Kyle Dudgeon and I spent some time very early this morning with the LEAST BITTERNS at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop. It was great to see good numbers of LEBIs, and we got lucky with one particularly accommodating individual, which landed not very far off the path – I’ve included four photos of this bird.
In birding news, Karen Miller watched the ROSEATE SPOONBILL fly north over Oil City Road and into Orange County. Kyle and I searched for the bird down Liberty Lane, and John Haas joined us to help search the area, but unfortunately, as of this writing, the bird had not been relocated.
~Wow! Roseate Spoonbill at the Liberty Loop, 07/22/18. Photo by Linda Scrima.~
I wonder how many people can say they saw breeding Common Loons with a chick in the morning and a Roseate Spoonbill in the afternoon? Without taking a flight? I’m guessing not too many, if any at all, but that’s exactly what Kyle Dudgeon and I did today. Just as we were wrapping up our yearly trip to the Adirondacks after a morning of kayaking in the rain (and swimming in Kyle’s case) with Common Loons, I got a phone call from Linda Scrima. She had located a ROSEATE SPOONBILL at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop. Apparently a photo of a ROSP had been posted to the refuge’s Facebook page and Linda followed up on it early this morning and found the bird on the west side of the loop, just over the border into Sussex County, New Jersey. As Kyle and I got on the road, we did some quick figuring and we knew that we would certainly try for the spoonbill. Five or so hours later, we headed down the trail and joined a number of birders and photographers gathered to see the bird. It was very strange to me to see this bird up in our area, after having previously only seen them in their normal range of Florida and Texas. It was a life bird for Kyle, so that was exciting. The bird spent the duration of our time there partially hidden by vegetation, so Linda sent me one of her pics from earlier in the day to use for this post – thanks Linda!
I have a good number of Common Loon photos to get through, but I will post in the next day or so; it’s one of my favorite posts of the year, so I’m looking forward to it. Here is a teaser from earlier this morning, during a break in the rain:
~Family love. I can’t get enough of these loons, they are just such great birds, beautiful, personable, and smart. Adirondacks, 07/22/18.~
I went out and walked the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop trail to follow up on an eBird report of a Short-billed Dowitcher in the Sussex County portion of the trail. I relocated the SBDO, but I also was fortunate enough to find a STILT SANDPIPER. The bird was feeding most of the time I saw it, head going up and down like a sewing machine. I was feeling lazy and walked the trail without hauling my scope with me, and I really regretted it as the birds were far enough out to make IDing them with binoculars tough. The pond was loaded with shorebirds, in addition to the STSA and the SBDO I also had Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpipers, and Pectoral Sandpipers. Other highlights included a quick look at a young Black-crowned Night-Heron and a beautiful male Northern Harrier hunting over the marsh.
~Thanks to the water droplet, you can see the length of the STSA’s bill in this shot. Wallkill River NWR, 9/1/16.~~I’ve included this shot to give a sense of the size of the bird, as compared to the Lesser Yellowlegs on the left and the Short-billed Dowitcher just to the right. Stilt Sandpiper at Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Loop, 9/1/16.~
~A Yellow-breasted Chat calls from a treetop perch, Canal Road in Vernon Township, NJ 6/21/16.~
I have to thank Linda Scrima for motivating me this afternoon. I had not come up with a birding plan for the afternoon, and I was feeling a bit uninspired. Earlier in the day, Linda had gone for the Yellow-breasted Chats that had been reported at the Appalachian Trail off the Canal Road bike path in Vernon Township, New Jersey. At that time, she texted a recording of one of the chats calling, but I was unable to listen to it while I was working. Once I was out for the afternoon, I listened to it and I immediately knew I had to run for the birds; it really got me excited to see a chat! When I first arrived, I could hear at least one bird calling, but distant. I stood in the shade and waited it out; the calls came closer and eventually I located the bird as it took a nice high perch and called repeatedly. The bird was a little bit distant, but in perfect light, so I was able to get decent shots (with a very heavy crop). I stayed for a little over an hour and I was only sure of having one chat. Interestingly, it is seven days shy of a year since I had a pair of chats at this same location last summer.
~I know I’ve posted a lot of Red-tailed Hawks in flight lately, but hopefully folks aren’t too sick of them. RTHA at Wallkill River NWR, Liberty Loop 12/13/15.~
I was a little bit at a loss as to where to bird this weekend. I ran around to multiple locations on Saturday and did not have many birds at all. I ended the day with a stop at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, where I ran into Karen Miller. It was a nice evening but not a good one for photos. We had 4 Short-eared Owls, 6 Northern Harriers, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, and my personal highlight – a Wilson’s Snipe.
This morning I walked the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop with Maria Loukeris. It was beautiful, warm morning and it was a birdy walk but all the birds we saw were expected species. I had a three target birds – Brown Creeper, Fox Sparrow (I need both for my 2015 Orange County list), and Rough-legged Hawk (because typically I would seen many of them by now). I failed to locate any of my target birds, but we had a nice walk where we had 27 species. I’ve included the morning’s list of birds below.
