Sunday Shots, 01/28/24

I enjoyed a pretty full weekend of birding. Saturday was definitely the more productive of the two days:

  • First thing, I went to Greenwood Lake and saw the Redheads which have been reported there recently. Redhead used to be a very good bird for Orange County – there was no guarantee that you would get one. In recent years, however, for some reason it’s been a little bit easier to observe in the county.
  • Later in the morning, I went to Winding Waters trail, where the Northern Shrike continues. The bird was distant, so I did not get any photos, but the bird was calling in the distance, which was really cool.
  • Also at Winding Waters – I observed my first Rough-legged Hawk of the season. This is far and away the latest I’ve ever gotten my first of season for this species.
  • I enjoyed my first multiple-owl day in a LONG time. I was in the black dirt in the morning when some American Crows kicked up and then mobbed a Short-eared Owl, my first of 2024. Then, around 10:30 on Saturday night, our cat Fern let me know there was a Great Horned Owl calling in the yard – she was growling, and growling, and growling, until I finally turned down the volume of my movie and heard a GHOW calling right outside. I went on the back porch and saw the bird fly out of the evergreens, across the street, where it perched for a short time in a deciduous tree.
~Redheads at Greenwood Lake, 01/27/24.~

Sunday was less productive and less fun. The weather was terrible; just cold and rainy for the whole day long. Often bad weather = good birds, but that was not the case for me on this day. I had very few birds in the black dirt (I was trying to relocate the Greater White-fronted Goose that Kyle Knapp found earlier in the week). Then I went to the Newburgh Waterfront and had only the expected (3) species of gull. I tried for the Glacucous-winged Gull both afternoons, with no luck., which wasn’t all that surprising since the bird had been relocated on Friday in Ulster County.

~It’s always good to see a Shorty. Short-eared Owl in the black dirt 01/27/24.~
~One of many Red-tailed Hawks observed in the black dirt over the weekend.~
~Herring Gull up close and personal. Newburgh Waterfront, 01/27/24.~
~Cooper’s hawk in the black dirt, 01/27/24.~

Orange County Bird #270, 08/25/22

As I was winding down at work today, Bruce Nott contacted me to let me know he had a RUDDY TURNSTONE at the Moodna Creek sandbar in Newburgh Bay on the Hudson River. I have long wanted to kayak this area, and tonight I took the opportunity to do so. The turnstone hung in there for me, and the lighting was nice, so it made for yet another fabulous shore birding experience this season. The RUTU was my 270th species in Orange County. As a bonus (as if I needed one), there were (7) Caspian Terns also present on the sandbar, making a racket and being generally beautiful and entertaining. Huge thanks to Bruce for a great evening!

~Another excellent shorebird for our area – Ruddy Turnstone at the Moodna Creek sandbar, 08/25/22.~
~Caspian Terns at Moodna Creek sandbar, 08/25/22. I absolutely love the markings on the young CATE’s wings.

Immature Gulls, GBBG vs HERG

I’ve become more and more obsessed with gulls, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with my ‘Gulls Simplified’ book by Pete Dunne and Kevin T. Karlson, and on the Facebook page North American Gulls. It’s put me in the mind of just trying to get out and enjoy the gulls while I still can. Our “season” for good gulling is quickly coming to a close. So, I headed out to the Newburgh Waterfront this evening to see what was going on. Gull numbers are certainly down a bit, but there were still plenty of birds to enjoy.

~Immature Great Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 03/20/21.~

Unfortunately, most of the gulls were WAY out, and the heat shimmer was making it too difficult to sort through them. So instead, I focused on the nearby birds; they were mostly Ring-billed Gulls, but there was also a handful of immature Herring Gulls (HERG) and what I believe was a single immature Great Black-backed Gull (GBBG). I hope I am correct, otherwise this post will be a total embarrassing bust, lol. The bird (above) shows what Dunne and Karlson refer to as ‘piano keyed appearance’, it was slightly larger than nearby HERGs, and had a noticeable overall whiteness to it, compared to the more drab brown look of the HERG (below).

~Immature Herring Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 03/20/21.~

Both are good looking birds, but I have to say I’m partial to the GBBG, it’s a handsome beast. As the sun started to set and it cooled a bit, I was able to go through some of the distant gulls – nearly all Herring Gulls, with one adult Great Black-backed Gull and an Immature ICELAND GULL. Good gulling!

