mattzeit

Wow! Orange County Tricolored Heron, 05/13/24

Towards the end of the work day today, Karen Miller reported a Glossy Ibis at Beaver Pond, near Glenmere Lake. Linda Scrima ran for the bird, and not only did she get the ibis, she also located a TRICOLORED HERON! I ran for the bird after work, and fortunately it was still present. The bird was a little bit distant, but views in my scope were spectacular. It was actually a little jarring to see this beautiful bird right here in Orange County. Unfortunately, the bird flew, heading south, right around 6:30. Some of the birders present were going to go to the Liberty Loop to see if it showed up there, but as of this writing, I haven’t heard anything. This is the second documented siting of this species in OC, the previous was found by Ken McDermott in Cornwall Bay, way back in 1982! Congratulations to Linda on another great find.

All images taken at Beaver Pond in Florida, NY on 05/13/24.

Making Up For Lost Time

Wow, it was a very birdy weekend for me. Being away, there were plenty of birds that moved into the area that I hadn’t gotten yet for the year, so when I finally got back to it this weekend, I added a remarkable 34 new species to my Orange County 2024 year list. This put my year total at 167 (see my list of all the birds I added this weekend below). My birdiest spot was Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis, where I added 16 species in just about an hour’s time.

My most exciting bird was tracking down the NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, which has recently returned to the Newburgh Waterfront area (thanks to Bruce Nott for the heads up). Unfortunately, as birdy as it was, I did not have many photo ops, so here is a distant shot of the Neotropic Cormorant doing a nice wing flap.

~NEOTROPIC CORMORANT returns to Newburgh! Taken just south of Quassaick Creek, 05/12/24.~

Cape Cod 2024

Tricia and I enjoyed a five day weekend on Cape Cod last weekend. The weather was a mixed bag and it felt like we had all four seasons during those five days and the birding was very enjoyable and relatively productive. I had 63 species for the trip (see complete list at the bottom of this post). This is up 11 species from when we last visited during the same week back in 2022. That said, nearly all the birds where what I would consider ‘expected’ species; the only out of the ordinary birds I had for the entire trip were a handful of very distant, unidentified flying alcids at Race Point on 05/07/24. The bird of the trip for me, was Red-throated Loon. I went to Race Point on 05/04/24 & 05/07/24 and High Head Beach on 05/05/24, and both places were absolutely loaded with Red-throated Loons (and a pretty good showing of Common Loons as well). What I really enjoyed about the RTLOs, was that many were in or nearly in breeding plumage – something that I’ve never seen before.

~A Red-throated Loon just off shore at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

As readers of the blog know, gulls are maybe at the top of my favorite types of birds. I was disappointed with the trip in this regard -in addition to the 4 expected species (Laughing, Herring, Great Black-backed, & Ring-billed), I only had a handful of distant Bonaparte’s Gulls. Two years ago, I had absolutely loads of Bonies, as well as Lesser Black-backed, Iceland, and Glaucous!

As for mammals, in the water I had Gray Seals, Humpback Whales, and a Fin Whale. I met an old timer at Race Point – he had a Right Whale feeding before I ran into him, but unfortunately I was unable to relocate it. I was bummed, because that would have been amazing. On land, of note I had two Coyote sitings, both on my drive out to Race Point very early in the morning on 05/07/24.

~Red-thoated Loon in nice plumage at Race Point, 05/04/24.~

One final thing. It struck me during this trip was how different being at the shore is aesthetically, as compared to Orange County. There is an airy, light feel to the surroundings and regardless of the weather, the palette seems to have more of a pastel quality to it, which I really enjoyed, both just existing in it and photographing it.

~You can’t miss these guys at Race Point. Piping Plover in the early morning sun on 05/04/24.~

~Herring Gull with a nice meal, flying over Wellfleet Harbor, right across the street from the place we stayed, 05/06/24.~

~Willet perched high on vegetation during a hike I took at Great Island Trail, 05/06/24.~

~Common Loon, Wellfleet Harbor 05/06/24.~

~Laughing Gull in flight at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~Red-breasted Mergansers were present in MASSIVE numbers every day I was on the cape. This crew was shot at Race Point on 05/07/24.~

~Herring Gull at Wellfleet Harbor, 05/06/24.~

~A Gray Seal came in for a closer look at me on the shore at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~This was awesome – I’ve never seen it before. This Humpback Whale was repeatedly slapping its pectoral flipper on the water! High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~Fin Whale at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~Selfie at Race Point, 05/07/24. I believe those are Coyote tracks over my shoulder.~

Cape Cod 2024 Teaser

Tricia and I spent a long, lovely weekend on Cape Cod. I did loads of birding, of course, and I took many, many photos which will take some time to get through before I can post. It was really great to get away for a few days – when I wasn’t birding I was resting, relaxing and enjoying some great seafood. I look forward to sharing my experiences once I’ve edited all these photos (I am really curious to see how they turned out).

