Swimming Waterbirds – Page 2

12 Hour Pelagic, 02/10/24

This past Saturday, I left my house just before 3 am to board American Princess Cruise’s Special 12 Hour Pelagic Bird and Wildlife Trip at 5:30 am. It was a long and tiring day, but I felt like it was very successful. We did very well with our target Alcid species, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Dovekie, and Common Murre, getting good numbers of each. I’ve included an Excel sheet below, reflective of all the species we had as recorded in (16) eBird reports compiled by the trip leaders. I think it is pretty cool, because it tells the story of the day numerically, showing the birds observed closer to shore as we left in the morning, then the species found further out, and finally the birds closer to shore again, as we returned in the evening.

As for gulls, we did pretty well, with (6) species observed, but noticeably absent was Black-legged Kittiwake, which unfortunately was probably the expected species I most wanted to see.

~This was an absolutely beautiful bird. ICELAND GULL during the American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

Two of the more exciting gull species, Iceland and Lesser Black-backed really put on a show an provided many photo ops. The Iceland was a beautiful first cycle bird, and it followed the boat for quite some time. We had (3) Lesser Black-backed Gulls – one 1st cycle, one 2nd cycle, and one non-adult that was more advanced than the 2nd cycle.

~Lesser Blackbacked Gull APC 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~It’s a BIG ocean. Bonaparte’s Gull, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~This sharp looking Herring Gull wasn’t going to be outdone by the more rare gulls. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

As I’ve seen on other pelagic trips, we got fantastic looks and plenty of photo ops of Northern Gannets.

~Northern Gannet coming right at me. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Subadult Northern Gannet, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Northern Gannet, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

The Alcids are super exciting to see, but they are far less photogenic. It’s hard to believe how small a Dovekie actually is; the Audubon app lists the bird at 8″, but seeing them out in the ocean they barely seem that big – they are tiny! Ironically, in regards to photos, I did best with them of all the alcids.

It was an excellent, if exhausting trip. They do a great job at American Princes Cruises and I am looking forward to the next one.

~Dovekie cuteness, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Common Murre catching a wave, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~It’s always good to see an Atlantic Puffin. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Cool guys. Razorbills were numerous, but I didn’t do very well with photos, mostly due to the timing – too early, too late, so not much light. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~ICGU closeup, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Lesser Black-backed Gull, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Iceland Gull out in front of a couple of Herring Gulls, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~LBBG, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~I believe these are mostly Black Scoters. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~ICGU, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~NOGA, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~The only mammals we saw all day – one of two Gray Seals, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Calling NOGA, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~It’s not very often you get to see an ICELAND GULL this closely. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~I know, it’s ICGU overkill, but when will I get an opportunity like this again? Iceland Gull, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

Winter Waterfowl Count, 01/13/24

Today Linda Scrima and I participated in the Mearns Bird Club’s Orange County Winter Waterfowl Count. For the sixth straight year, the two of us covered the Black Dirt Region for the survey. This year was particularly interesting. Typically in mid January there isn’t much open water, but with this year’s recent warm temperatures, all bodies of water were open. Additionally, with all the rain we’ve had recently, the black dirt had much flooding, creating waterfowl habitat where typically there wouldn’t be (I had a pair of Northern Pintails and a Green-winged Teal in the middle of a flooded corn field!). And finally, a bit of luck is always helpful. Linda had a large group of Snow Geese fly over (2,500+ birds!), and then we both found a decent sized flock (approximately 700 birds), which had put down at the Camel Farm. The one disappointment was, that in spite of the large number of Canada and Snow Geese located, we were unable to locate any rare geese. Not even a Cackling Goose. Thanks to Linda for coordinating and for the good company. It was probably the most enjoyable Winter Waterfowl Survey I’ve done yet.

