Based on the weather forecast, I had very low expectations going into today’s hawkwatch at Mount Peter. I was expecting it to be uncomfortably warm with a non-existent flight. But, there was a cool breeze all day which kept it very comfortable on the viewing platform and there were enough migrating raptors to keep it interesting. The highlight for me, however, was not raptor related. I had (4) skeins of BRANT fly over, with a total of approximately 450 birds. I always hope that I’m up at Mt. Pete when Brant come through, and today I was lucky. As always, I’ve included my full report at the bottom of this post.
~Palm Warbler at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/28/23.~ ~One of (4) skeins of Brant at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/28/23.~~Turkey Vulture at Mt. Pete, 10/28/23.~~One of these things is not like the other… Brant and an unidentified duck pass directly over the Mt. Peter viewing platform, 10/28/23.~~TUVU at Mt. Pete, 10/28/23.~
After an early morning of unremarkable birding at Winding Waters Trail, I headed up to Mount Peter to see if any raptors were flying. I was not prepared for what the mountain had in store for us today. When I arrived, Ken Witkowski informed that Turkey Vultures were moving in numbers. He wasn’t kidding; he had over 130 the hour before, and we topped that the next hour with 199! They were actually kettling up! Tom Millard joined us shortly after I arrived, and the three of us enjoyed some of the best hawk watching I can recall in recent years.
~Turkey Vultures directly over the viewing platform at Mount Peter, 10/15/23.~
I couldn’t help but think of the epic day we had at Mt. Pete in October of 2021, when we counted over 850 migrating Turkey Vultures in an afternoon. Today didn’t quite reach those heights, but a total of 636 migrating TUVUs were counted today. Plus, we also had loads of other migrating raptors; they came through in decent numbers and with an excellent variety (11 different migrating species counted). See Ken and Tom’s full report below for more details. What a great day – it was a cool fall day, with a beautiful sky, excellent company, and absolutely loads of migrating raptors.
~These three Bald Eagles put on quite a show, before migrating through. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/15/23.~~Red-shouldered Hawk passes over Mount Peter, 10/15/23.~~Turkey Vulture close up taken in my backyard last week.~
I thought I would hit it out of the park today: September 16. A good WNW wind. Clouds in the sky. With timing and the conditions like this, I expected a “big” day for Broad-winged Hawks. Alas, it was not to be. But, it still was a a pretty darn good day. I tallied 269 migrating raptors, 226 of which were Broad-wings. I had a lot of quality help up there today too: Linda Scrima, Tom Millard, Rick Hansen, and Ken Witkowski all put in some serious time helping me. The payoff was a good variety of migrants – we had a total of (9) different species of migrating raptors (Osprey, B. Eagle, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, Broad-winged, Red-tailed, Am. Kestrel, & Peregrine Falcons). My favorite had to be an adult female and an immature Northern Harrier passing high over the platform together during the first hour of the watch. As always, my Hawkcount.org report is included at the bottom of this post.
~I alway enjoy seeing an Osprey migrating through. Mt. Pete 09/16/23.~
I was scheduled to be the official counter at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on Saturday. Unfortunately, when I arrived in the morning, the mountain was socked in with a heavy fog. I went back at noon to find that the fog had not lifted. I ate my lunch and took a little snooze in my car, and instead of lifting, the fog was getting heavier. So, I called it a day, with the idea of visiting the watch on Sunday to get my first hawk watching of the season in. But, I was thwarted again, and after just 20 minutes of scanning the skies and catching up with official counter of the day B.A. McGrath, the skies opened up with a steady rain.
~Roadside Cooper’s Hawk in Warwick NY, 09/10/23.~
In between trips to Mt. Pete, I was, of course out birding. I spent most of my time in the black dirt looking for shorebirds; Saturday morning was quite good with nice looks at a flock of American Golden-Plovers, a pair of Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers. Sunday was less productive; I saw the flock of plovers but they were very distant, and I had no other noteworthy species.
