mattzeit

Rossadillisk, Ireland

From July 7th to the 14th, Tricia and I, along with seven other members of her family rented a house right on the beach in Rossadillisk, Ireland. Rossadillisk is a Townland in County Galway, Ireland. It is very small, taking up just .29 square miles of area. But, it is certainly not the smallest, as, of the approximately 4,556 townlands in County Galway, it is the 2,483rd largest. For such a small area, Rossadillisk packs a pretty mean birding punch. There is great birding along the road – with many fields and plenty of thick vegetation. And then, there is always the beach. I got into a nice routine of getting up nice and early. I would bird the beach right in front of our house and then set off to bird along the road, which is where I found most of my birds. I would finish the morning by birding what I called the “far beach”, which was much larger and more productive than the beach right in front of the house.

~My favorite bird of the trip, a Eurasian SKYLARK sits in some nice light in a pretty setting. Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/10/18.~

For the week, I tallied 46 species of birds in that .29 square miles. I mostly enjoyed the challenge of trying to find birds and identify them; in the beginning, identifying birds was not coming very easily at all. It felt a lot like starting over birding – I came to realize how much I know the birds in our area just because I’ve had plenty of experience with them before and because they are supposed to be there; they are expected. And, I also realized that I’m not actually spending all that much time truly looking at birds and recognizing and knowing their field marks. Additionally, I hadn’t done much homework before the trip, and the guides I was using* just didn’t seem to be quite as comprehensive as the ones we use for birds in the eastern United States, and finally, it was the time of year when there were many young birds around, so some of the plumages I was seeing were not in the guides. This made for some very interesting and rewarding birding, in spite of it being frustrating at times.

~Sedge Warbler, Rossadillisk Townland, Ireland 07/13/18.~

I hope you enjoy this little taste of Ireland’s birds – I’ve included my favorite shots from my mornings in Rossadillisk. If I’ve misidentified any birds, please let me know in the comments.

~A young European Robin. I never once saw an adult, but these guys were around most mornings. Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/09/18.~

~Flyover by a Red-billed Chough, Rossadillisk Townland, Ireland 07/10/18.~

~Hard to beat a Stonechat on a post! Rossadillisk Townland, Ireland 07/10/18.~

~I wonder if the Irish take these European Goldfinches for granted the way many of us do with our American Goldfinches? Beautiful little bird, Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/09/18.~

~One more of my favorite, a EURASIAN SKYLARK showing off its crest. Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/10/18.~

AT THE BEACH

~I was excited to see this bird. Common Ringed Plover at the far beach, Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/09/18.~

~Eurasian Oystercatchers were plentiful. Other shorebirds that I saw but was unable to get good photos of include Eurasian Curlew and Common Greenshank. My brother-in-law Bill located a Common Redshank at a beach not too far way. This oystercatcher was at the far beach in Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/09/18.~

~I saw these guys (gals?) every day as well. Black-headed Gull at the far beach in Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/08/18.~

~I misidentified this bird initially as a Common Rosefinch. The eBird reviewer from the area communicated with me to let me know it was in fact a Eurasian Linnet and that CORO was a rare sighting in Ireland, with perhaps 10 a year. Far beach at Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/09/18.~

~Stonechat on the beach, Rossadillisk Townland, Ireland 07/10/18.~

~European Greenfinch at the far beach, Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/09/18.~

*I used the Complete Field Guide to Ireland’s Birds by Eric Dempsey & Michael O’Clery, as well as two apps on my phone: iBird UK Pro and Birds of Britain and Ireland by Natureguides.

Ireland Teaser

~European Goldfinch in Rossadillisk Townland, County Galway, Ireland 07/09/18.~

I had a fantastic week in Connemara, Ireland, a district located on the west coast of the country, in the northwest corner of County Galway. The biggest surprise of the week was, in spite of renting a house right on the beach, I spent a large portion of my birding time with the local passerines. Songbirds were numerous on the road leading to our house and I walked it nearly every morning, trying to find and identify Irish passerines. I have loads of photos to get through, so I will put together a post or two as soon as I can. Until then, enjoy this European Goldfinch, a bird that reminded me very much of our own American Goldfinches.

