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.

2020 353

2020 Jamaica New York Birds 353

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 Honduras 228

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2017

I’ve lived in Queens for eight years now and have visited Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge over one hundred times while I’ve been here. Every spring American Redstarts get back to Jamaica Bay and set up territories and I’ve never failed to learn exactly where those territories are.

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Jamaica Wildlife Suffering Industry 100

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.

Jamaica 158

Jamaica Wildlife 2011 Rights 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2011

They are found in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos, Antigua, Barbuda and Jamaica. West Indian Whistling Ducks in Jamaica The decline of the West Indian Whistling Duck has been a steady but gradual one. Until recently.

Antigua and Barbuda 245

Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Jamaica 245

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 Jamaica New York Transported 240

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.

Jamaica 101

Jamaica Wildlife New York City New York 101

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.

Jamaica 168

Jamaica New York City United States Wildlife 168

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 257

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 233

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 Wildlife Geese Birds 103

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2011

It took long enough but I have finally seen an Eurasian Wigeon in my home borough, at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond to be exact. It was nice to add bird number 284 to my Queens life list , though it seems kind of absurd that it has taken so long to see one of the most common of the uncommon ducks in Queens.

Jamaica 217

Jamaica Ducks Geese Wildlife 217

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2014

There has been a Black-billed Cuckoo repeatedly reported from Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge since May and it had studiously avoided Corey until Sunday morning, when he heard it calling in the South Garden. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a bird that has frustrated him for quite some time now.

Bald Eagle 236

Bald Eagle 2014 Jamaica 2008 236

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 175

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?

Jamaica 158

Jamaica Wildlife Species 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2013

He was walking along a trail at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge when he saw a flash of yellow up ahead. It’s nice to see that Red-breasted Nuthatches still haunt my home turf. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a total surprise. His brain instantly shouted “Yellow-breasted Chat” but he refused to listen to it.

2013 223

2013 United States Jamaica Birds 223

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

AUGUST 15, 2011

…at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge anyway. Yesterday’s eight plus inches of rain (as measured at JFK Airport)* have probably brought this year’s shorebird season at Jamaica Bay to an unfortunate and early end. Where else can we New Yorkers go for good shorebirds?

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds 160

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

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?

2015 213

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 213

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.

Jamaica 191

Jamaica Wildlife Species Rights 191

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2012

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY, April 2010 Everyone knows that New York City is an extremely expensive place to live. If one is lucky enough to find a place that one likes one must often pay in rent per month what would easily be a mortgage payment in a more sane part of the country.

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New York City New York Jamaica 2010 198

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2014

No one heard any complaints from me about this, as I was out at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge with the rising sun. By 8:00 AM I had finished up my walk around Jamaica Bay and decided to head out to the Rockaways to check out a few birding spots out there.

New York City 202

New York City Jamaica New York Wildlife 202

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Either way, it was a heck of a sight and another example of why Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is the best place in New York City to see amazing wildlife spectacles. … Tags: ducks , features , jamaica bay , migration , queens • Camping tents - Check out our pop up tents , family tents , and more!

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 187

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2014

He was pleased to see several hundred Snow Geese at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was actually a pretty common bird most winters in Queens, though this year they mostly went further south. There are few things nicer than a big ol’ flock of Snow Geese! How about you?

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2014 Geese Jamaica Turkey 205

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

On a recent visit to Jamaica Bay I took my time with each species that I found that was being remotely cooperative and also burned a bunch of time hoping that some fickle feathered freaks would become cooperative.

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Jamaica Wildlife Experience Experiments 224

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 205

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Osprey in New York State this year, seen perched on a nesting platform at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in early morning fog on Saturday. Watching a pristine Hairy Woodpecker working away at the tender core confirmed my decision. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2012 189

2012 Jamaica New York Woodpeckers 189

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 192

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2014

Every single summer when I am out experiencing the mud and heat and shorebirds on the the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge I find myself getting into the same silent argument with myself. … Birds Jamaica Bay shorebirds' Which of the two most beautiful juvenile shorebirds do I think is better. You see my problem?

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Jamaica Wildlife Birds Species 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

He was very pleased to see two of these marvelous shorebirds on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and nearly as pleased to check them off his Queens list. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend is one he considered long overdue, his first Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Queens ever! Number 305! How about you?

2014 192

2014 Arizona Jamaica Birds 192

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 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

North of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens is a middle class neighborhood, predominantly Italian-American, known as Howard Beach. Named for William J.

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Parrots New York City New York New Jersey 254

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2013

Corey had a Best Bird of the Weekend or rather a pair of birds, Stilt Sandpipers , that plopped down directly in front of him while he was digiscoping a juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher at the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. I, on the other hand, saw nothing special enough to rise to the level of BBOTW.

2013 191

2013 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

The little stiff-tails are almost year-round at Jamaica Bay though almost all leave to breed in the summer and in the depths of winter, when the ponds are almost completely frozen, they tend to head for open water. Fish & Wildlife comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity.

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 163

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2013

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a cooperative Lesser Yellowlegs on the famed East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The birds I was most amused by this weekend were an inquisitive pair of Carolina Wrens ; everything else kept pretty well hidden. It is a common bird but well worth watching and digiscoping for awhile.

2013 168

2013 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 168

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?

2015 171

2015 Jamaica Hunting Birds 171