Snow Goose: 3,200
Canada Goose: 2,566
Mute Swan: 1
Mallard: 124
American Black Duck: 9
Green-winged Teal: 5
Northern Pintail: 4
American Wigeon: 3
Bufflehead: 2
Common Merganser: 4

~Three of approximately 700 Snow Geese at the Camel Farm, 01/13/24.~

~Snow Geese in flight over Route 1 in the Black Dirt Region, 01/13/24.~

Sunday Shots, 12/03/23

I spent a good amount of my birding time this weekend trying for waterfowl. One bird in particular was on my mind: Red-throated Loon. I tried Wickham Lake on Saturday morning; I found a Common Loon that was close enough to shore for some decent shots, but no RTLO. This morning, I met up with birding bud Bruce Nott at Plum Point, where there was not much happening BUT we did locate a single, distant Red-throated Loon. The RT Loon was definitely my best bird of the weekend, all the other waterfowl I observed were expected species for this time of the year.

~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 12/01/23.~

I’m also playing a little catch up today, I’m including several photos from last weekend that I did not post, due to my excitement over my Sunday at the Grasslands.

~An assortment of waterfowl at the Liberty Loop, 12/02/23.~

~Three of five American Coots at the Liberty Loop. This shot is from last weekend, however these birds were still present on Saturday morning.~

~American Kestrel at Missionland Road, 11/24.23.~

~Lapland Longspur in the black dirt, from last weekend, 11/24/23.~

~Five American Black Ducks surround a male Mallard. Liberty Loop, 12/02/23.~

Plum Point, 10/29/23

I enjoyed an excellent morning/early afternoon of birding at Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point. Birding bud Bruce Nott let me know he had some good birds on the Hudson River earlier in the morning, so I went over to check it out. Looking out onto the rainy and foggy river from the shelter of the park’s pavilion, it was a slow start, but over approximately three hours of birding I accumulated some good birds:

At least 15 Common Loons
A fly-by of nearly 20 Bonaparte’s Gulls,
(5) Long-tailed Ducks
A GREAT CORMORANT
A Skein of approximately 175 Brant
A fly-by of (14) Northern Pintails
A flock Scaup (species) see photo below
And the usuals: Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, (3) Bald Eagles, Double-crested Cormorants, and American Black Ducks.

~Great Cormorant at Plum Point, 10/29/23.~

~Bald Eagle in flight over the Hudson River, Plum Point, 10/29/23.~

~Scaup species, Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point, 10/29/23.~

Monhegan Island 2023 Teaser

Tricia and I spent the week on Monhegan Island, a small island in Lincoln County Maine, approximately 12 nautical miles off the coast. We went to the island last year at this same time; click here to see my blog post from that visit. It’s a perfect vacation for us, as it’s an established artist’s retreat as well as a fabulous birding destination. It was a great week, but I have loads of photos to get through before I’ll be able to post. Here’s a look at one of the many Black Guillemots I saw over the week… stayed tuned for a full report.

~Black Guillemot, Monhegan Island Maine, September 2023.~

Good Birds in the County, 04/15/23

I played golf first thing this morning. While I was playing, my phone was blowing up with some good birds being reported. Bruce Nott had one heck of a morning and located the following birds: A White-winged Scoter at Orange Lake, A Red-necked Grebe at Washington Lake, and a Black-crowned Night-Heron at Masterson Park. I tried for the birds after golf, and it was a little bit comical to me because for all three, I parked my car, got out my gear, and immediately got on the bird. Excellent birds for the county, but unfortunately they were all just a bit too far for decent photos.

~A pair of White-winged Scoters scoot across the Hudson River by Donahue Memorial Park, 04/15/23.~

I went to the Hudson River afterwards, and had a little bit of luck there as well. At Donahue Memorial Park, I first located a very distant Common Loon; I mean it was miles out there. As I continued scanning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the loon calling! I was downwind, so I guess that helped the sound travel so well! It was really cool.

I scanned some more and eventually found a pair of distant White-winged Scoters sitting on the river. They eventually picked up and headed north up the river towards Newburgh.

