Between my end of year post and the great birds I had over the past weekend, I’ve got some catching up to do as far as photos go. Here’s some additional shots from the past couple of weeks. I spent some time in the black dirt making sure I got Lapland Longspur for 2024 – I was able to photograph a couple of them this past Saturday morning. I’ve also been trying for gulls, but I’ve only been able to find the 3 expected species. That didn’t stop me from taking photos.
As the snowstorm wound down today, I headed out to the Newburgh Waterfront to see what I could find. I was mostly thinking about gulls, but I also knew I had to check the Waterfront Trail for warblers. Well, the gulls were a bust (only the expected species), but I was thrilled to find a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER! I put the word out – at least I thought I did, but in my haste, I unfortunately sent it to the wrong What’s App thread. Bruce Nott and Peter Chernak arrived as I was departing (I’d contacted them directly), and they both got the bird as well. Hopefully it will stick for others. I also had a Palm Warbler and I was finally able to finally catch up with the Tennessee Warbler that’s been reported at the same location. It was quite an unexpectedly good afternoon of birding.
This morning, after a stop in the black dirt region to pick up Lapland Longspur for the new year (I found 2), I went to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I went for the NORTHERN SHRIKE that has been seen there for a few days (huge thanks to birding bud Maria Loukeris for the heads up). On my way out on the trail, I did not have any luck with my target bird. But, on the way back, I could see the shrike perched high in a tree in the distance. I made my way back towards the car (and closer to the bird), and I joined Linda Scrima. We enjoyed decent, if brief looks at the bird, and took some photos of course. I think Northern Shrike is a favorite of many birders, and you can certainly count me among them.
It’s time once again for one of my favorite posts of the year. It’s always fun to take a look back over the year and relive some of the highlights. I think that I did less birding this year than in previous years. My job has been increasingly demanding and there were many days where I could have gotten out in the evening, but really I was just drained from the day. I tried to make up for it on the weekends, and by choosing the type of birding which gave me the most joy, it led to some excellent birding experiences. But, my Orange County year list suffered for it; 2023 was the first time I didn’t surpass 200 species in the county since 2015. I ended the year with a paltry 193 birds in the county. Somehow, getting over that 200 mark seems significant to me; something I realized a little too late in the year to make a push for it. Hopefully next year I’ll get back on track.
So, I never really know how I’m going to write this post until I start writing it; this year I’ve decided to provide my top three birding experiences of 2023, along with some honorable mentions. And then, of course, I’ll have my TOP TEN FAVORITE PHOTOS.
My favorite highlight of the year might not seem that exciting to some, but I am still overjoyed about not only finding, but also photographing a LAPLAND LONGSPUR in breeding plumage. The icing on the cake was that, in LALO terms, the photo is actually pretty good. I’ve been trying for years to make this happen, so I was very pleased when it finally did.
In second place, it was quite a year for UPLAND SANDPIPERS in Orange County. After several years of very few being observed in the county, this year I had several sightings. My first bird was a single Uppy, perhaps a little on the early side on July 21st. Unfortunately no-one else got that bird. Then, in on August 7th, I located 4 (!) Upland Sandpipers in the black dirt. I believe many birders were able to see these birds, and I saw them again on two more occasions. Finally, on August 18th, I had a close encounter with the above UPSA, as it walked across the road right in front of my car.
And in third place, on September 19th, after some storms passed through, I enjoyed a magical evening of shorebirding in the black dirt. When the rain stopped, Linda Scrima joined me, and we were treated to an amazing double rainbow which the birds kept flying right through. It was really something to behold and I am pleased to have been able to experience and document it.
Honorable Mentions:
And now for my favorite part – I love to look back a year’s worth of photos and whittle them down to my TOP TEN FAVORITE IMAGES. Some years when I look back, I’m somewhat disappointed with my work for the year. Which is weird because I’m usually pleased when I take them, but I guess in my mind they don’t hold up, I don’t know. But this year was different, and as I reviewed them, I was pleased. I had some great opportunities that I took advantage of, and I think some new gear (Canon R7 Mirrorless) helped as well.
As always, huge thanks to all my birding friends and to all the readers of the blog. And finally, thanks for all the comments on the blog – they make my day.
…Buntings! I began the long Christmas weekend on Friday evening with a sizable but skittish flock of Snow Buntings in beautiful light. I continued on Saturday morning where the flock was more cooperative, but of course, the light was terrible for photos. Seeing how there is no snow in the forecast, this looks like the only “snow” we’ll have for the holiday. I hope everyone who is celebrating is enjoying a wonderful Christmas with loved ones.
I really enjoyed my birding this weekend. It’s that time of year when the days are just too short to fit any birding in during the week, so when I get out on the weekends it seems just that much better.
