Superb Owl Sunday

Happy Superb Owl Sunday, everyone! For me, it was last Sunday, when I went out to Jamaica Bay to look for Snowy Owls.

I was a little worried about finding any, even though they are reported daily there. It was foggy, with intermittent rain, and visibility wasn't great. But I went down the West Pond trail, straight out from the visitor center, and a little past where the breach from Hurricane Sandy was, I looked up in the trees and stopped dead in my tracks.

I hadn't expected an owl (a) roosting in a tree (b) so close to the trail. I figured I'd have to scan the mudflats through the fog.

Instead, here was an owl in pain sight in a tree not 50 feet off the trail. Easy!

Eventually, I continued down the trail...and 100 feet further on, another owl! In another tree right off the trail! This one was hanging out next to an old Osprey nest.

Both these owls continued giving great views to a bunch of people all day.

The West Pond, by the way, is really beginning to look good. There were a large number of ducks with a good variety of species. After the breach was filled in, it took a while to pump out the brackish water enough to make it attractive again to fresh-water species. It seems to be working, though.

Enjoy your Superb Owl Sunday!

Pelican!

large flying things

I was at Jamaica Bay a few weeks ago looking for the American Avocet that spent a long time at the East Pond. I didn't find it that day, but near sunset, I took a last look from the overlook near Big John's Pond. There was nothing exciting on the water, but when I looked overhead, I saw a huge white bird flying south.

It was already past me when I spotted it, but I got my binoculars up and say it was an American White Pelican. I thought I wouldn't be able to get a decent photo, but luckily it turned at the south end of the pond and flew back toward the north, and I got some good flight shots of it.

The American White Pelican is mostly a western bird, though some winter in Florida. We get occasional vagrants; there was even a pair that overwintered at Jamaica Bay in 2015-16. It's probably the best bird I've seen that I didn't know was there beforehand.

I'm glad I went for the bins first, by the way. I don't think I would have gotten an identifiable photo if I had grabbed then camera first. The view in the binoculars was good enough that even if the Pelican had kept on going, I would have had an ID. People who say "pics or it didn't happen" can bite me--it just doesn't work that way, not always.

The Pelican was still around the next morning, and several people got to see it. Then it was gone. I finally saw the Avocet a couple of weeks later--a terrible view through the scope, but at least I saw it. (For that matter, it was way out of range for my camera, and I can't seem to get the hang of digiscoping, so I don't have proof that I saw it; see above.)

More shorebirding at Jamaica Bay

Very cooperative Semipalmated Plover

Shorebird season winds down in September--at least that's how it seems to this novice shorebirder--but I had a nice visit to Jamaica Bay towards the end of the month.

After my misadventures the last time out, I decided to start with the south end of the East Pond, and that worked out well. Coming down the very first trail to the edge of the pond, I was greeted by this...

Dunlin!

A Dunlin! Right in front of me! Several Dunlins, in fact, and my very first. It took me a bit of time to work out what I was seeing, and I wasn't sure until a Finnish birder came along a bit after they (and most of the peeps hanging out with them had flown). He had seen them and confirmed my ID.

a Dunlin with one of the remaining Least Sandpipers

Dunlins are the last of my easy life shorebirds, I think. One thing to notice here is the grey on the shoulders ("scapulars") and upper back. Those are new feathers--these birds were transitioning into their very gray winter plumage. The sharp-looking reddish feathers on the butt are actually very worn, and from the bird's breeding plumage.

Peep numbers were way down from a few weeks before, but there were still some Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers.

Semipalmated Sandpipers.  I really like the way the water blurred on this one

The water level in the pond was quite low and I was able to walk halfway up the east side to the area called "The Raunt". I could have gone farther, but it would have involved some scrambling.

Black-Bellied Plover. Yes, that's right. The belly is only black in breeding plumage.

At the Raunt I had a great close view of a Black-Bellied Sandpiper. There were also a lot of sleepy peeps that I did not try to identify. I was told there was a Baird's Sandpiper in there somewhere, but you can't prove it by me.

Black-Bellied Plover waking up some peeps

Sanderlings, also kind of awake

There was also a Snowy Egret dancing through the shallow water. Many more egrets were on the west shore of the pond.

dancing egret

I saw several Monarch butterflies, which was nice.

Monarch Butterfly contemplating a goose turd. Damn, I'm artistic.

Beside the Dunlins, the highlight was the Semipalmated Plovers, who were mostly at the extreme south end of the pond where I first came in. They were still there when I returned.

Plover pictures, please

I never made it up to the north end of the pond, though I did go past Big John's Pond (completely dry) and the overlook, where I saw a group of American Wigeons and a flyover by a Caspian Tern (immediately identifiable by its huge red bill).

I think that's mostly it for shorebirds for me until Spring.

