This afternoon I joined official counter Jeanne Cimorelli and Tom Millard at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch. Early on, it was mostly uneventful, with a smattering of the usuals – Sharp-shinned Hawks, Coopers Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, and a Northern Harrier. But, just before 3:00, Jeanne located a number of distant birds… and they seemed to be kettling up. They were quite distant, just specs in the bins, but Jeanne got on the kettle with her scope and they were Turkey Vultures! Over the next 45 minutes, we watched as over 850 Turkey Vultures passed through, forming multiple massive kettles as they did so. It was pretty incredible! We surpassed last year’s total count for Turkey vultures in a mere 45 minutes. I believe the previous daily record for migrating TUVUs was around 200 birds; that record was shattered today. Photos don’t do it justice, but here’s several that I took as it was happening.
I was the official counter at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch today. It was a relatively slow day, with a total of only 19 migrating raptors. But, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside and there was just enough raptor activity and non-raptor activity to keep me entertained nearly the entire time. Jeanne Cimorelli joined me for a couple of hours and helped assure we didn’t miss any birds shooting through the “gap” between the trees on the east side of the lookout. There was a pretty good southeast wind blowing, and I think that kept the birds down, giving us some pretty good views of the few birds that passed through. My Hawkcount.org report is included below.
~Cooper’s Hawk in flight over Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/16/21.~ ~Terrible photo, but check out the full crop on this Peregrine Falcon! My goodness. Mt. Pete 10/16/21.~
On Saturday morning, my phone let me know that it was eBird’s October Big Day. I certainly wasn’t doing a bid day, but it did make me curious to know how many birds I would get on a normal day out in early October. So, I eBirded more locations than I normally would, and I kept track of the birds that I saw en route to get a total for the day. I spent the early morning in the black dirt, where my highlight was a sizable flock of American Pipits, always a favorite of mine. From there I went to Wallkill River National Wildlife refuge. I walked Winding Waters Trail for about a mile or so, and then I spent some time at the viewing platform at the Liberty Loop. I didn’t have any exciting birds, but it was busy enough to add a good number of birds to my tally.
~Black-throated Green Warbler at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on Saturday 10/09/21.~
My next stop was Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, where I joined Tom Millard and Judy Cinquina for about an hour and a half. The flight was slow but steady, and with a good variety of migrants. My raptor highlight was a Peregrine Falcon which flew, very high, directly over the platform. For non-raptors, we had a migrating Common Loon fly close enough for a photo, a first for me at Mt. Pete. My final stop was Wickham Lake, where my best bird was a Greater Scaup. I finished the day with 57 species; I’ve included a complete list at the bottom of this post.
~Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Mount Peter on Sunday, 10/10/21.~
On Sunday I was the official counter at Mount Peter. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, with a combination of clouds, fog, and light rain making the flight practically non-existent. I had a total of 4 migrating raptors, 2 Cooper’s Hawks and 2 Northern Harriers, before I called it at 1:30 when the fog had really rolled in and the rain was starting up again.
~Yellow-rumped Warbler with a snack at Wickham Lake, 10/09/21.~ ~Blackpoll Warbler at Mt. Peter 10/10/21.~~Black-throated Green Warbler at Mt. Peter 10/09/21.~~This got me really pumped – Common Loon flying over Mount Peter, 10/09/21.~~A subadult Bald Eagle flushes some Mallards at Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Loop, 10/09/21.~~Love these dudes! Cedar Waxwings at Mt. Pete, 10/10/21.~
Canada Goose (Wallkill River NWR, Mount Peter, Black Dirt, Wickham Lake)
Mute Swan (Glenmere Lake, Wickham Lake)
American Wigeon (WR NWR)
American Black Duck (WR NWR)
Mallard (WR NWR)
Greater Scaup (Wickham Lake)
Common Loon (Mt. Peter)
Double-crested Cormorant (Wickham Lake)
Ring-necked Pheasant (Black Dirt)
Great Blue Heron (WR NWR)
Great Egret (WR NWR)
Black Vulture (Mt. Peter)
Turkey Vulture (Mt. Peter, WR NWR)
Bald Eagle (Black Dirt, WR NWR)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (WR NWR, Mt. Peter)
Northern Harrier (WR NWR, Mt. Peter)
Cooper’s Hawk (Mt. Peter)
Red-shouldered Hawk (WR NWR, Mt. Peter)
Red-tailed Hawk (Black Dirt, Mt. Peter)
American Kestrel (Black Dirt, Mt. Peter)
Peregrine Falcon (Black Dirt)
Common Gallinule (WR NWR)
Killdeer (CVS Goshen)
Ring-billed Gull (Wickham Lake)
Rock Pigeon (Wickham Lake)
Chimney Swift (Mt. Peter)
Belted Kingfisher (Beaver Pond)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (WR NWR)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Wickham Lake)
Downy Woodpecker (Wickham Lake)
Northern Flicker (WR NWR)
Eastern Phoebe (Black Dirt, WR NWR)
Blue Jay (Mt Peter, WR NWR, Black Dirt, Wickham Lake)
I went out to the black dirt first thing Saturday morning. I was counting at Mount Peter in the afternoon, so I wanted to get an early start. As always, I was looking for shorebirds – any new species or some better looks and photos of some of the birds we’ve been seeing. Well, I didn’t see any new species, and the best I could do for photos was a decent shot of a Greater Yellowlegs. But it was still a decent morning with 6 species of shorebirds: Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Pectoral Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Greater Yellowlegs.
