This morning, Karen VanDyk located a Northern Shrike at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I went over to try for the bird, and Kyle Knapp was already present and on the bird. It was a little distant at first and I took some initial documentary shots. Then things got interesting; first the shrike got into a brief tangled with a Northern Mockingbird. The bird then relocated to the backside of a nearby bush; we could just barely through the branches. A Merlin then shot through; it made a pass at the shrike and then perched in tree along the river. Meanwhile, the shrike had somehow procured some sort of prey and we watched as it ate, through mostly obscured views in the depths of the bush. Once finished, the bird started calling, calling, calling. Finally the bird got quiet, and we lost the bird sometime soon after that. What a cool experience to spend some time with such an excellent bird. Huge thanks to Karen for the alert.
~Nothern Shrike at Winding Waters trail, 01/12/25.~~Red-tailed Hawk perched on some farm equipment. Black dirt region, 01/12/25.~~I was up early with Coyotes on my mind. I was not disappointed; this photo is pretty terrible, but I enjoyed watching this Coyote running full speed across a field. Black Dirt Region 01/12/25.~
It’s been a nice start to the new year of birding. I started with a nice 5-gull afternoon at the Newburgh Waterfront (Ring-billed, Am. Herring, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, and Iceland). Then, yesterday, it was exciting to see the Eurasian Wigeon. And I had some more excitement today, chasing a Clay-colored Sparrow that Bruce Nott found in the Black Dirt Region. Unfortunately I was unable to relocate that bird (I don’t think anyone has), but it was exciting to try for a good bird like that. I did get my first Lapland Longspur and Snow Buntings of the year, so that was nice. Anyways, here’s a handful of shots from the past week or so.
~Male Northern Harrier in the black dirt on 01/05/25.~~Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 01/01/25.~~Adult Bald Eagle at Wickham Lake, 12/30/24.~~American Tree Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 01/05/25.~~One more shot of the “Gray Ghost”, a male Northern Harrier in the Black Dirt Region 01/05/25.~
On New Year’s Day, Diane Bliss found a EURASIAN WIGEON in the small ponds across from Warwick Town Hall. The bird was not relocated on the 2nd, but then it resurfaced on the 3rd. I couldn’t run for it because I was working, so I was hoping it would hang in there for me until today. Which it did. Huge thanks to Kyle Knapp, who was on the scene before sunrise, and not only did he let me know the bird was there, he stuck around to make sure I got it. The bird is a beautiful drake and was an Orange County lifer for me, nudging my total number of birds in the county to 278.
~Wow! EURASIAN WIGEON in Warwick, NY 01/04/25.~~I finally ran into the Warwick leucistic Red-tailed Hawk after not seeing the bird for a good while (maybe a year or so?).~
Looking back at it, it was a pretty remarkable year of birding in our area. We had an extraordinary number of what I would consider REALLY GOOD BIRDS. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with a good number of them. Here’s the list that I came up with, in chronological order. I’m sure there are additional birds that could have made the list; if you have any, feel free to add a comment to fill in the gaps.
01/01/24: Red Crossbills flyover at Reservoir 3, near Port Jervis. It was good to get this bird on my year list on the first day of the year, and I was able to photograph one gritting on the road several weeks later:
~Red Crossbill in Huguenot, NY 02/24/24.~
01/06/24: Northern Shrike at Wallkill River NWR’s Winding Waters Trail. It’s always good to see one of the coolest birds we get in our area.
~Northern Shrike at Wallkill River NWR’s Winding Waters Trail, 01/06/24.~
01/07/24: I found a Yellow-throated Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront trail See photo below in top 10 pics.
01/21/24: GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL!!! An absolutely fantastic find by Bruce Nott. Bruce originally found the bird at the Newburgh Waterfront; I was personally able to catch up with it in Beacon a day later.
~GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL at the Beacon Waterfront, 01/21/24.~
02/11/24: Ross’s Goose on Wisner Road, found by Maria Loukeris. Another Ross’s Goose was located in the fall by Silas Wareham.
03/02/24: I found a Red-headed Woodpecker at Brown’s Pond.
04/13/24: I finally caught up with the Great Cormorant that had been in the Newburgh area. I believe Bruce Nott was the original locater of that bird.
04/20/24: LITTLE GULL!!! Extraordinary find by Jeanne Cimorelli, originally at Washington Lake, and then later relocated by Bruce Nott on the Hudson River by Plum Point.
~I have been desparate to see this bird, and finally we got one in Orange County. LITTLE GULL at Plum Point, 04/20/24.~
05/12/24: The NEOTROPIC CORMORANT spent its 3rd year in a row at the Newburgh Waterfront area. I was able to catch up with it on this date.
05/13/24: TRICOLORED HERON!!! Another great OC find by Linda Scrima. It was really something to see this species in our area, and just minutes from my house.
~TRICOLORED HERON at Beaver Pond, 05/13/24.~
06/01/24: I was able to see and photograph the Kentucky Warbler on Mine Road, originally found by Bruce Nott.
