As I was heading out this morning, I drove along 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, and I saw in the distance a pair of Red-tailed Hawks perched in a tree. They were about 15 feet apart, and in the perfect early morning light the difference between the larger female and the smaller male was quite obvious. It was a beautiful image, and for some reason I took this as an omen that it was going to be a good day.
~ It’s still hard for me to believe that we are getting to see a GOLDEN EAGLE on a somewhat regular basis right now. GOEA in the black dirt, 02/08/20.~
Every once in a while you have a day where things fall into place. It started with a GREAT-HORNED OWL on a nice perch, sunning itself. Add to that several flocks of Snow Geese moving around the black dirt. The icing on the cake was a relatively low flyover by the GOLDEN EAGLE that has been in the area. Getting a better look and photos of this bird was my main goal today, so that was awesome. As the morning ended and crept into the afternoon, things slowed down, but still, I was happy to find a cooperative Red-tailed Hawk on a wire, a bunch of vultures on a deer carcass (not for everyone, but I love those birds and find them very photogenic), and a couple thousand Common Mergansers at Greenwood Lake. Heckuva day for sure.
~Snow Geese in the black dirt, 02/08/20.~ ~Black Vulture enjoying a meal. Warwick NY, 02/08/20.~ ~GREAT-HORNED OWL sunning itself at an undisclosed location, 02/08/20.~ ~I’m not usually a big fan of birds on a wire, but it’s been a while since I’ve taken a Red-tailed Hawk photo. Black Dirt, 02/08/20. ~Beautifully ugly bird. Turkey Vulture in Warwick, 02/08/20.~~One more shot of the GOLDEN EAGLE. I know I definitely shouldn’t complain, but the light was tough for pics of this bird. Black dirt, 02/08/20.~
My plan for the morning was to get outside and take a hike without worrying too much about getting any birds. I walked the trails near Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis. It was predictably quiet, but it was a pleasant walk in the woods on a cool, partly cloudy day. It wasn’t until I was on my way back that I started to think about getting some birds. Earlier, while I was hiking, Joyce Depew reported thousands of Snow Geese in the black dirt. On my way home, Ken McDermott followed up with another report of SNGOs in the fields off Onion Avenue. I figured I would stop by and check them out, especially because it was on my way home. Then, it got interesting: Bruce Nott reported a GOLDEN EAGLE flying over the Snow Geese, heading east.
~GOLDEN EAGLE flyover in the black dirt, photograph by Linda Scrima, 02/02/20.~
I arrived at Onion Avenue convinced that I had missed any opportunity to see the Golden Eagle. But, as I got out of the car everyone was urging me to hurry up – I jumped on Bruce’s scope and sure enough there was the Golden Eagle circling in the distance! It wasn’t great timing (see Linda’s photos in this post), but it was pretty darn good! Another minute or so, and I would have completely missed the bird. Exciting birding!
~One more shot of the GOLDEN EAGLE by Linda Scrima, 02/02/20.~ ~My documentary shot of the GOLDEN EAGLE in the black dirt this afternoon, 02/02/20.~
I’ve been down in the dumps for a couple of weeks. Literally. Well, not the whole time, just the past 2 Saturday mornings, chasing gulls at Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority. Last week Maria Loukeris and I had no luck, but today, Linda Scrima joined us and we had an excellent morning. We had two main targets: the GLAUCOUS and LESSER BLACK-BACKED Gulls that were reported earlier in the week.
~Now this is a beautiful bird! GLAUCOUS GULL in flight at SCMUA, 02/01/20.~
Our morning had a slow start due to the heavy fog. When we first arrived at SCMUA, it was totally fogged in and from what we could tell, there were very few gulls present. So, we went and grabbed some breakfast (french toast!), and when we got back some of the fog had lifted and there were plenty of gulls around.
We got lucky and located the GLAUCOUS GULL within minutes of our arrival. It took over an hour, but eventually Maria located the LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL. Both gulls were close enough for some pretty good documentary shots and at different times we were able to photograph each species in flight. We were hoping that we might locate an ICELAND GULL, that would have been the icing on the cake (sorry couldn’t resist), but alas it was not to be.
~LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in flight at SCMUA, 02/01/20.~
Other good birds included several Bald Eagles, and just as we were getting ready to leave, several skeins of SNOW GEESE totally approximately 2,000 birds. It was a great morning of birding at the dump, and for me, since I’ve been so into gulls this winter, it was especially satisfying.
~GLAUCOUS GULL with Herring Gulls, SCMUA 02/01/20.~ ~LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at SCMUA, 02/01/20. I like this shot because it shows 3 separate species, the LBBG front and left, a single Ring-billed Gull front and right and the remaining gulls are Herring Gulls.~
This morning I had some good luck and timing. I woke up to find that my car had a flat tire; I’d run over a screw presumably at the dump in Sussex County yesterday morning. I removed the tire and headed out to get it repaired in Tricia’s car. On my way, I received alerts from both Bruce Nott and Linda Scrima; they had approximately 3,000 SNOW GEESE on Onion Avenue. I wasn’t far, so I made a detour and headed over. My timing was excellent, I caught the birds about five minutes before they flew.
~Snow Geese in the black dirt this morning, 01/26/20.~
The birds headed south/southwest. I continued on to get my tire repaired, but Linda and Bruce followed the geese. They reported back to me later that the original group was joined by a second group, making the total number of Snow Geese in the neighborhood of 7,000 birds! Unfortunately the birds did not put down again, instead they continued south/southeast. I’m thankful that I got lucky this morning and huge thanks to Linda and Bruce for putting the word out.
~Definitely one of my favorite local birding sights – Snow Geese in flight over the black dirt, 01/26/20.~~Snow Geese in the black dirt, 01/26/20.~ ~The birds landed very briefly before lifting right back up again and eventually heading out. SNGO in the black dirt, 01/26/20.~
After a week of beautiful weather, I can’t lie, I was ticked off this morning with rain being in the forecast for basically the entire day. I woke up early to get out a little before the rain; Maria Loukeris and I ran to try for the Glaucous Gull that has been reported at Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority. While we were there, it started raining. And, although I got on a larger white-winged gull in flight a couple of times, we we left without ever being able to locate the bird on the ground to confirm the ID (most gulls were landing on the other side of the hill and out of sight). Sigh.
~Awesome bird. Greater White-fronted Goose at Skinners Lane, 01/25/20.~
But, it’s amazing how one single bird can save a day of birding. After dropping off Maria, I stopped by Skinners Lane and found a good sized flock of Canada Geese. I started to sort through them and quickly located a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE; likely the same bird that has been reported intermittently in the area this winter. I went through the rest of the flock, hoping for a Cackling Goose, but no luck there. I’d put the word out, and Linda Scrima and Karen Miller both ran for and got the GWFG.
Today, for the second year running, Linda Scrima and I participated in the Mearn’s Bird Club’s Orange County Winter Waterfowl Count. Like last year, our sector was the Black Dirt Region. Which means more fields than bodies of water, so we spent the majority of the time searching for, counting, and sorting flocks of Canada Geese. We met at the Liberty Loop parking area at sunrise, and then made our way through the black dirt, hitting the usual spots as well as scouting some relatively unfamiliar territory.
~The bird of the day – blue morph Snow Goose viewed from Celery Avenue, 01/18/20.~
Last year we got lucky and located a couple of rare birds (Cackling and Greater White-fronted Goose). This year was a little less exciting; our best bird was a blue morph Snow Goose that we found on Celery Avenue. But, we did increase our number of species from 2019 to 2020 (6 to 7). Here’s our totals for the day:
Canada Goose: 1,755
Mallard: 48
American Black Duck: 2
Mute Swan: 5
Ring-necked Duck: 1
Common Merganser: 17
Snow Goose: 1
~One of three Great Blue Herons we had in the black dirt today, 01/19/20.~
We did have some notable other birds as we made our way around. Raptors top the list with: Red-tailed Hawk (6), Red-shouldered Hawk (1), Rough-legged Hawk (1), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), and Bald Eagle (2). We also had a surprising (3) Great Blue Herons as well as an extremely large flock of blackbirds that passed in the far distance; it is hard to put a number on it, but there were probably north of 3,500 birds.
I enjoyed participating in the count – it was nice to have a defined purpose in our birding. I’m thinking this is a direction I’d like to take to a larger degree in my birding moving forward.
