I like the little tilt of the head of the bird in this photo. Short-eared Owl at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/14/14.
I had a full day of birding today, but the best was saved for last. Huge thanks to PJ Singh who texted me to let me know that there was a single Short-eared Owl up early at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR. I was over in Newburgh picking up a couple of birds I needed for the county (Great Black-backed Gull and Great Cormorant), and I was not going to go to the grasslands. It had been gray and cloudy all day which would not make for good photos, and the owls had not been up early yet this year as far as I knew. I decided to head over to check it out and boy am I glad I did. Sun came out and the so did the SEOWs, right before 3:30. I was lucky enough to get into the south blind and that’s where the birds seemed to spend most of their time tonight. PJ joined me in the blind shortly after the owls got up and wow did they put on a show! I approximate at least 10 Short-eared Owls were there, but it is tough to get a good count while photographing. What an exciting afternoon!
Short-eared Owl in flight at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/14/14. This is my favorite shot of the day, I love how both the bird and the grasses are well lit on a dark background. SEOW at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/14/14.SEOW at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/14/14. This stick was a favorite perch of the Short-eared Owls, Shawangunk Grasslands NWR 12/14/14.This shot was taken as the sun started to get lower, SEOW at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/14/14. Ralph put this perch in the perfect position, directly in front of the blind, and the owls love it. Perched Short-eared Owl at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/14/14.
A backlit light morph Rough-legged Hawk at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 12/7/14.
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One thing I knew I wanted to do this weekend was to try to get out to the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR. When Ken McDermott let me know on Friday evening that he had a Northern Shrike there that day, I knew for sure that’s where I was headed. Saturday was, unfortunately, a wash. Steady rains all day made for poor birding, though it was not for lack of trying. I went to the grasslands early in the day where I met up with John Haas and Ralph Tabor and we had no luck with the shrike. Sunday was a different story; it was a beautiful, sunny, cold, and crisp day which was very refreshing. No luck again with the Northern Shrike, but I did REALLY well with raptors. I spent a few hours in the morning in the new blind that Ralph placed pretty far into the eastern most portion of the refuge. The blind is well placed with several nearby trees for the birds to perch on, and it is in an area where the Rough-legged Hawks seem to spend a lot of time. By the time I headed back to my car in the early afternoon, I had put together what I consider a pretty good list of raptors:
Black Vulture (3)
Turkey Vulture (4)
Bald Eagle (2 adults)
Northern Harrier (4)
Red-tailed Hawk (5)
Rough-legged Hawk (5 – at least!)
American Kestrel (1)
Peregrine Falcon (1)
And, being in a blind, I had some very good opportunities for photos:
This male American Kestrel could be seen working the grasslands all morning long, and then luckily stopped to perch in the tree right in front of the blind. Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.American Kestrel in flight, Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.xDark morph Rough-legged Hawk in flight over the blind at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.This is the same bird pictured above, as it came in to perch. RLHA at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.VERY distant shot of a Pergrine Falcon that seemed to just pass through. Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.
In the parking lot of the refuge I ran into PJ Singh who decided to join me in looking for some waterfowl. At our first stop, Lippincott Road in Wallkill, we saw a half dozen Common Mergansers, but that’s it. We did much better at our second stop, Chadwick Lake. The highlight for me was five Common Goldeneyes, and we also had: Ruddy Duck (9), Ring-necked Duck (35), Hooded Merganser (6), Common Loon (1), and a single Mute Swan.
Ruddy Duck at Chadwick Lake, 12/7/14. This is one of the few that were not tucked in.xThree of five Common Goldeneye at Chadwick Lake, 12/7/14.
Since it was such a gorgeous afternoon, I returned to the grasslands in the afternoon to try for photos of the Short-eared Owls. The light was a good as it could be, but unfortunately the owls did not cooperate and did not get up until after dark. It was tough to see, but when they did come up I counted at least three. I sat in the north blind until it was too dark for photos and did alright with Northern Harriers:
The harriers seem to be eating well at the grasslands. Many of the birds I photographed had full crops like this bird. Northern Harrier at Shawangunk Grasslands, 12/7/14.NOHA at the grasslands, 12/7/14.Here’s another bird with a pretty full crop. Northern Harrier hunting at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.And finally, the deer are plentiful at the refuge.
Two of Seventy (!) Sandhill Cranes fly over Montezuma NWR, Seneca Falls NY, 11/28/14.
