Jarrod, welcome to BirdForum!
I am from a rural area just 100 miles north of NYC, and the pond that is less than a quarter-mile away from my house is a good place to find birds. At this pond, I have recorded Green Herons, Great Blue Herons, Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, Mallards, Wood Ducks, Solitary Sandpipers, Northern Flickers, Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Tufted Titmice, White-Breasted Nuthatches, Brown-Headed Cowbirds, and a whole lot more. In my neighborhood, which includes the pond, I have recorded over 50 species of birds. Some of these I have seen just once, others I see somewhat occasionally, maybe two or three times then don't see them again for a while. Some birds, such as Grey Catbird, I see all the time at the pond. The pond is heavily sheltered with good trees, very shaded, and normally it would be extremely difficult to spot a hummingbird flying around in the wooded section. But I found one! Turns out the hummer was drinking the sap from the sapsucker's drill holes!
The best sightings at the pond were of the Green Heron! I was walking across the pond (on a path of course) when I noticed a flash of color in the shadows on the opposite shore. I looked in the direction, and saw the flash again, so I aimed my camera. I snapped a picture, and when I previewed the picture, I realized that it was a Green Heron! I was so overjoyed, since this bird had been on my Most Wanted List since I began birding this past February!