mattzeit

Shawangunk Grasslands NWR 11/16/13

I went out to the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR this afternoon in hopes of getting some photos of Northern Harriers. I had seen reports that the Short-eared Owls were back, but only one report where they up up before dark. I walked out to the north blind without seeing much bird activity, just a couple of harriers in distance. I was not in the blind long when I had a Northern Harrier fly in close:

Not much later, at 3:55 pm, I was pleasantly surprised to see a single Short-eared Owl come up from the grasses. I started to click away and more owls came up. The owls put on quite a show, flying all around the blind, tangling with each other and with the harriers too. The light was beautiful, and I clicked away trying not to miss any good opportunities.

I spoke to Scott Baldinger in the parking lot on my way back to my car and he gave a count for the night: He had 8 Short-eared Owls and 6 Northern Harriers in a single sweep, not too bad! What a great night of birding and bird photography!

SATURDAY MORNING

With all the exitement of getting the Short-eared Owl photos on Saturday evening, I never got around to posting about the birding I did on Saturday morning. I made several quick stops just to see what was going on.

Glenmere Lake:

Canada Goose 25
Mute Swan 6
Mallard 1
Bufflehead 1
Common Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 2
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Ring-billed Gull 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1

Lower Wisner Road:

Canada Goose 300

Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Rock Pigeon 20
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 2
Northern Shrike 1
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 35
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 50
Field Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Common Grackle 12

The Red-shouldered Hawk was eventually chase out of the area by what I am assuming was a local Red-tailed Hawk. Lower Wisner Road, 11/16/13.

One of my main goals for the morning was to try for a good photo of the Northern shrike on Lower Wisner Road. I did not succeed, but the bird continues.

Warwick Town Hall Pond:

Canada Goose 10 Gadwall 9 Northern Pintail 2

I just happened upon the little pond across from Warwick Town Hall. I was very happy with this photo!

Skinner Lane:

Canada Goose 55
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Killdeer 1
American Crow 250
Horned Lark 40
American Goldfinch 1

Citgo Pond Trail (Goshen):

Canada Goose 10
Mallard 35
Northern Shoveler 2
Green-winged Teal 8
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 25
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 4

One of several Mallards that I flushed on the trail to the pond.

Sandy Hook 11/10/13

Sunday morning I joined Judy Cinquina, Tom Millard, Denise Farrell, B.A. McGrath, and Gene Tappan on a birding trip to Sandy Hook NJ, which is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. All the folks I went with are experienced birders, and most are also official counters out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. It was really great to be able to spend the day birding with this group; the company was excellent and I also saw it as a good opportunity for me to learn. I tried to observe and listen to the other birders in the group as much as the birds in a effort to see how others go about their birding.

The wind was blowing pretty good when we arrived and it got stronger as the day passed. This seemed to keep a lot of the birds down, so it was not as active as we had hoped. I counted a total of 37 species for the day, but I may have missed a few. We did well with raptors, seeing plenty of Turkey Vultures, eight Black Vultures, many Sharp-shinned Hawks, maybe a half dozen Red-tailed Hawks, and at least a couple Cooper’s Hawks.

Sharpies were zipping around all day. I managed to get a shot of this one as it passed right over the group.

The highlight of the trip for me was looking for birds out in the ocean, with the New York City skyline off in the distance to our left. As Sanderlings shot back and forth at the water’s edge, we had many birds in the distance: Black Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Surf Scoters, Common Loons, Red-throated Loons, Royal Terns, and Northern Gannets. I particularly love watching the few gannets that came in a bit closer, they are a fantastic bird to watch in flight.

Sandy Hook is a bit of a trip from Goshen NY (over 2 hours), but well worth it. I certainly plan on getting back there again, hopefully on a day with better conditions.

The view of NYC from Sandy Hook. Not a bad way to do some birding!

Birding at Sandy Hook, — 11//10/13 – Birding at Sandy Hook with (from left to right): B.A. McGrath, Tom Millard, Denise Farrell, Gene Tappan, and Judy Cinquina.

Eastern Phoebe in a pretty setting at Sandy Hook, 11/10/13. — Eastern Phoebe at Sandy Hook, 11/10/13.

Northern Shrike Continues 11/11/13

Northern Shrike in the distance. Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, 11/11/13.

I was happy I ran into Judy Cinquina this evening. It’s always good to see Judy, she is one of my favorite people, but tonight it was especially nice because she relocated the Northern Shrike while we were out on Lower Wisner Road in Warwick NY. What a great bird, I was so happy to get a better look and to be able to at least take some documentary photographs of the bird. I’ve said it before, but, I REALLY hope this bird sticks around!

