July Birds

July is the month when southbound shorebirds and seabirds begin passing through New York, so it is no surprise that the majority of the species I added to my year list last month fall into those families.

As I described in this shore-birding post, a trip out to eastern Long Island's south shore paid off big with 11 new species for the year. With no new birds showing up in Brooklyn, the next best thing to do was to take a couple of trips out to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (most of the refuge falls within the borough of Queens). In addition to the rare white pelicans that dropped in at the refuge, adding a Least Bittern sighting was a nice surprise. Apparently, these tiny wading birds nest within the refuge, but are rarely seen. Thanks to a heads up from my friend Shane, myself and many others were able to spot this secretive bird along the edge of the East Pond. I ended the month with 242 species on my year list.

228) Common Eider (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
229) Greater Shearwater (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
230) Wilson's Storm-Petrel (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
231) Hudsonian Godwit (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
232) Red Knot (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
233) Wilson's Phalarope (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
234) Black Tern (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
235) Roseate Tern (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
236) Purple Martin (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
237) Saltmarsh Sparrow (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)
238) Seaside Sparrow (Cupsogue Beach County Park, 07/16/10)

239) American White Pelican (Grassy Bay, 07/22/10)

240) Least Bittern (Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond, 07/25/10)
241) Pectoral Sandpiper (Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond, 07/25/10)
242) Stilt Sandpiper (Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond, 07/25/10)