Raptors – Orange Birding

Excellent Day, 10/17/26

Wow, what a day. I got out a little bit early to do some birding before heading up to Mount Peter to count hawks. My first stop was Glenmere Lake; I wasn’t there for more than 30 seconds when a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE swam into my binocular view. I put the word out and then headed over to Wickham Lake, where I was able to locate (3) SURF SCOTERS. Again, I put the word out, but unfortunately the birds flew not long after I first saw them. Before I left to head up to the mountain, I saw an interesting bird fly in and land on the lake. It was a Brant! I was hoping for Brant to flyover at Mt. Peter today, but I wasn’t expecting to see one land.

At Mount Peter we had a fantastic flight. Kyle Knapp visited for a little while early, and then Travis Rubio and Jeanne Cimorelli joined me a little bit later and were a great help. For the day we tallied a total of 627 migrating raptors. Over 450 of them were Turkey Vultures – they just seemed to be streaming through non-stop all day long. Other highlights included good numbers for many species: we had 22 Bald Eagles, 10 Northern Harriers, 89 Sharp-shinned Hawks, and 15 Red-shouldered Hawks. Non-raptor activity was pretty exciting too. We had over 70 skeins of Canada Geese fly over; we counted over 2,300 individuals! We had a single skein of Brant, and a couple of Common Loons fly over as well. It was a long, cold, windy day up on the mountain, but it was very rewarding. As usual, I’ve included my Hawkcount.org report at the bottom of this post.

~I wish this was the kind of looks we were getting at Mt. Peter today, lol. I took this in the black dirt on Thursday after work, 10/15/26.~

~Greater White-fronted Goose at Glenmere Lake, 10/17/26.~

~Surf Scoters at Wickham Lake, 10/17/26.~

~One of 22 migrating Bald Eagles! Plus we had another 8 or so that headed north and weren’t counted! It was quite a day for Bald Eagles. Mt. Peter Hawkwatach, 10/17/26.~

Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/10/26

First thing this morning, I took a quick cruise through the black dirt. The highlight was a dozen plovers flying over – my Merlin app indicated both American Golden Plover and Black-bellied Plovers were calling. Afterwards, I headed up to Mount Peter for the day’s hawkwatch. Unfortunately it was a slow flight, with only 23 migrating raptors counted. Still, it was enjoyable – Kyle Knapp visited for a good while; it was good to catch up with him, and there were plenty of skeins of Canada Geese coming through to keep our attention. We kept hoping for a skein of Brant, but it was not to be. We did have a couple skeins of Double-crested Cormorants, which was nice. As usual, I’ve included my Hawkcount.org report at the bottom of this post.

~Turkey Vulture up close and personal at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/10/26.

~Savannah Sparrow in the black dirt, 10/10/26.~

~A local Red-tailed Hawk does a flyby over the platform at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/10/26.~

Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/19/26

I had an excellent day today at Mount Peter Hawkwatch. It’s primetime for Broad-winged Hawks, so I had plenty of help today. Fellow counters Jeanne Cimorelli, Tom Millard, and Ken Witkowski as well as Silas Wareham and Travis Rubio all showed up and helped scan the skies. The move of the day was when Jeanne went to the parking lot to get a better look facing east/southeast (a blindspot from the viewing platform). From that vantage point, she tallied over 70% of the 729 Broad-winged Hawks observed today. We also had a good variety of raptor species today – with 8 species of migrating raptors, plus 3 non-migrating species. As usual, I’m including my Hawkcount report below.

Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/07/26

We are slightly understaffed at Mt. Pete this year, so I decided to take the opportunity of having the day off for Labor Day to go up and count again. It was a slow start, with poor conditions (a nearly all blue sky, making birds very difficult to locate). But as the day progressed, I got more clouds and more birds. I thought my highlight of the day was going to be a single Common Nighthawk that passed over the platform, very high in the sky. But, in the seventh hour of the watch, Tom Burke and Gail Benson joined me, and they brought along some Broad-winged Hawks with them. I had my first kettle of the season (42 birds), and tallied 72 BWHAs for the hour. In the end, I counted 106 migrating raptors; 95 of them were Broad-winged Hawks.

~This bird was waaaaaaay up there. Common Nighthawk at Mount Peter Hawkwatch. I can’t remember ever having a CONI at Mt. Pete before.~

~A local Red-tailed Hawk flying over Mount Peter, 09/07/26.~

~I love these dudes. One of a couple of Common Ravens that were hanging around all day. Mt. Pete Hawkwatch, 09/07/26.

