Jamaica Bay--West Pond 4/23

We drove out to JBWR late this afternoon. Birding near sunset is very similar to birding early in the morning with the advantage that you don't have to roll out of bed early to do it. Very quiet out there at that time of the day, not many people, certainly no families out for a weekend stroll. A good way to end the day.

Lots of new birds for the year around too: Forster's Tern, Brown Thrasher, Dunlin, and 2 Clapper Rails that we heard. One of them sounded like it was right next to us in the reeds, but we knew we'd never find it. The phrase "thin as a rail" derives from their ability to slip through the reeds without disturbing them. 

Nine Glossy Ibises flew overhead--in the air, in flight, they don't look as goofy as they do on the ground (they always remind me of the Muppet Gonzo), instead they graceful float over the water, their decurved bills looking like they have aerodynamic purpose, very similar to the nose of the Concorde that used to land at nearby JFK. 

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond

Number of species:     40

Brant     300

Canada Goose     25

Mute Swan     1

Gadwall     2

American Black Duck     4

Mallard     6

Northern Shoveler     7

Green-winged Teal     2

Bufflehead     1

Red-breasted Merganser     20

Ruddy Duck     100

Double-crested Cormorant     12

Great Egret     8

Snowy Egret     1

Little Blue Heron     2

Glossy Ibis     9

Osprey     1

Clapper Rail     2

Black-bellied Plover     2

Dunlin     50

Laughing Gull     4

Herring Gull     10

Great Black-backed Gull     1

Forster's Tern     1

Rock Pigeon     1

American Crow     10

Tree Swallow     50

Carolina Wren     2

American Robin     5

Northern Mockingbird     1

Brown Thrasher     2

European Starling     2

Eastern Towhee     1

Song Sparrow     1

White-throated Sparrow     3

Northern Cardinal     1

Red-winged Blackbird     10

Common Grackle     3

Boat-tailed Grackle     2

Brown-headed Cowbird     5