More Uppy Images, 08/08/23

I received word while I was working today that the 4 UPLAND SANDPIPERS continued in the black dirt. I was going to check for them regardless, but knowing they were still around got me excited. When I first arrived, the birds were being viewed by several other birds. The birds were distant, but I enjoyed watching them in my scope. As the evening progressed, all the workers and all the other birders save one had left, the birds made their way closer to the road. They never got close enough for good pics, but still it was great to see them and fun to try for photos.

~UPSA in the black dirt, 08/08/23.~
~Upland Sandpiper in the Black Dirt Region, 08/08/23.~
~Uppy in the black dirt, 08/08/23.~

WOW! Four Upland Sandpipers in the Black Dirt, 08/07/23

After work this evening I headed out to the black dirt with UPLAND SANDPIPERS on my mind… and I hit the jackpot! I was searching through the black dirt and I located a good number of Killdeer in a couple of fields side by side. I scanned quickly with my binoculars and immediately got on an interesting looking bird. I got it it in the scope, and sure enough it was an Uppie! With another one right nearby! Oh wait, is that a third? And a fourth? Wow!

~My initial documentary shot of two of the four Upland Sandpipers in the black dirt on 08/07/23.~

I put out the word and Linda Scrima and Kyle Knapp joined me in no time flat. It was a good thing too, because the Uppies were on the move. I did my best to track the birds while Linda and Kyle documented – I never would have been able to keep track and document by myself. Jeanne Cimorelli showed up as we were leaving, and she later let me know that she had relocated 2 of them. What an exciting evening of birding!

~Linda Scrima was able to capture this great flight shot – Upland Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/07/23.~
~Upland Sandpipers in flight overhead, photo by Kyle Knapp. Black Dirt Region 08/07/23.~
~One more shot by Linda Scrima. Uppy in the black dirt, 08/07/23.~

YES! UPLAND SANDPIPER!

I’m pretty jazzed as I write this. After work this evening I headed out to the black dirt with shorebirds on my mind. The evening was mostly a bust, with only Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers being observed. I was just about wrapping up, and I was looking in an area that has been good for Horned Larks, not really shorebirds, when I saw a bird naked eye that I knew had to be an Upland Sandpiper. I got my bins on it, and sure enough, it was! I was thrilled! What a bird! Regular readers of the blog know that I’m shorebird obsessed and I’m particularly partial to Uppies.

UPLAND SANDPIPER in the black dirt this evening, 07/21/23.~
~Uppy in the BDR, 07/21/23.~

Sunday Shots – Life Bird Edition, 06/04/23

This morning I headed out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area to try for the PROTHONATORY WARBLER which had been present for 6 days. Well, make it 7 days, as the bird was still present and with some patience I got some fabulous looks and some decent photos. Huge thanks to John Haas, who got me on the bird initially, and Scotty Baldinger, who got me on it for my photos. It was great to see them, as well as some of my other favorite birders, Mary B, PJ Singh, Jeff and Liz Zahn, and Karen Miller. The PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was a life bird for me (#443), and of course, a Sullivan County bird (#208).

~PROTHONOTARY WARBLER at the Bashakill, 06/04/23.~
~One more look at the PRWA, Bashakill WMA, 06/04/23.~

FINALLY! Lapland Longspur in Breeding Plumage, 04/23/23

When I first started birding, I remember looking in my bird guide book at Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings in breeding plumage. I didn’t realize at the time that it’s extremely unlikely to see either of those birds in breeding plumage unless you travel to their breeding grounds. But then, a few years back, Rob Stone put it in my head that it was possible to get Lapland Longspurs in the early spring in beautiful plumage. I can remember this beautiful bird that I found in early April of 2018 – it was nearly there. But it wasn’t until today that I was finally able to see and capture a LALO in breeding plumage. I was so excited!

~What a bird! Lapland Longspur in the black dirt, 04/23/23.~

I hit the black dirt this morning, hoping mostly for shorebirds, but also hoping for American Pipits, since I’d seen that they were reported on Saturday. Shorebirds were a bust for me, but I did find a flock of approximately 30 pipits; I enjoyed watching and photographing them in the morning rain. Then I located a decent sized flock of Horned Larks in flight. I tracked them with my bins and saw where they put down; I got my scope on them and one of the first birds I saw was a beautiful LALO in breeding plumage. The birds were distant, and I was unable to get photos. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere, so I waited them out and finally got my opportunity. There were at least (3) longspurs in the flock; I have photos of 3 distinct plumages.

