~Beautiful duck! We had loads of Northern Pintails at Savannah Mucklands at Montezuma NWR, 3/26/16.~
I headed out Saturday morning with my brother-in-law Bill, and for the first time ever, I was disappointed by Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. But only a little bit. The problem is that Easter was so early this year that it was the first time I’ve been to the refuge in March. And Wildlife Drive doesn’t open until April 1st. Here it was, probably the nicest day of the year in Seneca County, and arguably the best part of the refuge was closed. Which didn’t make a bit of sense to me, and you can ask Bill, I was not in good humor about it. So, we birded from the visitor’s center viewing platform and then the rest of the refuge and we ended up having a pretty darn good day. The number one highlight of the day was undoubtedly getting Bill’s lifer SANDHILL CRANES. Not only did we finally get lucky with them, we found them only about 30 yards off the road! We got incredible looks at these big, beautiful birds. We also had three rarities on the day, all early birds for Seneca County: LESSER YELLOWLEGS (2), GREATER YELLOWLEGS (6), and GLOSSY IBIS (2). Huge thanks to Mark Fitzsimmons (who I had met while going for the Barrow’s Goldeneye in Ulster County earlier in the month). Bill and I ran into him at the visitor’s center; he was birding the refuge with his daughter and they gave us the heads-up on both the GRYE and the GLIB. We ended up with 44 species on the day and I wonder how many more we might have added if we had gotten to bird Wildlife Drive.
~I love these birds, and I was really happy for Bill to finally see them. Sandhill Cranes at Montezuma NWR, 2/126/16.~
On Easter Sunday I had no plans to do any birding. Tricia and I took a walk with Bill’s oldest daughter Mackenzie through the neighborhood with their two dogs. It was early afternoon, around 2:00, when as we followed the path through a wooded area I heard a BARRED OWL calling. I didn’t believe it at first. We backtracked a little bit and luckily, I was able to locate the bird pretty quickly. We called Bill and Tricia’s sister Caroline and they met us out there. They brought my camera for me so I was able to get some shots, and Bill, Carol, and Mackenzie got their lifer Barred Owl! It was actually a pretty good walk, because prior to that, I had already seen 2 adult Cooper’s Hawks, a young Bald Eagle, and a slew of songbirds.
I wanted to mention that I finally updated the Species Photos 2016 page last week; I’ve increased the number of species photos from 34 to 62. And after posting this, I will increase it by two more when I add the Sandhill Cranes and the Northern Pintail photos. And lastly, I reached a modest milestone this weekend, getting my 100th subscriber to the blog; that made me happy for sure.
~This made Kyle Dudgeon happy – Northern Harrier in flight in the Black Dirt, 10/3/15.~
It was a rainy, wet and cold day for starters. I woke up early with the plan to get out early before heading up to Mt. Peter for my Saturday hawkwatch. I wanted to go to Owens Station Crossing to try for the tern I saw last night and also to try for the Red-necked Phalarope that Ken Witkowski had reported seeing in the back pool of the Liberty Loop. As I drove through a pretty steady rain, I was surprised to get a call from Maria Loukeris; she and Linda Scrima were already at Owens Station Crossing and wanted to try for the phalarope. And Marianne O. was on her way. Four birders out on the worst rainy morning in recent memory? Sounds good to me!
Shortly after arriving at Owens Station Crossing, I relocated the tern in the distance, perched on a stump in the lake. The tern flew for us one time (before I even had my camera out!!), but it gave us some good looks, coming closer in decent light. We were in agreement that the bird was likely a COMMON TERN. Perched, the bird did not stand tall and appeared to have a short neck, a hint of a dark carpal bar could be seen, dark primary/wing edges were very apparent, and the tail did not extending past wingtips. In flight, the wings were strongly angled back, and showed a dark trailing edge on the primaries.
We headed down the trail that leads to the back pond of the Liberty Loop. Shortly after arriving, Marianne located a Short-billed Dowitcher. Linda was the only one with a camera out due to the steady, continuing rain and she provided me with a photo of the bird. We continued to scan for quite a while, getting very wet and cold. Eventually, I located the RED-NECKED PHALAROPE in my scope! Marianne got on it quickly with her scope and Linda got a quick look in my scope, but unfortunately the bird disappeared into some grasses before Maria got her turn on a scope. It took a while to relocate the bird; when Marianne finally did, Maria got a look and we all got some better looks, but they were by no means good looks, through wet lenses and the bird coming and going through the vegetation. This was a life bird for both Maria and Linda, congrats to them both!