Going to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge on Black Friday has pretty much become a holiday tradition for me. And having an amazing birding experience has grown to be expected; I haven’t had a bad day out there yet. This year had a slow start, it was very cold and windy at the main pool, which made it very difficult to see the waterfowl which were located WAY out in the distance. I made the full circuit of the spots I usually hit, and it was on the quiet side. I was beginning to think that my “slump” was continuing. On my way back to hit Wildlife Drive for a second time, I made a quick stop at Tschache Pool. I picked up 4 Common Mergansers there, but more importantly, I met another birder named Mary Beth, who was out for the day with her sister-in-law (who, though enjoying herself, was not a birder and therefore spent a good amount of time in the car keeping warm). Mary Beth mentioned that there had been Sandhill Cranes reported out on East Road. Now, I had just come from East Road, but I was certainly willing to give it another shot. I followed them over, and moments after arriving, Mary Beth pulled over pointing to the west of the road. I got out of the car and started smiling ear to ear – it was a BIG flock of cranes – I initially counted 58 birds but later got better photos where I could count all the the birds and there were actually 75 Sandhill Cranes there! I high-fived Mary Beth, who was just as excited about it as I was. I was actually a little bit embarrassed because I had missed the birds – I spent all my time looking east of the road down towards Knox Marsellus and Puddler Marsh, where I have had birds in the past.
I was happy to get a shot with all 75 of the birds in it. Sandhill Cranes at Montezuma NWR, Seneca Falls NY, 11/28/14.
Mary Beth showed me one more spot that I had not birded in the past, I believe she called the the Potato Barn. It is basically just a vast stretch of farm land and we stopped and looked for Snowy Owls with no luck. Mary Beth mentioned that they sometimes got Short-eared Owls there; I went back just before sunset and had a single SEOW tangling with a Northern Harrier on the west side of the road.
I eventually made it back to Wildlife Drive, where the highlight was a single Snow Bunting, my first of the season. There was a photographer that was pulled over, and I could not see what she was shooting. I eventually, slowly pulled up along side her vehicle and asked her. She pointed down at the single Snow Bunting, not 20 feet from the side of the road. I took a bunch of photos, and I guess this is a good time to mention that I shot all my photos for the day on the wrong setting; a very small file size. I had changed my settings for a project at work on Wednesday and somehow I forgot to change this back. I did not realize until later in the evening when I was looking at the pics and noticed that something wasn’t quite right. I was totally deflated but, live and learn I guess. And, ultimately, I felt like although photos were not like I would want them, they were good enough for a post. It really helped that this bunting was so close.
A single Snow Bunting forages in the snow. Montezuma NWR in Seneca Falls NY, 11/28/14.Snow Bunting at Montezuma NWR, 11/28/14. While this bird was accommodating, the light was unfortunately terrible.Snow Bunting flicking snow. Montezuma NWR, 11/28/14.
I went back for another look at the Sandhill Cranes. When I arrived at East Road, all the cranes except 7 were located to the east of the road in Knox Marsellus. Shortly after my arrival, all of the cranes flew over the road and I took a bunch of photos. It was truly very exciting to watch these beautiful birds fly over, calling as they went. What fabulous birds!
The Sandhill Cranes flew from the east side of the road to the west in groups of varying numbers. Here eight birds are practically on top of one another as they cross the road. Montezuma NWR in Seneca Falls NY, 11/28/14. This group of seven was much more orderly about it. Sandhill Cranes at Montezuma NWR, Seneca Falls NY, 11/28/14. …and a group of nine come in for a landing on the west side of East Road, Montezuma NWR, Seneca Falls NY, 11/28/14. Seven Sandhill Cranes in the field on the west side of East Road. Montezuma NWR, 11/28/14. Coyote! This shot is from Saturday morning when I went back to Montezuma for a brief visit. Montezuma NWR 11/29/14.
Here’s my list for the day (28 species):
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
American Black Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
American Robin
European Starling
Snow Bunting
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
House Sparrow
A migrating Red-tailed Hawk at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/08/14.
I had a nice day at Mt. Pete today. The weather was nice – sunny, crisp, and cool without being too cold, and I had enough birds flying to keep it interesting. Thanks to Kyle Dudgeon and Bobby Kerr (whose young eyes helped to locate many birds), and also to Rob Stone and Ajit and Liza Antony for their help. Here’s my report for the day:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 08, 2014
——————————————————————-
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Ajit I. Antony, Rob Stone
Visitors:
Liza Antony, Kyle Dudgeon and Bobby Kerr.