~A foggy morning American Golden-Plover in the Black Dirt Region, 09/09/23.~~Merlin with prey. Black dirt 09/09/23.~~Pectoral Sandpiper in the black dirt, 09/09/23.~ ~It’s been a while since I’ve seen the leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Warwick. I was happy to see it’s still around.
Happy Easter to everyone out there who is celebrating. It was a busy week for me – work was the usual craziness, and then in the evenings Tricia and I spent our time getting prepared to have 11 guests for Easter. So, I got out less than I usually would at this time of the year. The thing about it though, when there is a lot going on in my life like this, I enjoy birding just a little bit more when I am able to get out. I walked Winding Waters Trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge early this afternoon, and boy did it feel good to be out and walking a trail on a gorgeous day like today.
Nothing says happy Easter like an angry looking Osprey. Okay, maybe I can think of a few things, lol. Anyways, it’s the time of the year when we get our first of the year for so many birds, so here’s a couple of shots of my first Osprey of the year.
Osprey at Walton Lake, 04/08/23.~ ~Good looking bird. Osprey at Walton Lake, 04/08/23.~
I took the opportunity of a snowy morning to head out to the Shawngunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge. I did one of my favorite things; which I haven’t done in ages – I spent several hours in one of the refuge’s photo blinds. On a good day (like I had today), it’s hard to beat being in a blind. The birds have absolutely no idea you are there, so with just a little luck, close up flight photos are likely. I had an excellent morning; Northern Harriers were numerous and relatively cooperative.
This weekend was a complete bust for me. I’m actually surprised that this doesn’t happen more often. I checked some of the lakes in southern Orange County on Saturday and didn’t get anything to speak of. I was feeling wiped out from the work week, so I called it quits early.
Then, on Sunday Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and I headed up to Williamstown Massachusetts, where we joined Rob Stone to try for the Bohemian Waxwings that have been reported there recently. Suffice to say we didn’t even see a single Cedar Waxwing. It was a pretty grim morning of birding, and after a delicious lunch (which took the edge off a little bit), we headed back to OC.
With all the time spent in the car, we of course got to telling stories and reliving some of the glory days in the past decade or so that we’ve spent birding in the area. I figured since I came up empty this weekend, I would take the opportunity to look back at some old posts and relive some of the good old days – this edition will focus on raptors:
~Valentine’s Day, 2014. I got super lucky with excellent views and some decent photos of a rare (for our area) BARN OWL. This shot is a little bit soft – my settings were not correct at all, and I feel lucky that it came out this good. This bird was absolutely incredible to see in person; it still blows my mind to think about it.~~On February 7th, 2015, I was able to relocate this gorgeous GYRFALCON in Ulster County, not too far from the Grasslands. The bird was originally located the day before by Karen Maloy Brady; birders combed the area on 02/07/15 in the morning, but the bird was unable to be rolocated. I tried for the bird in the afternoon and got super lucky, finding it perched on an evergreen and then watched as it ate a duck. This photo is three days later on 02/10/15.~~In early April of 2015, Curt McDermott found a CRESTED CARACARA in Ulster County. I was able to catch up with bird a few times afterwards; on April 12th I spent an excellent evening photographing the bird as it dined on an opossum at a small golf course.~~Back in 2012, there was a pair of MISSISSIPPI KITES at Sterling Forest. I don’t who originally located them, but I was lucky enough to spend a day watching and photographing these incredible raptors. MIKI at Sterling Forest SP on 05/29/12.~
My original plan this morning was foiled. I was going to hike at Black Rock Forest with winter finches on my mind, but when I arrived, the forest was closed due to hunting season. It’s closed until 12/11/22, so maybe I’ll try again in a couple of weeks.
I eventually decided to head up to Sullivan County. I wanted to add Snow Goose to my Sullivan County list; one had been reported at Phillipsport Marsh. Unfortunately, the bird was not present when I arrived. So I continued to Rondout Reservoir to try for the sea ducks John Haas wrote about on his blog yesterday.