When we got back to the Owens Station Crossing parking lot, we could not relocate the Common Tern; had it moved on already? The weather was trying to break at this point, but the rain continued, just a little lighter than before.
~Short-billed Dowitcher at the Liberty Loop Trail, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 10/3/15. Photo by Linda Scrima.~
I went home and changed into some dry clothes. It appeared that the rain might stop, so I was going to head to Mt. Peter. Once on the road, it became clear that it was still raining pretty good. Kyle Dudgeon was home from college for the weekend, we exchanged texts and decided to try to get the phalarope for him. We tried for a while at the back pond of the Liberty Loop, but we were unable to relocate the bird, even with the help of a Sussex County birder named Kevin who was out for the bird as well. Kyle and I decided to hit the black dirt to try for shorebirds (me) and raptors (Kyle). We were successful in both searches. American Kestrels were extremely numerous, we didn’t keep count but figured by the evening that we had seen over 30 kestrels! We also saw several Northern Harriers including one Gray Ghost, and we had one immature Bald Eagle fly over. For shorebirds we struggled for the most part with not many being seen, but eventually Kyle’s young eyes located three birds I am thinking might have been BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS; I’ve included a photo of one them below. And then a little later, way out in a field he spotted 23 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS! (Several of these birds lifted their wings to show wing pits that were not dark). What a day of birding! Crazy weather and awesome birds; it’s usually a good combination.
~I have this as a Black-bellied Plover – the bill and head look large enough to me? I’m not sure why I struggle so much to differentiate the plovers?! Any thoughts on this bird would certainly be appreciated. Black Dirt Region, 10/3/15.~
~Blue-winged Warbler at Sterling Forest State Park, Ironwood Road, 5/16/15.~
Since my return from Florida I have gotten out and done a lot of local birding whereI have seen and heard many birds, yet it has not felt overly fulfilling. I was thinking about it today and that’s when I realized that I am not well; I am suffering from a case of Post Florida Birding Syndrome. A while back, Linda Scrima warned me that this would happen. Who would have guessed that it would difficult to transition from taking super close-up photos of multiple life birds every day to trying to locate the smallest of birds among the leaves in the highest treetops?
The good news is that I think I’ve found a remedy: I’m thinking back on all the amazing first-of-the-year birds that I’ve had in the eight days since I’ve been back. The list is 50 species long just for Orange County! What better indication is there of all the great birding that is going on right now? And the Mearns Bird Club had their BREAK 100 event this weekend; every team but one had over 100 species in 24 hours! How awesome is that? Additionallhy, while they were not Florida-close, I did manage to get some decent photos during the week. It makes me think about what a great pastime birding is, how there are amazing birds at every turn and that you never know what the next big thing will be.
~Scarlet Tanager at Pochuck Mountain State Forest, 5/17/15.~~An American Redstart sings his heart out at Pochuck Mountain State Forest, 5/16/15.~~I got my lifer GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER on Thursday with no photos. When I went back on Saturday I managed to get at least a usable shot. Sterling Forest State Park, Ironwood Drive 5/16/15.~
For those that are interested, these are the new birds added to my Orange County List in the last eight days:
~This was definitely THE bird for me at Bunche Beach. MARBLED GODWIT at Bunche Beach, 5/8/15.~
I love shorebirds. I really love shorebirds, but boy can they be difficult to identify. Especially when you are at a beach in another state a thousand miles away and you really haven’t done your homework.
I got several recommendations to go to Bunche Beach while I was in Florida, and I ended up going there early in the morning on two different days. On the first day, the number of shorebird species I had was on the low side; two photographers were there ahead of me and were literally chasing the birds around. I did better on the second day when I basically had the beach to myself. What a great joy to have all these beautiful shorebirds in perfect, gorgeous light. But then, of course, you have to identify them. I struggled as I sorted through the birds, but I think I eventually figured them all out. Here is my list of shorebirds I had for the two days; if you see any of the photos here misidentified, please comment to help me get it right – thanks! Life birds are in all caps.
