Okay, so I guess I can keep calling the blog Orange Birding. This evening I just wanted to make a quick stop at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary’s Citgo Pond to check the water levels, because when I was there on Friday the levels were too high and there were no shorebirds present. Well, the water levels were still high and there were still no shorebirds, but I found a welcome surprise: a BLACK TERN! When I arrived the bird was perched on the ground, but it took flight not long after I got on the bird and never set down again. The bird flew around the pond, hunting continuously and splashing into the water from time to time. I put the word out and John Haas, Karen Miller, and Diane Bliss were all able to run for the bird. Bad weather was moving in quickly, so we ended up having to hustle out of there to beat storms. It was a nice looking bird and we got good, if slightly distant views – all my pics are cropped within an inch of their lives. This is my 193rd species for Orange County this year.
~BLTE, wings down at Citgo Pond, 8/16/16.~~Black Tern right after splash down on the water. Citgo Pond, 8/16/16.~
It’s that time of year when new birds are not very hard to come by. Migration is getting into full swing, and many new birds are moving into and through the area. I spent the morning and into the early afternoon birding at the above locations, and added 14 new species to my Orange County year list.
First thing this morning, I met Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris at Pochuck Mountain State Forest, which was quite birdy. We had a nice long walk with 33 species and I added 8 personal first of year (FOY) birds:
Ovenbird was the bird of the day for sure; we heard them calling all along the trail as we walked. It was a nice outing, although at the end we had to cut it short and hustle back to our cars as both Linda and Maria had other obligations.
~This was one very accommodating Field Sparrow, on the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/16.~
Afterwards, I headed over to 6 1/2 Station Road with the main goal of trying for some shorebirds. I started at the Citgo Pond, and although it was not a great success, I did see a several Killdeer, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs (FOY in Orange County), and 2 Spotted Sandpipers (FOY). The habitat looks good there right now for shorebirds, so I will be checking in for sure. I also walked a portion of the Heritage Trail, and ultimately I had 32 species. Other new year birds for me included: Green Heron, several Chimney Swifts, 2 Warbling Vireos, and a House Wren. I was bummed out about the Warbling Vireos because they were down low and in good light, but for some reason I was never able to get a good focus while I was trying to photograph them.
While I wouldn’t categorize it as amazing, it was certainly a good and enjoyable day of birding.
~An acrobatic looking House Wren at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/16. ~~With all the Brown-headed Cowbirds I’ve seen in recent days, I finally got a decent photo of one. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/16.~~Blue-winged Warbler at Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/30/16.~My FOY Green Heron, which is always exciting to me. Love this bird. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 5/30/16.~
Since I’ve been out of the loop for a little while, I figured it would be a good idea to do a post of notable Orange County sightings that I know of from the past week:
SUNDAY 4/3/16 – It was a waterfowl fallout of sorts in OC. Rob Stone reported 20+ Long-tailed Ducks at Wickham Lake, along with 1 Greater Scaup, 1 Common Loon, and 1 Horned Grebe. Meanwhile, Kathy Ashman reported to Mearns Bird Club that she had 7 Horned Grebes at Glenmere Lake, with some in breeding plumage.
MONDAY 4/4/16 – Rob Stone had a Vesper Sparrow at Lower Wisner Road.
THURSDAY 4/7/16 – I had 1 Greater Scaup, 1 Common Loon (my FOY), and 2 Horned Grebes at Greenwood Lake. Kathy Ashman reported a Green Heron at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary.
FRIDAY 4/8/16 – I had 1 Common Loon at Sterling Lake and at Greenwood Lake I had 1 Horned Grebe, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, and 2 Common Loons.
SATURDAY 4/9/16 – I had my FOY Louisiana Waterthrush and Swamp Sparrow on the Sterling Lake Loop Trail. At White Oak Swamp, I finally got my FOY Rusty Blackbird and I also had my FOY Palm Warbler.
SUNDAY 4/10/16 – Maria Loukeris had a Common Loon at Glenmere Lake. I went for the bird later in the day and 4 Greater Scaup and 1 Lesser Scaup (FOY) had moved in as well. Earlier in the day, I had my FOY Osprey at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary (but missed out on the Green Heron).
~Common Loon at Glenmere Lake, 4/10/16. Thanks to Maria Loukeris for the heads up on this bird.~~Ruby-crowned Kinglet at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/10/16.~ ~Crappy photo of a good bird. Louisiana Waterthrush on the Sterling Lake Loop Trail, 4/9/16.~~Palm Warbler on the Sterling Lake Loop Trail, 4/9/16.~
~American Robin feeding at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 2/14/16.~
I spent a couple of cold hours this morning walking the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. It was quite birdy and I tallied 20 species for the walk; I’ll include my species list below. The best and most surprising bird for me was a female Northern Harrier which was cruising the open area below the Orange County Jail. I also enjoyed seeing 2 Great Blue Herons, one that flushed as I walked along the trail and the second was all tucked in on the bank of the stream alongside the trail. It was a brisk -3 degrees Fahrenheit when I started my walk, and it warmed up to a balmy 1 degree Fahrenheit by the time I got back to the car.