Mount Peter Hawkwatch -A Good Start to the Season

Today was my first day of counting for Mount Peter Hawkwatch’s 2026 season. It’s super early in the season, so my expectations were pretty low – I would have been happy with a dozen or so migrating raptors. Surprisingly, however, it was was a pruductive flight, and I tallied over 50 birds moving through. Tom Millard joined me at the end of the second hour and I was glad to have the company and the extra pair of eyes. Of note was (7) migrating Bald Eagles, and the high count was, of course, Broad-winged Hawks with 36 counted for the day. You can see my Hawkcount.org daily report at the bottom of this post.

~A migrating Osprey flies directly over the platform. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/05/26.~

~A local Red-tailed Hawk hunting above us at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/05/26.~

Sussex County Swallow-tailed Kite, 08/08/26

QUICK POST: This morning I finally had some birding excitement for the first time in a good while. I ran for the SWALLOW-TAILED KITE that had been reported on Decker Road in Lafayette Township, New Jersey. I was pretty excited to hopefully see this bird, as it had been over 10 years since I’ve seen one (in Florida), and to see one in our area would be quite remarkable. I had some really good timing; the bird was present and flying not too far out when I arrived. After a little while, it flew in pretty close, basically directly overhead. After that, it worked its way further from the road, tangled with a couple of Peregrine Falcons and then was out of view for a while. Right before I left, it had been relocated by Silas Wareham, but the bird was quite distant at that point.

~Swallow-tailed Kite in Lafayette Township, Sussex County, NJ on 08/08/26.~

Monhegan Island 2026

Last weekend, Tricia and I spent five days on Monhegan Island, off the coast of Maine. It was our third time on the island, and I have to say that it is probably my all-time favorite vacation spot, which is a little bit ironic because the birding consists largely of songbirds, which readers may know is not my most favorite type of birding. But the island is such a refreshing place to be – I love getting on the ferry, leaving the car behind, and having this small, beautiful, birdy island to explore on foot for the the next several days.

~Magnolia Warbler, Monhegan Island 05/23/26.~

It was our first visit to the island in the springtime, and the birds did not disappoint. Including three additional species from ferry rides, I had a total of 74 species -I’ve included my list of all species observed on the island at the bottom of this post. Over two thirds of all species were songbirds, with (16) of them being warblers. I felt pretty good about the number of birds I observed – I know I missed several species through word of mouth and also birds that the Merlin app heard but I did not pick up on, but overall I thought I did pretty well.

~This is among my favorite warbler species – Blackpoll Warbler on Monhegan Island, 05/23.26.~

In a twist, the highlight of the trip was not songbird related. On Saturday afternoon, after a full morning of birding, I went to the Monhegan Brewery to enjoy a cold beer and some deep-fried pickles. While I was enjoying my lunch, I noticed a distant, interesting bird in flight. I grabbed my binoculars and got on the bird – it was a raptor with a striped wedge-shaped tail. Almost as soon as I got on the bird, my view was obstructed by a building. I jumped up, camera in hand, and tried to pick it up again on the other side of the building, but did not have any luck. The only bird (to my mind) that fit the bill was Mississippi Kite, but that seemed very unlikely – we were on an island ten miles off the coast of Maine! I finished up my lunch quickly and headed in the direction I’d seen the bird. I ran into another birder (Emily) and asked if she’d seen any interesting raptors, and she had, and described a light colored raptor with a white head! We were both floored at the possibility. I mentioned that I was pretty sure on a small island chock full of birders, someone else would have seen that bird and gotten some photos. The next day I ran into Emily again, and she confirmed my suspicions – the bird had been reported with photos! I couldn’t help but feel the pangs of disappointment of not getting any photos, but it was still a very exciting development. Fast forward to Tuesday – the day we were leaving the island. I took a break from packing my bags and went out on the side porch of the Monhegan House hotel where we were staying. I saw an interesting bird flying south and asked Tricia to grab my camera from the room while I tried to stay on it. The bird eventually turned around and flew nearly directly overhead allowing for some terribly backlit, but still very exciting photos:

~Wow! Mississippi Kite on Monhegan Island, 05/26/26.~

I was thrilled to get a second chance to document the bird. I don’t love the photos, but what can you do. From what I heard, the initial sitings on 05/23/26 were the first ever report of Mississippi Kite on Monhegan Island.

Other excitement for me included seeing and hearing plenty of Red Crossbills. For us in the Hudson Valley, it’s a rare treat to get a Red Crossbills, but I think the locals consider this a garbage bird for Monhegan Island, lol. I was excited to get the opportunity to see and photograph them up close.

~Red Crossbill on Monhegan Island, 05/24/26.~

~One more RECR on Monhegan Island, 05/24/26.~

Another interesting thing about birding on Monhegan Island is that the place is loaded with Ring-necked Pheasants. The birds breed there, I’ve photographed their young before and again during this trip. It’s curious to me that eBird still lists them as Exotic/Escapee; I’m not sure how that works.

