Birding Floyd Bennett Airfield and Jamaica Bay

What a gorgeous day it was yesterday! Yes, maybe a little chilly but blue skies and sunshine. So I headed over to the first (now defunct) airfield in NYC - Floyd Bennett Airfield (FBA). I had been reading one of my favorite blogs http://birdingdude.blogspot.com/ last week and Andrew talked about the horned lark that hang out on the cricket field in the winter. I got there about 9:45 and was joined by two other birders who got there just ahead of me. As we talked and I listened to them talk I soon realized that this might be birding dude himself. Sure enough it was and his friend Pat who he often birds with and is herself very knowledgeable about birds. He remembered me from an email I sent him a few months ago and we laughed and introduced ourselves formally. They went off in search of the King Eider I saw at the other end of the airfield and I hung out with the larks for a few more minutes.

The larks were small and too far away to get an adequate picture but this is them after they were flushed by a dog and his friends.
Some bare trees against the blue sky on FBA
An American Wigeon (I believe) at FBA
Next I headed for Jamaica Bay. A couple of Brant as they fly above.

I also saw snow geese. They sure are beautiful when they fly.

Then there was this little guy. I believe he was a sparrow but I just can't ID it. If anyone has a better sense then I do please leave a comment. I searched my bird books but just wasn't sure. It may be an immature and that is why it is so hard to identify.

Lastly there was this little guy. He was moving among the brush so it was hard to try to get a picture. This was a lucky shot. This is a white-throated sparrow. He kept kicking and scratching through the leaves and if you look closely it looks as if he did find something to eat.

If you're ever in NYC both Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (Queens) and FBA (Brooklyn) offer excellent places to bird or just take a walk on a gorgeous day.