A male Eastern Bluebird shows a little wing, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 2/14/16. This is a species that I seem to see often when it’s very cold like this.~~It was really cool to see this Great Blue Heron all hunkered down on the bank of the stream which runs parallel to the Heritage Trail, 2/14/16.~
Great Blue Heron 2 Northern Harrier 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Ring-billed Gull 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 6 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 8 American Crow 1 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Eastern Bluebird 4 American Robin 12 American Tree Sparrow 25 Dark-eyed Junco 65 White-throated Sparrow 6 Song Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 1
A pair of White-throated Sparrows forage on the trail in front of me at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 2/14/16.~~A puffed up American Tree Sparrow, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 2/14/16.~~Downy Woodpeckers were plentiful during my walk and also very accommodating. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 2/14/16.~~One more shot of the American Robin feeding, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 2/14/16.~
~Dunlin feeding at 6 1/2 Station Road, Citgo Pond 10/25/15.~
I had an unproductive morning of birding today; I was hoping that perhaps some waterfowl had moved into the area. The I checked Glenmere Lake and Wickham Lake and only found a pair of Ruddy Ducks at Wickham and a single Greater Scaup at Glenmere. I went home disappointed and then headed back out in the afternoon, unsure where to go. I decided to check 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary – Citgo Pond for shorebirds, and I’m so glad I did. Upon my arrival to the pond, I immediately located a DUNLIN and what I thought were three Pectoral Sandpipers. I put the word out and took many photos, particularly of the Dunlin. Two of the “Pectorals” were not sitting right with me, but I couldn’t think what else they might be. I took some photos of the birds so that I could verify later, and it wasn’t until later in the evening when I looked at my photos that I saw that they might be RED KNOTS! I was so excited! I really wish I had been able to identify them in the field, but I was not expecting this at all, so I was happy to have gotten the photos. Great birding!
UPDATE 10/29/15: After receiving a couple of comments on this post questioning the identification of the two birds below, it was time to take another look and try to get it right. Both commenters believe that the birds are White-rumped Sandpipers rather than Red Knots. So last night I put my photos on the New York Birders Facebook page, where I only got one response, which also identified the birds as immature WRSAs (but importantly no comments disagreeing with this). I initially considered WRSA for these birds, but ruled them out based on size, so I was confused. I turned to The Shorebird Guide by Michael O’Brien, Richard Crossley, and Kevin Karlson. The last two pages of the book contain silhouettes which depict the relative sizes of shorebirds. Looking at the silhouettes, it became clear that I should have actually ruled out Red Knots, based on their size rather than the opposite. It’s, of course, no fun to be wrong, but I believe that White-rumped Sandpiper is an accurate ID, so I’m happy to hopefully get it right. Thanks to Rosemarie and Christopher for their comments which got this started.
~A pair of RED KNOTS White-rumped Sandpipers at 6 1/2 Station Road, Citgo Pond, 10/25/15.~
~Pectoral Sandpiper, Citgo Pond 10/25/15.~~Dunlin at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/2515.~~Dunlin at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, Citgo Pond 10/2515.~~RED KNOT White-rumped Sandpiper working at the Citgo Pond, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary 10/25/15.~
~This shot is actually from last week, a Lesser Yellowlegs at the Citgo Pond, 9/22/15.~
It feel like ages since I’ve last posted. There was not much going on birding-wise for me at the end of last week and then I went away for a long weekend to New Hope, Pennsylvania where Tricia had a booth for her pottery at the New Hope Craft Fair. This week I have gotten out birding briefly on a few days, and being shorebird obsessed, I went looking for shorebirds each day. On Tuesday I went out to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary – Citgo Pond, to see if the Long-billed Dowitcher was still around. I was unable to relocate the dowitcher, but the pond had a decent showing of shorebirds:
On Wednesday I drove around the black dirt, much of which had puddles in the fields due to the recent rainfall. Only a couple of stops were good for shorebirds. At Turtle Bay I had many Killdeer (30+) and then at Skinner Lane I had more Killdeer, a Wilson’s Snipe, two Pectoral Sandpipers, and a single long billed shorebird which I was, unfortunately, unable to identify due to the distance and darkness.
Today I went back to Skinner Lane to try for the unidentified shorebird, but it was not to be seen. I did, however, locate two Buff-breasted Sandpipers in a distant field with a dozen or so Killdeer.
ALSO: I should mention that I stopped at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch on both Monday and Tuesday and though both days were quite slow, they came right on the heels of a very good weekend where the all time record for migrating Broad-winged Hawks at the watch was broken. The old record was 11,044 and as of today we have counted 11,255 at Mt. Peter so far this year. Pretty exciting stuff!
