Raptors – Page 17 – Orange Birding

Saturday, 1/24/15

~Cooper’s Hawk at the Newburgh Waterfront, 1/24/15.~

I got out a little late on this Saturday morning because I was waiting for the roads to clear from the fresh snow which had fallen overnight and continued to fall into the morning. I spent a little time in the New Hampton area of the black dirt. From Celery Avenue I could see many Canada Geese over the river in the fields that run along Onion Avenue. I stopped to scan them and from there I could see that there were approximately 20 SNOW GEESE among them. The Snow Geese were difficult to make out – there was plenty on the ground and it was still falling. I hustled around to Onion Avenue and spent some time scanning a large group of geese; I estimate over 1200 Canada Geese and maybe 100 Snow Geese. I did not find any other types of geese in with them. I birded my way up to Turtle Bay Road before turning back (I wanted to get to the Newburgh Waterfront for late afternoon to try for gulls again). Along the way I came across what is likely the same Merlin I have had before, as it was perched in the same spot on a wire along the road. I saw a couple of distant flocks of Horned Larks and then a small group landed briefly on the road. Among them was a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR, which was awesome to see.

I tried for gulls from the old Torches parking lot on the Newburgh Waterfront. There were many present, mostly riding the ice floes up the Hudson River. Herring Gulls seemed most numerous, followed by Ring-billed Gulls and then Great Black-backed Gulls (which I had nearly 30 of). I had one distant first winter Iceland Gull, but no sign of the bird I had yesterday and believed was a Lesser Black-backed Gull. I guess a better, confirmed look at that bird will have to wait until another day. When I have seen a bird that I am not very sure of, I really like to have a photo, because as time passes, doubts start to creep into my mind. I had a couple of raptor highlights while I was there as well. Out on the ice I had 8 Bald Eagles. In the parking lot, a woman stopped her car to tell me there was a hawk perched on a post. It ended up being a Cooper’s Hawk that posed nicely for me. For a day where I wasn’t sure if I would even get out, it was a really good day.

~A Red-tailed Hawk leaves a snowy perch on a snowy morning in New Hampton, NY 1/24/15.

~This certainly seems to be a favorite perch for this Merlin. I have seen it there before, and if you look to the left of the bird there appears to be some remains of prey stuck to the wire. I waited for ages for this bird to fly but after 20 minutes I had to move on. I passed the same spot on my way back, nearly 45 minutes later and the bird was still there! Merlin in New Hampton, NY 1/14./15.~

~Snow Geese in the snow. Onion Avenue, 1/24/15.

Saturday 1/17/15

~A Northern Harrier cruises by my blind, Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 1/17/15.~

The big news this week was the eBird report of a Snowy Owl at the Liberty Marsh in Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday 1/14/15. I, of course, spent Thursday and Friday evenings after work going for the bird, but with no luck. I left the house this morning with the Snowy Owl being the most important bird on my mind. I did some running around in the Black Dirt and even followed a lead that took me to Chester, NY but had no luck with the Snowy. The Chester bird was likely a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk; I saw photos from the couple that had given me the lead, and I got a very distant look at the bird through my scope. I would like to get back there to get a better look one of these days.

In the afternoon I decide to just try for some photos, so I headed to the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR. The north blind that is furthest out was free, so I spent the afternoon shooting raptors. I love spending time in the blinds out there; you can get such great looks at the birds.

~This one made me happy. Rough-legged Hawk in the Black Dirt, 1/17/15.~

~Adult Bald Eagle in the Black Dirt, 1/17/15.~

~I was sitting in the blind thinking that it would be nice if a Red-tailed Hawk would fly towards me rather than away. Moments later this bird flew in. Red-tailed Hawk at Shawankgunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~

~The harriers were pretty active today at the grasslands. Northern Harrier at the Shawangunk Grasslands, 1/17/15~

~Northern Harrier at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~

~I was happy with how this photo turned out. Northern Harrier just before sunset at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~

~The Short-eared Owls got up pretty early today, just after 4:00 pm. None came close enough to my blind for photos while the light was still good. I took this one just as I was preparing to head back to the car. Short-eared Owl at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~

~A deer checks things out at the Shawangunk Grasslands, 1/17/15.~

Sunday Shots, 1/11/15

~Red-tailed Hawk in New Hampton, NY 1/11/15.~

QUICK POST: I made the rounds in southern Orange County this afternoon but I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary to report. It was a cold and gray one, but I still did my best to get some photos; here are a couple of shots from the day.

