Great Day in Orange County, 03/30/18

~This is a beautiful goose – Blue Morph Snow Goose in flight in the Black Dirt Region, 03/30/18.~ 

There was an awful lot of birding action in Orange County today. I was at work, but my phone was blowing up with reports: Kathy Ashman had 8 HORNED GREBES, a Red-breasted Merganser, and a Pine Warbler at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. Bill Fiero had a Wilson’s Snipe and 3 Eastern Phoebes at Stewart Forest, and then Kathy had 7 more Horned Grebes, 3 Greater Scaup, and an 80 Snow Geese fly-over at Glenmere Lake. Ken McDermott had Ruddy Ducks, 7 LONG-TAILED DUCKS, and 2 Horned Grebes at Orange Lake. In the black dirt, Maria Loukeris reported 4 Eastern Meadowlarks and 200+ Snow Geese. Rob Stone had 6 Long-tailed Ducks at Wickham Lake. Phew! That’s a lot of good birds!

~Snow Geese taking off in the black dirt, 03/30/18.~ 

Luckily, I got out of work a little bit early, so I was able to run for some birds. And, maybe even luckier still, ALL the birds I ran for stuck for me! I went to Wickham Lake first and got the 6 Long-tailed Ducks as well as a Red-breasted Merganser and a Ruddy Duck. At Glenmere Lake I relocated the Horned Grebes, the Greater Scaup, and also had a single Ruddy Duck there. At the pond near Glenmere, I made a quick stop and had my first Northern Shoveler of the year in Orange County. From there I went to the black dirt and did well with Snow Geese (200++) and also managed to relocate 2 of the Eastern Meadowlarks. And finally, my last stop was at 6 1/2 Station Road where the Horned Grebes were kind enough to stick around and were close enough for some documentary photos. Not a bad haul for a work day! Excellent birding, thanks so much to everyone that reported!

~Five of the 8 Horned Grebes at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03/30/18.~
~Snow Geese in the black dirt earlier this week, 03/27/18.~ 
~Also earlier this week – Wood Duck in the black dirt, 03/27/18.~ 
~Red-shouldered Hawk at Glenmere Lake, 03/27/18.~ 
~One last shot of the Snow Geese in the dying light. Black Dirt Region, 03/30/18.~ 

5 thoughts on “Great Day in Orange County, 03/30/18”

    1. Sneed – It’s still going on here – we had another couple of days of good movement here in OC. It’s an exciting time of the year! Matt

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