~Greataer Yellowlegs at the Camel Farm, 09/25/21.~ ~Fogbow at Skinners Lane Saturday morning 09/25/21. According to Wikipedia, “a fog bow, sometimes called a white rainbow, is a similar phenomenon to a rainbow; however, as its name suggest, it appears as a bow in fog rather than rain.”~
MOUNT PETER HAWKWATCH
In the afternoon I was the official counter at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, taking over for BA McGrath who, unfortunately had a terribly slow morning. The afternoon, in general, wasn’t much busier but ultimately, I counted a total of 67 migrating raptors. A surprise kettle of 39 Broad-winged Hawks accounted for most of that number. I had (3) migrating Bald Eagles, and there were several Common Ravens putting on a show on the cell tower and in the air over the platform. You can see my report for HMANA at the bottom of this post.
~~ The Common Ravens helped pass the time when it was slow at Mt. Peter on Saturday, 09/25/21.~ ~Broad-winged Hawk directly over the viewing platform, Mt. Peter 09/25/21.~
RESERVOIR #3
This morning I decided it was finally time to give the shorebirds a break. So I headed to Port Jervis and I birded Reservoir #3. It was just what the doctor ordered, birdy, peaceful, perfect weather, and some good photo ops. I tallied 30 species for the morning, with highlights of Brown Creeper (Res 3 is money for that bird!), several Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a pair of Blue-headed Vireos. Actually the real highlight for me came afterwards – after shooting distant shorebirds and raptors, it felt good to look at some decent photos of songbirds.
~Always a favorite of mine – Brown Creeper at Reservoir #3, 09/26/21.~ ~Pine Warbler at Res 3, 09/26/21.~~ I am generally not to quick to ID silent flycatchers, but I’m thinking this bird is a juvenile Eastern Wood-Pewee due to the buffy wing bars.~ ~Eastern Phoebe at Reservoir #3, 09/26/21.~~One more of the Brown Creeper, Res 3 09/26/21.~~One of several Yellow-rumped Warblers at Reservoir #3, 09/26/21.~~And, one more Pine Warbler shot. Res 3 09/26/21.~ ~I was struck by how beautiful Beaver Pond looked on Saturday morning, so I took a photo with my phone.~
I enjoyed some pretty good birding this week and into the weekend. As regular readers of this blog know, I’m obsessed with shorebirds and that’s how I spent most of my birding time. I did not add any new species to my year list, but I just enjoyed the variety we’ve been having and trying for photos. The highlight was seeing the largest flock of American Golden-Plovers I’ve ever seen in the black dirt, a remarkable 76 birds. Two Buff-breasted Sandpipers continued up until Thursday evening, but I haven’t seen or heard any reports since then.
~American Golden-Plover at Skinners Lane, 09/17/21.~Flock of American Golden-Plovers in flight over the fields of Skinners Lane, 09/14/21.~
On the weekend, I also went up to Mount Peter to see how the hawkwatch was going. Right now should be primetime for Broad-winged Hawk migration and I was hoping to see a kettle or two. I went Saturday for a about an hour or so, and unfortunately it was a bust. Sunday was another story and I enjoyed my most successful flight of Broad-winged Hawks ever. When I left in the early afternoon, over 2,500 BWHAs had been counted. We had over 1,500 in a single hour! I also saw the largest kettle I’ve ever seen, consisting of approximately 700 birds. It was remarkable. Will Test was the official counter, and nearly every other counter from Mt. Pete was there as well, giving him a hand and enjoying one of the best days of the season.