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Willet MARBLED GODWIT
Ruddy Turnstone RED KNOT
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
~Always cute, a Semipalmated Plover cruises the shoreline at Bunche Beach, 5/8/15.~~I saw many Willets in the week that we were down in Florida; I caught this one in flight at Bunch Beach, 5/8/15.~~I love this American Oystercatcher, it has such striking colors! I have not altered the saturation of this photo at all – it has been cropped, the highlights reduced a bit, and then sharpened at the eye and bill. Bunch Beach, 5/8/15.~~This was one of my tougher ID’s – I have it as a Short-billed Dowitcher. The size seemed right for this and I looked at other reports from Bunche Beach earlier in the week and SBDOs were on several lists. At Bunche Beach on 5/7/15.~~A MARBLED GODWIT takes a short flight. Bunche Beach, 5/8/25.~~There were plenty of Dunlin present on both days, Bunche Beach 5/7/15.~~I think I am getting a handle on this bird (but maybe I’m wrong!). Sanderling at Bunche Beach, 5/7/15.~~Black-bellied Plover and reflection. Bunche Beach, 5/7/15.~~I have this bird as a RED KNOT, but may it’s not (ha ha). To me there’s nothing special about this photo but I wanted to include it to see if anyone would confirm it as a Red Knot. Bunche Beach, 5/8/15.~
Bunche Beach is a great location and I had more good birds than just the shorebirds. I enjoyed watching a large group of Black Skimmers flying in unison over the water in the distance; I estimated at least 65 birds were there. When they came to rest on a distant sandbar, I noticed that there were approximately a dozen ROYAL TERNS there as well. I also did well with wading birds, including: Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, REDDISH EGRET, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, White Ibis, and five ROSEATE SPOONBILLS did a flyby on that second morning. Beautiful birds!
~This one’s for Tricia – Little Blue Heron just after sunrise. Bunche Beach 5/7/15.~~A Tricolored Heron hunts along the shoreline. Bunche Beach, 5/8/15.~~(Hopefully) Short-billed Dowitchers at Bunche Beach, 5/8/15. I think the bird behind the central SBDO and to the left is the bird I have identified as a RED KNOT in an above photo.~
I posted this photograph to Facebook while we were still in Florida – it was a lot of fun for Tricia and I to watch this Anhinga fish at the Naples Botanical Garden, 5/6/15. I have plenty more photos and posts from Florida coming soon…
Well, it’s hard to beat the birding in southwest Florida! Birds were seemingly everywhere and I made it out to many great spots during the week that Tricia and I were there. I took loads of photos and its is going to take a little while to get through them, a task that has been complicated with some computer problems upon my return. I’m writing this post on my iPad, which is also what I used to edit the photographs. To say this is less than ideal is a gross understatement. With any luck, I will get this squared away in the next day or so.
Meanwhile, this morning I got out and did some local birding. I met up with Maria Loukeris and Linda Scrima early and we headed to Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park, NJ. We had visions of low flying warblers in perfect light, but unfortunately that was not to be. Foggy, cool conditions with poor light was more like it. We saw or heard 27 species as we walked around the reservation. As far as warblers go, we had 7 species: Northern Parula, Yellow, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Pine, Black-and-white, and Common Yellowthroat. A personal highlight of the visit was seeing a single Least Sandpiper in a mud flat on one of the small ponds there. We decided to try our luck elsewhere and headed to Pochuck Mountain State Forest in Pine Island, NY. As we drove, the weather cleared up and it started to become sunny and warmer. We did much better at this location with both birds and photos. While we did not have a large number of species (23), we made up for it in quality. Our best birds were: Worm-eating Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, and Swainson’s Thrush, all three of which were lifers for both Linda and Maria. We also got a great look at a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which is one of those birds that I struggle to get photos of. It was a great walk in the woods and was a nice way to finish up the day of birding.
