On Thursday I got up early and experienced the joys of New York City morning traffic on my way to one of the country’s best birding sites (Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge) in one of the unlikeliest locations: right next to John F. Kennedy International Airport. I found 56 species. Many of the birds were ones that I don’t normally see, but they were mostly ones that I did see in the last couple of days. In other words, many additions to my New York state list, but not many to my world list. I did add one to my world life list, though: Brant. I suppose you have to be infected pretty seriously with the birdwatching bug to be excited about this one. I suspect people would just think that they were seeing yet more Canada Geese if they saw Brant. But Brant are a bit smaller, darker, and have a white necklace lower down on the neck instead of the bold cheek patches that Canada Geese have. It is also a bit odd that I should have to go to NYC to see them, since they do show up in Ithaca during migration each year. But I somehow managed always to miss them.
I also saw a turtle laying eggs. Unfortunately, there was a raccoon walking around a few hundred feet away and raccoons love turtle eggs. The remains of lots of turtle eggs already littered the path. Here’s hoping this turtle’s eggs somehow escape that fate.
Sydney
Alan Schmierer