~Always a favorite and often cooperative. Merlin in the black dirt, 02/19/17.~
I’ve birded locally most days in the past week and while it’s been enjoyable, things have been on the slow side. Today things picked up a bit for me when I located a large flock of mixed blackbirds in the black dirt, and then shortly after that had a cooperative Merlin, followed by a large flock of Snow Geese, which I still have not grown tired of. Earlier in the week at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, I had my first Great Blue Heron of the year (and it was in good light!). I’m feeling like I might be ready for winter birding to be over – maybe the flocks of blackbirds are an indication that birds are starting to move?
~This might be my favorite Snow Goose photo of the year – I love the dreamy quality of it. A sea of Snow Geese in the black dirt, 02/19/17.~~I had a very large flock of mixed blackbirds in the black dirt today, 02/19/17. This shot has mostly Red-winged Blackbirds with some Brown-headed Cowbirds and Common Grackles mixed in. ~A Great Blue Heron does a fly by at Wallkill River NWR, 02/19/17.~ ~A White-crowned Sparrow strikes a strange pose, barely hanging on. In the black dirt, 02/11/17.~~More SNGOs in the black dirt, 02/19/17.~~A Northern Cardinal just before sunset at Wallkill River NWR, 02/15/17.~
~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
~I got a great look at a number of Ruddy Ducks at Piermont Pier, 01/28/17.~
First thing this morning I headed to Piermont Pier to see if could get any good ducks. It was a nice stop and I had 7 species of waterfowl:
Canada Goose (3)
Mallard (5)
Canvasback (27)
Bufflehead (5)
Common Goldeneye (2)
Common Merganser (1)
Ruddy Duck (43)
The Common Goldeneyes stole the show for me; I got great looks at one bird that spent some time close to the pier. The Canvasbacks were nice to get, but were very distant and a scope was needed to see them well.
~This is probably my closest look at a Common Goldeneye. I have this as a first winter male, Piermont Pier 01/28/17.~~COGO in flight at Piermont Pier, 01/28/17.~
I left Piermont Pier and headed to State Line Lookout to join the hordes of birders/photographers/sheep that were present to try for the Gyrfalcon that has been reported recently there. It was quite a scene and I estimate that in the time I tried for the bird (4 hours), over 125 birders/photogs were there for the bird as well. Millions of photographs were taken of the local Peregrine Falcons (that might not be an exaggeration). The falcons did not fly much, but did spend much time on the closest perches. Other good birds included several Bald Eagles, Common Ravens, and a Cooper’s Hawk which was chased from the far side of the river to the Lookout by the local male Peregrine Falcon. As for the Gyrfalcon, it was of course a no-show. Hopefully it sticks and I’ll try for it another day.
~This bird is a beast, does she look mean or what? Local female Peregrine Falcon at State Line Lookout, 01/28/17. There is no doubt that the local PEFAs were extremely well-photographed today.~~The resident male Peregrine Falcon – State Line Lookout, 01/28/17.~~Top-down look at a Turkey Vulture; not a look I get very often. State Line Lookout 01/28/17.~
~Northern Gannet, See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~
Yesterday I went on a 14 hour pelagic birding trip with See Life Paulagics – it was quite a birding adventure. The Brooklyn VI set sail out of Brooklyn at 5:00 am. We headed 50 miles out to sea and covered one heck of a lot of territory. The target birds for the trip included: Northern Fulmar, Dovekie, Razorbill, Common Murre, Atlantic Puffin, Glaucous, Iceland, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Red Phalarope. We located all the targets with the exception of the Glaucous and Iceland Gulls and Red Phalarope. I spoke with several more experienced birders on board (I didn’t think I would be a good judge since I was thrilled to just be there), and all agreed that the trip was a good one and a success, getting all the target birds that folks really wanted to see and more importantly, getting birds ALL DAY LONG. There were very few lulls in the action, when we weren’t getting any alcids it seemed like the gulls would step it up and keep everyone happy. Full kudos to See Life Paulagics.
I only knew one other person on the boat, Maha Katnani. It was great to see a familiar face and I enjoyed much of the day birding with her and her two friends Barbara Mansell and Susan Ells Joseph. Meanwhile, it was also good to meet some new folks as I moved around the boat. Photography was tough because of a variety of reasons (see below), but with so many birds, there were plenty of photo ops throughout the day. Most of the Alcids tended to be a little on the distant side, but with some closer looks from time to time. Gulls and Gannets, on the other hand, were very available and I particularly enjoyed shooting the BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. I found that they are a clean, good looking bird with a lot of character and, in my opinion, they are very photogenic. They were one of two life birds I got on the trip (scroll down to see the 2nd…), and I spent a good amount of time photographing them.