~Another favorite, American Pipit sitting on onions in the black dirt, 04/23/23.~
~LALO in the black dirt, 04/23/23.~

On Saturday I took a 6 mile hike at Black Rock Forest. I was just in the mood to take a hike and get my legs moving, but it ended up being surprisingly birdy. I added 10 birds to my OC year list; highlights included Brown Creeper and Red-breasted Nuthatch. Afterwards, I ran for the WILSON’S PHALAROPE that Jeanne Cimorelli reported at the Camel Farm on Friday evening. That’s a really great find and an excellent bird for the county, however I didn’t get too excited about it because between the great distance and the heat shimmer, my looks were pretty terrible.

~Black-crowned Night-Heron at Quassaic Creek in Newburgh, 04/22/23.~
~I love these rainy shots. Red-winged Blackbird in the black dirt o4/23/23.~
~Backyard bee on our crabapple tree, 04/21/23.~
~Another Lapland Longspur in the black dirt, 04/23/23.~

Sunday Shots, 04/02/23

I focused my birding time mostly on waterfowl again this weekend. For the most part it was the same birds we’ve been seeing, but I was able to add (3) new species to my Orange County year list. On Saturday birding bud Bruce Nott let me know he had a Common Loon on Orange Lake (I would find another one at Glenmere Lake on Sunday). Then, I had my first Blue-winged Teal of the year this morning at Beaver Pond in Florida, NY. And finally, I ran to the mouth of the Quassaick Creek where it meets the Hudson River, to catch up with a GREAT CORMORANT located by Bruce earlier in the morning. This was definitely the bird of the weekend (even if my photos weren’t very good). It’s been a number of years since I’ve had that bird in Orange County.

~GREAT CORMORANT on the Hudson River near Newburgh, NY 04/02/23.!
~By contrast, here’s a nice close-up of a Double-crested Cormorant at Round Lake, 04/02/23.~
~Horned Grebe at Orange Lake, 04/01/23.~
~A Red-winged Blackbird singing in the rain at Gardnertown Road, 04/01/23.~
~I have these as Lesser Scaup; Wickham Lake 04/02/23.~
~On Thursday evening, I ran to the Newburgh Waterfront hoping to catch up with the Bonaparte’s Gulls that had been reported the day before. I got lucky and found (6) of them. This photo has (3) species of gull in it – mostly Herring Gulls, the (6) Bonies, and a couple of Ring-billed Gulls. Newburgh Waterfront, 03/30/23.~

Sunday Shots 03/05/23: Looking Back at Some Glory Days

This weekend was a complete bust for me. I’m actually surprised that this doesn’t happen more often. I checked some of the lakes in southern Orange County on Saturday and didn’t get anything to speak of. I was feeling wiped out from the work week, so I called it quits early.

Then, on Sunday Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and I headed up to Williamstown Massachusetts, where we joined Rob Stone to try for the Bohemian Waxwings that have been reported there recently. Suffice to say we didn’t even see a single Cedar Waxwing. It was a pretty grim morning of birding, and after a delicious lunch (which took the edge off a little bit), we headed back to OC.

With all the time spent in the car, we of course got to telling stories and reliving some of the glory days in the past decade or so that we’ve spent birding in the area. I figured since I came up empty this weekend, I would take the opportunity to look back at some old posts and relive some of the good old days – this edition will focus on raptors:

~Valentine’s Day, 2014. I got super lucky with excellent views and some decent photos of a rare (for our area) BARN OWL. This shot is a little bit soft – my settings were not correct at all, and I feel lucky that it came out this good. This bird was absolutely incredible to see in person; it still blows my mind to think about it.~
~On February 7th, 2015, I was able to relocate this gorgeous GYRFALCON in Ulster County, not too far from the Grasslands. The bird was originally located the day before by Karen Maloy Brady; birders combed the area on 02/07/15 in the morning, but the bird was unable to be rolocated. I tried for the bird in the afternoon and got super lucky, finding it perched on an evergreen and then watched as it ate a duck. This photo is three days later on 02/10/15.~
~In early April of 2015, Curt McDermott found a CRESTED CARACARA in Ulster County. I was able to catch up with bird a few times afterwards; on April 12th I spent an excellent evening photographing the bird as it dined on an opossum at a small golf course.~
~Back in 2012, there was a pair of MISSISSIPPI KITES at Sterling Forest. I don’t who originally located them, but I was lucky enough to spend a day watching and photographing these incredible raptors. MIKI at Sterling Forest SP on 05/29/12.~

2022 Year in Review

Honest to goodness, the years go by faster and faster as I get older. Today puts yet another year of birding in the books, and as always, I like to take the opportunity to look back on my year here at Orangebirding.com. I had an enjoyable year where I once again focused on the birds and the types of birding that brought me the most joy. That said, I end the year with a respectable 209 birds in Orange County. And, I put some effort towards getting my Sullivan County life list over 200 birds; I added 12 species, putting my total life birds for the county at 206.