~Least Sandpipers in flight over the murk and amongst the Mute Swans and Canada Geese at Citgo Pond, 9/22/15.~
~Broad-winged Hawks kettling over the Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 9/21/15.~
I got out of work late today, but not too late to get up to Mount Peter Hawkwatch. I arrived just after 4:00 pm and joined official counter Ajit Antony, Judy Cinquina, Tom Millard, Denise Farrell, and Gerhard and Tracy Patsch on the viewing platform. Apparently, I had missed several large kettles of Broad-winged Hawks! I was bummed, but not for long. About twenty minutes later, we had a huge group of Broad-winged Hawks coming in, just to the west of the platform. Many streamed straight through, very high up. Then two kettles formed over the valley at the same time just a few binocular fields apart. One of them was low enough and large enough to be seen naked eye. In all, over 750 BWHAs had just passed over! I was able to fire off a few photos, but really the photos don’t come close to doing the experience justice. It was so AWESOME! It was a really good day at the watch with a total of 1,887 migrating hawks!
We had a steady number of migrating hawks until right around 5:30, when the skies seemed to empty. At that point, I headed to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. I was following a lead from Bruce Nott – he told me that a dowitcher had been reported there the day before. When I arrived, I was already losing the light. I was pleasantly surprised when I quickly located the dowitcher. I took a bunch of photos and then called John Haas, who had recently had a Long-billed Dowitcher in Sullivan County. I remembered from his post that for LBDO, the tail typically would have thicker black bands than white, which this bird appeared to have. John had me look to see if the tertials had pale edging, which to my eye was the case with this bird. When I got home, knowing how difficult it can be to identify birds with just photos, I emailed several to John. The birds were a little bit distant and of course the light was low, which made for less than ideal pictures, but looking at them, he indicated he could not see any rufous on the edge of the tertials, and that the scapulars which haven’t been molted yet appear to have totally black centers (no rufous ribbing up the middle). Also, the feeding shot I sent over shows a hunch-backed appearance. All of these indicate LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER! Back in October of 2013, I had a pair of LBDOs in this same location, so it is certainly not out of the question. I will submit to eBird and see if the reviewer agrees with this assessment. Any thoughts on this bird please feel free to comment.
~A likely Long-billed Dowitcher at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/15.~~The dowitcher along with a Lesser Yellowlegs, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/15.~~Possible Long-billed Dowitcher, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary 9/21/15.~
~One of 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers takes flight after a gun went off in the distance. Black Dirt Region, 9/7/15.~
POST UPDATE: Thanks to Ken McDermott’s report and Bruce Nott’s subsequent review of his photos, it has come to light that we actually had 3 Buff-breasted Sandpipers and a single Baird’s Sandpiper, rather than the 4 BBSAs I initially reported. Sorry for the missed ID, it’s not a great feeling, but I’m glad to be able to get the accurate report out.
There I was, peacefully paddling my kayak around the lake at Morningside Park a little after Sunrise this morning. I had made three laps around the islands that form out in the lake, searching for the Short-billed Dowitcher that John Haas reported on his blog yesterday, but without any luck. I was in the middle of making lemonade out of lemons by trying for some good Spotted Sandpiper photos; I’ve never done any good with them before since they are so flighty. That’s when the phone rang, it was Bruce Nott who was on 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS in the black dirt. I started to head back to shore, I stopped only briefly to photograph a couple of Least Sandpipers that had just flown in. I strapped my kayak to the roof and headed out to the black dirt, wondering if I would get the Buffies, since I was 0ver 45 minutes away.
Luckily, I made in time. Bruce had been joined by a number of other birders and I joined them to get pretty good scope looks at the birds. On two occasions, someone fired a gun off in the distance which luckily moved the birds temporarily closer to us. Photos are distant and of course heavily cropped, but what a thrill to see one of my favorite birds. Thanks to Bruce for putting in the time and having a great eye.
~All my distant shots are pretty terrible, but here’s one just for documentary reasons. Two of the 4 Buff-breasted Sandpipers in the black dirt, 9/7/15.~
After seeing the Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Linda Scrima and I headed over to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, Citgo Pond, to see if the Stilt Sandpiper was still around. It was and although the light was harsh, we got relatively close looks at the bird, which looked really great in the scope but photos were not good at all. Congrats to Linda, this was her lifer Stilt Sandpiper.
I spent a little more time searching the black dirt for shorebirds, but I really didn’t come across many. I got lucky when a pair of American Kestrels landed not to far from my car and I was able to get my first kestrel shot in a LONG time.