~ Black-legged Kittiwake, See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~ A nice close up of a Black-legged Kittiwake, See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~ Black-legged Kittiwake, See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~ Black-legged Kittiwake, See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~ A first year Black-legged Kittiwake in flight. This bird gave me ample opportunity for a better shot than this (I was trying for a top down shot of the bird over the water to emphasize the black “W” on its back), but alas, my timing didn’t work out for this bird. See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~
THREE THOUGHTS ABOUT PELAGIC BIRDING
1. Pelagic Birding is tough. First of all, it is a long day (and this is one of the shorter trips). I woke up at 2:00 am and left the house a half hour later. The boat set sail at 5:00 am and we travelled in the dark for over two hours before Sunrise. Then, it’s a full day of birding, sunrise to sunset, followed by another two-plus hours in the dark to get back to the dock. And finally, I had the drive back from Brooklyn; I arrived home right at 9:00 pm. That’s a 19 hour day! Secondly, it is exhausting. The long hours speak for themselves, but what’s not so evident is that the entire time you are birding, you are fighting to maintain your balance. Grabbing handrails, leaning on handrails while using your binoculars or camera, constantly counterbalancing to react to the rocking of the boat. I imagine with time this just becomes second nature, and I got better at is as the day went on, but for a land lubber like myself, it was exhausting. And, because the birding was so good and I didn’t want to miss anything, I barely took a break all day long.
~ Northern Gannet striking a pose during the See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~
2. Birders are nice people. I am not the most social of birders, especially when I first meet folks, but I have to say how great everyone on board was. I’ve said it before on this blog, but here it is again – birders are generous people. Everyone was making sure that the people around them were getting on the birds as much as possible, especially the folks from See Life Paulagics. They have an incredibly talented group that really know the birds and do very well to make sure that everyone gets a decent look at as many species as possible. AND, they are just fun to talk to and good people to be around.
~ Northern Gannet striking a pose during the See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~
3. Pelagic birding is challenging and therefore, very fun and awesome. Identifying often distant birds on a rocking boat with binoculars is not an easy task. One thing I would consider, moving forward, would be purchasing a set of 8X power binoculars, as opposed to the 10X power in my current bins. I think for pelagic birding there are just too many moving parts and that taking a little shake out of the binoculars by moving to 8X will be worthwhile. So, while it can be difficult, it is SO rewarding, allowing you to get some super birds that you won’t see any other way and also allowing for some great photo opportunities of some gorgeous birds. While I wouldn’t say I’m addicted yet, but I am certainly thinking about my next pelagic birding trip.
~Good bird – Lesser Black-backed Gull. I couldn’t believe that during one of my rare breaks, while I was grabbing a sandwich, they located one of these beauties. I missed that bird, but was very happy that we got a second one. See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~Probably my favorite of the Alcids, a Razorbill makes its move. See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip 01/14/17.~~Common Murre doing all it can to take off. See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~Common Murre on the water during the See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~~LIFE BIRD alert! We had many DOVEKIES throughout the day. Early on the birds were distant and flying, making them very hard to see. Later on we got some good, closer looks of them on the water. See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17~~DOVEKIE taking off, See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 01/14/17.~
~One of 5 Black-capped Chickadees I observed working some cattails off the trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 12/27/16.~
With only five days left in the year, I covered some ground in Orange County today, hoping to add to my OC year list. While I did not add any new birds today, but I did have a good, interesting day of birding.
First thing, I birded a cemetery north of Newburgh that had good habitat but ended up being not very birdy. From there, I went to the Newburgh Waterfront, where I found a single Snow Goose, associating with all the ducks that clamor for bread scraps, which was surprising to me. Looking at the bird, it appeared to have an injured wing, which would explain why it was there. I called Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center and they said that they would attempt to capture the bird for rehabilitation. I asked them to keep me updated on how it went, but as of this post, I have not heard back from them.
~A Snow Goose with an apparently injured wing at Newburgh Waterfront, 12/27/16.~
My next stop was Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point, where I had my best bird of the day, a distant White-winged Scoter. The bird was miles out and there was a lot heat shimmer in the air, which made it tough to get a good look at the bird. I eventually made out both the white eye patch and the white secondaries, indicating WWSC.
On my way home for lunch, I stopped at Purgatory Road in Campbell Hall, where I located my second Snow Goose of the day. This one was among a large group of Canada Geese out in a field. And, a quick stop at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary didn’t yield much other than a photo op with some Black-capped Chickadees.
~Sharp-shinned Hawk after flushing a flock of Snow Buntings in the Black Dirt, 12/27/16.~
In the afternoon I birded the black dirt and was lucky enough to locate two different flocks of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks. The first flock was flushed by a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I followed the hawk, trying for photos, and lost track of the buntings. The second flock was flushed by a Gray Ghost, but eventually came back to the same spot and I was able to get some photos. At the time I thought the pics would be good, but when I got home and saw them on the computer, I was disappointed.
