A drake Eurasian Wigeon was among the first birds I saw as I arrived at the south end of the East Pond this morning. The water is getting high again, allowing ducks to come close. But they all quickly moved away with me there, even before I could get to the edge of the pond. Shorebirds at the south end stayed in sight and included about 45 Greater Yellowlegs, 8 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 5 Long-billed Dowitchers. The dowitchers could conceivably stay for the winter, if they don't get flooded out of one of the too few suitable habitats around here. I mentioned this to a ranger, and he said he would pass along the idea of continuing to manage it beyond the usual seasonal time frame. We'll see.
Also at Jamaica Bay today were a Ferruginous Hawk, Steppe Eagle, and Eagle Owl. For real. Raptorama. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
