~Wow!, Snowy Owl in the Black Dirt Region, 1/14/16.~
I met Kyle out in the Black Dirt this evening after work to try for some raptors – Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls were the goal. I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted a large white bird fly over a field in the distance, being chased by crows – SNOWY OWL!!! We immediately jumped out of the car and got the bird in the scope to find it had perched on a distant small post in a field. We watched the bird as it was harassed by both Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls; it flew one time and found a new perch, but shortly after returned to its original perch. The bird was very distant, so pics were tough; the above is from the camera, and the shot below is with the iPhone through the scope. It was a super exciting night! Lifer Snowy for Kyle and my first one in a couple of years!
***If you go for this bird, please be respectful of the locals in the black dirt. Many roads are private and not public and shouldn’t be used without permission. Farmers are still working so please keep all roads clear and let them work. As a general rule, for me, if there is any sort of work going on I leave the area.***
~iPhone shot through the spotting scope – Snowy Owl in the Black Dirt, 1/14/16.~
~The highlight of the day for me – Merlin with prey at Piermont Pier, 1/9/16.~
Before I get to the wrap up, I wanted to mention that I created a new page for 2016 where I will post photos by species. Each time I take a photo that consider an improvement on the previous for any species, I will replace it on the list. As a starting point, I’ve typed out the list from the Edgar A. Mearns Bird Club Checklist of Birds for Orange County. As I was typing it out, I realized how daunting it can be to think about getting all these photos – there are over 265 birds on the list! It will be interesting to me to see how many of these I will get and also how many I might add to the list. Click here to check it out or on the page at the top right called Species Photos 2016.
The weekend started on a good note with a Friday evening trip to the Black Dirt where I was able to relocate the dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk, originally located by Steve Sachs the day before and relocated in the morning by Linda Scrima. Due to the distance and the trees, I was unable to get any photos, but Linda got some and gave me a couple to post here, see them below (thanks Linda!). It was a sort of strange experience seeing that bird – it was vocalizing constantly and moving from perch to perch to perch, never staying in one place for very long.
~Beautiful bird – dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk in the Black Dirt, 1/8/16. Photo by Linda Scrima.~I really like this shot, showing the top side of the bird including the red tail. Dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk, Black Dirt 1/8/16. Photo by Linda Scrima.~
On Saturday, Kyle Dudgeon, Linda Scrima, and I headed to Piermont Pier to try for the WESTERN GREBE. The bird was located by some other birders shortly after our arrival; it was a little far out and backlit but we got decent scope views and Kyle and Linda got their lifer WEGRs. I was hoping for more waterfowl, but really we did not have a large list: Canada Goose, Mallard, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, and Double-crested Cormorant. We had some Buffleheads and Ruddies that were close enough for photos but the light was not very good. The highlight for me was a Merlin, perched in a tree and eating prey (which looked to be a Dark-eyed Junco). On our way home we made a stop at State Line Hawkwatch, but it was a bust as we had only two distant Red-tailed Hawks in the half hour we were there.
~This is not a pretty bird, but it IS pretty cool. Black Vulture in Blooming Grove, NY 1/10/16.~
On Sunday morning I met Maria Loukeris out in the Black Dirt, we tried unsuccessfully to relocate the dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk. We did, however, see my first ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK of 2016, hunting (successfully) over a distant field. This is only the second RLHA that I have seen this season. In a relatively short amount of time we had a good number of raptors: Maria had an American Kestrel before my arrival, and in addition to the RLHA we had 8 Red-tailed Hawks and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. From there I checked Glenmere and Tomahawk Lakes but neither had much waterfowl present; in fact Tomahawk was mostly frozen over, but I managed to see a high-flying Bald Eagle which was nice.
~Fish Crow at Piermont Pier, 1/9/16.~~The Merlin made quick work of that poor junco. Piermont Pier, 1/9/16.~~Don’t mess with these two, they look like they are in a mood. Ring-billed Gulls at Piermont Pier 1/9/16.~Canvasbacks all tucked in, Piermont Pier 1/9/16.~
I blame the insomnia. I do. I really struggled to sleep last night and ultimately only got a very little bit of shut-eye. Which made for a really tough morning, a difficult workday, and some bizarre birding.