I ended the day at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Marsh. I met up with Kyle Dudgeon there, and we enjoyed shooting the breeze and birding until the sun set. It was a full, interesting day of birding. I will post any updates I receive regarding the Newburgh Snow Goose.
NEWBURGH SNOW GOOSE UPDATE 12/30: I heard back from FFFWC, and apparently someone has been trying to capture the SNGO improperly, so the goose is very wary and has been difficult to capture. That being said, they still feel confident that they will be able to capture it this weekend.
~Six Snow Buntings in the Black Dirt Region, 12/27/16.~
~I’m enjoying Dark-eyed Juncos with their subtle colors this year. They were plentiful as I walked the trails of the Port Jervis Watershed Park and Recreational Area, 11/20/16.~
QUICK POST: I spent a pleasant morning birding in the snowy conditions at Port Jervis Watershed Park and Recreational Area. I walked the trails there for over four hours; it was quite birdy at times, but with all expected species. I did not have any luck with my 2 target birds – Pine Siskins and Crossbills. My best birds for the morning were: a Hooded Merganser (my first of the season), a Fox Sparrow, and couple of Hermit Thrushes.
~Tufted Titmouse in a snowy setting. Port Jervis Watershed PRA, 11/20/16.~ ~It’s always nice to see a Hairy Woodpecker. Port Jervis Watershed PRA, 11/20/16.~ ~Safety first, ha ha. Selfie on the trail at Port Jervis Watershed Park and Recreational Area 11/20/16.~~Another sweet looking DEJU at Port Jervis Watershed PRA, 11/20/16.~ ~I missed a VERY good opportunity to shoot a Hermit Thrush earlier in the morning. I managed to get this one through the obstructions later on. Port Jervis Watershed PRA, 11/20/16.~ ~I know, it’s a pretty bad pic. BUT, it’s a FOX SPARROW! Port Jervis Watershed PRA, 11/20/16.~
~I was trying to remember taking this photo, I’m pretty sure this is a local Red-tailed Hawk rather than one of the 19 migrants we had at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch today, 11/12/16.~
Well, sadly today was my final day as official counter at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch for the 2016 season. It was a gorgeous day to be on the mountain; sunny and cold with a moderate northwest wind. Judy Cinquina joined me for most of the day, and although the conversation was more plentiful than migrating raptors, we still had a pretty good flight, with 31 birds which included a pretty good variety. Highlights for me included good looks at two adult Bald Eagles, two adult Red-shouldered Hawks, and a brief look at a bird that always seems to be on a mission – a Merlin. Photos were tough to come by, even the vultures and passerines seemed to keep their distance today.
It was another excellent season for me at Mt. Pete; I had decent flights every Saturday except the two where I was rained out. And, I feel like I continued to learn and improve my hawk watching skills. It’s sad to think it’s another 10 1/2 months until I’ll be at it again. I should mention that you still have a few days to go to the watch – official counters will continue to be there until Tuesday November 15th.
Here’s my report for the day:
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: B.A. McGrath, Judith C. Cinquina
Visitors: Paul Skonberg
Weather:
Sunny with very few clouds and a moderate northwest wind. Temperatures ranged from 0 to 8 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations:
Two adult Bald Eagles and 2 adult Red-shouldered hawks.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Species: European Starling (22), American Robin (24), Canada Goose (15), American Crow (18), Black-capped Chickadee (7), Tufted Titmouse (4), Ring-billed Gull (8), Herring Gull (1), Common Raven (2), Blue Jay (21), Cedar Waxwing (3), Dark-eyed Junco (2), White-breasted Nuthatch (2).
~This bird was MUCH better in person. An adult Red-shouldered Hawk migrates directly over the viewing platform at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 11/12/16.~
~This Northern Harrier is NOT from Mt. Peter Hawkwatch; I stopped by the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR on Wednesday afternoon 11/2/16 to try for the Northern Shrike that had been seen there but didn’t have any luck. But, I did enjoy a nice walk on the trails of the reserve with Mary B. and photographed this NOHA.~
My Saturday shift counting at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch was steady but not exactly exciting. WNW winds provided me with 47 migrating raptors, consisting of mostly Red-tailed Hawks (22). Raptor highlights for me were decent looks at 3 adult Red-shouldered Hawks, and a distant look at a migrating ‘Gray Ghost’, an adult male Northern Harrier. My non-raptor highlight was 6 Common Loons – one group of four, and two singles. Photos were scarce for the day, but thankfully visitors were not. I enjoyed the company of Linda Scrima, Judy Cinquina, Maria Loukerisk, and Rob Pirie. Huge thanks to all four for their help spotting birds too. Here’s my report for the day:
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter Matt Zeitler
Observers: Judith C. Cinquina
Visitors:
Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and Rob Pirie.
