It’s been a long time since I went to Jones Beach on a Linnaean Society of NY field trip. I enjoyed the trip. It was nice seeing old friends. I was unable to photograph the snowy owl because of a couple of unethical photographers who went closer than 100 feet and spooked the owl. We went in search of the vagrant Spotted Towhee at Baldwin Park but we didn’t find it. Because I was with a group of birders rather than photographers I didn’t get many photos.
The Common Eiders were diving for mussels at the Coast Guard Station. Monk Parakeets are colonizing New York. They are originally form Argentina.
Common Edier (Somateria mollissima), Jones Beach 1/2/2021 
Common Edier (Somateria mollissima), Jones Beach 1/2/2021 
Sanderling (Caladris alba), Jones Beach 1/2/2021 
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), Jones Beach 1/2/2021 
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), Baldwin Park, LI 1/2/2021
I know not to use recoded owl calls. I have seen people do that in a park by me. I am sure the owl knows they are not real or it annoys them.
ABA suggests not using recorded bird calls in public parks. I do not like hearing bird tapes in public
parks as it is distracting and misleading. Also it disturbs the birds from feeding. Wildlife is under enough pressure and no one should add to it.
I just realised it’s been over 30 years since my last trip to Jones Beach. I get angry at the inconsiderate “misbehaving photographers”.
It only takes one out of hundreds to spoil it for us all. Even leaders can be unethical. Birding Bob who leads tours in Central Park for profit. He shines spotlights on owls, uses loud taped bird calls, and gathers groups of up to 30 – this is during the pandemic. The attendees are not socially distanced or all masked. He is introducing new birders to birds but not in the right way.
Sigh.
Sorry you had that experience! I think most of the time it is pros who ruin it for everyone else. If they were true animal lovers they would respect the snowy owl’s space- a protected bird.
The ones who disrespect the owl and people are selfish. One person said to me at a preserve when I pointed at the sign that says stay on the path to protect the environment and wildlife he said that he is wildlife too. Meaning he can do whatever he likes.
Yikes! He could very well step on the wildlife he wants a photo of.
This person is typical of many who are newcomers to being outdoors and have no love of nature. They use nature sanctuaries as playgrounds.Covid-19 has created a huge influx of people into our parks and wilderness areas and many of them have no respect or interests in wildlife. This is not my first experience with this sort of behavior lately.
I follow rules where I go. Rules are posted. Not seeing the influx at wildlife refugees. I know parks and beaches are seeing more than usual.
I belong to a private preserve in NJ and the ranger there told me, and I noticed, lots of peole off the trails and leaving trash. These are all new members joined during the pandemic. Also more recreational visitor are visible in NWRs. It is hard to educate these new visitors.
I have not seen an uptick here in NWR. The beach has and I got the feeling from the situation that some regular photographers like the two I mentioned are not happy that more are showing up. They want to keep this huge beach to themselves. Their goal may have been to pick off and drive away others who show up. The people I see walking in the middle not on the trails of the NWR have pro equipment. They should no better. It’s more about the shot with them.
Bad 🙁
I loved seeing your winter birds, Sherry, and every photo is a delight. The monk parakeet photo is very cute. And what a treat to see eiders and their action with the mussels.
Glad you enjoyed these pics. 🙂
We have colonies of the monk parakeets, too. They will build in palm trees, but are especially fond of the tallest power transmission towers.
They love towers like that and other tall structures to make their messy nests on. This nest in on a tall light pole structure by a ball field.