At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge today, around 12:30, a Common Raven flew north over Big John's Pond pursued by a crow or two, then followed by another raven and a crow or two. I raced out to a more open area near Cross Bay Blvd., where I briefly relocated the ravens soaring over the west side of the refuge. This could be a new species for the Jamaica Bay list. On a personal note, that's now 5 of my regular birding spots on western Long Island to which I've added raven to my site list (if I kept such a thing).
A few minutes later, looking back toward the east side, a Red-shouldered Hawk (adult, no less) appeared in the vicinity of Big John's. I would categorize this as a rare bird at the refuge (although a few migrants annually appear at the nearby outer beach at Fort Tilden). Also on the east side was a female Redhead (with no other Aythya ducks), visible from the East Pond blind. I had started the day at Plum Beach, where there were a good number of marsh sparrows. On two occasions, I had 4 in one binocular field of view. With scanning, up to 10 could be accounted for at one time -- certainly the most marsh sparrows I've seen at once in a long time. However, they were far out (and partially obscured, as marsh sparrows will be), so a breakdown by species and race was not possible. Certainly, Nelson's Sparrows were in the mix (as mentioned by Rob Jett yesterday). At Floyd Bennet Field, I did see that there are now 3 Cattle Egrets. Passerines were very numerous in the community garden. This spot frequently gets mention as a good spot. What doesn't get mention are the adjacent areas to the south and west. These are often quite birdy too, as they were today. However, I did not come across any species of note. Even White-crowned Sparrows were so numerous, that they don't warrant a mention (oh, but I did). On another personal note, my visit to Floyd ended with a killer photograph of an Osprey flying up to a tree with a Menhaden in its talons. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
