MikeDF on Nostr: I had the pleasure of visiting Jones Beach State Park on Wednesday. Jones Beach is a ...

I had the pleasure of visiting Jones Beach State Park on Wednesday. Jones Beach is a barrier island off of the south shore of Long Island. Mostly known as a summer beach-goers hotspot, the western end of the island -- consisting of about 3.5 sq kms of sand beach, salt-marsh and dunes -- is well-known to birders and other naturalists, year round. I checked out an area of salt-ponds in the dunes, where I found a variety of shorebirds, songbirds and a few species of duck. Then I caught a super-ebb tide on the channel side, where I found the ubiquitous Canada Geese (but none of the usual Mergansers) and various other seabirds and shorebirds. At the small marina on that side, I've encountered a couple of semi-tame, year-round resident Black Scoters and Common Loons on previous visits. This time, the Scoters were absent, but the Loons were definitely kicking back in the sun...

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