~Short-eared Owl in Orange County, NY 1/11/15.~

Saturday 1/10/15 – From Refuge to Refuge

A Northern Harrier takes a turn in the early morning sunlight. Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 1/10/15.

I started my day off this morning heading out to the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge. I was meeting Wayne Hall out there, he wanted to talk to me about a column he is putting together about myself, birding, and bird photography. It was a very cold morning, but Wayne and I walked the trails a bit and talked. We took refuge from the wind in the south blind for a little while, continued our conversation and had a couple of nearby Northern Harriers. Back in the parking lot, I spotted, in the distance, our first Rough-legged Hawk of the day. Shortly after I first noticed the RLHA, it swooped down and flushed 10 Short-eared Owls. The owls did not stay up for long, but it was good to see them. Wayne and I sat in my car for a while and, as we talked, I had an adult Bald Eagle fly over in the distance. It was a pleasure to meet Wayne, and I will be curious to see how his column comes out. It was also nice that we did so well for birds while we were there. I should also mention that on my way out to the grasslands I made a quick stop by Lippincott where I was happy to find what I was looking for: Eleven Common Goldeneyes.

This Rough-legged Hawk stirred up 10 Short-eared Owls before coming in close enough for photos. RLHA at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/10/15.

I shot this Northern Harrier from the south blind at the Shawwangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/10/15.

In the afternoon, I did a quick driving tour of parts of the Black Dirt Region. My main goal was to hopefully located a large group of geese to sort through, which I did on Onion Avenue in New Hampton, NY. Unfortunately, just as I started to look through them, in a large and loud wave, every last Canada Goose picked up. I estimate that there were approximately 2000 birds present. Most of the geese seemed to relocate to the Wallkill River, right along Celery Avenue; I did not follow them over there, I will try my luck with them again tomorrow.

I really like these types of photos – Canada Geese taking flight at Onion Ave, 1/10/15.

I ended up with 23 species in the black dirt, all expected species, and I took photos along the way. I was particularly happy to run into this young Cooper’s Hawk:

-Cooper’s Hawk on Breeze Hill Road, 1/10/15.

My final stop of the night was the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I met up with Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris by the Liberty Loop platform where we enjoyed the White-crowned Sparrows that have been hanging out there. Maria headed home, Linda and I walked out on Liberty Lane. We had a super surprise when we came upon a large flock of American Tree Sparrows; I estimate that there were close to 60 birds present. They would perch on the trees and bushes along Liberty Lane, then fly off into the refuge and disappear into the grasses. Then they would all return and perch briefly before heading back out to the refuge. They did this at least a half a dozen times before we headed back to the parking lot.

A sunset shot of an American Tree Sparrow at Wallkill River NWR, 1/10/15.

It was 4:40 and the light was getting low when the Short-eared Owls got up. There was just enough light to get some grainy photos; it was a great way to end a super day of birding from one National Wildlife Refuge to another.

Good Birding in Orange County, 1/2/15

-It was a shame to have this Merlin on a wire as far as photographs go. I was hoping to get a shot of the bird as it flew, but I missed out when the bird was flushed by a truck that drove by between myself and the bird. Merlin on Onion Ave in New Hampton, NY 1/2/15.

I was lucky enough to have the day off today, and the weather was perfect, so it made for a great day of birding. I started the morning by taking a tour of the black dirt region, where I had 23 species. Highlights include a MERLIN on a wire seen on Onion Avenue and a LAPLAND LONGSPUR in a large flock of Horned Larks on Mission Land Road in Pine Island.

-I saw these two first winter White-crowned Sparrow from the viewing platform at the Liberty Loop Trail, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 1/2/15.

-Gray Ghost in flight. A male Norther Harrier at Skinner Lane, 1/2/15.

-One of several flocks of Horned Larks that I had in the black dirt region. It was disappointing that I had no Snow Buntings among them, but I did locate a single Lapland Longspur in a large flock on Mission Land Road. Horned Larks in flight on Mt. Eve Road, 1/2/15.