Off to Ireland!

~ Common Murres at the Cliffs of Moher, back in early April of 1012 – that’s over 6 years ago.. I took this photo just days after getting my first bigger lens, the original Canon 100-400mm zoom, and I started the blog less than a month later, on May 02, 2012. Time flies, I guess. I’m not sure if I’ll make it back to the Cliffs of Moher this trip, but hopefully I will.~

Tonight, Tricia and I are flying to Ireland for a week of vacation. It’s been a while since we were there and I am excited because I feel like both my birding and my photography have improved to an extent that will make the trip that much more enjoyable for me. Because it’s a family vacation, I don’t have any concrete plans yet for birding; I think I’m going to mostly play it by ear, but regardless I know I’ll get out a good bit and it should hopefully be interesting. Stay tuned – with any luck, I will publish my first post about it a week from Sunday (07/15/18).

Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18

This morning I joined John Haas and Karen Miller on a trip to Nickerson Beach on Long Island; we were hoping to see some of the great terns that have been reported there in recent days. It was my first time to Nickerson Beach, and I didn’t really know what to expect. There are nesting colonies of Common Terns, Least Terns, and Black Skimmers – all in a relatively small area, so the shear number of birds is absolutely incredible. Our timing was good for tern chicks and we saw plenty of both Least and Common Tern chicks. We spent much of our time between the Common Tern colony and the ocean, and it was remarkable to see how well the terns were doing feeding; there was a steady stream of COTEs heading out to the ocean and coming back with fish in their bills to feed young.

~Common Tern with prey, returning to the colony. Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

We were hoping that some larger groups of terns would loaf on the beach, this would increase our chances of seeing some different terns, but this never materialized to any great extent. Whenever a larger group of terns would start to develop, sure enough a walker or jogger would come through and flush the birds. It was a perfect “beach day” after all! Apparently we had missed a Royal Tern do a fly-by while we were checking out the Least Tern colony, but we did get lucky with four GULL-BILLED TERNS which spent a good amount of time flying above and through the Common Tern colony. I was excited because of all the likely terns, this is the one I wanted to get shot of – they are a beautiful clean, sharp looking tern and they are distinctly whiter than the Commons that they were flying among. Unfortunately, we left without getting a couple of our targets – Arctic Tern and Roseate Tern. It was a great morning of birding, and getting out super early, we beat the heat for the most part.

~The star of the show for me – GULL-BILLED TERN in flight at Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

~Common Tern shaking things up. Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

~A Black Skimmer takes some time to reflect on things…. I couldn’t resist. Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

~Common Tern chick, Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

~We had incredible looks at these birds in Karen’s scope, they were just so beautiful. Least Tern with chick at Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

~This was a pleasant surprise for me – we had several Piping Plovers during the morning. Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

~One of our first birds of the day, Black-crowned Night-Heron at Nickerson Beach, 06/30/18.~

It Works…

…and it seems to have brought some good birding luck with it – LEAST BITTERN taken with my new Canon 7D Mark II, New Jersey, 06/28/18.

‘Rebel’-lious Mockingbird

~Northern Mockingbird at Knapp’s Landing, 06/24/18.~

After work yesterday I went to Knapp’s Landing in Chester, NY. I wanted to double check that my lens had not been damaged during Sunday’s spill. I’d broken out my old Canon Rebel T2i camera body – I shot the first two years of this blog with this camera body, and now I’m wondering how I did it. I’ve become spoiled with the speed and convenience of my 70D and I was floored at how slow the Rebel was in many respects: focusing, shooting, viewing pics, and changing settings. It was magnified by the fact that I was shooting in RAW; I never shot in RAW back then so it was definitely a lot quicker. That being said, the camera still takes really nice pics. I went to Knapp’s Landing hoping to shoot Bobolinks, but they were more scarce than my previous visit (likely busy breeding), so that didn’t work out. I ended up getting lucky when a pair of Northern Mockingbirds landed in a tree not far off the trail, in good light. I was pleased with the results and it looks like, thankfully, my lens made it through unscathed. Now I just have to wait for my new camera body (Canon 7d Mark II) to arrive later this week…

Black Rock Forest, 06/24/18

~Black Bear in the rain at Black Rock Forrest, 06/24/18.~

This morning I hiked out at Black Rock Forrest again. I have enjoyed going out there – to me there is a sense of adventure involved because you never know what you might see. I had a birdy walk with mostly the usuals, but the day did end up being eventful. I have to mention that the bugs were absolutely terrible on this hike. I walked around in a cloud of gnats and mosquitoes that never seemed to end. I’m usually fine with the insects on a trail; they don’t really bother me. But today it was overwhelming, to the point where it was affecting my birding because I didn’t want to stop as often as I normally would.

~This is a bird that I really like and I’m always happy to get a look at (instead of just hearing it). Yellow-throated Vireo at Black Rock Forrest, 06/24/18.~

About an hour into the hike, I walked out into a clearing to find a relatively large black bear right in front of me. I took a quick series of photos, but I was nervous because I’d come out into the clearing quite close to the bear. I made a bunch of noise, but the bear held its ground, so I decided that I did not need to continue on that trail any further and slowly retreated. Not long after that, I inadvertently flushed a RUFFED GROUSE as I walked along the trail. The bird was just off the trail and instead of taking flight, it fled into the forrest on foot – giving me (sadly) my best look at a RUGR to date. I lingered in the general vicinity for a good while, keeping still and hoping for a reemergence of the bird, but it was not to be. I think you only get one shot with these birds. My final event was not a good one. I was making my way back to my car, moving at decent pace. I stopped to listen as a distant (presumed) bear had heard me coming and was making its way through the woods at a rapid pace off to my right. I never saw the bear, but it made quite the ruckus. My next step happened to be on a wet rock and I wiped out pretty good. I was fine, but unfortunately my camera did not come out of it unscathed. Fortunately the lens seems to be fine, but the body took a good blow and is not able to connect with the lens, so it looks like it will have to go in for repairs. I finished my hike having logged just over 6 miles, with 35 species of birds and who-knows-how-many mosquito bites.

~Gray Catbird at Black Rock Forrest, 06/24/18. ~

The Week in Photos, 06/17/18

~Black Bear seen during an 8 mile hike at Sterling Forest State Park, Doris Duke Wildlife Sanctuary, 06/17/18.~

It’s the time of year when just about all of the birds in our area are expected breeders, so I didn’t have any real surprises this week. I got out a good amount and, I have to say, the birding has been really enjoyable. It’s a time of year to just enjoy seeing the birds, and to watch their behavior, and, of course, to photograph them. Here’s a sampling of the birds (and bears) I had in the past week.

~Fluffed up female Bobolink with prey at Knapp’s View in Chester, NY, 06/15/18. These birds are relatively easy to photograph, so I was hoping to get some more interesting shots.~

~A male Bobolink changes perches. Knapp’s View, 06/15/18.~

~Acadian Flycatcher at Black Rock Forest. On Saturday 06/16/18 I went to the main parking area and mapped out a 7 mile hike, which was enjoyable and pretty darn birdy.

~Eastern Kingbird in flight at Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Loop, 06/14/18.~

~A recently fledged White-breasted Nuthatch surveys the situation at Sterling Forest SP’s Doris Duke Wildlife Sanctuary, 06/17/18.~

~It’s been a while since I’ve photographed any American Goldfinches. This one was at Liberty Marsh, Wallkill River NWR, 06/14/18.~

~I’m really enjoying seeing all the young birds. Chipping Sparrow at Black Rock Forest, 06/16/18.~

~Green Heron flyover at the Liberty Loop, Wallkill River NWR, 06/14/18.~

~One more Bobolink photo – Knapp’s View, 06/15/18.~

Finally! Orange County RUFFED GROUSE!

~I have this as an Acadian Flycatcher. It was only doing half of its call (the “peetz” in the “pizza!” call), but it sounded good to me. Black Rock Forest, 06/10/18.~

RUFFED GROUSE is a bird that I have been trying to get in Orange County for several years now; it’s a bird that, for some reason, really captured my imagination and one that I’ve put in a concerted effort to try and find in the county. So, imagine how pleased I was when I saw Ajit Antony’s eBird report of a RUGR at Black Rock Forest in my “Year Needs Alert” email from eBird on Friday. I had a work obligation yesterday, but I got up early to try for the bird this morning.

It was frustrating start to the morning for me. I don’t know Black Rock Forest at all, so I originally went to completely the wrong place. Then I went to the Black Rock Forest main parking area, where I had a Hooded Warbler calling as soon as I got out of the car. I looked at the map trying to locate “Jupiter’s Boulder”. An obliging local hiker helped me out and told me it would be best to drive to another trailhead, on Old Mineral Springs Road. So, I got back in the car and drove there; I walked nearly half a mile and realized I’d forgotten rain gear for my camera – it sure felt like rain, so I walked back to the car to get it (thus guaranteeing no rain). Then, I was finally ready to take a hike. I’d never birded that area before and it was a nice hike with a beautiful waterfall (no pic, my cell phone died!), and good amount of birds – mostly the usuals but with a couple favorites of mine – Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and a couple of Acadian Flycatchers. You can see my eBird report here.

Ajit’s report stated he heard the drumming of a RUGR “to the SW, a little way from Jupiter’s Boulder”. As I was nearing Jupiter’s Boulder (I didn’t know it at the time, having never been), I came around a bend in the trail and about twenty-five feet or so off the trail, to the left of me, 2 RUFFED GROUSE popped straight up – and like bats out of hell, one flew to the left and the other to the right. They made such a ruckus, it really startled me. I followed the one that headed to the right, hoping to see it put down, but it just kept going until it disappeared into the brush. I continued on the trail, hoping to get lucky and relocate that bird, but it was always going to be tough. Jupiter’s Boulder was only another 100 yards or so up the trail, so I sat there for a while and had some breakfast, hoping to hear or see something. Of course, I never saw either bird again, but wow was that exciting. Huge thanks to Ajit for reporting – Ruffed Grouse is my 250th Orange County life bird. Now, let’s see how many years before I get a GOOD look at one…

~My ONLY other photo op of the morning – a Brown-headed Cowbird. This has the look of a young bird to me. Black Rock Forest, 06/10/18.~

~I took this shot a couple weeks ago at the Bashakill and I’ve wanted to post it – two Bank Swallows displaying courtship behavior; they just looks so sweet to me and Bank Swallow is not a bird I get to photograph very often.~

Sterling Valley Loop, 06/03/18

I usually like to post on Sunday nights, or at least once over the weekend, but last night I was having some computer issues, so this post had to wait until today.

I got a nice early start on Sunday morning. I headed to Sterling Forest State Park, where I was going to walk the Sterling Valley Loop, an eight mile hike that I have done several times and is typically quite birdy. I use the end of Ironwood Drive as the trailhead, which is nice as that spot is usually very active with birds, particularly with Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers. I was surprised by the number of cars in the parking area and by the number of birders and photographers lingering around the power cut. This made me switch gears a little bit, and instead of birding the area before heading on the trail, I hit the trail immediately (not to worry, I picked up BWWA and GWWA out on the trail).

~How cute is this little dude? Young Louisiana Waterthrush at Sterling Valley Loop, 06/03/18.~

You don’t go on a hike like this, at this time of year, especially in the overcast conditions we were having on Sunday, expecting to see and photograph all that many birds. Large stretches of the trail were flat out dark (ISO set to 4000+), and much of my birding was done by ear with the occasional nice surprise of tracking down a bird. I feel like I really appreciate seeing birds so much more when they are harder to come by. I began to rack up the number of species and individuals. The most numerous species were likely American Redstarts and Red-eyed Vireos. Highlights included: hearing a remarkable 6 ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS hearing both species of cuckoo and seeing my first BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO of the year, hearing 4 CERULEAN WARBLERS and finally being able to track one down for at least a documentary photograph, and watching a young Cedar Waxwing get fed by and adult. The best moment of the day came when a young LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH landed on a branch just off the trail to my left. This bird was so stinkin’ cute!

I ended the hike with what I thought was a respectable 56 species. You can see my complete list of species here.