Just before noon, I received a phone call from John Haas – he had a WESTERN GREBE at Piermont Pier! When I got out of work I headed straight to Piermont and arrived with plenty of beautiful light. I parked at the beginning of the pier, and as I walked towards where the bird had been seen, Bob Senerchia pulled alongside me and gave me a lift the rest of the way, explaining that there was plenty of parking further up. Maria Loukeris and Christopher Takacs were both there and photographing the bird, which was in perfect evening light and not very far out (I’ve included one of Maria’s shots below). I jumped out of Bob’s car and pretty much immediately started to take photos… I looked at my camera and saw some awful words: No Card in Camera. Ugh, no way, not today. I must have a spare back in the car! Bob let me borrow his car, which is a Prius which apparently you need a special degree to drive. I finally figured out out how to get it into gear and drove back to my car. With the parking brake on – I thought the beeping was for the seatbelt! I checked my camera bag and of course, no spare card. My heart was broken, but I grabbed my scope and my iPhone adapter and called Bob so he could tell me how to release the brake. I made it back incident-free, and decided to make lemonade out of lemons. I stayed for a good while and enjoyed the bird, what a beauty! I took what photos I could through the scope and shot the above video, which made me happy. When it came time to leave, I took the wrong exit and went across the Tappan Zee Bridge… it’s the insomnia – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Huge thanks to Bob for letting use his car, Maria for her photo, and of course to John Haas for locating the bird and getting the word out.
~WESTERN GREBE at Piermont Pier, 1/716. Photo by Maria Loukeris.~~One more digiscoped shot of the WESTERN GREBE, Piermont Pier 1/7/16.~~iPhone digiscope shot of the WESTERN GREBE at Piermont Pier, 1/7/16.~
~I’m not sure why (maybe because the bird seemed small), but I thought this bird was a Sharp-shinned Hawk when I saw it in the field. Tonight, looking at photos I am thinking it is a Cooper’s Hawk, possibly a juvenile male? Black Dirt Region, 1/3/16.~
This morning I went out and did my first birding in Orange County for the new year. I took a tour of the Black Dirt Region, ending at the Liberty Marsh at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, where I did not walk the trails but just viewed from the platform for 20 minutes or so. I then check on Wickham Lake and Glenmere Lake before heading home. It felt good to get my list for the county started and I ended the morning with 27 species; I’ve included today’s list at the bottom of this post. Highlights from the morning included seeing large flocks of Horned Larks with Snow Buntings mixed in. At one point I had nearly 75+ Horned Larks taking a dust bath in the road in front of me. I’ve only seen this one other time and it was really cool to see it again. On the disappointing side, I was hoping to run across some Snow Geese in the black dirt, especially after seeing them fly over in Ulster County the day before.
~A Horned Lark takes a dust bath in the road, Black Dirt Region 1/3/16.~~HOLAs dust bathing in the road, Black Dirt Region, 1/3/16.~~I came home to find this Sharp-shinned Hawk in my driveway, not a bad way to end a birding outing. Goshen, NY 1/3/16.~
All species located in Black Dirt Region (including Liberty Marsh) except where noted:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle (Wickham)
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Home)
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Belted Kingfisher (Glenmere)
Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee (Glenmere)
Tufted Titmouse (Glenmere)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Glenmere)
European Starling
Snow Bunting
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
~Short-eared Owl at Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 1/2/16.~
To say the meteorologists got it wrong would be an understatement. With clear, sunny skies in the forecast, Kyle Dudgeon and I headed out to the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of getting some good Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl photos. We arrived early enough to claim one of the four photo blinds at the refuge, but alas, the heavy cloud cover refused to clear. We approximated 6 Northern Harriers were present at the refuge; we tried for the majority of the day to get some decent photos but no harriers came close enough for any decent shots. Fortunately, it was just barely after 3:00 that the Short-eared Owls picked up. And, although they never came very close, they spent enough time around our blind to get some decent (if noisy) shots and they were as entertaining as ever. Another highlight of the day was 3 large skeins of Snow Geese which flew over, heading south.
~SEOW at the Grasslands on 1/2/16.~~Short-eared Owl at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/2/16.~~A SEOW dives for prey, Shawangunk Grasslands, NWR 1/2/16.~~A high flying Short-eared Owl passes over the photo blind at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/2/16.~~I struggled to get Northern Harrier photos today at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/2/16.~~SEOW cruising the Grasslands, 1/2/16.~~A cropped shot of one of the skeins of Snow Geese that passed over today at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/2/16.~
~Spoiler Alert: Bird of the Year, the Gyrfalcon finds a nice perch in a field off of Bruyn Turnpike in Wallkill, NY, 2/10/15.~
*Click on links in orange to go to original blog post for each species.*
The 2015 birding year was interesting for sure; filled with highs and lows. It was a year of extreme rarities in our area, such as the amazing and famous Gyrfalcon, observed in both Orange and Ulster County in February and also the one-eyed Crested Caracara, which was seen in the Montgomery area in April.