The bird was located in the two taller trees a 150-200 yards south of the parking pull over area on Lower Wisner Road.

Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 11/9/13

So it was my last day of the season as official counter out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. On my way to Mt. Peter, I stopped at Lower Wisner Road to look for the NORTHERN SHRIKE that Rob Stone reported yesterday. I relocated the bird in the distance right after my arrival. The bird flew and I didn’t track it very well – I think I was expecting it to return to its perch. Well, it never did, and I only got a brief and distant look at the bird. So, I tried for it again after the watch and I apparently missed it by 15 minutes. Several folks got to see the bird today, so that is good. Hopefully the bird will stick around and I will get a better look and possibly a photo.

At Mt. Peter, I had another slow day, but I had some decent photo ops of the birds I did see. Here is my report:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 09, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0              5             53
Turkey Vulture               4             31            110
Osprey                       0              1            124
Bald Eagle                   2             15            109
Northern Harrier             1             11             50
Sharp-shinned Hawk           0             34           1021
Cooper’s Hawk                2              9             60
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2             20            106
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              7            350            429
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              3              4
American Kestrel             0              0            112
Merlin                       0              0             14
Peregrine Falcon             0              1             14
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              3
Unknown Buteo                0              0              6
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               1              5             26

Total: 19 485 9853
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 6.5 hours

Official Counter: Matt Zeitler

Observers: Rob Stone

Weather:
Cold and cloudy with temperatures from 1 degree Celsius to 9 degrees
Celsius. Light winds all day; from the west in the morning and shifting to
southwest in the afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Bald Eagle: 1 Adult, 1 Immature
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2 Unknown
Northern Harrier: 1 Male

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Species: American Robin (66), Cedar Waxwing (20), Dark-eyed
Junco (5), Ring-billed Gull (1), Common Raven (4), American Crow (13),
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)

A "Gray Ghost" was my last bird of the day. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13. — A “Gray Ghost” was my last bird of the day. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13.

I got a really good look at this immature Bald Eagle, Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13. — Just when I thought I wasn’t going to get any birds for the day, this immature Bald Eagle passed over nice and low, Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13.

Orange County Sightings 11/6/13

A Ring-necked Pheasant in the headlights, Skinner Lane 11/6/13.

There were a couple of notable sightings in Orange County on Wednesday 11/6/13. I received a call from Bruce Nott just after 9 am. He had located an American Bittern at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge – Winding Waters Trail. The way I understand it, if you take a right at the fork in the trail, the bird was located in the first ditch that the trail crosses, on the right hand side out maybe a couple hundred yards. Congrats to Bruce on a great find. I also received a text from Rob Stone. Out at Skinner Lane, among the Horned Larks, he had relocated the two Lapland Longspurs and also had 20+ Snow Buntings.

While I was at work, I was trying to decide which of these two sightings to go check out at the end of the day. Ultimately, my decision was made for me; I got out of work a little bit late and that made going for the bittern a bit of a time crunch. My desire for Snow Bunting photos made this an easy decision to accept. Once out at Skinner, I did see two Snow Buntings in flight with about 25 larks, but they never did get close enough for photos. The longspurs were not relocated. Fellow Mearns Bird Club members Bruce, Curt, Lee, and Debbie were also out at Skinner. It was nice to shoot the breeze with them for a while; actually it was the highlight of the evening.

On our way out we had a Ring-necked Pheasant in the road. It is always difficult for me when I see these birds. They are so beautiful and wonderful to see, but knowing that the bird was likely released to be hunted saddens me. Lee and I clicked away, my best effort is at the top of this post.

Lapland Longspurs – Skinner Lane

I made a brief stop at Skinner Lane today after work to look for Snow Buntings. The Horned Larks had increased in number to somewhere between 75 and 100 birds. I did not have any luck with the buntings, but as I scanned the larks with my scope, I did manage to locate two LAPLAND LONGSPURS. Two things seemed to stand out about the longspurs. The first was was the obvious markings that form a dark frame on the cheek of the birds. The second is that they seemed to be moving differently than the surrounding larks, a little closer to the ground and more quickly too. I watched the birds for nearly a half hour in the scope, until they lifted up and I was unable to relocate them, mostly because it was getting pretty dark. This is a life bird for me, so I was of course very excited. The birds were too far out for photos, but I will certainly try for photos in the upcoming days if the birds stick around.

Huge thanks once again to Rob Stone, if it wasn’t for him talking to me about it, I would not have even been out there looking for these birds.

Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 11/2/13

Here's the obligatory Turkey Vulture photo of the week. I almost missed out this week as all birds were flying very high... — Here’s the obligatory Turkey Vulture photo of the week. I almost missed out this week as all birds were flying very high…

Here’s my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 02, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                2              2             50
Turkey Vulture               2              2             81
Osprey                       0              0            123
Bald Eagle                   4              4             98
Northern Harrier             2              2             41
Sharp-shinned Hawk           6              6            993
Cooper’s Hawk                1              1             52
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          7              7             93
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              9              9             88
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1
American Kestrel             0              0            112
Merlin                       0              0             14
Peregrine Falcon             0              0             13
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              3
Unknown Buteo                0              0              6
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               0              0             21

Total: 33 33 9401
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 7 hours

Official Counter: Matt Zeitler

Observers:

Weather:
Mix of clouds and sun, seasonably warm. Temperatures ranged from 11 degrees
Celsius to 17 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Bald Eagles: 3 Adult and 1 Immature
Northern Harrier: 1 Male and 1 Unknown
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2 Adult and 5 Unknown

Non-raptor Observations:
Non Raptor Species: Downy Woodpecker (2), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Common
Raven (2), Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Black-capped Chickadee (4), Tufted
Titmouse (1), Dark-eyed Junco (1), Blue Jay (10), Canada Goose (39), Cedar
Waxwing (12), American Robin (3), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1), American Crow
(22)

This is the firs Dark-eyed Junco I've had at the watch this year. — This is the firs Dark-eyed Junco I’ve had at the watch this year.

Horned Larks 11/1/13

Today’s early rain gave way to beautiful sunny skies in the evening, so I made my way out to Skinner Lane after work. The flock of Horned Larks continues at Skinner Lane with 2 Snow Buntings among them. Unfortunately the Snow Buntings never got close enough for photos, but I did get some Horned Larks that were not too far away. I hope these birds stick around because I would love to get some really close shots.

Snow Buntings – Skinner Lane

Here's a distant, blurry, grainy shot of one of the two Snow Buntings at Skinner Lane, 10/31/13. — There is a bird in this photo! You can click on this distant, blurry, grainy shot to get a better look at one of the two Snow Buntings at Skinner Lane, 10/31/13.

Tonight out at Skinner Lane I had 2 SNOW BUNTINGS in a flock of 25 Horned Larks. It was raining and nearly dark which was no good for photographs, but I certainly plan on getting back out there to try for some better photos. Another highlight was a female Northern Harrier chasing what I believe was a Wilson’s Snipe right over my car – it was pretty exciting!

I also made a couple of quick stops looking for waterfowl:

Glenmere Lake: Mute Swan (5), Pied-billed Grebe (3), Canada Goose (many), Double-crested Cormorant (1).

Wickham Lake: Ruddy Duck (7), Ring-necked Duck (19), Double-crested Cormorant (2).

Mt. Peter Hawk Watch

I had a nice day out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch today. I had nearly 40 migrating raptors which is not too bad considering that we had a Southwest wind all day. I had a nice variety of birds, with the highlight being 5 Bald Eagles – 3 adults and 2 immatures. Many birds flew over pretty low, which gave me the opportunity to take some photos. I was generally disappointed with my efforts, but I did manage a few decent shots.

A low flying Sharp-shinned Hawk, flying right over my head. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/26/13.

Here’s my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0             22             47
Turkey Vulture               0              6              9
Osprey                       0             18            121
Bald Eagle                   5             22             93
Northern Harrier             2             10             37
Sharp-shinned Hawk          25            541            941
Cooper’s Hawk                0             26             50
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3             37             58
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              2             35             41
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel             1             21            111
Merlin                       0              8             13
Peregrine Falcon             0              7             13
Unknown Accipiter            0              3              3
Unknown Buteo                0              3              6
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               0              2             20

Total: 38 762 9176
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:15:00
Total observation time: 7.25 hours

Official Counter: Matt Zeitler

Observers: Rob Stone

Visitors:
Girl Scout Troop 670

Weather:
Cool, sunny with a SW wind. Temperatures ranged from 4 degrees Celsius to
12 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Three adult Bald Eagles and 2 immature Bald Eagles migrated. Three
Red-shouldered Hawks included 1 unknown, 1 adult, and 1 immature. One
unknown Northern Harrier and 1 male Northern Harrier came through, and the
first bird of the day was a female American Kestrel.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor species: Bluejay (22), American Crow (42), Downy Woodpecker (2),
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Tufted Titmouse (3), Black-capped Chickadee
(2), Mourning Dove (1), Common Raven (1), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1),
American Pipit (5), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)

And, here is my weekly Turkey Vulture photo. I have started to enjoy the challenge of getting a decent exposure with this bird each week. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/26/13. — And, here is my weekly Turkey Vulture photo. I have started to enjoy the challenge of getting a decent shot of this bird each week. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/26/13.