~Female American Kestrel in the black dirt, 9/7/15.~
My final stop of the day was Turtle bay to see if the Baird’s Sandpipers were still around, and they were! Bruce showed up and then I called Marianne O. and Karen Miller who both got scope views of the three birds. By that time, I was overheated and it was time to go home.
Oh, and back to first thing this morning. The light was nice and the Spotted Sandpiper was cooperative – I think I got some interesting shots of the bird, and I’ve also thrown in one Least Sandpiper shot just because it’s a cute bird.
~Spotted Sandpiper feeding on one of the islands at Morningside Park in Sullivan County, 9/7/15.~~A Spotted Sandpiper doing its best Upland Sandpiper impression. Morningside Park, 9/7/15.~~My brother-in-law Bill B. will like this one – Spotted Sandpiper with reflection, Morningside Park, 9/7/15.~~A fluffy Least Sandpiper at Morningside Park, 9/7/15.~
~It’s that time of year! Get ready for some Turkey Vulture photos! Even when the migrating raptors are flying high, these dudes usually give up a photo op. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 9/5/15.~
MOUNT PETER HAWKWATCH
So the big news of the day is that it was my first day of the season as official counter out at Mount Peter Hawkwatch. For those who don’t know, Mount Peter Hawkwatch is located on Kain Road, just off of route 17A in Warwick. It’s right across from Bellvale Farms Creamery. Every day from September 1st until November 15th, there will be an official counter tallying all the migrating raptors that pass over. The results from each day’s count are reported to the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) and can be seen at their website HawkCount. They can also be seen on the Mount Peter Facebook Page.
~One of 2 migrating Ospreys from today’s count. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 9/5/15.~
I am excited to be the official counter every Saturday of the season with the exceptions of September 12th and 26th. The season has gotten off to a slow start, but I expect that to change quickly. I had a decent day with only 17 migrating raptors, but plenty of non-migrating raptor action to keep me entertained. For the day I had 10 BALD EAGLE SITINGS! Only four of the birds migrated and went on the official count, but what fun to see so many eagles. The highlight was certainly having one immature and two adult Bald Eagles flying high, directly over the viewing platform. I’ve included a sequence of distant photos of one adult and the immature mixing it up pretty good. I swear, I saw the adult do two barrel rolls! It was fantastic.
~It was great fun to watch this live. An adult and an immature Bald Eagle tangle way overhead. Heavy crop here! Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 9/5/15.~
And here is my report for the day:
THE REST OF THE DAY
I actually got out early this morning and went back to look for the Baird’s Sandpipers that were at Turtle Bay yesterday evening, hoping to get a better look and perhaps some photos. I located one at Turtle Bay, more distant than they were the day before, and then Bruce Nott called to say he had 3 Baird’s Sandpipers at his location and they were pretty close. I hustled over to meet Bruce and was able to improve on my photos from last night considerably. Huge thanks to Bruce for the heads up!
~Baird’s Sandpiper in the grass in the Black Dirt Region, 9/5/15.~~Two of the 3 Baird’s Sandpipers that I photographed this morning in the black dirt. The photo is backlit but still appeals to me for some reason. 9/5/15.~
After I left Mount Peter, I went to 6 1/2 Station Sanctuary Citgo Trail to see, one if the Stilt Sandpiper was still around, and two, if anything new had come in. When I arrived at the pond, the STSA was still present, a little closer and in nice evening light. I was able to improve on my shots of this bird as well. The pond was quite birdy, with many Least Sandpipers again, plenty of Killdeer, and several Pectoral Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs. It was a nice way to end a really super day of birding.
~Stilt Sandpiper feeding at the Citgo Pond, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/5/15.~~This is what I call a lot of swallows! I ran across these birds in my travels this morning in the Black Dirt Region. From what I can tell, these are basically all Tree Swallows, 9/5/15.~
~STILT SANDPIPER, on the left with a Lesser Yellowlegs on the right, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/3/15.~
I made it out to the Citgo Pond side of 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary this evening after work, and I’m glad I did (it was so hot and humid, I almost bailed on it). As soon as I arrived at the pond, I looked through my scope and immediately saw what I thought was a STILT SANDPIPER. I watched the bird for a little bit in order to be a little more comfortable with the ID, and then put the word out. John Haas joined me first and concurred that it was a Stilt Sandpiper, most likely in first winter plumage. Karen Miller arrived shortly after that and we enjoyed good scope views of the bird as it worked the pond. The bird did not seem all that far out, but it was still a little too far out for quality photos, so what I’ve posted here is the best I could do. There were many shorebirds present at the pond with Least Sandpipers being by far the most numerous (100 birds +/-). Also present were Killdeer (15), Lesser Yellowlegs (5), Solitary Sandpipers (2), and a single Pectoral Sandpiper.
~Stilt Sandpiper at the Citgo Pond, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/3/15.~~One more of the Stilt Sandpiper, with a Least Sandpiper back and to the right. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/3/15.~
