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.

Jamaica 181

Jamaica Geese Ducks Canada 181

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 United States Birds Wildlife 162

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.

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Jamaica Bald Eagle Eagles South America 214

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 2008 New York Alaska 170

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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2020 Jamaica New York Birds 353

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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Jamaica Turkey Birds Wildlife 222

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. As for Bill , I have only birded with him once, when he and some British birders were on a layover at JFK and I took them out to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. I certainly can’t wait for 21 January 2015!

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2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 201

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. Conservation Jamaica Bay' And you shouldn’t either.

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Jamaica New York City United States Wildlife 163

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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2020 Pennsylvania Jamaica Birds 167

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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2020 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 175

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. Equally unflappable Corey explored a variety of parks in Queens this weekend, seeking to increase his year list by hitting a variety of habitats.

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Jamaica Birds Wildlife Experience 173

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. Now that’s a Best Bird of the Weekend! How about you?

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2020 Jamaica Birds Family 157

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 Wildlife Birds 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2018

Corey enjoyed shorebirds on the beach in the Rockaways, in the mud at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Wildlife, and on pavement at Floyd Bennett Field this weekend. But of all the shorebirds he saw he appreciated none so much as the Hudsonian Godwit he spotted on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay. How about you?

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2018 Jamaica Emotional Owls 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

New York City’s premiere wildlife refuge proved to be no refuge for Canada Geese on Monday morning as federal agents rounded up 711 geese – including goslings – and packed them up for a trip to upstate New York where they will be gassed and their meat will be provided to food banks.

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Geese New York City Jamaica Slaughter 141

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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New Jersey New York Jamaica Transported 209

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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Jamaica 2015 Birds Wildlife 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2012

On a recent walk around Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge I took the following picture. Here, let me zoom in for you… It’s a Gray Tree Frog , Hyla versicolor , a common species at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Why is it interesting? What if I give you a clue? Do you see it now? And do you know what it is?

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Jamaica Wildlife Species 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Until Mute Swans took over Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, gallinules bred there. The undisputed highlight was only his third Common Gallinule in Queens, and first since 2011, a young bird at Baisley Pond Park, spotted by Corey’s buddy Seth while the two of them were birding together. Sadly, that was before Corey moved to Queens.

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2019 Breeders Jamaica Birds 168

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2019

He didn’t see a ton of birds but he did appreciate the number of Snow Geese flocking up at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Corey enjoyed getting out and about in Queens on Sunday morning between two snowstorms. How about you?

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2019 Lamb Lions Jamaica 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2019

Of what he did see, a pair of Bald Eagles at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge was the highlight, a species that didn’t used to be around in June in Queens at all. The Blue-winged Warblers I always look forward to seeing were heard-only, but those beauteous blue buntings made the trip a success. How about you?

2019 115

2019 Bald Eagle Jamaica Eagles 115

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2019

Late Friday afternoon he was birding at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and came across an odd thrasher. Though I spied quite a few warblers, my best looks were of Scarlet Tanager , a bell-ringer of a bird any day. Corey had no problem picking out his Best Bird of the Weekend.

2019 113

2019 Jamaica New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2011

Check out these shots of fish-eating birds at Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge! Do you know what is really annoying? When someone regularly birds the same spots that you do but manages to get much, much, much, better images.

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Fish Jamaica Birds Wildlife 169

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

So we tend to only get a couple of sightings a year, usually out at Fort Tilden where there are some wide open athletic fields or on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, especially when water levels are very low, which leaves enough shoreline for plants to grow. Year after year birds would be reported only for me to miss them.

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Jamaica 2008 Killing Wildlife 202

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2012

Early this morning I was out on the south end of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge looking at common shorebirds and hoping for rare shorebirds. This one was not as bright as the one previously found but still retains some breeding plumage.

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Jamaica New York Wildlife Falcons 165

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 Rights Species Wildlife 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2018

A rather lackluster Sunday morning’s birding didn’t result in any major highlights for Corey, a bummer considering he was scouting for next weekend’s Christmas Bird Count, but he did manage to spot a sextet of high-flying Common Mergansers at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. How about you?

2018 113

2018 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2015

He yelled a relatively unintelligible explanation as he ran to the car, abandoning his family, and sped to Jamaica Bay where he parked and ran out to the breach of the West Pond where he relied upon the kindness of other birders, who let him use their scopes while he got his breath back.

2015 162

2015 Jamaica Canada Abandon 162

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 Eggs Woodpeckers 121

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

Killdeer Charadrius vociferus at Heksher State Park, Suffolk County, New York Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia in Queens, New York Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus in Queens, New York (..)

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New York Jamaica New York City United States 164

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Gull-billed Tern of the year at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The usual summer residents were in attendance, most gaudy of which was a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak , no doubt flush with paternal pride on Father’s Day. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2015 Jamaica Birds Hunting 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2018

Corey spent time on both Saturday and Sunday morning looking at shorebirds on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. I heard about some extraordinary (for Rochester) shorebirds up at Braddock Bay, but all I earned for my efforts this weekend were a few Semipalmated Sandpipers.

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2018 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 102

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2018

But a drake Wood Duck is always appreciated and that it plopped down in front of him at Big John’s Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge made it even nicer. Corey had a large variety of birds to choose his Best Bird of the Weekend from this week and had a hard time making his selection. How about you?

2018 113

2018 Jamaica Sparrows Bears 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

But his Best Bird of the Weekend was a dabbling duck he found on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, his first Eurasian Wigeon of the year! Fall migration was in full swing and he spent lots of time down by the coast sorting through the seabirds, sparrows, raptors, and finches. How about you?

2018 114

2018 New York City New York Jamaica 114

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2017

Corey’s Beat Bird of the Weekend was a singing male Mourning Warbler at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge that was chosen despite it giving a brief awful look. Rochester hosted a nice push of Bay-breasted Warblers , which I was quite pleased to intercept at Cobbs Hill. Still though, Mourning Warbler! How about you?

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2017 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

In particular, he picked one of the many that has already staked out a claim to a nest box at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Corey had quite a few species to choose from this weekend but decided that his Best Bird of the Weekend was the simple Tree Swallow. Spring is here! How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2015 Jamaica New York Birds 187

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2017

Corey enjoyed visits to the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on both Saturday and Sunday. First, I witnessed Ruby-throated Hummingbirds haranguing a Cedar Waxwing in suburban Rochester. The next day saw Barn Swallows berating a Sharp-shinned Hawk in rural Potter County, PA.

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2017 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 113