~Kentucky Warbler at Mine Road, 06/01/24.~
06/30/24: I was thrilled to find an AMERICAN AVOCET at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary.
~AMERICAN AVOCET at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/30/24.~
07/12/24: I found a Blue Grosbeak in the Black Dirt Region. It had been a while since we’ve had one, and I believe a lot of birders got this one.
07/06/24: Borderline extralimital; Jeanne Cimorelli made another extraordinary find – she identified a PACIFIC LOON among a group of Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County. I was able to catch up with the bird a day later, and then I went back a week later and got some decent photos.
~PACIFIC LOON with Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/14/24.~
08/02/24: A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was found by Mary B. at Majestic Park in Gardiner NY. I did not get this bird unfortunately.
08/09/24: Jeanne had a remarkable 21 Laughing Gulls at the Newburgh waterfront, and later in the evening, I found a pair of Willets in the Black Dirt Region. A day later, John Haas had a Laughing Gull at Rondout Reservoir.
~One of two Willets in the black dirt, 08/09/24.~
11/24/24: A CAVE SWALLOW was found by Patrick D. at Roundout Reservoir. I unfortunately did not have any opportunity to run for this bird.
OUT OF OUR AREA
In early February, I went on a 12 hour pelagic trip out of Brooklyn. While we did not have any extraordinary birds, we did do very well with good numbers of our target Alcid species, including Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Dovekie, and Common Murre. I also enjoyed some great photo ops with Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
~ICELAND GULL during the American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24. ~
In early May, Tricia and I spent a long weekend on Cape Cod. Again, I didn’t have anything out-of-the-ordinary, but but it was super birdy with loads of photo ops.
~White-winged Scoters in flight at High Head Beach on Cape Cod, 05/05/24.~
And then, in late August, I joined Rob Stone and we did an overnight pelagic out of Cape Cod. During this trip, we had several extraordinary birds, and I got 5 new life birds, including my #1 target for the trip, SOUTH POLAR SKUA. My other lifers were: Long-tailed Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, White-faced Storm-petrel, and Audubon’s Storm Petrel.
~The bird of the trip for me – one of two South Polar Skuas. BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~
TOP TEN PHOTOS OF THE YEAR
And finally, to my favorite part of this post each year: my top ten photos of the year. I love to look back over a year of bird photography and try to whittle it down to my favorites. I feel like this year’s top ten is a little bit weaker than some that I’ve had in previous years, but hopefully I’m being overly critical of my own work, and readers will find them appealing.
#1: American Kestrel in the Black Dirt Region, 12/01/24.~#2: I loved this photo from the moment I took it. Willow Flycatcher in the Black Dirt Region, 08/03/24.~#3: A snow covered White-tailed Deer at Reservoir 3, 02/17/24.~#4: A Semipalmated Plover marches through the dirt in the Black Dirt Region, 08/10/24.~#5: Northern Gannet in flight during the American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic on 02/10/24. This photo has always been a little bit of a mystery to me – I love the image, but I don’t know why it has such a pastel-y quality to it.~#6: Louisiana Waterthrush does a balancing act at Black Rock Forest, 06/08/24.~#7: Cedar Waxwing at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/28/24.~#8: Yellow-throated Warbler at the Waterfront Trail in Newburgh, 01/07/24.~#9: It’s not very often you get to see a Red-necked Grebe up close like this. Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~#10: A sharp looking Horned Lark in the Black Dirt Region, 11/17/24.~
It was a relatively uneventful weekend of birding for me. Friday was my best day and the only day that I got any photos; I started at Greenwood Lake, where I had a Common Loon and an American Coot as my best birds. Then I went to the black dirt, where everything was frozen and covered with ice crystals, which made for some decent photo ops. On Saturday I birded the Reservoir 3 area near Port Jervis but had only the usuals. On Sunday I hiked at Black Rock Forest in the rain, and it was more of the usuals. Afterwards, I stopped at the Newburgh Waterfront, where Bruce Nott and I had 2 Iceland Gulls.
~Savannah Sparrow in the black dirt, 12/27/24.~~Song Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 12/27/24.~~American Coot at Greenwood Lake, 12/27/24.~~Common Loon at Greenwood Lake, 12/27/24.~~I was just starting to go through this flock of Canada Geese, when a car came by and flushed them. Black Dirt Region, 12/27/24.~
I joined birding bud Bruce Nott at the Beacon Waterfront this afternoon, and had my first productive gulling of the season. Before I arrived, Bruce had already located 3 Iceland Gulls and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Fortunately, we were able to relocated all five individuals. The LBBGs consisted of one adult and one immature. Unfortunately both birds were a bit distant, so photos were less than ideal. As for the Iceland Gulls, all three birds were gorgeous, but on bird was a remarkable looking adult, which we don’t get to see as often as the younger birds. Huge thanks to Bruce for all his help and the great company.