~A pair of White-winged Scoters doing a fly-by at High Head Beach, Truro 05/05/24.~

Sunday Shots, 04/28/24

I did my usual running around the county this weekend, looking for birds. It’s a good time of year, as there are plenty of new birds around. I added 11 new species to my Orange County year list; most were the usuals and not entirely exciting, but on Saturday morning, I was able to see a Black-crowned Night Heron at the mouth of Quassaick Creek just south of Newburgh. These days that’s a pretty good bird for the county, and it’s been seen in that location now for several years. Warblers and other songbirds are starting to trickle in, but I haven’t been in the right place / right time just yet. I added Yellow Warble, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Redstart, and Warbling Vireo over the weekend. For shorebirds, I only added Solitary Sandpiper, but I was happy to see that 6 1/2 Station Road has good shorebird conditions and a number both Yellowlegs present – thanks to Linda Scrima for the heads up.

Next weekend we are heading to Cap Cod, so I’m looking forward to birding there for a few days and sharing my experiences here on the blog.

~Black-crowned Night Heron at Quassaick Creek, 04/27/24.~

~Red-winged Blackbird at Beaver Pond on Friday evening, 04/26/24.~

~Tree Swallow at Quassaick Creek, 04/27/24.~

~Wild Turkey at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 04/27/24. Is this a crazy looking bird or what?!?

~Great Blue Heron with a nice catch. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 04/28/24.~

~Another Tree Swallow, this one at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 04/28/24.~

Sunday Shots, 04/21/24

It was definitely an exciting week of birding for me; you can read about yesterday’s LITTLE GULL here, and Thursday’s Red-necked Grebe here. Meanwhile, I’ve also enjoyed some less exciting but still good birding as well this week. On Tuesday evening I went to Wickham Lake – I enjoyed some decent looks at a Common Loon and tried my hand at photographing swallows in flight, which is always fun. This morning I checked a few lakes out before heading to the black dirt to try for Lapland Longspur in breeding plumage (no luck!). At Wickham Lake, I had another (very distant) Red-necked Grebe, and I got my first Spotted Sandpiper of the year.

~iPhone shot of Beaver Pond first thing this morning, 04/21/24.~

~Common Loon at Wickham Lake on 04/16/24.~

~A Northern Rough-winged Swallow on the verge of grabbing a bite to eat. Wickham Lake, 04/16/21.~

~Northern Rough-winged Swallow in flight at Wickham Lake, 04/16/24.~

~My first Spotted Sandpiper of the year – at Wickham Lake on 04/21/24.~

~After being out all morning, I came home to find this Cooper’s Hawk on my neighbor’s hedge. Goshen, NY 04/21/24.~

~In spite of the low temps today, spring is here and things are changing. American Goldfinch in the black dirt, 04/21/24.~

~One more shot of the Common Loon at Wickham on 04/16/21.~

Wow! Orange County LITTLE GULL!

I was on the golf course this morning when Jeanne Cimorelli reported that she briefly had a LITTLE GULL at Washington Lake. Fortunately, larophile extraordinaire Bruce Nott relocated the bird a little later at Plum Point. After golf, I ran for the bird, convinced that I had only a very slim chance of getting it. Fortunately the bird stuck around, associating with a large flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls on the Hudson River just north of Plum Point. I was thrilled to get on the bird on the water – at first it was a challenge to find it among the 70 or so Bonies, but then it got a little easier. Then the flock took flight, and that’s when finding the bird was easy, its dark underwings showing up very well. I believe this is the first county record of Little Gull; the bird was a life bird for me.

~It was really exciting to see this bird – LITTLE GULL at Plum Point 04/20/24. I would have loved to get closer looks and pics, but this could very well end up being a once in a lifetime occurrence, so I’m just thrilled to have gotten the bird.~

LITTLE GULL in flight amongst 70 or so Bonaparte’s Gulls, Plum Point, 04/20/24.~

OC Red-necked Grebe, 04/18/24

Question: Is it pathetic or is it awesome that a single bird can make my week? Regardless of your answer to that question, that’s what happened tonight. I’d been having a rotten week; heavy with work stress and deficient in joy. But that changed tonight when I rolled up to Greenwood Lake and found a gorgeous RED-NECKED GREBE on the water. The bird was a little bit distant at first, but it was slowly making its way towards the shore. I put the word out, and Kyle Knapp joined on the beach. We enjoyed some good looks, but the bird remained tucked in most of the time.

~Beautiful bird! Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~

The bird was drifting further out, so we decided to leave. Just before we got in our cars, Kyle took one more look – at first he didn’t see the bird, but then we found it, it was very close to shore. We slowly made our way closer; the bird stayed put and we enjoyed fantastic looks and photos ops of this beautiful bird. What a night, what a way to melt the stress away. What a great hobby.

~One more shot of the Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~

A Good Weekend, 04/14/24

I didn’t do a post last weekend because I did not have any noteworthy sightings nor any photos that I felt justified a post. This weekend it’s a different story. I enjoyed two mornings of really good birding where I added several new birds to my Orange County year list. I also finally caught up with a couple of birds which had been eluding me – on Saturday morning, I finally got a Great Cormorant for the county (I’d seen one across the river in Dutchess County earlier in the year). Then on Sunday morning, thanks to birding bud Bruce Nott, I finally saw the Eurasian Green-winged Teal which has been in the area for some time. It was in the big pond at the Camel Farm, which made finding it much easier than scanning through hundreds of Green-winged Teals at Winding Waters Trail, as I did a couple of weeks ago.

~I kind of like this photo because it’s cool to see the size comparison of the Great versus the much smaller Double-crested Cormorant. Newburgh Waterfront, 04/13/24.~

And things are starting to happen. Including the couple of evenings I got out earlier this week, I added 12 species to my OC year list:

Gadwall (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Osprey (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Barn Swallow (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Chipping Sparrow (Goshen, 4/10/24)
RED-THROATED LOON (Wickham Lake 4/11/24)
GREAT CORMORANT (Newburgh Waterfront 4/13/24)
Greater Yellowlegs (Camel Farm 4/13/24)
Lesser Yellowlegs (Camel Farm 4/13/24)
DUNLIN (Winding Waters Trail, 4/14/24)
Broad-winged Hawk (Winding Waters Trail 4/14/24)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Winding Waters Trail, 4/14/24)

~An unlikely pair, a Blue-winged Teal and one of two DUNLIN at Winding Waters Trail, 04/14/24.~

~A sharp looking male Horned Lark in the black dirt, 04/13/24.~

~And by contrast, a slightly drabber but still beautiful female HOLA, black dirt 04/13/24.~

~There were loads of Savannah Sparrows in the black dirt on Sunday morning, 04/14/24.~

~On Saturday morning I did not find any Red-throated Loons, but I did have several Common Loons (3 at Orange Lake, 1 at the Newburgh Waterfront, 1 at Greenwood Lake, 2 at Wickham Lake, and 1 at Glenmere Lake). This photo was taken at Greenwood Lake in the rain, 04/13/24.~

~I’ve been seeing at least one good-looking Lapland Longspur in the black dirt. I took this photo last Saturday, 04/06/24. I found what I believe is the same individual this weekend and although I wasn’t able to get a photo, it’s looking better still.~

~A Belted Kingfisher darts under the overpass at Winding Waters Trail, 04/14/24.~

Loony Evening, 04/11/24

The old adage ‘bad weather = good birds’ held true once again this evening. I’d like to add to that and say bad weather = good birds = terrible photos. But it also makes for a very happy birder. I headed out directly after work today, and I spent a rainy evening checking out a couple of local lakes. At my first stop, Wickham Lake, I was pleased to find 9 (!) Common Loons on the water. Eight of the birds were in a tight group, with one bird that was only loosely associating with them:

~Exciting stuff – nine Common Loons at Wickham Lake, 04/11/24.~

My next stop was Glenmere Lake. At first I thought it was a bust, but then I saw 2 distant birds in my binoculars. I got the scope on them, and sure enough, it was a pair of RED-THROATED LOONS! Always a favorite and seemingly more difficult to get in the county in recent years, this sighting made my night.