Saturday, August 8, 2009

On the eve of the Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Queens NY...

The last few days, I have been working with my friend Don Riepe in getting a number of things ready for the 4th annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens NY. In addition, yesterday I made a scouting hike around the East Pond, walking from the South East end to the North East end. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the "field study time" as I like to call it when I bird alone.

Unfortunately, it appears the shorebird numbers are down. I am hoping that other birds arrive in the 1 day we have left before the festival so that we have a nice variety to look at on Sunday. Highlights from my scouting were a Black Swan (a likely escapee that has returned to the refuge a few years in a row), White-rumped Sandpipers (counted about 12), Stilt Sandpipers (counted about 15)and 1 Pectoral Sandpiper. All the other usual birds like Greater and Lesser Yellow Legs, SB Dowitchers, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers are around, but their numbers are down. I have included a few photos; all were digiscoped at some distance, so they are not as sharp as I would like them to be. Take a look and see if you can identify the subjects.




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7 comments:

  1. Did you see woodcreepers radar report? The birds are a comin!
    Hope u see some good ones tomorrow! I was wishing we could be there..but it just wont work out. We are leaving Tuesday to head west and want to spend xtra time with the fam.

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  2. oh and the RT button..wont work..at least for me..Twitter is acting up! Can only post via seesmic.

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  3. I need the answers to the photo ID test!

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  5. @Debbie - Hi, thanks for stopping by. You need the answers? Well, now Debbie you could do better than that.

    It was not really a Quiz, but my way of encouraging readers to take a shot at getting the IDs. So, what say you Debbie?

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  6. I need another refresh(ing)er shorebirding jaunt before trying my guesses. Got a few, but uncertain about a couple.
    A trip, along, around the East Pond sounds lovely. Good for you!

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  7. @Julia - Hi, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Shorebirds are not easy to ID. Just yesterday, I was out on the East Pond and had a couple of peeps that caused me angst. I will blog about that with photos so be on the lookout for that.

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