~Wow! Adult Iceland Gull behind a couple of American Herring Gulls at the Beacon Waterfront, 12/26/24.~~Immature Iceland Gull at the Beacon Waterfront, 12/26/24,~ ~Iceland Gull on the jetty, Beacon Waterfront 12/26/24.~~American Herring Gull at the Beacon Waterfront, 12/26/24.~~One more shot of the adult Iceland Gull, 12/26/24.~
I can’t remember if I’ve ever had the opportunity to bird on Christmas Eve since I started seriously birding over 12 years ago. But this year, circumstances were such that I was able to get out for a couple hours in the evening. I went out to the black dirt region and drove around. Slowly, an interesting and enjoyable evening of birding began to unfold. I was seeing a fair number of Red-tailed Hawks around, which is pretty normal. But then one flew over my car with what looked like a snake in its talons. I saw where the hawk perched and got closer to explore. Sure enough, the raptor had a live snake and was starting to consume it. Where does a Red-tailed Hawk find a snake in the dead of winter?
~Red-tailed Hawk enjoying a meal in the black dirt, 12/24/24.~
I started seeing more and more raptors; mostly Red-tails (~10) and Northern Harriers (~8), but I also had a Peregrine Falcon and 4 Adult Bald Eagles. The icing on the cake was finding 3 Short-eared Owls. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a shorty, so I really enjoyed it.
~Short-eared Owl in the Black Dirt Region, 12/24/24.~
I saw and heard many, many Horned Larks flying around, and I heard at least 2 Lapland Longspurs among them, but no Snow Buntings. As the sun was setting, many, many Canada Geese were flying in, looking for a place to roost for the night. I had a small flock of 7 Snow Geese with them. I had a brief moment t of excitement- in a distant field I spotted a lone swan. I figured for sure it would be either a Tundra or a Trumpeter, but unfortunately it turned out to be a Mute Swan! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Mute Swan sitting out in a field before. I guess you just never know what you will find if you get out and go birding.
~Mute Swan in a field!?! What the heck? Black dirt region, 12/24/24.~
It was a cold but enjoyable weekend of birding. I mostly had the usual suspects, with a couple of exceptions. First thing Saturday morning, I went to Wickham Lake, where I found a Common Loon, always a favorite. Afterwards, I hit the Black Dirt Region; I enjoyed being out in the fresh snow, but found only the expected species. Then, on Sunday morning I headed back out to Highland Lakes State Park to try for the Ruffed Grouse again (I can’t help myself!). It was super cold out (9 degrees Fahrenheit), but I still managed to enjoy a nice walk around the park. Of course I had no luck with the grouse, but I did score with a beautiful puffed up Hermit Thrush; I believe this is only my second Hermit Thrush in Orange County this year. I also hit the Newburgh Waterfront on Sunday, but had just the usuals.
~Hermit Thrush at Highland Lakes SP, 12/22/24.~
~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 12/21/24.~~Red-tailed Hawk in the black dirt, 12/21/24.~~White-throated Sparrow at Highland Lakes SP, 12/22/24.~~American Tree Sparrow in the black dirt, 12/21/24.~
I birded all morning and into the early afternoon today. I started at Highland Lakes State Park, just after sunrise. I was following up on a report of a Ruffed Grouse by Joyce DePew. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, I did not have any luck with the grouse. Afterwards, I headed over to the Newburgh Waterfront to see if I could find any good birds to contribute to the Eastern Orange County Christmas Bird Count. I could not, lol, I just had the usuals. I ran into birding bud Bruce Nott, and he’d found a couple of good birds: Horned Grebe and Yellow Warbler. I tried for both but did not have any luck.
My luck changed for the better in the early afternoon, when I went to Popp Park in Wallkill, to try for the two Greater White-fronted Geese that Jeanne Cimorelli found there yesterday. I was able to easily relocate the birds just after my arrival. They were tucked in tight for a good while, but finally they made a move and I was able to get some decent shots. It was the highlight of my day to see these two beauties.
~One of two Greater White-fronted Geese on the Wallkill River at Popp Park in Ulster County, 12/14/24.~~Here they are together; Greater White-fronted Geese at Popp Park, 12/14/24.~~This dude did a flyby and landed just across the way. Great Blue Heron at Popp Park, 12/14/24.~
My birding time was a little bit limited this weekend, so I spent most of it just birding the black dirt. For the most part it was just the usual cast of characters for this time of year, however one highlight was relocating the Ross’s Goose. It was associating with a flock of Canada Geese still; I found it swimming in a small pond off Little York Road. I also had a nice look at a handful of Snow Buntings in a small flock of Horned Larks. I’ve been hoping the arrival of some more exciting winter species; hopefully there will be a pleasant surprise in the coming week.
~Ross’s Goose off of Little York Road, on the edge of the black dirt region, 12/07/24.~~Orange County Barred Owl, 12/08/24.~~White-crowned Sparrow in the black dirt, 12/07/24.~~I saw more than a few Northern Harriers in the black dirt over the weekend, including several Gray Ghosts. But it was this beautiful female that came in close enough for a shot on Saturday 12/07/24.~
