Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 02/08/26

My goodness, it was a COLD weekend! Saturday, with the strong winds, may have been the coldest conditions I’ve ever birded in. Which is why I spent nearly every minute in the car, only getting out on a few occasions. Sunday started off pretty cold too, but did not have the same winds that we had on Saturday and was eventually borderline comfortable, as long as you were in the sun. I spent all morning Saturday in the black dirt and I got mostly the usuals. The best thing about the substantial snow cover is that it brought some of my favorite birds (Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs) into more accessible areas.

~Lapland Longspur in the black dirt on 02/07/26.~

On Sunday I started out in the black dirt again; I made my way out to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I walked out to the fork and back – it was brutally cold, but it felt good to get out of the car and take a walk. Then I headed to the Newburgh Waterfront area. I made a quick stop at Kendridge Farm, where I enjoyed the company of a large flock of American Robins, probably north of a hundred individuals. At the waterfront, it was too early in the day for much gull action, but I was luck enough to find 17 Common Goldeneyes in the only open water I could find, straight out from Blu Pointe restaurant. They were eventually flushed by a US Coast Guard boat breaking through the ice and I watched as they flew down river.

~Common Goldeneyes in flight over the Hudson River at the Newburgh Waterfront, 02/08/26.~

On my way home I started thinking about the TUNDRA SWAN that has been observed in the area in recent days. I’d tried for that bird on the Wallkill River on Celery Avenue four times already over the weekend, but something made me think I should try one more time. At the Celery Avenue location, I was unable to locate the bird, but I did meet Rick and MaryAnn Ronzoni. They had had similar poor luck with this bird; we commiserated and went our separate ways. I was headed home when my phone rang – it was the Ronzonis – they had found the bird in a field on Onion Avenue! I turned around and the bird was still there when I arrived – and what a beauty it was. Huge thanks to the Ronzonis, who went out of their way to make sure I got that bird.

~Tundra Swan siting in a snowy field in the black dirt region, 02/08/26.~

02/09/26 Update: I woke up in the middle of the night last night and remembered that I’d wanted to mention the impact that bird flu is having on our local birds. I generally try to keep the blog upbeat and mostly positive, but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring it up here. I’d seen reports on eBird and on the Mearns Birding App of larger numbers of Canada Geese that have died from the Avian Virus. But, personally, I’d only seen a small number of birds in my travels up until this weekend. The scene at the Wallkill River on Celery Avenue is downright shocking. The mostly frozen river is absolutely littered with dead geese – when I first saw them on Saturday morning it really had an effect on me. I didn’t do any counting, but just based on what I saw, I would estimate that there was at least 75-100 birds that had succumbed to the virus. According to reports on the Mearns App, the birds have been reported to the DEC. It’s very sad, but unfortunately that’s just the state of things right now. If I hear any additional information, I’ll try to post it in a timely manner.

~American Tree Sparrow in the black dirt, 02/08/26.~

~Snow Bunting in the black dirt, 02/07/26.~

~Lapland Longspur in the black dirt, 02/07/26.~

~Eastern Bluebird at Winding Waters Trail, 02/08/26.~

~American Robin at Kenridge Farm, 02/08/26.~

~A young Bald Eagle in the black dirt region, 02/08/26.~

~Young Bald Eagle on prey in the black dirt, 02/07/26.~

Sunday Shots – Short-eared Owl Edition, 01/25/26

In the early days of this blog, I used to spend a fair amount of time observing and photographing Short-eared Owls (click here or here for examples). But in recent years, readers of the blog may have noticed that for the most part, I’ve stopped photographing SEOWs (other than the odd bird that I might run into from time to time). Back in the day, it was a peaceful endeavor for me, with very few other birders or photographers around. But things changed and all the owl hotspots became jammed with folks who also wanted to see and photograph the owls. This wasn’t for me, so I’ve mostly stayed away and turned my attention to other species. But, this Saturday evening I gave it another shot and went out to the Black Dirt Region to try for Short-eared Owls for the first time in a long while. I got lucky; the owls got up early and it made for excellent evening with plenty of action. There were a few other folks there as well, but it wasn’t loaded. It was an enjoyable evening, and I was happy to get my first decent SEOW shots in quite a while, but I don’t imagine I’ll get back into it like I was back in the day.