~Ring-necked Pheasant chick on Monhegan Island, 05/23/26.~

~A female Ring-necked Pheasant takes a snooze. Monhegan Island 05/25/26.~

~These guys are all over the island, usually finding a high spot to perch on and vocalize. Ring-necked Pheasant on Monhegan Island, 05/24/26.~

The ferry ride back to the mainland proved to be exciting and was the icing on the cake for the trip. First I had a distant, unidentified shearwater. I could not get on the bird with my camera unfortunately, so a little bit frustrating, but also pretty exciting. And then, a little bit later, I was able to locate and photograph a single Atlantic Puffin! This was a fantastic way to end a great trip.

~Wow! Atlantic Puffin on the ferry trip from Monhegan Island to Port Clyde, 05/26/26.~

As always, I took loads of photos, so enjoy a sampling:

~Northern Parula on Monhegan Island, 05/26/26.~

~Red-eyed Vireo on Monhegan Island, 05/23/26.~

~Common Yellowthroats were all over the place. Monhegan Island, 05/23/26.~

~There were loads of Northern Yellow Warblers as well. Monhegan Island 05/26/26.~

~I think is was one of my better birds from the trip. Olive-sided Flycatcher on Monhegan Island, 05/26/26.~

~Another birder told me that the American Herring Gulls nested between Whitehead and Blackhead, so I took a hike out there and checked it out. Monhegan Island, 05/25/26.~

~I always enjoy seeing the seals when I’m on the island. I like how this crew almost seems to be posing for the shot. Monhegan Island, 05/25/26.~

Sunday Shots 03/07/26 – More Shorties

I’m feeling pretty under the weather today, so, in spite of reports of some very good birds, I’ve stayed home all day to rest and recuperate. Reported birds included: 11 Tundra Swans at the Liberty Loop, 4 Tundra Swans at the Bashakill, Snow Geese and Tundra Swans near Winding Hills Park, and a Greater White-fronted Goose at the Camel Farm. It’s good to see some things are happening.

Luckily, I still have some photos to post this evening. Yesterday afternoon I was driving in the black dirt when I inadvertently flushed a pair of Short-eared Owls. They were roosting in the taller roadside grasses, and they flushed as I approached in my car. One bird didn’t go very far when it flushed; it was the best look I’ve gotten of a Short-eared Owl in quite some time.

~Short-eared Owl in the Black Dirt Region, 03/07/26.~

~Shorty in the black dirt on Saturday 03/07/26.~

~One final Shorty shot, black dirt, 03/07/26.~

Sunday Shots – Short-eared Owl Edition, 01/25/26

In the early days of this blog, I used to spend a fair amount of time observing and photographing Short-eared Owls (click here or here for examples). But in recent years, readers of the blog may have noticed that for the most part, I’ve stopped photographing SEOWs (other than the odd bird that I might run into from time to time). Back in the day, it was a peaceful endeavor for me, with very few other birders or photographers around. But things changed and all the owl hotspots became jammed with folks who also wanted to see and photograph the owls. This wasn’t for me, so I’ve mostly stayed away and turned my attention to other species. But, this Saturday evening I gave it another shot and went out to the Black Dirt Region to try for Short-eared Owls for the first time in a long while. I got lucky; the owls got up early and it made for excellent evening with plenty of action. There were a few other folks there as well, but it wasn’t loaded. It was an enjoyable evening, and I was happy to get my first decent SEOW shots in quite a while, but I don’t imagine I’ll get back into it like I was back in the day.

~Short-eared Owl in the Black Dirt Region, 01/24/26.~

~Northern Harrier in the Black Dirt Region, 01/24/26.~

Sunday Shots – Raptor Edition, 11/16/25

I had relative success at my first stop this morning – Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis. My target bird was RED CROSSBILLS, and, although I didn’t get good looks or photos, I did have Red Crossbills fly over on three occasions. I need to figure out where those birds hang out in the Res 3 area – that’s still the big mystery. While I was there, I had a nice encounter with an adult Bald Eagle, so that was a little bit of a consolation prize for no crossbill pics.

Afterwards, I spent a little bit of time in the black dirt region. There were plenty of Horned Larks around – in loose, jumpy flocks. Amongst them, I had one Lapland Longspur and several Snow Buntings. I would later come across a small flock of approximately 25 Snow Buntings and after that, a single American Pipit hanging in there. I didn’t get any pics of the passerines, but I did have an opportunity with a male Peregrine Falcon and a little later with a female Northern Harrier.