Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Howard Beach, NY
Text and photography by Attila Kirják
 Stilt Sandpiper |
 Lesser Yellowlegs |
 House Finch |
 Short Billed Dowitcher |
Introduction
Located on southwestern tip of Long Island, as part of Gateway National Recreation Area, Jamaica Bay WR lies within the close outskirts of New York City. Expanding over more than 9,000 acres, including salt marsh, upland field and woods, fresh and brackish water ponds, its location combined with rich food resources, Jamaica Bay is a diverse fish, wildlife and plant habitat complex.
Jamaica Bay is a birdwatchers heaven, a stopover on the Atlantic Flyway that provides resting and feeding place for thousands migrating water, land and shorebirds.
Directions
If you are using a car, take Cross Bay Boulevard over North Channel Bridge going south in Queens. The refuge entrance is about 1.5 miles on the right after crossing the bridge. You could also take New York City subway service to the Broad Channel station and just walk from there.
Photography
Although Jamaica Bay is quite large, the close proximity of the Jamaica Bay Visitor Center offers good bird watching and photography all year round. You can catch the songbird migration in the spring, wading birds, and shorebird migration in the summer, waterfowl in the fall and winter. The area also offers good photography for common backyard birds for all those New Yorkers like me, who have no backyards. Just walk around the gravel road around West Pond, or cross over to East Pond, you won't be disappointed.
Most importantly, Jamaica Bay is famous for the shorebird migration. Starting in late July all the way through late September a great number of shorebirds stop for a rest and to feed in the area, the last two weeks of August being the peak time for juveniles. Juvenile birds are usually very tame, not yet wary of humans, will often allow close approach for those frame filling shots.
The most accessible area for shorebird photography is East Pond. There is no paved road or boardwalk; depending on water level you will be walking (and crawling) in deep mud and water to get close to the birds.
The park management lowers the water level on East Pond for the shorebird migration period. When it is high tide in the bay, the birds are pushed over to East Pond to feed on the exposed mud flats. This also means ideal time for photography. Morning or afternoon high tide will give you best of both worlds, good light angle and plenty of tame birds to choose from.
To get to East Pond, park at the Visitor Center, and with your camera gear on your back walk across Cross Bay Boulevard, turn right and walk about 0.1 mile. The first path on the left will take you to the southern tip of East Pond. In the afternoon a popular place to be is the North side of East Pond. To get there, drive 1.2 miles north from the Visitor Center, and park right before the North Channel Bridge. Walk back south along Cross Bay Boulevard, until you will find the first dirt road on the left. Follow this road to the second trail on the right, that'll lead you to northwest corner of East Pond. Free maps are available at the visitor center; make sure you ask the ranger for one. There is also a bird log next to the visitor center; it will give you current information of the bird sightings in the area.
Other activities
If you are not after photography and you just want to get a break from city life, nature's music can be quite spectacular at Jamaica Bay. Walk around West Pond on a warm summer afternoon, and all the different bird choirs will overwhelm you.
Jamaica Bay WR is a great place to observe wildlife. There are various trails, with benches and bird watching blinds. The Visitor Center provides guides, brochures, maps and it has a display room. There are many birding workshops, nature walks and other activities offered year round. Admission is free, although you need to ask for a permit to walk in the area.
Make sure you wear mosquito repellent it's a marshland after all, and mosquitoes are plentiful.
Shrinking Marshes
There are a few diverse scientific theories, but the simple reality is that the salt marsh islands at Jamaica Bay have been vanishing quite rapidly, about 40 acres per year. If no action is taken the marshes could disappear by 2025, wildlife habitat would be destroyed and the bay's shorelines would be threatened. Salt marsh is a crucial part of the ecosystem, richly productive, offers nurseries for fish, counterbalances global warming and pollution. The marsh loss could be caused by many different factors, raising sea levels, contaminants from landfills, pollution, plant mortality and erosion.
If Jamaica Bay's marshes disappear, the whole bird migration pattern will be disrupted. So go there, photograph the area, the wildlife and the birds, try to raise awareness with your pictures. It would be a great loss to all of humanity to see this great place to go.
External References
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/hartig_01 http://www.npca.org/magazine/2003/may_june/news6.asp
East Pond Map: http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/eastpondmap.htm
West Pond Map: http://www.brooklynbirdclub.org/westpondmap.htm
All the photographs on this page were taken at Jamaica Bay NWR
 American Avocet |
 Pectoral Sandpiper |
 Wilson's Phalarope |
 Least Sandpiper |
 Dunlin |
 Semipalmated Plover |