~Short-eared Owl in the Black Dirt Region, 01/24/26.~

~Northern Harrier in the Black Dirt Region, 01/24/26.~

Snowy Sunday Shots, 01/18/26

Well, it was certainly a snowy weekend, and I birded as the snow fell on both mornings. First thing Saturday morning I took a walk at Black Rock Forest. There is a feeder station there that was pretty active, particularly with modest sized flock of Purple Finches. Afterwards, I went to the Newburgh waterfront – visibility was terrible with the heavy snowfall, but it was still nice to be out and at the river – I was enjoying the different aesthetic of the day, where everything is just in shades of gray and white. I had only the three expected species of gulls in Newburgh, so I went over to Beacon, where I didn’t do any better, in fact I only had Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls.

~Ring-billed Gull at the Beacon Waterfront, 01/17/26.~

On Sunday morning I ventured out into the snow again. My initial target was the Ross’s Goose that had been reported this week at two locations in Warwick. I dipped on that bird, so I headed over to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail to try for the Northern Shrike again. That bird has been very unreliable, and I had no luck again. Same as Saturday though, it was just nice to just be out in the weather and I enjoyed the few birds that I did find along the trail. Afterwards I car-birded in the black dirt for a while as I made my way home. It was nice to be out, but I didn’t have any birds of note.

~White-throated Sparrow taking off. Winding Waters Trail, 01/18/26.~

~White-throated Sparrow sitting in the snow at Winding Waters Trail, 01/18/26.~

~I had my first Great Blue Heron of 2026 at Memorial Park in Warwick this morning, 01/18/26.~

~In the field I thought this was a House Finch. Looking at the photo now, I’m thinking it’s likely a Purple Finch. Black Rock Forest on 01/17/26.~

Sunday Shots, 01/11/26

It was not a very exciting weekend of birding, but it was still quite enjoyable. The warm temperatures we’ve been experiencing melted nearly all the snow, which allowed me to walk some trails. On Saturday I went to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I failed to find my target bird of the day – Northern Shrike – which has been reported there in recent days. But it was a nice, birdy walk and I added (3) species to my 2026 Orange County list: Northern Flicker, Swamp Sparrow, and Pine Siskin.

~The bird of the day on Saturday 01/10/26 – I had plenty of American Trees Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail.

On Sunday, I hit the trails again, this time at Kenridge Farm in Cornwall (apparently now known as Outdoor Discovery Center. Again, it wasn’t exciting as much as it was pleasant and birdy enough to keep me interested. I added just a single new species to my OC year list – Purple Finch. Afterwards, I went to the Newburgh Waterfront; it was a little too early in the day for any good gull action, but I did find one Red-breasted Merganser among the many Common Mergansers currently on the river.

~Rough-legged Hawk in the black dirt on 01/10/26. I wonder if I’ll ever get another good photo op with one these birds – it’s been ages.

~American Tree Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, 01/10/26.

Good Birding in the New Year, 01/04/26

I’ve had a pleasant and productive start to 2026. I was off work from Christmas through today, so it has been a nice break with a lot of birding.

New Year’s Day: I started the year off by taking care of some good birds in the black dirt. Birds of note included a couple of lingering Greater White-fronted Geese, Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, and a Lapland Longspur. A pleasant surprise was a young Peregrine Falcon. In the afternoon I went to Newburgh for gulls, but all the gulls were loafing across the river at the Beacon Waterfront. It was brutally cold over there, with the wind whipping in my face, but I was able to get the Glaucous Gull and 3 Iceland Gulls.

~Love, love, love this bird. Glaucous Gull on the ice at the Beacon Waterfront on 01/01/26.~

January 2nd: I went to Reservoir #3 first thing in the morning. My target bird was Red Crossbill, but I had no luck there. I did pick up a few good birds, however, including Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, and Golden-crowned Kinglet. On the way back I stopped by the Liberty Loop and added Rough-legged Hawk, American Tree Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrows. On my way home I found 3 Snow Geese in a flock of Canada Geese.

~Young Peregrine Falcon cruises through in the black dirt, 01/01/26.~

January 3rd: I participated in another Christmas Bird Count, this time with Maria Loukeris. Our area included Port Jervis, so I was back in that area again. New birds for me that day included: Bald Eagle, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, and a nice look at a Barred Owl.

~This was a nice surprise. Barred Owl in the area of Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis, 01/03/26.~

January 4th: I had an excellent morning at the Newburgh Waterfront. I caught up with the Glaucous and an Iceland Gull – this time in Orange County. I also got lucky with the continuing rare warblers at the Waterfront Trail – I saw both the Northern Yellow and the Orange-crowned on my first try – if you know my track record with warblers, you know this is a record.

~I got my first decent Lapland Longspur photos of the season. Black Dirt Region on 12/31/25.~

~Love these guys. LALO in the BDR on 12/31/25.~

~American Crow coming in for a landing in the Black Dirt Region, 01/01/26.~

~Horned Lark in the black dirt on 01/01/26.

