Several people have recently contacted me about the water level situation on the East Pond, so I thought a visit and update was in order.
On this 4th of July, I visited the East Pond this morning to take a water level read and to get a sense of where the pond level is at. As I suspected, the recent rainfall has not helped compounded with drainage which is slow, the water level remains IMO, too high for this date. Reports out of Canada already show shorebirds staging on the prairies and Isaac Grant who is in Virginia reported to me today that surveyors out there have all ready seen multiple Wilson's Phalaropes and Stilt Sandpipers among the several shorebirds reported out there. With a West Pond basically out of commission, it is critical that the East Pond, is ready for migrating shorebirds who need a place to refuel and rest. At the *current* drainage I don't see this pond getting anywhere near the levels we need to be within the next few weeks as we have ZERO flat exposure on the South End which where we start seeing mudflats first. I suggest to start calling these numbers to let NPS officials know how concerned you are about the East Pond water level. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge: (718) 318-4340 (pretty much they will take your information but I can't guarantee anything will come of it. it) Alternatively, you could contact Dave Taft: 718-338-3625 or Jennifer Nersesian: 718-354-4665 Maybe one year we will get it right and this won't be necessary. For me, it is very frustrating!! A Happy and Safe 4th of July to all, On Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 5:25 PM, Andrew Baksh <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear all, > > As we are nearing mid June, some of us are already thinking about the > upcoming shorebird season. I have been working with NPS over the last few > years in monitoring the East Pond water levels and I wanted to report that > drainage on the pond has begun for 2015. Additionally, I have begun > clearing the trails to the pond. > > The lowering of the pond takes some time so please don't go to the pond > next week and post that the water level is high. I will continue to monitor > the levels and report again on the status of the pond once ample shoreline > is available. > > Cheers, > > > -- > 風 Swift as the wind > 林 Quiet as the forest > 火 Conquer like the fire > 山 Steady as the mountain > Sun Tzu <http://refspace.com/quotes/Sun_Tzu> *The Art of War* > <http://refspace.com/quotes/The_Art_of_War> > > (\__/) > (= '.'=) > > (") _ (") > > > Andrew Baksh > www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > -- 風 Swift as the wind 林 Quiet as the forest 火 Conquer like the fire 山 Steady as the mountain Sun Tzu <http://refspace.com/quotes/Sun_Tzu> *The Art of War* <http://refspace.com/quotes/The_Art_of_War> (\__/) (= '.'=) (") _ (") Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