Weather:
Sunny and cool with some clouds. Temperatures ranged from 1 to 8 degrees
Celsius, with moderate winds from the southwest.
Raptor Observations:
One immature and one unknown Northern Harrier.
Three adult, two immature, and three unknown Red-shouldered Hawks.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other Species: Ring-billed Gull (15), Canada Goose (17), Dark-eyed Junco
(2), White-breasted Nuthatch (2), American Robin (22), American Goldfinch
(2), Common Raven (2), American Crow (12), Blue Jay (8), Tufted Titmouse
(4), Eastern Bluebird (1), Rock Pigeon (1).
The always obligatory Turkey Vulture shot. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/08/14. Not the greatest shot, but a migrating Sharp-shinned Hawk passes on the west side of the viewing platform. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/08/14.
On Friday evening I hit the Black Dirt Region and tried again with the American Pipits:
I’m kind of liking these birds – American Pipit in the Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY, 11/0714.
I only had time for a quick stop by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary on this Sunday evening. The place was loaded with birds, mostly American Robins, Blue Jays, European Starlings, and, to a lesser degree, Northern Flickers. It would be hard to put a number on the robins, starlings, and jays, but definitely close to 100 for the robins and starlings and over 50 for the jays. I had a much more modest number of flickers, but to me, 6 is still a decent number for Northern Flickers. All the birds were quite active, moving around a lot, feeding and a large group of starlings were bathing just off the trail. The flickers were jumpy at first, but then seemed to get used to my presence and I got a few shots.
A female Northern Flicker takes a brief break from feeding. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/28/14.A male Northern Flicker feeds in the grasses along the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/28/14.
Other noteworthy observations: The only shorebirds present were several Killdeer and what looked like one Least Sandpiper. Great Egrets are still present in numbers, with approximately 15 present tonight.
Self portrait with all my gear – taken with my iPhone. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/28/14.
I’ve been wanting to post this series of photos for a while. I took these back on July 18th while kayaking at the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area. It was an extremely foggy morning, so much so that until late in the morning, the fog prevented any good photos. This Great Blue Heron was shot just as the fog had lifted.
I allowed the kayak to just drift in the direction of this perched Great Blue Heron…I love this shot – you can barely see the bird as it compresses before lift off. I actually had one frame where the bird was not visible at all. The heron seems to simultaneously leap and flap its wings to take off…Air born! Miraculously the bird took off straight to my left instead of away from me. I love the full extension in this photo. I’m not sure if this is due to my crop or if the heron actually got a little closer as it passed by……And one more shot as the bird passed to my left.
It’s not much of a photo, but here are five of the 336 migrating Broad-winged Hawks at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 9/13/14.
I did my first shift of the year as counter at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch last Saturday. I didn’t do a blog post because it was uneventful – I counted only 5 migrating hawks in 6 hours of observation. Today was quite a different story. Despite the cloudy and drizzly weather, I surpassed last week’s total in the first 10 minutes of the watch. The highlight was the third hour of the watch, when I had 301 Broad-winged Hawks pass through. To make it even better, the birds were flying relatively low and could be seen easily with the naked eye. I had two large kettles – one with 126 BWHAs and the other with 105. I was so involved with trying to get a good count that I neglected to take any photos. I had one more sizable kettle of 49 birds where I remembered to get the above photo. My total for the day was 337 migrating raptors. All were Broad-winged Hawks with the exception of a single Osprey. Here’s my report, as submitted to HMANA at hawkcount.org:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 13, 2014
——————————————————————-
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 13:30:00
Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Carol Linguanti
Visitors:
Visitors included: Karen Miller, Carol Linguanti, Carol Pastushok, and
Grace Woleslagle.
Weather:
Cool and cloudy with a light drizzle beginning in the third hour of the
watch and developing into rain on and off during the last hour and a half
of the watch. Winds were from the East at 10 km/hr and temperatures ranged
from 12 to 15 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations:
During the third hour of the watch, 301 Broad-winged Hawks were observed.
Kettles formed to the northeast of the platform and most birds flew
directly over the viewing platform – low for Broad-winged Hawks, all could
be seen easily with the naked eye.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other bird species observed: Northern Cardinal (2), Black-capped Chickadee
(5), Tufted Titmouse (2), Downy Woodpecker (2), American Crow (4), Canada
Goose (3), American Goldfinch (3), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Blue Jay (4),
Chimney Swift (5), Gray Catbird (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2),
Black-and-white Warbler (1)
So, after talking to some of the other counters at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch and getting some feedback from John Haas, the consensus was that the two Lesser Yellowlegs in the previous post were just two young birds playing in such a way that it will prepare them for adulthood.