~Cooper’s Hawk giving me the stare down. Kendridge Farm, 01/04/26.~

~One more shot of the Coop at Kendridge Farm, 01/04/26.~

~Red-winged Blackbirds in the black dirt on 12/31/25.~

~Gulls overhead. The many Bald Eagles at the river kept flushing the gulls. Beacon Waterfront, 01/01/26.~

2025 Year in Review

Well, the years just keep flying by; the older I get, the faster they seem to go by. With 2025 just about in the books, it’s time to take a look back at the year in birding here at Orange Birding. This year I tried an experiment where I did all my record keeping old school style – with a pen and paper in a notebook. I thought I might enjoy getting back to the way I started, but the truth is I missed the convenience and thoroughness of entering my data on eBird, so in 2026 I will be getting back to it. My notebook, meanwhile, indicates that 2025 was a productive year of birding for me. I tallied 215 species in the county, which is slightly higher than my average over the past ten years. And what was exciting about it, and what made it so enjoyable, is that a good number of the 215 were from three of my favorite types of birds: shorebirds, gulls, and geese.

SHOREBIRDS: I had a fantastic year with my absolute favorite type of birds – shorebirds. I had my highest count ever in the county, with 23 species observed. That high count was achieved in part due to an epic shorebird fallout we experienced in the area on May 31st. During that event, I observed twelve different species of shorebird and close to a thousand individuals. The bird of the day was Red Knot; several were found that day, and I believe there was only one other observation in the county previously. Other really good birds included Ruddy Turnstone (100+ individuals), and a single Red-necked Phalarope. Then, in the fall, I did very well; I somehow kept finding good birds and was even able to have a close encounter with the very elusive Upland Sandpiper.

~Upland Sandpiper in the Black Dirt Region on 08/23/25.~

GULLS: Early in the year, during the month of January, I observed the three expected species (Ring-billed, American Herring, & Great Black-backed) as well as Iceland and Lesser Black-backed at the Newburgh Waterfront. I had my first Bonaparte’s Gull of the year on March 30th, at Wickham Lake. And I reached my year total of 7 species on December 29th, with a Glaucous Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront – huge thanks to Bruce Nott for the heads up on that one. Seven species of gull falls just short of my high count for the county of eight, which I had back in 2020 and 2021.

~Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake on 04/13/25.~

GEESE: I also had a good year with geese in the county, with a total of 7 species observed. I had my first Cackling Goose of the year on January 18th. Then I was able to catch up with a Pink-footed Goose in the black dirt on March 8th. In the fall I picked up Brant in several flyovers during hawkwatch at Mount Peter. December 6th was an historic day in Orange County regarding Greater White-fronted Geese, with 29 individuals found in the Black Dirt Region. And finally I added a couple of Ross’s Geese on December 21st – thanks to Silas Wareham for the alert for those birds.

~Two of the 29 Greater White-fronted Geese in the black dirt on 12/06/25.~

TOP TEN PHOTOS OF 2025

As always, I like to include my ten favorite photos from the year. After all the years of taking photos of birds, it seems like it gets harder and harder for me to take photos that stand out to me when I go back a look at them at the end of the year. This year I was drawn to what I would consider some of my more artistic photographs. I really enjoy it when a bird photo also includes some painterly elements and I’ve included several such photos in this year’s list.

And finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the birders out there. Thanks everyone who reads the blog and especially those of you who leave a comment from time to time – the comments make my week. I also want to thank all my birding buds out there, for all the help and because you all make it that much more fun out there. Happy New Year to all, here’s to a very birdy 2026.

~American Pipit in the black dirt on 11/02/25.~

~A young Horned Lark in the Black Dirt Region, 08/11/25.~

~Common Goldeneye at the Newburgh Waterfront on 02/08/25.~

~Red-winged Blackbirds in the black dirt on 11/02/25.~

~American Goldfinch in the black dirt on o5/25/25.~

~Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Winding Waters Trail, 05/04/25~

~Prairie Warbler at Sterling Forest S.P., 05/19/25.~

~Blackpoll Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront Trail, 12/07/25.~

~American Kestrel in the black dirt on 01/19/25.~

Sandy Hook, 12/28/25

Today I joined birding bud Maria Loukeris for a day of birding at Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area. It had been just over three years since I’d last birded Sandy Hook, so I jumped at the opportunity. We got very lucky with the weather; it was cold but with very little wind, which made it pleasant to be outside all day. All the birds we observed for the day were expected species, but there were still some nice highlights. My favorite moment of the day was getting a nice look (my first good look ever) at a beautiful Ipswich Savannah Sparrow. See excellent photo by Maria below. We also enjoyed seeing and hearing several flocks of Snow Buntings flying up and down the beach. We eventually got lucky with a flock that put down on the beach not very far from us. Also , Yellow-rumped Warblers were numerous; we seemed to be seeing and hearing them at almost every turn.