Learning shorebirds

a cozy scene

I'm not good at identifying shorebirds. That's natural; before this year, I never really looked at them much. I saw the few that showed up at Inwood Hill Park or on Randall's Island, but those few are pretty easy to ID. When I started going to Jamaica Bay, things got harder.

At the end of August, I birded the north end of Jamaica Bay's East Pond for the first time. That's where most of teh interesting reports come from, and I've had some trouble figuring out what I saw. So, I'm hoping some of my readers can help me our with a couple of problems.

Now, not all of the birds new to me were hard to ID. White-Rumped Sandpiper, for example. I had intended to go down the west side of the pond, because that's where the easiest footing is. Instead, I missed the path, and wound up in the northeast corner of the pond, which is identified on the maps as the "North Muck".

Well, yeah, it was muddy. But I managed to get down through the reeds to a place where I could see a bit of the shore. There were some small sandpipers there, that seemed a bit larger than the Least and Semipalmated peeps I knew. I wondered if they might be White-Rumped, and I tried to edge myself into a a better position to see them.

That's when I stepped into about 6 inches of very soft mud. I tried to pull my foot out, lost my balance, and wentdown with a loud squishy sound. The peeps flushed, and as the flew off, I could clearly see their white backsides. ID confirmed.

After extracting myself from the embrace of the earth, I made my way back to teh solider western edge of the pond, a little beach of wet sand. There I saw the cozy scene at the top of this post. I thought it was a nice photo; I also thought it was a Greater Yellowlegs on the left, a Dowitcher (probably Short-Billed) next to it, and...what the heck were those birds in the water off the right end of that log?

Yellowlegs, Dowitcher, and ...?

They're pretty bulky. Their bodies seem about the same size as the Yellowlegs. Watching them, I had no clue at all what they might be. Sitting with my field guides at home, I still have no real idea. Could they be Willets? They're supposed to be kind of bulky and dumpy.

Here's a shot where the mystery birds are in profile (and another Dowitcher has showed up).

Hope I got their good side

Any ideas?

At least with those birds, I knew I didn't know what I was looking at. This next one is a little embarrassing. I saw this group of three just hanging out, not feeding actively:

the Three Amigos

and I said "OK, those are more Dowitchers". There were Dowitchers all over the place that day. I actually knew them the first time I saw them (on my previous trip) because of their feeding style--"like a sewing machine", just like it says in Peterson. Anyway, I think they were all Short-Billed, because that's what people had been seeing at the East Pond.

one of these bills is not like the others

It wasn't until I got home and looked at my photos that I realized something was off. One of these birds has a shorter bill, and stands a little taller in the water. I think that's a Stilt Sandpiper. Here's another shot of them:

quite companionable

I really, really should have noticed those differences while I was watching them. Clearly my observational skills aren't what they should be. Anyway, what do you think?

I did definitely see some Stilt Sandpipers later, feeding actively near more Dowitchers. They were easier to tell in action--the long legs and shorter bills bean their butts tilt way up in the air when they bend down to feed; Dowitchers stay more horizontal. (right?) So I noticed that, at least.

I didn't go too far down the shore--I saw that map called the next inward bend "Dead man's Cove". Since the "North Muck" had been so exactly right, I thought it was better not to test it.

Any help will be gratefully received.

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.

Wanderings

I'm going to continue catching up in reporting my early-Spring birding, but first a couple of notes about the state of the Spring migration. It's shaping up to be really strong, at least for variety. Some people have had 20-warbler days in Central Park in late April, which is impressive, and even I have managed double-digits (and 19 warblers before May 1, which is a great total for me). If you have any chance at all to get out, do it--there are a lot of birds to see.

Backtracking a few weeks, I went to various places to spice up the March doldrums. A trip to the NY Botanical Garden wasn't too productive, though it did get e my first Pine Warbler of the year, in addition to the curious Chickadee at the top of this post.

Our friend Barbara took us out to Jamaica Bay NWR for an afternoon, our first time there. There were some nice birds about, like Ospreys and American Oystercatchers, but they were mostly too far away for good photos.

There was a big flock of Boat-Tailed Grackles (part of which was in the tree in the photo above). I hadn't realized they were so well-established in the New York area. I saw one at the NY Botanical Garden a few years ago and it was a startlingly rare sighting.

This female Cowbird was roosting in a tree outside the visitors' center, directly above a nest box, which is bad news for some nesting bird.

On a trip out to Roseland NJ for a business meeting, I took a walk at lunchtime around the industrial park we were in. I heard a lot of birds tooting and peeping nearby. I went around a building and found a culvert and a gathering of Killdeers, feeding and flying about. They were all calling constantly, justifying their Latin name of Charadrius vociferus, which loosely translates as "loudmouthed Plover".

As always, look for birds and you'll find birds.