~A small flock of Canada Geese lift off from Skinners Lane with High Point in the distance.~
I enjoyed a pleasant weekend of birding. After the first full work week in a while, it just felt good to get out and see some birds. That being said, I didn’t come across anything too exciting, with the exception of one bird – Linda Scrima had an ICELAND GULL at the Newburgh Waterfront on Saturday evening. This is likely the same bird that Bruce Nott located in the same area on Friday. Unfortunately, while we were lucky to get the bird, we were a bit unlucky in that it flew south after only a couple of minutes and we were unable to relocate it. See poor photo of that bird at the bottom of this post.
~This bird actually flew in and landed right near me and started repeatedly diving. Bufflehead at Wickham Lake, 01/12/20.~
Aside from the Iceland Gull, the weekend was a bit hum-drum. Linda and I tried for the Storm King Golden Eagle, but didn’t have any luck. On Saturday morning, Linda relocated the Greater White-fronted Goose that has been hanging around the black dirt, but it flew before I could even think about running for it. I sorted through many geese on both days with nothing other than Canada Geese. Wickham Lake on Sunday morning was a pleasant stop; I had a couple of American Widgeon, a couple of Ring-necked Ducks, and a very accommodating Bufflehead. Still, it was great to get out, especially with the weather being so mild.
~Dark-eyed Junco at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 01/11/20.~ ~I haven’t seen too many American Tree Sparrows this winter. This one was at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 01/11/20.~ ~This was an absolutely beautiful bird, one of the whitest ICELAND GULLS I’ve seen. I really wish we would have been able to spend a little more time with it, but unfortunately that’s the way birding goes sometimes. ICGU at the Newburgh Waterfront (by Blupointe restaurant), 01/11/20.~ ~One more shot of my friend the Bufflehead, Wickham Lake 01/12/20.~
On the evening of December 21st, I was birding at the Newburgh Waterfront. While I was there, I located a Great Black-backed Gull with a black band on its left leg. Through my spotting scope I could see that it read, in white print: 4RO. I reported it at the U.S. Geological Survey’s www.reportband.gov, and on Tuesday of this week I received an email with the subject line of ‘Certificate of Appreciation’.
The certificate indicates that this gull, of unknown sex, was hatched in 2008 or earlier. That means this bird is at least 12 years old! I’m not sure what the life expectancy of gulls is, but I found it interesting that the bird was that old. It was banded on Appledore Island in York County, Maine by Dr. Sara R. Morris.
The body of the email read as follows:
The North American Bird Banding Program
Bird banding is important for studying the movement, survival and behavior of birds. About 60 million birds representing hundreds of species have been banded in North America since 1904. About 4 million bands have been recovered and reported.
Data from banded birds are used in monitoring populations, setting hunting regulations, restoring endangered species, studying effects of environmental contaminants, and addressing such issues as Avian Influenza, bird hazards at airports, and crop depredations. Results from banding studies support national and international bird conservation programs such as Partners in Flight, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and Wetlands for the Americas.
The North American Bird Banding Program is under the general direction of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Cooperators include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mexico’s National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity and Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources; other federal, state and provincial conservation agencies; universities; amateur ornithologists; bird observatories; nature centers; nongovernmental organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and the National Audubon Society; environmental consulting firms and other private sector businesses. However, the most important partner in this cooperative venture is you, the person who voluntarily reported a recovered band. Thank you for your help.
My end of year post is one that I usually very much look forward to writing, but this year that’s not really the case. Twenty-nineteen is a year that I won’t mind putting behind me. I went through personal, health, and work struggles for nearly the entire year; honestly I’ve never had a year like it. And, on top of that, the birds didn’t seem to cooperate as much as they have in previous years. Of course there were still plenty of great days, exciting finds, and even a handful of life birds, which isn’t bad considering I never left the tri-state area:
Lark Sparrow – 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary (#420)
King Eider – Sterling Forest SP (#421)
I wanted to mention some personal highlights for the year. In early February, I ran with Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris for the Pacific Loon and the Townsend’s Warbler down in New Jersey. It was a long day of birding which was both a lot of fun and also very successful. On the 5th of May, Bruce Nott and I chased Common Terns and Bonaparte’s Gulls on the Hudson River in the rain; this was a super exciting day for me and rates as one of my best days of the year. Earlier this month there was a King Eider at Sterling Forest of all places. I spent two days looking at that bird; that was pretty exciting too. But, for me personally, the best day was in late March when I located a Yellow-headed Blackbird in the black dirt. I was pumped to have found the bird, and a good number of folks ran for the bird and got it.
