Nesting season (part 2)

A well-known location for nesting Piping Plovers is at the tip of Breezy Point, which is as far west on the Rockaways as you can go. It's a pain in the neck to get to--I don't drive and even if I did, Breezy Point is a private community with no parking for non-residents. To get there, you have to go to Fort Tiden and then hike along the beach for a couple or three miles, except it's not clear that you can do that because the community claims beach is also residents-only (and how that can be legal is beyond me). The books an websites about birding the area suggest wither walking the beach anyway, or taking an ATV path from the fisherman's parking lot. Anyway, it's a hassle, but Piping Plovers.

It turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. As soon as I reached the beach at Fort Tilden, I started seeing American Oystercatchers. They nest in the dunes there, and sometimes right on the beach, and there's ropes indicating where you shouldn't go.

As I started walking west, I spotted some juveniles, and also some pairs who appeared to be doing courtship--making scrapes on the sand, moving side by side in sync, and so on.

As I was photographing the Oystercatchers, I became aware that the section of beach I was passing seemed to be clothing-optional. You might think that would be important enough to mention in the websites about birding the area (or for that matter the books about NY area birding), but you would be wrong.

After a spirited discussion with a couple of beachgoers about the uses and virtues of telephoto lenses, I continued west, but I hadn't gone fifty yards before I spotted something very small moving in the beach grass.

Oooh! Piping Plovers! I had't expected them at all in this area. The dunes here weren't even roped off; one or two people were sitting in the dunes. I actually saw the chicks first:

There were about four chicks, I think, and two adults nearby.

Having seen the Piping Plovers I didn't feel a need to go all the way to the Breeze Point tip. I went as far as the fisherman's parking lot (permit only) and the "Surf Club". The club certainly does their best to make it look uninviting to walk past it own the beach, and I didn't see anything looking like a path leading west from the parking lot. I did walk from the lot up to Rockaway Point Boulevard. Lots of songbirds singing, especially Towhees and Song Sparrows, and some Red-Winged Blackbirds who did their best to convince me I should be elsewhere. I did find them a little more alarming than the sunbathers.

On the way back up the beach, I spotted more Piping Plover adults in the roped-off areas.

And more OysterCatchers.

It was a nice visit. Highly recommended.

Jamaica Bay, July 4th Weekend

this means you!

At the beginning of July, Elena and I went out to Jamaica Bay with some friends. Although it's still a little early for shorebirds, some interesting birds had been seen there and we wanted to get the lay of the land.

Skimmer skimming

We arrived just about at low tide. On the West Pond side, things were a little slow. There were a number of egrets, both Great and Snowy, and some Boat-Tailed Grackles were out on the mud flats acting like shorebirds. A few Gulls and Common Terns. Then as the tide began to turn, I saw three black-and-white birds with red bills, low over the breach in the pond.

against the tide

They were Black Skimmers, doing what they do best. They were so graceful as they skimmed the surface, flying against the tide. They looked like they were in slow motion, though they were obviously flying quite fast. It was so mesmerizing that I didn't manage to get a shot with them all in the frame. Thrilling to see!

Osprey suburb

Elsewhere at Jamaica Bay, nesting is in full swing. The Osprey platform at the West Pond has two young birds on it, and there's another Osprey nest north of the North Garden

lookout

There were a lot of Yellow Warblers around, and many singing House Wrens. Over at the East Pond, I counted fifty-eight adult Mute Swans. I understand that some have seen well over a hundred, plus cygnets.

you, I don't trust

We didn't see any cygnets, but this adult cruised back and forth in front of us, clearly very suspicious, so I assume he had a nest nearby.

loafing Oystercatchers

On the far side were a large collection of Oystercatchers--I counted 25--and many Glossy Ibises. There were a number of Forster's Terns and Least Terns, hunting by hovering over then water and then plunging in with an impressive bang.

the stare of the Egret

There were only a few birds around Big John's Pond--it was only a couple of hours after low tide--but we had nice close looks from the blind at a Snowy Egret and several Glossy Ibises.

Ibises at work

Alose a bunch of Black-Crowned Night Herons were hanging out, including this juvenile, who I guess is so young he's still kind of gray-downy instead of teh brown-streaky appearance I'm used to with young BCNHs.

young and lovely

There were fewer shorebirds than I expected, but of course we didn't try to go around the muddy areas at the north and south ends of the East Pond, not having knee-boots. We didn't see any of the reported rarities--no White-Faced Ibis, Royal Tern, Gull-Billed Tern, or Cattle Egret, but we had a great time.