I also made quick stops at Glenmere Lake and Warwick Lake – I added 5 species to my list, and I had a pair of adult Bald Eagles at both locations. My final stop was the Newburgh Waterfront; I stopped first at the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry parking; Fish Crows were calling from the trees as I sorted through the gulls there but found only Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls present. From there I went to the parking lot of the old Torches. Immediately, as I got out of the car, I saw a first winter ICELAND GULL on the edge of the parking lot among the other gulls and Rock Pigeons. I was able to get much better photos than I did earlier in the week, but I failed to get any flight photos. Once the gulls picked up, it was very chaotic and difficult to follow where the the Iceland Gull went. I eventually relocated the bird on a piling in the water, but just as I located it, all the gulls picked up again. Ken McDermott joined me shortly after that, but when I decided to head home, we still had not relocated the bird. I added an additional 5 species to my list for the day, giving me a total of 33 species for the day.

-I love this bird, what a pretty gull. Iceland Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 1/2/15.

–**ICELAND GULL** alongside a Ring-billed Gull, Newburgh Waterfront, 1/2/15.

-One more shot of the Merlin on a wire in New Hampton, NY 1/2/15.

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.

Raptor’s Delight

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.

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.

Sunday 12/7/14

Rough-legged Hawk through the branches at Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 12/7/14.

QUICK POST: I birded from sunrise to sunset on this Sunday; the weather was perfect, I saw many good birds, and took a ton of photographs. I do not have time to complete a full post tonight, so here is the first bird I photographed this morning, taken from my car as I pulled into the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge. Full post tomorrow!

Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/15/14

Today was my final day of the season at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, and it ended up being a really good one. It was a sunny, cool, and crisp day with very few clouds in the sky (which makes it difficult to locate birds). I had one major goal for the day: to surpass 9,000 birds for the season at the watch. We started the day needing 60 migrating raptors to reach this goal. We were successful, thanks to the help of fellow counters Ken Witkowski, Ajit Antony, Denise Ferrel, and Judy Cinquina and once again the young eyes of Kyle Dudgeon. By the end of the day, we had counted 71 birds moving through, which put our total for the season at 9,012 migrating raptors. I was, of course, also hoping for a Golden Eagle or a Northern Goshawk, but both eluded me for this season. It was a tough day for photos, but here is a distant shot of one the adult Bald Eagles that we saw today.

A distant look at an Adult Bald Eagle. This bird headed north and was not counted, Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/15/14. — A distant look at an Adult Bald Eagle in a cloudless sky. This bird headed north and was not counted, Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/15/14.

And here is my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2014
Species Day’s Count / Month Total / Season Total
Black Vulture 8 90 232
Turkey Vulture 15 216 570
Osprey 0 1 111
Bald Eagle 2 9 79
Northern Harrier 0 9 46
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 28 1119
Cooper’s Hawk 1 23 122
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 58 136
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 5685
Red-tailed Hawk 43 428 658
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 7 10
American Kestrel 0 4 139
Merlin 0 1 23
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 12

Total: 71 889 9012
———————————————————————-
Start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter Matt Zeitler
Observers: Ajit I. Antony, Denise Farrell, Judith C. Cinquina, Ken Witkowski

Visitors:
Kyle Dudgeon, Bobby Kerr, and Liza Antony.

Weather:
Sunny and cold with very few clouds. Winds out of the NW at 10-15 km/hour. Temperatures ranged from -2 to 2 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Two migrating Bald Eagles, one adult and one immature. An additional adult was observed heading NNE.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other Species: Common Loon (7), American Goldfinch (25), Black-capped Chickadees (4), American Robin (37), Ring-billed Gull (12), Canada Goose (22), Pine Siskin (60), American Crow (22), Eastern Bluebird (6), Common Raven (3), and Cedar Waxwing (15).

Mount Peter Hawk Watch – 11/08/14

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
——————————————————————-

Species Day’s Count / Month Total / Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture 9 31 173
Turkey Vulture 7 82 436
Osprey 0 0 110
Bald Eagle 0 5 75
Northern Harrier 2 7 44
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 20 1111
Cooper’s Hawk 1 17 116
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 8 49 127
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 5685
Red-tailed Hawk 25 316 546
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 6 9
American Kestrel 0 4 139
Merlin 0 1 23
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 12

Total: 57 550 8673

———————————————————————-

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.