Rye, New York 02/18/17

~A Fish Crow lets me know it is NOT an American Crow “uh-uh, uh-uh”. Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 02/18/17.~

I spent this beautiful Saturday morning out at the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary in Rye, New York. Although I saw only the expected birds, I had an excellent morning with 43 species observed. I guess if you are going to get the usuals, it’s good to be in a place where there are a lot of “usuals”. As expected, I did best with waterfowl, seeing 18 different species. It had been over a year since I’d been to the sanctuary and although I was feeling like I was having a good day, I was wondering how it compared to the previous years. Since 2013, I’ve visited the sanctuary 5 times, always in January or February. My average number of species for those visits is 34, and I’ve never had more than 36. And what makes it even more interesting is that this was the first time I’ve been there and the feeder station was not filled up. In past visits that feeder station would really be hopping and I’d get several species right there. Today, all the feeders were empty and I didn’t get a single bird. One bird that I was really hoping for was Purple Sandpiper since it’s a good spot for them, but today I came up empty. I did add seven birds to my New York State year list, which was nice. I’ve included my list of species at the bottom of this post. Good birding!

~One of my favorites, too bad it is backlit. One of many Long-tailed Ducks at Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 02/18/17.~

 

~A male Hooded Merganser in the pond at the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 02/18/17.~
~Bufflehead butt with pink feet, Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 02/18/17.~
~Red-bellied Woodpecker, a bird that I see and hear constantly but don’t get many photos of. Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 02/18/17.~
~American Black Ducks do a fly by at the Rye Town Park, 02/18/17.~

Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Great Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

8 thoughts on “Rye, New York 02/18/17”

  1. Its always great to bird Rye! I haven’t had a chance to get down yet this winter, but you may just have jolted me into action. Thanks for sharing your trip! John

    1. You were the one to turn me on to Rye, John, so thanks! I’ve always enjoyed it – just over an hour from Goshen and at the beach! Hope you head there soon. Matt

  2. Love all your photos, but the Fish Crow is definitely my favorite! Glad to hear you had such a productive day of birding.

    1. Thanks Kathy, it was my favorite too of what I considered a good birding day without many photo ops. Matt

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