~A very distant Red-necked Grebe at Washington Lake, 04/15/23.~

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,Waterfowl Edition 03/26/23

I spent most of my birding time this weekend trying for waterfowl around the county. In two mornings, I had a total of 20 species of waterfowl:

Canada Goose (many locations)
Mute Swan (several locations)
Wood Duck (Wickham Lake and Glenmere Lake)
Northern Shoveler (Wickham and 6 1/2 Station Rd.)
American Wigeon (6 1/2 Station Rd.))
Mallard (many locations)
American Black Duck (6 1/2 Station Rd.)
Northern Pintail (6 1/2 Station Rd.)
Green-winged Teal (Wickham and 6 1/2 Station Rd.)
Lesser Scaup (Wickam)
Ring-necked Duck (many locations)
Bufflehead (several locations)
Hooded Merganser (Round Lake)
Common Merganser (several locations)
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (Greenwood Lake)
Ruddy Duck (several locations)
Pied-billed Grebe (Wickham Lake)
Horned Grebe (Wickham Lake)
American Coot (Wickham and 6 1/2)
Double Crested Cormorant (Wickham Lake)

~Ruddy Duck in the rain, Beaver Dam Lake, 03/25/23.~

My highlight of the weekend was locating (8) female RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS at Greenwood Lake. They were a bit distant, but it was really cool to see these birds – I had pretty good scope views until a boat came through and flushed the birds even further out and eventually out of view.

~Red-breasted Mergansers on Greenwood Lake, 03/26/23.~

~Common Merganser coming in hot. Greenwood Lake, 03/26/23.~

~Lesser Scaup move around on Wickham Lake, 03/26/23.~

~A couple of Ruddies at Beaver Dam Lake, 03/25/23.~

~Belted Kingfisher at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03/26/23.~

Sunday Shots, 02/26/23

My best birding today was first thing at Wickham Lake. It was a little bit cold, but the wind was down, making it relatively comfortable. I joined Kyle Knapp, who was there when I arrived. Of course I got zero photos, as the birds were distant, but we tallied an enjoyable 15 species of waterfowl:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Northern Shoveler
American Wigeon
Mallard
American Wood Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Wood Duck
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
American Coot

Afterwards, I checked on various other lakes in the region. The single CANVASBACK continues at Greenwood Lake; I thought its days were numbered as an adult Bald Eagle tried to take it – the Canvasback went under just before the eagle hit the water. At Round Lake I found both Lesser and Greater Scaup. I also had two exciting water mammals in my travels – a river otter (no pics) and a mink, see above.

~Blue morph Snow Goose in the black dirt, 02/26/23.~

I also briefly cruised the black dirt region; it was mostly the usuals. I was happy to see some of the Snow Geese are still hanging in there. The ones in this photo were hanging out with a large flock of Canada Geese that I sifted through but didn’t find any rarities.

~Snow Goose in the black dirt, 02/26/23.~

~It was pretty cool to see these birds so relaxed, even though they were within photo range. SNGOs in the BD, 02/26/23.~

Sunday Shots, 02/05/23

Early this morning, I birded Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge with Linda Scrima. Raptors were well represented; we had 5 species: Red-tailed Hawk (5), Rough-legged Hawk (1), Red-shouldered Hawk (1), Northern Harrier (5), and one small falcon which I believe was a Merlin. Snow Geese could be seen in the distance, to the north of the refuge, and there was a steady stream of Canada Geese flying over, heading north.

~A cold looking Great Blue Heron in the black dirt, 02/04/23.~

Afterwards, I headed to the Hudson River, where I had one exciting species. I was looking through a raft of Common Mergansers in the middle of the river, when two CANVASBACKS flew through my scope view. I was pretty excited because Canvasback is a pretty darn good bird for Orange County, I think I’ve had them in the county 2 or 3 times before. Bruce Nott and Ronnie DiLorenzo joined me and got the birds; while they were there I also located a single male Red-breasted Merganser. Gulls were a bust yet again for me, with only the three expected species seen. Later in the day is better for gulls at the Newburgh Waterfront, so I think I need to make an effort to be there a little later in the afternoons.