Today, out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, I came across two more young birds interacting – first a curious young Northern Harrier that flew in close to me. He was joined shortly after by a young Cooper’s Hawk and the two tangled for a bit. More playing/training?
A very relaxed looking male Common Eider at Bar Harbor, Maine, 7/27/14.
I finally got through the last of my photos from our trip to Maine. There is no common thread, these are simply photos from the trip that did not fit into any previous posts, but that I wanted to share.
A female Common Eider rests on a rock on the shore. Bar Harbor, Maine 7/27/14.We saw this Common Eider from the Shore Path at Bar Harbor, Maine 726/14.I was happy to discover this Black Guillemot so close to the shore while we where having a delicious meal at Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bernard, Maine 7/31/14.Also seen from Thurston’s Lobster Pound, I love this shot of a Common Tern – it is SOOC (straight out of camera).One more Common Tern shot. This seems to be a tough bird to get a good photo of, I took a LOT of tern photos in Maine and only a very few were any good. This was also at Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bernard, Maine 7/31/14.I finally got a puffed up egret shot. Snowy Egret at Ogunquit Beach, Maine 7/26/14.One of six life birds I got during the trip – Piping Plover at Ogunquit, Maine 7/26/14.Cute bird – Piping Plover at Ogunquit, Maine 7/26/14.Piping Plover at Ogunquit Beach, 7/26/14.One of my favorites, I happy to finally get close enough for a decent shot. Bonaparte’s Gull at Ogunquit Beach, 7/26/14.Sweet bird. Bonaparte’s Gull in Ogunquit, Maine 7/26/14.On our last day in Bar Harbor we walked a trail near Indian Point, Maine and found a pair of Spotted Sandpipers on the rocky beach. 8/2/14.
A Glossy Ibis picks through the small pond south of the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 8/20/14.
So, yesterday afternoon I located an ibis the small pond to the south of the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. Having just had a very good look at the three Glossy Ibis out at the Liberty Loop just last week, this bird seemed a little different to me. This bird had white at the base of both the upper and lower bill, legs that appeared to be light orange in color (as opposed to the darker legs on the three LL ibis), a much redder overall look that was less iridescent, and to me, the bill appeared to be slightly larger. With all this in mind I started to think about the possibility of a White-faced Ibis. I did some quick, inconclusive research on my phone app and then called Rob Stone and John Haas for some guidance. Apparently, both the legs and the facial skin of a WFIB should be red/pink in color, but the key for this ID, was to see the color of the bird’s eye. If the iris was red then it would make it a White-faced, if dark it would be a Glossy. Well, this bird does not have a very large eye, and I was viewing it from just under 150 yards away, which was going to make it difficult to determine. John showed up in no time at all, but by that time, the had bird picked up and move further out by about another 40 yards. Karen Miller, Linda Scrima, Bruce Nott, and Kathleen Ashman had also showed up. We all agreed that the bird was too far to see the eye color. It was getting darker by the minute, so it was decided that John and I would work our way around the pond to get a closer look. When we did so, it was still tough to determine the eye color; I think the setting sun was playing some tricks on us. Scotty Baldinger eventually joined us, and not long after that we felt confident that the bird’s iris was not red and the bird was therefore a Glossy Ibis. It was really a fun evening for me, spending time observing such an interesting and beautiful bird and to do so with some great people made it that much better.
GLIB at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 8/20/14.
One last thing – John wrote an interesting post about this bird on his blog, and reading it, I learned about another important identifying feature: according to the Crossley Guide, the white at the base of the bill always disappears behind the eye, as opposed to the complete white surround of the White-faced Ibis.
This photo shows that the white does not continue behind the eye. Glossy Ibis at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 8/20/14.
LITTLE BLUE HERON
I did not strike out two days in a row with the Little Blue Heron located in the pond near the intersection of Routes 302 and 17K in Bullville NY, 8/20/14.
It was an eventful afternoon of birding; before I went to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, I went for the LITTLE BLUE HERON in Bullville again. This time I did not come up empty handed, the bird was easily located and though it was little far out, I got great looks in my scope and the photos were not too bad. This bird had a lot of personality to me – if I was a little closer (and it wasn’t backlit), I could have had some nice photos for sure because the bird kept striking interesting poses.