Spring and summer went as one would expect, with plenty of good birding especially in the spring. Autumn, however was strange and unproductive. Actually, early fall was good; shorebirds were being seen regularly including several notable birds (Stilt Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, and White-rumped Sandpiper). But, the seasonably warm weather seemed to affect the fall raptor migration here in Orange County; at Mount Peter Hawkwatch nearly all migrating raptors were down in numbers. Broad-winged Hawks provided a glaring exception and a welcome highlight of the season: a record breaking 11,256 Broadies were counted at Mt. Pete this season. It was difficult to find many migrating waterfowl this fall, especially in southern Orange County where I spend most of my birding time. I only had two notable sightings in the county: a Common Goldeneye at Wickham Lake and a White-winged Scoter at Indian Kill Reservoir.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here are my species totals for the year, with previous years’ totals for comparison:
I really ended up focusing my birding here in Orange County in 2015. At some point in the fall, I realized that 200 species was a possibility, so that became my goal. But, I struggled coming down the stretch and finished the year with 197. I missed a few birds that figured I would get (Fox Sparrow, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin), but really I think if I had done better with warblers this year I would have reached 200 no problem.
I added 29 life birds this year; 2 fewer than last year. Eighteen of them were added while we vacationed in Florida in the spring. I am now up to 344 life birds. My New York State Life List stands at 256 species; I added 14 birds to it this year.
This is my 128th post of the year. I was surprised when I totaled it up because I would have thought that I had posted more than last year, but in fact this is 25 fewer posts than I did last year.
And finally, according to Google Analytics, the blog had 21,228 visits by 9,913 individuals. I am happy to report that visits have more than doubled in the last year and the blog has reached over 2 1/2 times as many individuals this year.
BIRD OF THE YEAR AND MOST EXCITING BIRDING EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR: GYRFALCON!
~Gyrfalcon perched off of Hoagerburgh Road in Ulster County, 2/7/15.~
The Gyrfalcon was originally located by Karen Maloy near Blue Chip Farms on February 6th in the afternoon. When I relocated the Gyrfalcon the following day, it was definitely my most exciting birding experience of the year, maybe of my life. I nearly had a heart attack when I pulled up my binoculars to check out a raptor that had just landed in an evergreen, and it was the Gyrfalcon! This is not a bird you can mistake, but I felt like I had to keep checking – I just couldn’t believe it! What an incredible looking bird, just gorgeous. And then, it became famous. Birders and photographers came from all over to see it. It caused traffic jams wherever it decided to perch. For me it was and easy decision, the Gyrfalcon = Bird of the Year AND Most Exciting Birding Experience rolled into one.
BIRDING LOCATION OF THE YEAR: MOUNT PETER HAWKWATCH
~GOLDEN EAGLE directly over the viewing platform at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/17/15.~
It was difficult for me to come up with any location that stood out this year, but as I started to think back over the year I realized that doing the hawkwatch is definitely one of my favorite types of birding, if not my favorite. I really enjoy the challenge of identifying raptors in flight, and it helps that I felt more confident than ever this year. I also enjoy the camaraderie at the hawkwatch. Judy Cinquina has really assemble a great crew of dedicated volunteers. The record number of Broad-winged Hawks was fun and exciting, but my personal highlight was seeing my first Golden Eagle at Mt. Pete. It was great to finally get one up there; it was a juvenile that was very accommodating as it flew directly over the viewing platform which allowed me to get some decent shots of the bird.
TOP TEN PHOTOS OF THE YEAR
Last year I changed this section from “Photo of the Year” to “Top Five Photos of the Year”. After looking back at my photos from 2015, I’ve decided to increase it once again, this time to ten photos. While I did not have a single shot that stood out as the “best”, I did feel like I had a good number of good photos and it was difficult to pare them down to ten. And, photographs have always been an important part of this blog, so I figured why not. Due to a strange update to the blog, you need to click on the photos once, and then a second time to see large versions.
