Monday, Monday 4-15-13

I had a really nice afternoon of birding after work on Monday. The weather was nice, cool and sunny. My first stop was at Glenmere Lake to see if anything interesting had come in. There was still a pretty good collection of waterfowl present, including Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, many Bufflehead, and the highlight was definitely a a single TUNDRA SWAN floating with a group of Mute Swans.

Here is an shot of the Tundra Swan on its own, though it spent most of the time with a group of Mute Swans. Glenmere Lake 4/15/13.

Afterwards, I headed over to my favorite spot, Wallkill River NWR, to walk the Liberty Loop. There was plenty of activity there; I spent most of my time looking at waterfowl and shorebirds. I struggled with the shorebirds as usual, but it was a lot of fun getting my first good dose of shorebirds for the year. I ended up with 28 species, and it was really nice to just walk the loop and enjoy being outside.

A couple of Blue-winged Teals come in for a landing. Wallkill River NWR 4-15-13.

Mute Swan X
Wood Duck 2
Mallard 4
Blue-winged Teal 8
Northern Shoveler 10
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal X
Bufflehead 1
Great Blue Heron 7
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 5
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Pectoral Sandpiper 8
Wilson’s Snipe 22
Mourning Dove 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Crow X
Black-capped Chickadee 1
American Robin X
Song Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X

This is one of the better shots I've gotten of a Green-winged Teal. There is much less water out at the reserve right now so I think the birds were more likely to stay put as I approached. — This is one of the better shots I’ve gotten of a Green-winged Teal. There is much less water out at the reserve right now so I think the birds were more likely to stay put as I approached.

Greater Yellowlegs at Wallkill River NWR, 4-15-13.