Afternoon at Jamaica Bay

I took a trip to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge this last weekend for a change of scenery from the East Village.  It's a great place to visit, and I was happy to see some different wildlife.

Swallows zipped around the mudflats...



...scooping up insects from the shallow water.



Flocks of plovers skittered around the sand...





...along with sandpipers.





I was lucky to catch this osprey as it sailed past...



...before continuing north to join a jumbo jet convoy.

A lone cormorant guards the West Pond...



...while a great egret hunts in the south marsh.

 

I'll never get over how stunningly elegant they are in flight.

 

See more photos on my Flickr page.