Urban Environmentalist NYC - Eco Lens

Dan Trudeau, Coordinator of service learning at the Center for the Urban Environment, takes a close look at local bird migration patterns.

For most New Yorkers, Jamaica Bay is the broad body of water that they pass over after taking off from Kennedy Airport. But it’s a different type of air traffic that draws nature enthusiasts to the bay each fall.

Jamaica Bay is one of the largest wildlife refuges in the northeast, and it’s also a key destination for migrating birds coming out of the north in October and November. More than 325 species of birds have been identified in the refuge in the last 25 years. In addition to songbirds and raptors, the bay is the final destination for thousands of waterfowl that winter in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge each year. Comprised of the common and the exotic, this airborne raft of winter visitors attracts thousands of binocular-clad bird enthusiasts each year to one of New York City’s prime bird watching spots.

Among the avian attractions:

The Greater Scaup is a blue-billed salt-water duck that makes its winter home in Jamaica Bay’s saltwater marshes. The male of the species features a striking black-and-white pattern, while the dull brown females are known for making nests from feathers plucked from their own breasts. Scientists are unsure of the numbers of existing Greater Scaups, but there is fear the population may be declining.

The Bufflehead is a small, diving duck that holes up in abodes carved out by woodpeckers and flickers. The species was in decline for the better part of the 20th century, but the numbers have been looking up in recent years. Unlike most ducks, buffleheads tend to stick with one breeding partner for several years at a time.

The Ruddy Duck swims with its tail flicked up in air behind. White cheek patches help distinguish the species from other ducks, and breeding males take on an eye-catching red hue during mating season.

The National Parks Service’s Jamaica Bay Unit is welcoming back the bay’s seasonal residents with a series of weekend events throughout November. For more information, call (718) 338 – 3338 or visit www.nps.gov/gate/.

SOURCES:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide
http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/jamaica.htm
http://www.nps.gov/gate/upload/JBU%20Fall%202008.pdf

[This post originally appeared in local blog, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn]