…And a couple additional photos from today’s birding. I made two stops after work looking for shorebirds:
Liberty Loop – Back Pond:
Least Sandpiper 12
Lesser Yellowlegs 9
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Killdeer 14
PECTORAL SANDPIPER 1
6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary – Citgo Pond:
Least Sandpiper 14
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Killdeer 9
Since my last post on Monday, I’ve made it back out to the Liberty Loop at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge three times, including a brief visit today. The biggest development was when Linda Scrima contacted me on Wednesday to let me know she had a GLOSSY IBIS in the back pond at the loop. I did not get out there to see the ibis on Wednesday because I was playing in my golf league, but I did get out there to see it on Thursday, when I was accompanied by Kyle Dudgeon who got his lifer Glossy Ibis. The bird was still present this morning when I stopped by; both times I’ve seen the bird it has been in the very back of the back pond. The bird can be seen well with a scope (or even binoculars), but photos were pretty much out of the question. On Wednesday, when Linda first saw the bird, it was closer to the trail and she has provided great shot of the bird for this post – thanks Linda!
The back pond continues to be the best spot in the area (that I know of) for shorebirds. This is what I had there this morning:
Least Sandpiper 15+
Lesser Yellowlegs 6
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Killdeer 12
The remainder of the loop also continues to be birdy with the expected species, with a family of Great-crested Flycatchers on the eastern side of the loop being a nice highlight and providing plenty of photo ops. Really, I should have gotten better photos, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.
NOTE: I’ve checked the Camel Farm a couple of times for shorebirds (I had several Killdeer and 2 Least Sandpipers today finally), and I checked the Citgo Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary today (4 killdeer and 2 Least Sandpipers). Also, please note that the Citgo Trail is VERY overgrown and ticks are a problem. I do not recommend going there.
QUICK POST: It’s getting late, so I will have to make this a quick post. I met Kyle Dudgeon out at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop Trail, and the good birding on that trail continues. Most of the action seems to be happening in what I call the back pond – the southernmost pool on the trail. On our way back there, at least 2 Sora could be heard calling in the marsh; they sounded like they were pretty deep into the marsh, much farther out than they were on Saturday. As we approached the back pond, we inadvertently flushed a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON that was in the ditch to the right of the trail. The bird did not fly far and we got some photos. This is my first BCNH sighting at the loop this year.
In the back pool we saw my first 2 GREAT EGRETS of the year out in the distance, in the company of nearly 10 Great Blue Herons and one Green Heron. Green Herons flew overhead several times while we were there. Most excitedly, shorebird numbers and variety both increased:
Least Sandpiper 20+
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Killdeer 6
I woke up with no real plans for birding, so I decided to head out to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to check on the Blue Grosbeak that has been out on Liberty Lane and I was hoping for some southbound migrating shorebirds. I walked out Liberty Lane (which was loaded with Orchard Orioles, Song Sparrows, and Indigo Buntings) to try for the Blue Grosbeak. I heard the bird, but off in the distance and I was not able to locate it.
I made my way back to the parking lot where I met up with Linda Scrima and we walked the Liberty Loop Trail. We walked the west side of the loop first; we were nearly at the southwest corner of the loop when we heard a SORA calling! As we got closer to where the bird was calling from, the bird went quiet. We scanned for a while but then decided to move on – there are a lot of hiding places in that marsh. We continued down the trail and when we got maybe 100 paces away, the bird started calling again. We decided to try one more time and I’m glad we did. We moved very slowly back towards where the bird was calling from, this time it continued to call and it sounded relatively close. Finally, we saw some movement and across the open water, perhaps 150 yards into the marsh we saw both an adult and a single young SORA tucked away in the vegetation! It was very exciting to seem them, but photos were tough because of the distance, the grasses, and the birds were backlit. Here are a few, for documentary purposes:
When we reached the pool at the southern end of the loop, we were pleasantly surprised to find 5 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and 4 LEAST SANDPIPERS – my first southbound migrating shorebirds of the season. And, after just talking about the dearth of Green Herons this year, we saw two of them there as well.
We finished the loop, with more of the usual suspects being seen, then went out to try for the Blue Grosbeak once again, but this time we didn’t even hear the bird. It was a good day with over 40 species seen or heard, and the first shorebird migrants that I’ve seen this summer.
Note: I was at the refuge on Thursday the 9th as well – two of the photos in this post are from that day.
I have to say that it felt great to get out after several days of not feeling well and being stuck inside recuperating. Kyle Dudgeon joined me this afternoon and we headed out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area to try for the Common Gallinules that John Haas had posted about in his blog earlier in the week. We went directly to Haven Road, which is still flooded. We walked slowly through the water and over the bridge before we saw our first family of Common Gallinules, which consisted of one adult and 3 chicks. Fortunately, they were not too far out for photos, although the vegetation did make focusing on the birds a little bit difficult. It was super to get such a good look and photos of these birds, which are typically much tougher than this to locate. And, it was Kyle’s lifer COGA, so that was exciting too. There was an additional 6 Common Gallinules in open water out in the distance, and I could hear other COGAs in at least two other locations. Huge thanks to John for posting – what a great birding opportunity.
Recently, I was looking over my 2015 list of Orange County birds and noticed it was lacking a couple of birds that figured I would have seen in the county before now – Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark. With that in mind, Monday after work I headed over to Knapp’s View in the town of Chester, a spot where I have never birded but heard both birds could be seen. I did very well with Bobolinks, with plenty being seen and they were close enough for some decent photos. I walked the mowed trails, but did not have any luck with Eastern Meadowlarks, so I decided to head Upper Wisner Road in Warwick where I’ve seen them in the past. Not long after my arrival, as I scanned I found a single meadowlark perched in the distance. Too far for photos, but still nice to get the bird. Before leaving, I had a nice photo opportunity with a Northern Mockingbird, a bird that I have not photographed in quite some time.
After getting so close to seeing the Yellow-breasted Chat this morning near the Canal Road bike path in Vernon Township, New Jersey, I had try again this afternoon while the rain had stopped for a little while. I guess third time’s a charm and I finally got lucky, getting to see the bird this time. It was a brief glimpse at first, but eventually I got several good looks and some photos too. The best part is that at some point I realized that there were definitely two chats present, just as Marianne and I were suspecting on Friday afternoon. First, I had both calling simultaneously from two sides of an open area to the left the trail. Then, I was looking at one bird while the second was calling from behind me! It was very exciting! Kyle Dudgeon eventually joined me and picked up an easy lifer YBCH; we got on one of the birds just moments after he arrived! Good birding!
On Thursday evening, I received word from Marianne Ofenloch that she had a Yellow-breasted Chat along the Appalachian Trail, off the Canal Road bike path in Vernon Township, New Jersey. I tried for the bird on Friday after work and ran into Marianne while I was there. The bird was heard for sure, and we were actually contemplating the possibility of there being two chats; there seemed to be one calling from either side of the trail, but the calls were never close enough together to be 100% sure there were two birds rather than the one moving around. Since I never got a look at that bird, I went back this morning to try for it again, in spite of the steady rain that was falling. Once again the bird was heard but not seen. At a couple of points, I could hear the bird, no more than 25 feet in front of me, but it stayed hidden from view! This is what I should have expected from a chat; I should have known it would not be as easy as when I went to Hopeland Sanctuary in Staatsburg for my lifer YBCH. On Friday morning, while I was working (poor me, ha ha!), Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris went for the chat and had great success, as witnessed by the super photograph of the bird at the top of this post, provided by Linda.
It’s worth mentioning that this is a really good birding spot. In my two visits this weekend I had a total of 41 different species. The trail has a very wild and lush feel to it, but with enough open spaces to allow for good bird viewing and photographing. I am putting it on my list of places to frequent. Highlights included a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos that I was just a little slow on the draw for photos, a Scarlet Tanager family which included a young Brown-headed Cowbird, and Blue-winged Warblers. I should also mention that on Thursday Marianne also had a Golden-winged Warbler there.
QUICK POST: Yesterday evening I finally caught up with the Blue Grosbeak that was reported out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge (it was my third try in two days). Tonight I went back and managed to get some post-able photos of the bird (I was brain dead last night and blew a pretty good opportunity by not having my camera on the right settings). I’ve included a couple additional shots that I took along the way while out at the refuge.
Well, it was another busy week; I thought for sure I would have gotten this post together well before now. I spent last weekend in the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake area of the Adirondacks. My main goal was to photograph Common Loons, but I also spent a good amount of time birding some of the hotspots of the area. Early Saturday morning I went to Whiteface Mountain’s Veterans’ Memorial Highway, hoping for my lifer Bicknell’s Thrush. After a little bit of a setback (the toll to access VMH doesn’t open until 8:45 am), I had a really enjoyable morning. I had never been up there before, the views were amazing and after parking the car, there is a short, but exciting hike to the peak. It was great to see (and hear!) the many Dark-eyed Juncos that were present. White-throated Sparrows were heard often and Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen and heard. I heard the Bicknell’s Thrush in four different locations, but disappointingly, I did not see any. I guess this is a bird that will have to wait for another time for me. I would not leave the mountain totally disappointed however. As I worked my way back down, pulling over often to bird, I finally got my lifer YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. I don’t think this should be difficult bird to get in this area, but when I was last here (2 years ago), I missed out completely.
Later in the morning, I headed over to Bloomingdale Bog to walk the trail there. I had three main target birds – Gray Jay, Black-backed Woodpecker, and Boreal Chickadee. Gray Jays are usually very easy to get here; there is actually a feeder station on the trail where they can usually be found, but on this day there were none to be seen. I eventually saw one young Gray Jay further down the trail (a fleeting look, no photos), but struck out on my other two targets. Alder Flycatchers (FREE BEER!) were easily seen and heard on the trail, and my best bird outside of the Gray Jay was a Nashville Warbler that I saw 100 yards from he trail head as I was heading back to my car. I then headed over to Bigelow Road, but by then it was the heat of the afternoon and it was not very birdy at all.
On Sunday morning, I headed back to Bloomingdale Bog, this time starting from the south end of the trail. It was here that I finally got a Black-backed Woodpecker (unfortunately, it was a very distant look). Other highlights included Least Flycatchers right at the trailhead, and hearing a male Ruffed Grouse do its drumming display several times, which was very exciting. A Boreal Chickadee had been reported at this location just a few days earlier, so I was really hoping for one, but it was not to be.