~My 204th bird in Sullivan County: Red-necked Phalarope at Morningside Park 08/15/22.~

For this year’s wrap up post, I thought I would look back month by month at the year’s highlights here on the blog.

JANUARY: The year got off to a sad start when I located a sick Iceland Gull at the Beacon waterfront. I brought it to a veterinary hospital, but ultimately the bird was too far gone and passed away there. Things could only go up from there for the month, and I was able to get some really good birds for the area, including the MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD in Ulster County, CANVASBACKS close to home at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, a LARK SPARROW in Campbell Hall, and the continuing FRANKLINS GULL at the Newburgh Waterfront.

FEBRUARY: Always a favorite, I was able to catch up with the NORTHERN SHRIKE at Wickham Woodlands Park several times. I also was able to get on my first CACKLING GOOSE in a good while. At the end of the month I went to Long Island to visit my dad, and was able to do some good gulling, with Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the north shore.

~Lark Sparrow in Campbell Hall, 01/23/22.~

MARCH: I continued to enjoy wintery birding in OC, particularly in the black dirt and at the Newburgh Waterfront. My best birds of the month included a large flock of Snow Geese in the black dirt, RED CROSSBILLS at Black Rock Forest, and one of my few good finds this year – four TUNDRA SWANS in muddy field on Celery Avenue.

APRIL: After work on the 19th, I enjoyed the excellent waterfowl fallout at Wickham Lake. Birds included a remarkable 13 White-winged Scoters, a couple of Long-tailed Ducks, and 21 Horned Grebes. Other highlights from the month include a single CASPIAN TERN and 19 BONAPARTE’S GULLS, both at Plum Point.

~Bonaparte’s Gulls at Plum Point, 04/23/22.~

MAY: There were two very exciting birding events in May. On the 13th there was the unprecedented number of ARCTIC TERNS found inland – I followed up on Karen Miller’s report and had 7 at Glenmere Lake. Then, towards the end of the month, a NEOTROPIC CORMORANT was found by Bruce Nott and Ken McDermott. I also went on my first 24 hour pelagic, where I picked up 3 life birds (Sooty Shearwater, Band-rumped Storm-petrel, and Leach’s Storm-petrel). Tricia and I spent some time in Cape Cod, and the blog celebrated its 10 year anniversary.

JUNE: Birding started to take on a summery doldrums feel. Exciting birds included a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and a DICKCISSEL in the black dirt. I also saw my first black bear in quite a while, while hiking at Sterling Forest.

~Arctic Tern at Glenmere Lake, 5/13/22.~
~Dickcissel singing in the black dirt, 06/11/22.~

JULY: Summer birding kicked in for sure. I did a good amount of hiking. A photo I took of a beaver at Black Rock Forest made it into their 2023 calendar. Birding highlights included excellent looks at an AMERICAN BITTERN at the Liberty Loop and a very accommodating LITTLE BLUE HERON at Algonquin Park.

AUGUST: August was an excellent month for shorebirds for me. Local exciting birds included: UPLAND SANDPIPER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS), MARBLED GODWIT, and RUDDY TURNSTONE.

~Marbled Godwit at the Liberty Loop, Sussex County side, 08/22/22.~

SEPTEMBER: Hawkwatch began. I enjoyed seeing BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS in the black dirt and there was a GLOSSY IBIS at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. At the end of the month, Tricia and I went on vacation in Maine, which included several days on Monhegan Island.

OCTOBER: I was still seeing some good shorebirds in the black dirt, including more BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS, as well as WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS. Hawkwatch continued but was mostly uneventful. On the 28th I enjoyed 13 species of waterfowl at Wickham Lake, including a SURF SCOTER.

~BLACK GUILLEMOT on the ferry ride to Monhegan Island, Maine, 09/27/22.~
~Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the black dirt, 10/15/22.~

NOVEMBER: Hawkwatch wrapped up – it was the first season in a while that I did not record a migrating Golden Eagle. But, there were plenty of good birds during the month, including my lifer YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, a nice look at a RED-THROATED LOON at Piermont Pier, a BRANT at the waterfront, and 7 BLACK SCOTERS on Wickham Lake.

DECEMBER: December brought even more good birds. I enjoyed close looks of the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE on State School Road, got lucky with the Ulster County ROSS’S GOOSE and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on the same day, saw the SURF SCOTER with 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Rondout Reservoir, and I got my county lifer ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the Newburgh Waterfront.