Here is a nice look at the Swainson’s Thrush at Pochuck Mountain SF, 5/9/15.I got my FOY Ovenbirds at Pochuck Mountain, 5/9/15.Though I am not thrilled with the results, it was fun for me to get such good looks and shoot this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Pochuck Mountain SF, 5/9/15.Wilson’s Warbler at Pochuck Mountain, 5/9/15.It was very exciting to get great looks at this Worm-eating Warbler, which Maria called even though it was a lifer for her. Pochuck Mountain SF, 5/9/15.
~If anyone has any ideas what this male Wood Duck is eating, can you please leave a comment? Taken at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/15.~
Tomorrow night, Tricia and I are heading to Bonita Springs, Florida for a week’s vacation. I’m excited as I plan on doing a fair amount of birding while we are there. I am going to post if I find the time while were are down there, otherwise I will post next weekend – I’m hoping for some good birds!
~This is my FOY Gray Catbird, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/15.~
~I enjoy photographing gulls, they are very accessible, allowing for shots like this Ring-billed Gull, head-on. Newburgh Waterfront, 2/12/15.~
I haven’t posted in nearly a week for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason is that I didn’t do any birding this past weekend. We went to the Poconos and spent most of the weekend inside, by the fire, enjoying being with family. The other reason is, when I have gotten out it hasn’t been very productive birding. I went to the waterfront in Newburgh last Thursday to try for gulls. It was a cold but beautiful night with nice light with many gulls to sift through. Unfortunately, I was unable to to locate any gulls other than the expected Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls. I also had two distant adult Bald Eagles that night.
Last night, I got hung up and work and I didn’t make it out to the Liberty Marsh until just before sunset. On my way I made a quick stop near Rudinski Lane where I saw some smaller birds congregating. It was a flock of Horned Larks, several American Tree Sparrows and Song Sparrows, and a couple of Mourning Doves. At the viewing platform I alternated sitting in my car and getting out because it was so cold. I had a single Rough-legged Hawk perched in the distance, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, and a red fox a couple hundred yards north of Oil City Road. I left well after sunset and had not seen or heard any owls.
~By the time I saw this Horned Lark on Monday evening, it was on the dark side which is why this photo is so grainy. I like the horns being up though. Rudinski Lane in Pine Island, NY 2/16/15.~
~A pair of Wild Turkeys perch in a tree at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 2/17/15.~
And tonight, I went back up to Wallkill to go for the Gyrfalcon. It was a beautiful night and I was hoping to maybe get some photos. I arrived at Old Fort Road and there were no cars, so I knew the bird couldn’t be present. I made a quick call to John Haas, who I had passed on my way there, and he informed that the bird had been located nearly 6 miles away from Old Fort Road. I tried but failed to catch up with the bird, so I headed over to the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR to see if I could do any good over there. I met a birder there named Joe Chernek and we enjoyed seeing at least three Red-tailed Hawks, one dark morph Rough-legged Hawk and a possible distant perched light morph, two Short-eared Owls, and a first for me, seven Wild Turkeys perched in the trees that border the refuge on the south.
~It was follow-the-leader over the Hudson River, the leader being the Herring Gull with a round roll. Newburgh Waterfront, 2/12/15.~
QUICK POST: I was not out there to witness it myself, but the Gyrfalcon continues in Ulster County. It was relocated in the same area as yesterday early this afternoon and apparently many birders (100+?) were present to see the bird. Does this mean the bird might stick around for a while? We shall see…either way, it’s very exciting and congrats to all who got to see the bird!
I made it into the Sunday Times Herald-Record today in Wayne’s World, a column written by nature writer Wayne Hall. If you would like to check it out, click HERE.
It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone! I know I say it every year, but the older I get, the faster the years go by. I’ve decided to start 2015 with a new look for the blog; I am curious about what folks think of the new layout, so please comment if you have any thoughts about it. It was another great year of birding for me, and I really enjoyed doing the blog. Here’s a snapshot of the year 2014 here at Orangebirding.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here are my species totals for the year, with the last two year’s totals for comparison:
Area 2014 2013 2012
World: 244 240 199
United States: 244 240 171
New York State: 209 211 167
New Jersey State: 130 107 85
ORANGE COUNTY: 186 176 126
Sullivan County: 114 133 112
Looking at the numbers, I did not have as good a year as I might have thought. I only increased my total birds for the year by 4, and my New York State and Sullivan County totals were both actually down. Orange County, however, went up by 11. Without really realizing it, I certainly increased the importance of birding in my home county this year.