~GBBH in the foreground and HERG in the back. Newburgh 03/20/21.~
~GBBG in flight, Newburgh Waterfront 03/20/21.~
~HERG in flight, Newburgh 03/20/21.~
~One last pretty shot of the immature Great Black-backed Gull, Newburgh Waterfront 03/20/21.~

Excellent Saturday, 01/30/21

I had a fabulous day of birding today. I started out nice and early. I was in a great mood because once again it was a nice, sunny, cold, and crisp morning – perfect for winter birding. I hit the black dirt first; my first highlight wasn’t a bird, but a good looking Coyote. It’s been ages since I’ve seen one, so it really got me pretty damn excited. Not long after that, I had a nice sized flock of SNOW BUNTINGS. Again, it’s been a while since I’ve seen an actual flock of SNBUs, so it was great to see 35 or so of them together.

~Coyote in the black dirt, 01/30/21.~

A little later, on Skinners Lane, I had a couple of interesting sparrows flush as I was driving along. They landed back on the road ahead of me, this time I got my bins on them – it was a pair of VESPER SPARROWS! The rest of my time in the black dirt was mostly uneventful. I ran across many birders presumably looking for the Ferruginous Hawk (it was relocated today, btw), so that was my cue to head home for lunch and avoid all the nonsense. On my way home I saw a light morph Rough-legged Hawk off of Maple Avenue, and then right around the corner from my house I got a great look at a young Cooper’s Hawk stalking a neighbor’s feeder.

~SNOW BUNTINGS! In the black dirt, 01/30/21. Check out the plumage of the second highest bird – very pale all over – I’m wondering if it is leucistic? ~

In the afternoon, I headed to the Hudson River and met up with birding bud Bruce Nott. We had two excellent birds, both immature – ICELAND and GLAUCOUS GULLS. I put the word out and eventually Rick Hansen joined us and we got him on both birds. As I was leaving, more birders were arriving, and Bruce later reported to me that they located an incredible 3 Glaucous Gulls! I was sorry to have missed that, but still, what a day!

~Neigborhood Watch. Cooper’s Hawk in Goshen Village, 01/30/21.~
~Snow Bunting in the black dirt, 01/30/21.~
~VESPER SPARROWS in the black dirt this morning, 01/30/21.~

Newburgh Waterfront, 04/26/20

I got a little bit of a late start this morning, but looking at the tide table, I would be arriving in Newburgh right at low tide. Plum Point was my first stop, mostly to check for gulls in Cornwall Bay. I only had a handful of Ring-billed Gulls, but I eventually located a RED-THROATED LOON. The bird appeared to be much closer to Donahue Memorial Park on the other side of the bay, so I headed over for a better look. Of course, when I arrived it took me ages to relocate the bird and it was way out from there as well. I’ve fallen for that trick way too many times.

~Black-crowned Night-heron at Quassaick Creek, 04/26/20.~

Birding bud Bruce Nott had arrived at Plum Plum point shortly after I left. We communicated and after some searching he got on the loon. Afterwards, I met up with Bruce and I followed him to Quassaick Creek, where he had seen several Black-crowned Night-herons in recent days. When we arrive, there were 2 present and I was able to get a decent (if partially obstructed) shot of one of the birds.

~This adult Bald Eagle flew down very low and directly overhead! Newburgh Waterfront, 04/26/20.~

From there, we headed to the Newburgh Waterfront. There was a decent number of gulls present; the most interesting being two young Great Black-backed Gulls. We lingered, hoping something good would fly in, and we weren’t disappointed. I spotted a tern flying north over the river and got Bruce on it right away. We tracked the bird in our scopes as it crossed the river to the Beacon area, where it seemed like it might want to stay for a bit, but then it started to circle up, higher and higher until I was looking through my scope almost directly above us and I lost the bird. Our impression is that the bird was a FORSTER’S TERN; it was a lighter bird with no darkness at the upper wingtips. Photos seem to support this, but I’m just not comfortable enough with tern identification to be sure. Still, it was the most exciting ten minutes of the day!

~Tern species flying over the Hudson River, 04/26/20. I’ve included one more shot of this bird at the bottom of this post, if anyone has any thoughts on its ID, please comment.~

After the tern excitement, Bruce located a BONAPARTE’S GULL in beautiful plumage. Viewing this bird was also short-lived as an adult Bald Eagle flew in low and all the gulls scattered. I headed home after that; I checked on my Common Raven’s nest on the way home and they appear to have two young birds in the nest. It was a pleasant morning and early afternoon of birding, in spite of the cold temperatures and the intermittent rain.

~Bonaparte’ Gull at Newburgh Waterfront, 04/26/20.~
~Common Grackle at Newburgh Waterfront. This shot was taken earlier this week with much better light and weather. ~
~I guess this American Robin is making the most of each trip for nesting materials. Creamery Pond in Sugar Loaf, 04/25/20.~
~One more shot of the Tern sp. in Newburgh, 04/26/20.~