~Greater White-fronted Goose in the rain on State School Road in Warwick, 12/3/22.~

MY TOP TEN PHOTOS OF 2022

Here’s my personal top 10 photos that I took in the past 12 months. I start with my favorite shot of the year – the Red-necked Phalarope at Morningside Park, and then I continue from there. I noticed this year how much the species seemed to weigh in on my decisions – many of my favorites are featured.

As always, I’d like to thank all my birding friends that have helped to make another great year of birding (you know who you are). I’d also like to thank everyone for reading the blog, especially those of you who subscribe and if you are a commenter please keep it up -I live for the comments! Happy New Year to everyone, here’s to another great year of birding in 2022

~Red-necked Phalarope at Morningside Park, 08/15/22.~
~Horned Lark in the snowy black dirt, 02/13/22.~
~Northern Mockingbird in the black dirt, 06/04/22.~
~Lesser Yellowlegs at Weskeag Marsh, 09/29/22.~
~Mountain Bluebird at Esopus Meadows Preserve, 01/16/22.~
~Snow Bunting in the black dirt, 02/05/22.~
~It’s been a while since a Short-eared Owl made my top ten. SEOW in the black dirt, 03/02/22.~
~Pied-billed Grebe at Morningside Park, 08/21/22.~
~Northern Harrier in flight, Liberty Loop 09/04/22.~
~This one made the top ten purely because it’s a Northern Shrike! Wickham Lake 02/20/22.~

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

I chased some local rarities today. I headed out before sunrise, and headed up to Ulster County. My first stop was at Stone Ridge Pond in Stone Ridge, NY, to try for the ROSS’S GOOSE which has been seen there. This was a very easy get; the bird was present and sticking out like a sore thumb among a medium sized flock of Canada Geese. The bird was a little distant, but the light was decent and I kind of like these moody pics of this bird.

~Sweet looking bird. Ross’s Goose at Stone Ridge Pond, 12/10/22.~

My second stop was at Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge to try for the LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE which was photographed and reported in early December and reported again just the night before by Karen Maloy Brady. My timing was good for this bird – not long after I arrived Karen once again located and reported the bird. I got excellent looks at the bird in my scope and some documentary shots before the bird made itself scarce and I moved on. The bird was a NYS bird as well as an Ulster County bird for me.

~LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE at the Grasslands, 12/10/22.~

My final destination of the day didn’t work out quite as well. I headed to the Bashakill to try and catch up with the HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER that John Haas found and reported the day before (read about it HERE). The bird was being seen in the morning, but unfortunately I was unable to connect with it. I stayed for a couple of hours, left, and the bird was seen again. Sheesh. I headed back to the Bash to give it one more go, but after another 45 minutes I called it. Tomorrow is another day.

~Gadwall at Stone Ridge Pond, 12/10/22.~
~Loggerhead Shrike at the Grasslands, 12/10/22.~
~ROGO in Ulster County, 12/10/22.~

Excellent Birding in the OC, 12/3/22

My first goal of the day was to try and track down the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE originally located by Ronnie DiLorenzo on Monday of this week. I went to Wickham Lake first thing; unfortunately all of the geese were already picking up and heading out. My consolation prize was seeing my first American Tree Sparrows of the season. I left the lake and headed to State School Road, where I found a small group of Canada Geese, but no GWFG.

~What a good looking bird. Greater White-fronted Goose on State School Road, 12/03/22.~

I checked some of the local lakes for any good birds, but did not find anything out of the ordinary. I went back to State School Road, and sure enough the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was present, up front of the flock and looking beautiful. I put the word out and then snapped a bunch of photos. GWFG is always a favorite of mine, and on top of that it was an Orange County year bird.

~Wow! Orange-crowned Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront Trail, 12/03/22.~

In the afternoon, I headed over to the Newburgh Waterfront. I had a couple of goals: one to follow up on Bruce Nott’s report of an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER from yesterday, and two, to try for some interesting gulls. I succeeded with the OCWA, finding a relatively cooperative bird on the trail near the large sign that faces towards the river. I was pretty excited because it was an Orange County life bird for me, as well as, of course, a year bird.

~American Tree Sparrow at Wickham Lake, 12/03/22.~

Gulling was less exciting, as I only found the three expected species for our area (Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed). My day was capped off as I drove home on Route 84 through the Stewart Forest area. I was driving into the sunset and the skies were filled with absolutely massive flocks of mixed blackbirds. It was quite a sight, too bad I was driving on the highway and couldn’t document it.

~Greater White-fronted Goose at State School Road in Warwick, NY 12/03/22.~
~OCWA on the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/03/22.~