Saturday, March 22, 2014

First Spring Excursion

     It was a fine day for a walk, temperature in the 50's, the sun shining, and a blanket of snow on the ground at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. I walked the trail to get around to the far side of the west pond and I heard so much honking. I figured so many Canada Geese were waiting for me on the bay, but to my surprise a huge flock of snow geese were covering the marsh. Snow geese are a first for me, so I was very happy getting to see them. Also sighted were killdeer and osprey (both back for the season), bufflehead duck, brant, house finch, and red wing blackbirds.

Snow geese! The only kind of snow I want to see at this point.
Snow Geese in New York City!
Mourning dove
In being so close to JFK International Airport, migratory birds and planes do not mix. According to a recent article I read, many species of bird are killed off each year in hopes of preventing air strikes. Could this be done without all the killing? It's a tough question to answer, but the number presented in this article really shocked me. 
The geese were super restless and by time I was leaving there was a lot of flying and photo ops.




House finches on the feeder outside the center.
A male house finch all handsome for the ladies.


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