I started 2014 with 284 life birds and ended the year with 315, that’s 31 new life birds added! This is a lot of new birds, but it is, of course, down from last year when I add 69 life birds to my list. I think there are a couple of reasons for this; last year we travelled to Colorado where many of the birds that I saw were lifers – I picked up 22 life birds in a week and a half. This year we spent two weeks in Maine, which is not quite as far from home, and I only added 6 life birds to my list. The second reason is where I am in my birding; life birds, especially found locally, will become increasingly difficult to see.
I also thought it would be interesting to look at the number of posts I did in the last year – this is my 153rd post of the year. This is up from the 117 posts I made last year. And finally, for what it’s worth, according to Google Analytics the blog had 10,740 visits by 3,925 individuals.
TOP FIVE PHOTOS OF THE YEAR
For the past two years I have included my favorite photo of the year in my end of year post. This year I did not feel like I had a single shot that stood out, so I have decided to go with a top five:
Forster’s Tern at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge 6/16/14. I love the pastel colors of this shot and also that I got lucky with the catchlight in the bird’s eye.Blackburnian Warbler at Pochuck Mountain State Forest, 5/11/14. Pretty colors in this one, and the bird is super crisp.One of my favorite birds to photograph, a male Northern Harrier on Mission Land Road, 1/12/14. I got very lucky with this shot, I was driving on Mission Land and this “Gray Ghost” just flew right alongside my car.A flock of mixed blackbirds on Onion Avenue in New Hampton, NY, 3/14/14. I got lucky with the light on this one – right place right time. If you can view this one full screen, it makes a difference.Laughing Gull photographed from back of the Ferry from Lewes DE to Cape May NJ, 6/15/14. I just like this one and I got a terrific reaction when I posted it as well.
BIRD OF THE YEAR: BARN OWL
Barn Owl in flight, Orange County NY, February 2014.
I’ve always put Barn Owl in the category of “Birds I never thought I would photograph”, particularly in Orange County NY. Seeing this bird in the wild and so close to home was amazing; getting some decent photos was the icing on the cake.
MOST EXCITING BIRDING EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR: ATLANTIC PUFFINS OFF THE COAST OF MAINE
A pair of Atlantic Puffins, Eastern Egg Rock Island ME, 8/4/14.
Tricia and I did not get the best conditions for the two puffin boating excursions we took while we were in Maine; the fog was very thick at both locations. It did not deter us, we got some great birds, including 5 life birds for me: Northern Fulmar (LB),Great Shearwater (LB), Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Northern Gannet, Red Phalarope, Roseate Tern (LB), Arctic Tern (LB), Common Murre, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Parasitic Jaeger (LB), and Atlantic Puffin. Additionally, I still managed to get some decent photos in spite of the heavy fog.
Great Shearwaters on Whale Watching Tour off of Bar Harbor ME, 8/1/14.
FAVORITE BIRDING LOCATION OF THE YEAR: 6 1/2 STATION ROAD SANCTUARY
A Glossy Ibis picks through the small pond south of the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 8/20/14.
6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary is the birding spot closest to my home in Goshen, but that is not why I went there so frequently this year. The reason is, that the birding was flat out good. I saw a tremendous variety of the expected species and a few less expected birds as well, including Virginia Rail, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Stilt Sandpiper, and Glossy Ibis. In all I had 92 species at the sanctuary this year; this includes birds located at what I refer to as the Citgo Trail, which is the trail that leads to the smaller pond south of the Heritage Trail.
One of my favorites, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary on 9/21/14.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the birders in our area; they are such good company and always helpful and generous with their knowledge. I hope as I learn and progress that I can do the same for others. Special thanks to Rob Stone, John Haas, Judy Cinquina, Karen Miller, Linda Scrima, and Maria Loukeris for all their help and good company this year. Happy New Year to everyone out there – may your 2015 be filled with all the birds you can wish for, from Black-capped Chickadees to Pink-footed Geese.
