It would be a bold birder that calls a Common Ringed Plover , Charadrius hiaticula where Semi-palmated Plover , C. semipalmatus is also an option.

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Breeders Birds Jamaica Stray 77

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2021

I was sweltering my way up the east side of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, enjoying the low water levels possible because the work of lots of volunteers to get the drainage pipe dug out, and not seeing much of interest. What’s going on? As most months do, it all started on the first. My year Royal Tern was nice as well.

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Birds Jamaica Ducks Species 105

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2015

Late morning this past Thursday, 27 August, I was on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay. I was only there because I had worked an overnight and therefore had the day free from work and Desi was busy at a day camp.

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds Species 62

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2021

Corey went out onto the East Pond at Jamaica Bay both mornings this weekend and saw bunches of great birds. This is about the time of year American Goldfinches look their sharpest, especially when artfully staged atop one of my purple coneflowers.

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Birds Jamaica Species Experience 97

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2020

Mourning Warblers are never a guaranteed bird in Queens and seeing one at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge was a real treat. Somehow, despite seeing both species of cuckoo that show up in New York, two dozen species of wood-warbler, and host of other birds, he managed to narrow it down.

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Birds 2020 Species Jamaica 140

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Corey explored the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Saturday morning and Fort Tilden on Sunday morning. As serene as that sounds, seeing these birds now just reminds me that they’re on their way to warmer climes and won’t be back for many months.

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Birds Jamaica Wildlife Turkey 78

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2020

Shorebird migration is in full swing and though Jamaica Bay’s East Pond is still full of water he saw some good birds on the beach. Corey spent most of Sunday driving to the Adirondacks for a week in the mountains, but he did get out birding in Queens on Saturday morning. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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Birds 2020 Jamaica New York 103

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2020

But his Best Bird of the Weekend was one he saw with his family on a visit to Jamaica Bay on Saturday evening. If you were wondering, the rabbit won this encounter. Corey enjoyed some good birding on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

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Birds 2020 Pelicans Rabbits 89

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

Last weekend a Sora was spotted at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and I had no time to go see it. Amazingly, the bird stuck, and after birding Fort Tilden early in the AM with Seth and Mary we three headed to Jamaica Bay’s East Pond to try to track down either of what had become two Soras being seen in the refuge.

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Jamaica Birds Wildlife 45

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

Corey went for a walk at Jamaica Bay with his family on Saturday evening, after the rain had stopped in New York City and went out again, alone, on Sunday morning before the rain picked back up. At least that’s where I added this species to my New York list.

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Birds New York City Jamaica Charlotte 92

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

You are also probably aware that Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, one of the best urban birding sites in the world, is on my regular list of spots that I like to stop by and visit. I have seen some absolutely amazing birds at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. I can’t abide the thought of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge without a West Pond.

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds New York City 64

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2020

Corey enjoyed a morning walk on Saturday with three friends at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where they spotted over fifty species between mosquitoes and biting flies. The best of them was a surprise Bobolink , which was a lifer for all three of Corey’s companions, and nice bird to see at anytime.

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Birds 2020 Jamaica Species 63

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Corey and his family, fresh off a victorious tour of Jamaica, will be expanding their circuit to the New York Capitol Region this weekend. Now that Ivy and I have broken the ice on owls this year, we’re eager to add a couple more, so Owl Woods might be in the cards. How about you? Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

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Birds Owls 2020 Jamaica 60

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

I also won’t be meeting Corey, who is spending some recreational time in Jamaica this weekend and beyond. I won’t even be in position to go after the coastal specialties we miss along the Great Lakes. Look for him in Cockpit Country! How about you? Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

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Birds 2020 Jamaica 60

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2021

Of the 113 species they spotted it was hard to pick a single Best Bird of the Weekend, but the Common Nighthawk perched in the north garden at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge rose to the top of the heap. Corey got out for a not-very-big Big Day in Queens with some pals on Saturday. How can a goatsucker not be Best Bird of the Weekend?

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Birds Jamaica Soreing Wildlife 60

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2021

At the time, I was just getting into birding and while I’d already been to Jamaica Bay a few times, spring migration was an entirely new phenomenon to me and I’d only seen one warbler species up to that point ( Yellow Warblers at Jamaica Bay, in fact, exactly a week before my Prospect Park trip).

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Birds Jamaica Species Peru 64

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2021

But, of course, it was Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge that paid off the most when Corey carefully scanned the margins of the West Pond and turned up a surprise American Bittern. Cheers to those Mourning Doves , who remain unflappable when the cold is unbearable.

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Birds Jamaica Wildlife Experience 65

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

Corey got his Best Bird of the Weekend early this weekend as while he and his family were making their way home from a week-long vacation in Cape Cod on Friday a Black-throated Gray Warbler was found in Queens at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. His wonderful family agreed to drive straight there before going home and Corey got a new Queens bird!

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Birds 2020 Jamaica Wildlife 61

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2020

But the birds he most appreciated were the juvenile Least Sandpiper feeding at his feet on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. As an example of how close they were, the shot above is uncropped. Least Sandpiper is easily Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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Birds 2020 Jamaica Wildlife 65

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

Corey got into Jamaica midafternoon on Saturday and has spent most of the time since then on the beach. Expected birds on the water in the Caribbean is mostly what he’s seen but an Antillean Palm Swift , his lifer, on the ride from the airport is his Beat Bird of the Weekend.

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Birds 2020 Owls Jamaica 62

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2020

But he didn’t get a photo and he really appreciated an extremely confiding American Goldfinch at Jamaica Bay that sat nicely in perfect morning light for Corey and his digiscoping rig. Corey feels he should probably choose the only year bird he got this weekend, an Olive-sided Flycatcher , as his Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you?

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Birds 2020 Jamaica Tennessee 61

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2020

Corey got out looking for birds at Jamaica Bay on Sunday morning and is he ever glad he did! Alas, I didn’t locate any but found enjoyment in a prolonged standoff between mobbing Red-eyed Vireos and a Blue Jay who refused to take the hint.

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Birds 2020 Jamaica ALA 64

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh.

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2019 Jamaica Woodpeckers Sparrows 47

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2014

Sunday morning was a perfect morning to get out on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. ” At Jamaica Bay in August the standard peep is the Semipalmated Sandpiper , which is present in the hundreds or even thousands. … Trips Jamaica Bay peeps shorebirds' Western Sandpipers sleep with one eye open.

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Jamaica Species Birds Wildlife 71

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2015

Corey will be out and about in the NYC area this weekend; if you are too, you’d be crazy to miss the 10th Annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Seriously, Jamaica Bay has some of the best birding anywhere, and this is your chance to see ALL the shorebirds. How about you?

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Birds Jamaica 2015 Wildlife 63

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

Damage to New York included floods caused by the storm surge, power cuts and disruption to transport, including the loss of the railway line that crosses Jamaica Bay. Two years on, the train line has been repaired at last and I paid a visit to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

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Jamaica New Jersey New York Wildlife 78