Gearing up for the 2013 Shorebird Season at Jamaica Bay...

For those of you wondering about whether the shorebird season is ready to kick off at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens NY, I have sombering news.  It certainly is not going to be the early start that we enjoyed last year, when by July 1st, I found the 1st of what ended up being a banner year for Ruffs at Jamaica Bay, with a total of 4.  The arrival and stopover on the East Pond of a good number of shorebirds at that date was attributed to the early lowering of the water level.  You could forget about that this year.

I have done some reconnaissance over the past week at the East Pond and the water level remains high;  today I was at the East Pond North End, clearing the path on the west side and I estimate, it will take another 2-3 weeks for the water to get to a respectable level baring any sustainable deluge of rains. As far as the West Pond, it remains to be seen what if any shorebirds will be seen foraging in numbers on the mud flats of the West Pond during low tide as the breach on the pond remains open.

Shorebird aficionados will be jumping out of their skins because the window for some of those specialized migrants like Stints and Ruffs and other goodies are generally early on and within the next few weeks the window will be shrinking. Let's hope for good drainage and good birds on the East Pond.  Keep checking the blog for more East Pond updates.

Tags: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, Shorebird, Jamaica Bay