Weather:
Cloudy and cool with a WNW wind. Temperatures ranged from 5 to 13 degrees Celsius
Raptor Observations:
One adult Bald Eagle, one male Northern Harrier, and three adult Red-shouldered Hawks.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-Raptor Species: Dark-eyed Junco (15), Black-capped Chickadee (9), American Robin (168), American Goldfinch (4), Common Raven (2), Eastern Bluebird (2), White-breasted Nuthatch (3), Tufted Titmouse (2), Cedar Waxwing (18), Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Purple Finch (1), Canada Goose (14), Common Loon (6)
~My only decent photo op of the day was this low flying Turkey Vulture. I am grateful to the TUVUs for the photo ops, as well as their help in locating other migrating raptors. Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 11/5/16.~ ~American Pipit in the Black Dirt on 11/1/16. This was a fabulous night as I had my first Snow Buntings of the season and my first LAPLAND LONGSPUR of the year. The LALO was bird #210 on my 2016 Orange County year list.~~I should have done better with this bird, but it just didn’t happen. One of 2 very cooperative Golden-crowned Kinglets at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch on Friday evening, 11/4/16.~
~GOLDEN EAGLE at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~
I was pretty sure that hawkwatch would be a dud this past Saturday. Southwest winds were in the forecast and the previous day’s count was on the low side (with a northwest wind!). Early on, it seemed like I was right; the watch got off to a very slow start, and I have to say, I was super cranky about it. I did not have a raptor of any sort for the first two hours and fifteen minutes, when I finally had a local Red-tailed Hawk hunting over the valley. Migrating birds started to trickle through shortly after that, but really, it was a slow day.
~GOEA at Mt. Pete, 10/29/16.~
Things started looking up when I got a visit from Gerhard and Tracy Patsch. We had some interesting conversations, and they seemed to have brought one of the local Red-tails along with them. It was the first time that I’ve had a local “tail” perch and hunt in the viewing platform area. And then bird put on a final show for us, hanging in the air directly above the platform and not very high up. The three of us really enjoyed great looks and I took many photos.
~Golden Eagle, apparently looking right at me? Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~
The highlight of the day came at 3:45 pm, when I counted just my 20th migrating raptor of the day, which was the GOLDEN EAGLE. I picked it up due north of the platform; it was distant but I knew immediately that it was an eagle and very shortly after that, that it was a Golden. As luck would have it, the bird flew slowly closer and passed at a nice easy pace right over the platform, circling several times before continuing due south. What a thrill it was, I am still freaking out about it a day later. The Golden Eagle is the 209th bird that I’ve had in Orange County this year. Here’s my report for the day:
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Visitors: Gerhard and Tracy Patsch, Tricia Zeitler, Carrie and Cruz Craigmyle, Bill, Carolyn, Cameron, and Mackenzie Martocci.
Weather: Partly cloudy with a southwest wind. Temperatures ranged from 4 to 18 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations: It was a slow start; the first raptor observed was a local Red-tailed Hawk over 2 hours and 15 minutes into the watch. One female Northern Harrier and at 3:45 one immature Golden Eagle passed through, circling right over the view platform, giving amazing views.
Non Raptor Species: American Crow (28), Blue Jay (24), White-breasted Nuthatch (2), Black-capped Chickadee (9), American Robin (32), Common Raven (2), Cedar Waxwing (25), Tufted Titmouse (1), Downy Woodpecker (1), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Ring-billed Gull (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Eastern Bluebird (5), Canada Goose (6), European Starling (20).
~GOEA at Mt. Pete Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~~I know, a lot of Golden Eagle shots, but when will I get this opportunity again? GOEA at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~ ~This young Red-tailed Hawk put on quite a show. Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~ ~Going in for the kill, RTHA at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/29/16. Unfortunately the bird came up empty on this attempt. ~Local Red-tailed Hawk cruising by, Mt. Pete Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~ ~And, the local Tail checking out the situation from directly above the platform, Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/29/16.~ ~RTHA at Mt. Pete 10/29/16.~ And, finally, the obligatory Turkey Vulture photo. Even the vultures were sparse on this day at Mt. Pete, 10/29/16.~
~A distant shot of the Sandhill Crane today at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/26/16.~
QUICK POST: Huge thanks to Kathy Ashman, who texted while I was at work to let me know she had located a SANDHILL CRANE at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. I ran for the bird after getting out of work this afternoon; Maria Loukeris met me at the sanctuary and got me on the bird very quickly (thanks!). Which was a good thing, because shortly after my arrival, the bird picked up and relocated deep into the reeds and out of sight. The bird was distant, but I was still super excited to see this excellent bird and get some documentary photos. And, of course, it was great to get it in Orange County and add it to my year list (#208).
