Leaving Brooklyn But Not Very Far

We have just about everything here except maybe the Alps. Certainly we have wetlands/marshlands to explore so yesterday a friend and I took a trip to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, taking the Belt Parkway Exit 17/Woodhaven Boulevard. It's a short hop from there south on Cross Bay Boulevard to the Refuge, part of Gateway National Park, the only non-contiguous national park in the U.S. www.nps.gov/gate The West Pond features so many different shorebirds, the East Pond across the street is the "road less travelled", fewer visitors. Right now everything is hovering between Winter and Spring. We passed through a lovely birch forest, hope you like the photos.