I went to Jamaica Bay this morning and there was lots of bird activity but not many people.
I started on the trail from the visitor's center to the breach and I immediately noticed many sparrows which I assumed were Song Sparrow or White-throated Sparrows. There were a few Song Sparrows, but the majority of the ones I identified were Swamp Sparrows. I started to look closely at all the sparrows I was seeing and I soon also saw a Vesper Sparrow, my first in years, a Clay-colored Sparrow, my first this year, and a Nelson's Sparrow, my first ever. On the east pond I saw a White-crowned Sparrow, and my first of the fall White-throated Sparrow. On the West Pond I saw my first of the fall Brants and a pair of of Snow Geese. On the East pond there were many birds on the north end. More cormorants than I have ever seen at one time (200+) and many white birds that were a mix of gulls, swans, and egrets. I saw a total of 43 species for the trip. The full list is on ebird. I was there from about 9:00 am to 11:00 am and surprisingly I only saw two people on the trails. -- Joseph O'Sullivan -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES 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://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