~Bald Eagle in flight over Rondout Reservoir, 12/04/22.~
When I arrived, it was unclear to me where these birds might be – Rondout Reservoir is huge! I went to the Sullivan County portion of the reservoir (at the northernmost area). As I walked up, it was a Bald Eagle bonanza. There were two adults sitting on the shore with a fish between them, as well as two young birds flying in the vicinity. It made for some good photo ops – I haven’t had a good opportunity with any eagles in a while, so I enjoyed it as well as the results.
~Coming in hot! Bald Eagle at Rondout Reservoir, 12/04/22.~
Just as the eagles settled down, Renee Davis pulled up and gave me the lowdown on the sea ducks. Not only that, she drove back to the spot and got me on the birds immediately: (1) SURF SCOTER and (2) LONG-TAILED DUCKS. Huge thanks to Renee for all the help. The birds were distant, but the light was perfect so I had excellent looks in my scope. Photos were a different story, as you can see below. The Surf Scoter was my 206th bird in Sullivan County. Hopefully the Snow Goose will stick around and I’ll get another shot at it.
~Long-tailed Ducks and a Surf Scoter at Rondout Reservoir, 12/04/22. There are three Common Goldeye in the background. ~~A young Bald Eagle flies overhead at Rondout Reservoir, 12/04/22.~~Bald Eagle at Rondout Reservoir, 12/04/22.~~And finally finding a nice perch. Bald Eagle at Rondout Reservoir, 12/04/22.~
The highlight of my week was going to Wickham Lake on Thursday evening, where I had a total of 13 species of waterfowl, including one exciting bird, a SURF SCOTER. On Friday I joined Karen Miller at the lake again, where there were still loads of waterfowl. I increased my total waterfowl species for the two days to 15:
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Am. Wigeon
Mallard
Am. Black Duck
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck
SURF SCOTER
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
~Ring-necked Ducks in flight at Wickham Lake, 10/28/22.~
Kyle Knapp joined me on Thursday to get the Surf Scoter, a lifter for him (congrats!). We also saw (4) adult Bald Eagles across the lake, just after sunset. One was perched, but the other three were tangling in the skies just above the tree line.
~Bald Eagles mixing it up at Wickham Lake, 10/27/22.~
On Saturday I was the official counter at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch. I feel a little bit snake bit this season as I had another day of negligible winds and a cloudless blue sky of death. I counted a total of 29 migrating raptors in 6 1/2 hours; my Hawkcount report is at the bottom of this post. Afterwards, I went to the black dirt hoping for some new birds, maybe a Lapland Longspur or some Snow Buntings. No luck with either of those species, but Horned Lark numbers were up, if only slightly. American Pipits were still present in large numbers too.
~Horned Lark in the Black Dirt Region, 10/29/22.~~Am. Pipit in the black dirt last Saturday 10/22/22.~~Killdeer in the black dirt 10/22/22.~~Horned Lark in the black dirt, 10/29/22.~~One of two Pectoral Sandpipers in the black dirt on Monday, 10/24/22.~~Mt. Peter Turkey Vulture flyover, 10/29/22.~
Today I faced the blue sky of death for nearly 7 hours at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch. Fortunately there were some hawks flying early in the day; low enough to not get lost in the vast sea of blue. The afternoon was not as productive; I’ll never know if I just missed all the birds in the blue sky or if the flight slowed down. Regardless, I totaled 66 migrating raptors, just enough to keep me busy enough. Highlights included a half dozen Red-shouldered Hawks and an unexpected (to me) flight of nearly 40 Turkey Vultures. I’ve included my HawkCount report at the bottom of this post.
~An American Kestrel flies over the viewing platform; Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 10/22/22.~~One of six Red-shouldered Hawks counted today at Mt. Peter, 10/22/22.~