~Broad-winged Hawks kettling, Mount Peter Hawkwatch 09/19/21.~ ~Most of the birds were quite high; these BWHAs were a little on the lower side. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/19/21.~ ~A young Bald Eagle in a field off of Turtle Bay Road…~~…it was enjoying a snack of who-the-heck-knows-what. Turtle Bay Road 09/18/21.~ ~Another American Golden-Plover, Skinners Lane 09/17/21.~AMGPs in flight at Skinners Lane, 09/17/21.~ ~If you are sick of the American Golden-Plovers, you are in luck. I looked for them early this afternoon and didn’t have any luck. AMGPs at Skinners Lane, 09/17/21.~ ~Sandhill Crane stretching it out in the black dirt, 09/18/21.~
I met up with my brother-in-law Bill this morning and we hiked the Bearfort Ridge and Surprise Lake Loop, which is located just west of the southernmost point of Greenwood Lake. It’s an 8 mile loop, and AllTrails includes its rating as moderate. For someone in my shape, I think that means you only have a moderate cardiac event when you hike it. Actually, after the first mile, where we climbed approximately 700 feet, it wasn’t too bad. But, wow that first mile was a doozy.
~A Turkey Vulture looks out over West Pond, on the Bearfort Ridge & Surprise Lake Loop, 03/27/21.~
The weather was perfect, mostly sunny and just cool enough. There are many good lookouts throughout the trail, and we could see New York City from several of them. As for the birds, Turkey Vulture was the bird of the day. They were often overhead and we had a pair of them perched looking over West Pond. Other raptors included at least a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks and a Red-tailed Hawk. The best bird of the day was a couple of Fox Sparrows which Bill spotted rooting around the leaf litter under some trees. A small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets were a close second place.
~NYC off in the distance. Bearfort Ridge & Surprise Lake Loop, 03/27/21.~
In the end, it took us approximately 5 hours to hike the 8 mile loop. That was with plenty of stops for rests, taking in the views, and some birding. When we got back to the cars, we dug into our lunches. Tuna on rye never tasted so good.
~Sleepy Turkey Vulture. Bearfort Ridge & Surprise Lake Loop, 03/27/21.~ ~Me and a couple of perched Turkey Vultures at West Pond, 03/27/21. Photo by Bill Barrett.~
In spite of less than ideal conditions, I decided to head out to the Grasslands for sunrise this morning. By less than ideal conditions, I mean it was partly to mostly cloudy with a pretty strong northwest wind. Ideally I would prefer the steady morning sun and a south wind (so that the raptors hunt facing south, keeping the sun on their face and at my back). Anyways, I got there quite early and I was able to get into the only blind that’s open on the weekends (southernmost blind). While the strong winds seemed to keep the birds from flying quite as much as I would have liked, I had some decent opportunities and some nice birds. Raptors included Northern Harriers (4), Rough-legged Hawks (3), Red-tailed Hawks (3), a couple of Turkey Vultures, and a single American Kestrel. One other highlight was my first Eastern Meadowlark of the year.
~Gray Ghost getting ready to go down. Grasslands 03/06/21.~ ~Male NOHA in flight with some snow flurries at the Grasslands, 03/06/21.~ ~Boy I wish this bird would have come closer – how beautiful is this beast?!? Rough-legged Hawk over horizon at the Grasslands, 03/06/21.~ ~American Kestrel at the Grasslands, 03/06/21.~ ~Gray Ghost over the trees. Grasslands, 03/06/21.~ ~NOHA, Grasslands 03/06/21.~ ~One more of the Gray Ghost, Grasslands 03/06/21.~ ~After the Grasslands, I headed up to Rhinebeck to chase the two BARROW’S GOLDENEYES which have been seen there. I dipped on the female, but did catch up with the male (above) on River Road, where I joined Karen Miller who got me on the bird shortly after my arrival.~
~Huge thanks to Linda Scrima who relocated the Ferruginous Hawk Sunday morning in the snow, 02/07/21.~
I’ll tell you what, I could get used to the good birding I’ve been enjoying recently. It was another excellent weekend, filled with some super birds and some decent photo ops. I spent both mornings tooling around the black dirt; highlights included a total of 4 LAPLAND LONGSPURS between the two days, a nice sized flock of COMMON REDPOLLS, and my second (and much better) look at the FERRUGINOUS HAWK which continues in the black dirt. I spent Saturday afternoon over in Beacon with Bruce Nott and we did really well with gulls – we had a GLAUCOUS GULL, an ICELAND GULL, and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, all immature birds, as well as the three expected species. It was freezing cold with a strong wind on that side of the river, but worth the suffering. This is ending up being a photo heavy post, so I’ll just let the pics do the rest of the talking.