~Photo by Maria Loukeris – Ipswich Savannah Sparrow at Sandy Hook on 12/28/25.~

~Sanderling on the move at Sandy Hook, 12/28/25.~

~American Herring Gull on the snowy beach at Sandy Hook GNRA, 12/28/25.~

~One of several Snow Bunting flocks that we saw throughout the day. Sandy Hook GNRA, 12/28/25.~

~White-winged Scoter at Sandy Hook GNRA, 12/28/25.~

~Yellow-rumped Warbler at Sandy Hook, 12/28/25.~

A Good Weekend, 12/21/25

On Saturday I participated in the Christmas Bird Count for the first time ever. I joined Jodi Brodsky and birded the Newburgh Waterfront for the full day. With some key contributions from Bruce Nott, we had a total of 48 species. I’m not sure how that measures up to previous years, but I thought it was pretty good. The best bird for Jodi and I was a Great Cormorant. Thanks to Jodi for inviting me, she was a pleasure to bird with, and it was nice to do some birding with a purpose – it’s pretty rewarding.

~Red-shouldered Hawk at Chadwick Lake Park, during the CBC on 12/20/25.~

Today I hit a lot of my usual Orange County spots and got a lot of the usuals. Then I got word from Bruce that he had the Orange-crowned Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront. I ran for the bird, and it stuck around for me – I’ve included a documentary shot of the bird at the bottom of this post. Later in the day, when I was home with a cat on my lap and my feet up, Silas Wareham contacted me. He had two ROSS’S GEESE in the Black Dirt Region. I ran for the birds and joined Silas and Linda Scrima who were on the birds when I arrived. It’s an interesting couple of geese – there is a fairly obvious size difference between the two, but I believe that can be attributed to sexual dimorphism. I will be reporting both of these birds as Ross’s, and we will see if the report is accepted.

~Ross’s Geese in the black dirt, 12/21/25.~

~One more shot of the Ross’s Geese in the black dirt, 12/21/25.~

~Northern Yellow Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront Trail, 12/21/25.~

~A young Cooper’s Hawk, just after sunrise this morning in the black dirt, 12/21/25.~

~Orange-crowned Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront Trail, 12/21/25.~

Sunday Shots, 12/07/25

Well it was quite a weekend of birding! The big excitement was, of course, the record-breaking number of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE on Saturday. It was an exciting find for me, and it seems like a lot of birders have gotten to see them in the past day and a half. Other notable observations included:

(13) Sandhill Cranes at the Liberty Loop
White-crowned Sparrow, Gambel’s subspecies, also at the Liberty Loop
Great Horned Owl in the Black Dirt Region
Common Loon at Wickham Lake, just after sunrise Sunday morning, complete with beautiful calling
Northern Yellow Warbler and Blackpoll Warbler at Newburgh Waterfront
Loads of Horned Larks, a large flock of Snow Buntings, and a single Lapland Longspur (still no photo this season!)

~I didn’t think I would be posting a colorful warbler photo in early December. Blackpoll Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/078/25.~

~Great Horned Owl in the black dirt, 12/06/25.~

~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 12/07/25.~

~Ring-necked Duck at Round Lake, 12/07/25.

~I love this pose! Northern Mockingbird at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/07/25.~

~I haven’t photographed one of these dudes in a while. Hooded Merganser at Round Lake, 12/07/25.~

~Terrible photo of a remarkable 13 Sandhill Cranes at the Liberty Loop, 12/06/25.~

A Record Breaking Day, 12/06/25

First thing this morning I followed up on reports of seven Greater White-fronted Geese from the past couple of days. Unfortunately, the birds were not present at the reported location. I spent the morning birding and eventually ended up at a small pond in the outskirts of the Black Dirt Region. As I scanned, I found some Greater White-fronted Geese and thought, great I found the seven!… but, I kept scanning and the pond was loaded with GWFGs! I put the word out, and Linda Scrima joined me and we had a total count of 26 individuals! It blew the previous high count for the county out of the water. But it gets better! Linda went directly to the original location and found 2 more individuals. And then, later in the afternoon, Jeanne Cimorelli and Curt McDermott had a count of 27! Jeanne followed up by going to the second location and got 2 more for a total of 29 Greater White-fronted Geese for the day! Incredible birding!