On Saturday I took an eight mile hike out at Black Rock Forest. My target species was Red Crossbill, but unfortunately I didn’t have any luck with them. It was a relatively birdy walk though; I had a total of 23 species with my highlight being a trio of Purple Finches. Afterwards, I went to the Newburgh Waterfront, thinking about gulls and waterfowl. Little did I know that I should have been thinking about warblers! On Watefront Trail, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Palm Warbler and then a little later, a Northern Parula. Bruce Nott later found a Tennessee Warbler! Not bad for December.
On Sunday I stayed closer to home; I hit the black dirt early and then checked a few nearby lakes. In the black dirt, I enjoyed sifting through some large flocks of mixed blackbirds, looking unsuccessfully for a Yellow-headed Blackbird in the mix – a total long shot, but if you don’t look, you’ll never find one. The flocks consisted of nearly all Common Grackles, with a smattering European Starlings, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and Red-winged Blackbirds as well.
Afterwards, I found a single Common Goldeneye loosely associating with a small flock of Buffleheads at the northernmost part of Greenwood Lake. At Wickham Lake, surprisingly the Common Loon that I found there back on December 1st was still present. I watched the bird for a good while – it was pretty far out, so I was just enjoying looking at it in my scope. Then the bird appeared to try to take flight – taking a long runway, flapping like mad, but it never got airborne. It did this 3 times, and I started to figure that this was probably why the bird was still present. I waited it out, because the bird still seemed itchy. On the fourth attempt, the bird got airborne! It took a few laps around the lake, only clearing the treetops a few times, before landing in the lake again. I’m choosing to believe that this was finally a successful test flight. Hopefully the bird will have enough strength and get over whatever is ailing it soon so it can continue its migration.
Today was an unexpectedly good day of birding for me. My first stop was Reservoir #3 in Port Jervis. I have birded this location a lot over the years, and I think as far as fall/winter birding is concerned, today was the most productive day I’ve ever had out there. As soon as I got out of the car, a Pine Siskin flew over calling. Not long after that, I heard and saw my target bird of the morning: a small group of RED CROSSBILLS flew over. I recorded the call on the Merlin app, and I was able to get some documentary, mostly-silhouetted photos. I took a modest hike and I tallied 20 species; other highlights included a Red-breasted Nuthatch, several Brown Creepers, and three Golden-crowned Kinglets.
Afterwards, I made a short visit to the black dirt. I tracked down a flock of Horned Larks with 2 Snow Buntings and 1 Lapland Longspur among them. I also enjoyed a nice photo op with a Bald Eagle.
In the evening, I joined Bruce Nott at the Newburgh Waterfront. Bruce had informed me earlier in the week that he had a couple of ICELAND GULLS, so I was excited to get out and get the gulling season started. We were able to locate one first winter Iceland Gull among approximately 400 gulls of the expected species (Herring, Great Black-backed, and Ring-billed) on the river.
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.
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.
This morning I had a fabulous outing at Shawngunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge. I had a couple of reasons I wanted to get up there – the first was my target bird, the LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE which has been seen up there this fall. I caught up with (presumably) the same bird about a year ago, and I was hoping to get lucky again. The second was that I was due. It’s that time of year when raptors are flying over the refuges, so I was definitely feeling a visit to the Grasslands.
I arrived just after sunrise; it was a beautifully cold morning, just over 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with barely a whisper of a breeze. As the sun started to get a little higher, I paused to check my camera settings. Looking around for something to shoot, I was surprised to find a young Northern Harrier, just off the trail, peering out of the vegetation at me – I was floored that it hadn’t flushed.
I walked the trails for a while, just enjoying being out. There was a good number of songbirds present, at least for out in the middle of the refuge: Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, American Goldfinches, House Finches, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, and absolutely loads of Eastern Bluebirds. At one point, I was pretty sure I heard an Eastern Meadowlark, however I wasn’t able to confirm it.
Then, in my binoculars, I saw a white dot in a distant tree. I knew it had to be the shrike, and sure enough it was. I was lucky enough to watch the bird for a good while – it was still perched in some small brush south of the trail when I finally tore myself away. What an excellent bird!
On my way back, I was hearing a Northern Harrier calling repeatedly. I eventually found, what I presume is the same young Northern Harrier, harassing a perched Red-tailed Hawk in the distance, on the tree line. As I worked my way along the trail, the harrier, maybe distracted by the presence of the Red-tail, flew directly at me, allowing for an excellent photo op.
Near the parking area, there was a very sharp-looking adult female Northern Harrier perched on a post, that was a nice way to end an excellent and exciting morning of birding.
It was a relatively uneventful weekend of birding for me. There actually doesn’t seem to be all that much exciting going on in our area at the moment. I checked out a few lakes in southern Orange County on Saturday morning. Then, I spent this morning at the Hudson River. Both mornings were unproductive. The highlight of the weekend for me was in the black dirt later this morning, where, after weeks of trying, I was finally able to get my first Lapland Longspur and Snow Bunting photos of the season.