~A nice look at a Rough-legged Hawk just after sunrise on Saturday morning, 02/06/21.~ ~Lapland Longspur taking off with several Horned Larks, black dirt 02/07/21.~ ~The Glaucous Gull was really showing who is the boss of the ice floes. I absolutely cannot get enough gulls this year, and the gulling has just been fantastic. GLGU in Beacon, 02/06/21.~ ~This was a nice surprise, a couple of Short-eared Owls up briefly on Saturday morning. I think some American Crows rousted them from their daytime noosing. ~ ~Beautiful MODO, black dirt 02/06/21.~ ~Common Redpolls in the black dirt 02/07/21.~ ~One more shot of the FEHA, 02/07/21.~ ~Horned Lark in nice light early Saturday Morning, 02/06/21.~ ~Posting this photo right after the HOLA shot really accentuates the different light between the two days. Sunny and clear on Saturday, Snowy and gray on Sunday.~
~I saw two Coyotes this weekend, both distant. This one might not have been close, but you can see it is well aware of my presence.~
Yesterday during the waterfowl count, Linda Scrima spotted an interesting hawk. She was thinking it was a perhaps a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk, took some photos to check out later and continued with the count. It ends up the bird was a FERRUGINOUS HAWK! There were many birders out trying to relocated the bird this morning, but it was of course John Haas who found the bird on Celery Avenue (click here to see John’s post with some fantastic photos). I rushed over and joined several other birders to view the bird. It was a little distant and in the trees, so scope views of this gorgeous bird were fantastic, but photos were tough. The bird eventually flew and was relocated by Bruce Nott on Lynch Avenue. The bird was in the air tangling with a couple of Red-tails, but then put down in a field. The bird moved around after that, and as of this writing had been relocated two more times, with many, many birders going for it. From what I’m told, this is a first New York State record of Ferruginous Hawk; super exciting birding! Nice job and congrats to Linda on an amazing find.
~Another tough day with photos – the bird was never really close enough. FERRUGINOUS HAWK in flight, Pierce Circle 01/17/21.~ ~Ferruginous Hawk, Celery Avenue 01/17/21.~ ~Ferruginous Hawk coming in for a landing at Lynch Ave, 01/17/21.~
Since I can only get out on the weekends at this time of the year, it’s extra sweet when I can get some good birds. On Saturday morning Tricia and I stopped at the Grasslands on our way to pick up pottery supplies in New Paltz. It was a gorgeous morning; super cold and frosty, but also sunny and bright. We were just going to stop briefly, but shortly after we arrived, two Short-eared Owls were up and flying. It was a pleasant surprise; we watched from the viewing platform as the owls seemed to be actively hunting and were tangling with Northern Harriers from time to time. We also got the opportunity to catch up with Ralph Tabor, which was really great, it had been too long. Side note: the refuge has put new restrictions in place to mitigate owl disturbance by closing a large percentage of the trails on the weekends. I personally think this is a great idea and long overdue.
~A distant Short-eared Owl cruises the Grasslands, 12/19/20.~
This morning I tooled around the black dirt. On Celery Avenue, there was a large flock of geese present. I sorted through them and watched as group after group flew in to join the flock. It was an enjoyable (if cold) way to sort through geese, but unfortunately I didn’t come up with anything other than Canada Geese. I did have a pair of adult Bald Eagles perched in a tree, side by side, as well as a nice close Gray Ghost fly-by.
~Gray Ghost on a gray day. Male Northern Harrier in the black dirt, 12/20/20.
I found more geese at Turtle Bay Road, this time there were nearly sixty Snow Geese among approximately 400 Canada Geese. There was also a modest flock of Horned Larks foraging on the side of the road. I felt super lucky when a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR put down not far from my car. Heat shimmer from the car prevented a better pic, but as always, it was great to see a LALO.
~Roadside Lapland Longspur on Turtle Bay Road, 12/20/20.~
Other highlights from the morning included many more raptors; who-knows-how-many Red-tailed Hawks, a Rough-legged Hawk, a Cooper’s Hawk, and an American Kestrel. The last good bird of the day was a bird that I typically don’t have much luck with: I found a FOX SPARROW in with a mixed flock of sparrows on Round Hill Road.
~Cooper’s Hawk at the Camel Farm, 12/20/20.~ ~Fox Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow on Round Hill Road, 12/20/20.~ ~It was a gorgeous morning at the Grasslands NWR, 12/19/20. Photos don’t do it justice.~ ~Common Mergansers in flight, Celery Avenue 12/2o/20.~ ~A pair of Bald Eagles at Celery Avenue was a nice way to start my Sunday morning birding.~