~Short-eared Owl in the black dirt, 2/22/15.~~Male Northern Harrier, the “Gray Ghost” at Missionland Road, 3/21/15.~~Anhinga fishing at Naples Botanical Garden, 5/6/15.~~Cooper’s Hawk at Newburgh Waterfront, 1/24/15.~~Common Loon at Follensby Clear Pond, 6/13/15.~~Upland Sandpiper at Blue Chip Farms, 6/9/15.~~Burrowing Owl in Cape Coral, Florida 5/5/15.~~Roseate Spoonbill at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, 5/3/15.~~Double-crested Cormorant at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, 5/3/15.~~Northern Harrier at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~
Once again, I’d like to thank all the birders in our area. Special thanks to Rob Stone, John Haas, Judy Cinquina, Karen Miller, Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris and Kyle Dudgeon for all their help and good company this year. Happy New Year to everyone, I’m looking forward to the birds of 2016!
~A Red-tailed Hawk takes flight off of an icy perch, Black Dirt Region, 12/2915.~
With the overnight frozen mix that continued with a steady rain in the morning, I did not think I would get much birding in today, and I certainly was not optimistic about taking photos. Fortunately the roads were fine for driving, so I did a tour of the black dirt in my car. I ran into some good birds close enough to the road for pics, and the icy conditions made for what I think are some interesting photos. I had a total of 33 species for the day; I covered a large territory and I’ve included two species I picked up during a quick stop at Tomahawk Lake at the end of the outing (Common Merganser and N. Mockingbird). I’ve included my species list at the bottom of this post.
~Cooper’s Hawk, Black Dirt Region, 12/29/15.~~My latest favorite – American Tree Sparrow framed in icy branches. Black Dirt Region, 12/29/15.~~Red-tailed Hawk on an icy perch, Black Dirt Region 12/29/15.~
Black Dirt Region and Tomahawk Lake, December 29, 2015:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Common Merganser
Black Vulture
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Blackbird sp.
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
~I am totally loving the Tree Sparrows this year, I just think they are a super looking sparrow. Walked River National Wildlife Refuge, 12/28/15.~
Although the birding has been less than outstanding, I have gotten out and birded Orange County several times in the past week or so. Of note, I finally got a Brown Creeper for the county yesterday (#197 on my county list) just outside of Port Jervis. And then today I finally got my first ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK of the season in Pine Island. Not much else has been noteworthy, but it has still been good to get out. I’ve included several photos from the past week or so.
~Adult Bald Eagle in Pine Island, 12/19/15.~Always a favorite and usually not in such good light – Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Wickham Woodlands Town Park, 12/19/15.~An American Kestrel fans its tail in an effort to keep its balance on a windy day. Pine Island, 12/27/15.~I am pushing the limits of cropping an image here. Rough-legged Hawk, my first of the season, moments before successfully hunting prey. Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 12/28/15.~~There are still approximately 20 American Coots right near the viewing platform at the Liberty Loop, Wallkill River NWR, 12/28/15.~~Red-tailed Hawk at Wallkill River NWR, 12/28/15.~
~TUFTED DUCK at Lake Capri in West Islip, NY 12/26/15.~
Tricia and I had a great time on Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Suffolk County, Long Island, celebrating with our families. On our way out of town today, we stopped at Lake Capri in West Islip to try for the Tufted Duck that has been reported there. The earliest reports on eBird are from 12/13/15, and the most recent report was from Christmas Eve, so I was feeling confident that the bird would still be present. Shortly after arriving, we realized that viewing at Lake Capri is less than ideal. As far as we could tell, the only viewing area was along Montauk Highway at the south end of the lake. There is a chain link fence and much vegetation to look through, which made viewing and taking photos a little bit of a challenge. I did better capturing the bird with my iPhone through the spotting scope, but for them the photo quality is then pretty poor. Previous reports indicate that this is a young male TUDU; it is a beautiful bird and life bird #344 for me.
~Here’s an iPhone shot of the Tufted Duck, digiscoped through my spotting scope. This shot almost has the feel of a painting to me. TUDU Lake Capri in West Islip, NY 12/26/15.~
~It was a less than ideal morning for photos, this shot was taken at ISO 3200. Hermit Thrush at Goose Pond Mountain, 12/24/15.~
I took a nice walk at Goose Pond Mountain this Christmas Eve morning in the unseasonably warm weather. While there were plenty of birds on my walk, the variety was not great and I had a modest 17 species. The highlight for me was seeing this Hermit Thrush. Conditions were not great for photography, but I was still very happy to photograph this bird since it was only the second HETH I’ve had this year in Orange County and my first was just a brief look with no time for photos. It was a nice way to spend Christmas Eve morning; I’ll take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating.
Here’s my list for the morning:
Mallard
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