~Pacific Loon at Manasquan Inlet in Ocean County NJ, 02/02/19.~
TOP TEN PHOTOS
Unlike years past, this year it was a bit of an endeavor to come up with my top ten photographs. I feel like my criteria have changed. These days everyone is taking photos, and a lot of good ones at that. My Facebook feed is overloaded with them. For me, this has made it hard to find shots that stand above the rest. So, as I looked through my photos from the year, I felt a little underwhelmed. I had plenty of decent, even good shots, but not very many that stood out. But, as I looked over them further, I had to remember that I can be my own worst critic, and some shots started to speak to me and things started to fall into place and I developed my top ten plus one honorable mention.
~Semipalmated Sandpiper, Stone Harbor Point 08/04/19.~~Always a favorite of mine, I was happy to get this clean shot of a Brant in flight at Shark River Inlet in Monmouth County, NJ 01/12/19.~ ~Black-crowned Night-heron at a roadside stop in Stone Harbor, NJ 08/04/19.~ ~Ruddy Turnstone at Stone Harbor Point, 08/04/19.~ ~Northern Mockingbird at Harriman State Park, 07/04/19.~ ~Common Yellowthroat at Glenmere Lake, 09/22/19.~ ~Common Tern in flight at Two Mile Landing in Wildwood Crest NJ, 08/06/19.~~Wilson’s Snipe at Glenmere Lake, 09/29/19.~~Song Sparrow at Wisner Road in Warwick NY, 12/08/19.~ ~Pectoral Sandpiper at Glenmere Lake, 10/05/19.~~This shot gets honorable mention, only because of the bird, I mean it’s a Sora after all! I was thrilled when I got this shot, finally getting a shot of this bird. Wallkill River NWR, 05/25/19.~
So, this is not the cheery end of year post I have enjoyed writing in the past. But, I’m looking forward to 2020, and I’m feeling confident that it will be a better year than 2019. My health has improved, which will help with birding and with work, and I have my fingers crossed for no major personal issues. As usual, it was great birding with everyone this year and I’d like to thank everyone for all their help and support. Cheers!
I’ve gotten out a good amount during the holiday break, but while I’ve enjoyed getting out, unfortunately most of my birding has been unremarkable. Today I finally got a couple of notable birds. The first was at Glenmere Lake, where I had a female Red-breasted Merganser swimming with a couple of Common Mergansers. I also had four Ruddy Ducks, which were nice to see, and I sorted through a good number of gulls (only Ring-billed and Herring Gulls present).
~Excellent bird to see any day in Orange County: Greater White-fronted Goose at Turtle Bay Road in the black dirt, 12/29/19.~
Just as I was getting ready to leave Greenwood Lake, I got a call from Linda Scrima; she had a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE off Turtle Bay Road in the black dirt. Always a favorite, I ran for the bird. It’s been a good year for them in our area; I have four sitings in 2019. The bird stuck around and was close enough for some decent shots (least as far as rare geese in Orange County go). Huge thanks for Linda for locating and getting the word out.
~Red-breasted Merganser (left) with a Common Merganser, Greenwood Lake 12/29/19.~
On my way home, I drove by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. I could see a collection of gulls on the ice, so I stopped and got my scope out. I was surprised to find, along with 12 expected Ring-billed Gulls, 18 Herring Gulls. I don’t think I’ve ever come even close to that number at that location. It was a nice way to end a good day of birding.
~Red-tailed Hawk at Constitution Marsh Sanctuary, 12/27/19.~ ~First winter Ring-billed Gull at Crawbuckie Park (just south of Croton Point Park), 12/27/19.~ ~Ruddy Duck at Croton Point Park, 12/27/19.~ ~White-throated Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, Wallkill River NWR, 12/28/19.~
