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April 29, 2006
Jamaica Bay
I'm taking a two-week birding class which involves two outdoor trips, one of which I went on on today. It was at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a place I'd always wanted to go to but never had because it's always been far from where I've lived. But I made the trek there today which was a long two-hour trek involving multiple subways and a 1/2 mile plus walk. I wouldn't make it a habit of going there but I would say it was worth it. The refuge itself wasn't that picturesque but I don't think I've seen so many birds (or birders) in any one place in New York City before. We saw a pair of ospreys, tons of tree swallows which were very cute, a lot of brant and glossy ibises, a yellow-crowned night heron, and several Forster's Terns. And I got to see them with my spankin' new pair of binoculars, an anniversary present from Adam. Yup, it was our second anniversary this past Tuesday. Unfortunately, no exciting trip this time but hopefully we'll be able to do something cool in the fall.
A few photos from today:
An indigo bunting--what's cool about this bird is that its feathers are actually black but it's the diffraction of light through the structure of its feathers that make them appear blue.
An egret in someone's backyard in Broad Channel--I actually thought this was an interesting urban birding photo.
Posted by Jennifer at April 29, 2006 11:38 PM