~Lucky shot – Black-capped Chickadee in flight at the Liberty Loop, 12/13/15.~~I think these American Tree Sparrows are gorgeous. This is the first year that I am taking notice of this. ATSP at Wallkill River NWR, Liberty Loop 12/13/15.~
Here’s my list for the morning:
~Downy Woodpecker at the Loop, 12/13/15.~
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
American Coot
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Bluebird
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
~We enjoyed watching the Northern Harriers hunting over the marsh, Liberty Loop 12/13/15.~
~This shot is actually from last weekend – Northern Mockingbird at Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, NY 12/6/15.~~Also from Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, taken yesterday, 12/12/15.~
~A Red-tailed Hawk flies overhead at the Wallkill River NWR Liberty Loop Trail, 11/21/15.~
I’ve had a busy weekend, but I did get manage to get out and do some birding early Saturday morning. I met Maria Loukeris over at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, and we walked the Liberty Loop trail. It was a gorgeous morning, crisp with nice light and just a little bit of a breeze. We found plenty of birds to make the walk interesting, but I did not manage to see any of my target birds – Brown Creeper, Fox Sparrow, and Rusty Blackbird, all three of which I need for Orange County for this year. The highlight of the morning for me was seeing hundreds of waterfowl (Canada Geese, American Black Ducks, Mallards, Northern Pintails, and Green-winged Teals) pick up, circle around the refuge and then put back down again. We did alright with raptors with a Turkey Vulture, several Northern Harriers, an adult Bald Eagle, and 3 Red-tailed Hawks. My list for the day includes 26 species; nothing amazing, but it still made for a nice morning of birding that I was grateful to have.
~My first American Tree Sparrow shot of the season, Liberty Loop Trail, 11/21/15.~~Red-tailed Hawk at the Liberty Loop, 11/21/15.~
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Winter Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
European Starling
Ninety-one Green-winged Teal take a lap around the refuge, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge Liberty Loop Trail, 11/21/15.~~On the southern leg of the loop, we saw this tree that had been worked on pretty heavily by a beaver. Liberty Loop Trail, 11/21/15.~
~This made Kyle Dudgeon happy – Northern Harrier in flight in the Black Dirt, 10/3/15.~
It was a rainy, wet and cold day for starters. I woke up early with the plan to get out early before heading up to Mt. Peter for my Saturday hawkwatch. I wanted to go to Owens Station Crossing to try for the tern I saw last night and also to try for the Red-necked Phalarope that Ken Witkowski had reported seeing in the back pool of the Liberty Loop. As I drove through a pretty steady rain, I was surprised to get a call from Maria Loukeris; she and Linda Scrima were already at Owens Station Crossing and wanted to try for the phalarope. And Marianne O. was on her way. Four birders out on the worst rainy morning in recent memory? Sounds good to me!
Shortly after arriving at Owens Station Crossing, I relocated the tern in the distance, perched on a stump in the lake. The tern flew for us one time (before I even had my camera out!!), but it gave us some good looks, coming closer in decent light. We were in agreement that the bird was likely a COMMON TERN. Perched, the bird did not stand tall and appeared to have a short neck, a hint of a dark carpal bar could be seen, dark primary/wing edges were very apparent, and the tail did not extending past wingtips. In flight, the wings were strongly angled back, and showed a dark trailing edge on the primaries.
We headed down the trail that leads to the back pond of the Liberty Loop. Shortly after arriving, Marianne located a Short-billed Dowitcher. Linda was the only one with a camera out due to the steady, continuing rain and she provided me with a photo of the bird. We continued to scan for quite a while, getting very wet and cold. Eventually, I located the RED-NECKED PHALAROPE in my scope! Marianne got on it quickly with her scope and Linda got a quick look in my scope, but unfortunately the bird disappeared into some grasses before Maria got her turn on a scope. It took a while to relocate the bird; when Marianne finally did, Maria got a look and we all got some better looks, but they were by no means good looks, through wet lenses and the bird coming and going through the vegetation. This was a life bird for both Maria and Linda, congrats to them both!
When we got back to the Owens Station Crossing parking lot, we could not relocate the Common Tern; had it moved on already? The weather was trying to break at this point, but the rain continued, just a little lighter than before.
~Short-billed Dowitcher at the Liberty Loop Trail, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 10/3/15. Photo by Linda Scrima.~
I went home and changed into some dry clothes. It appeared that the rain might stop, so I was going to head to Mt. Peter. Once on the road, it became clear that it was still raining pretty good. Kyle Dudgeon was home from college for the weekend, we exchanged texts and decided to try to get the phalarope for him. We tried for a while at the back pond of the Liberty Loop, but we were unable to relocate the bird, even with the help of a Sussex County birder named Kevin who was out for the bird as well. Kyle and I decided to hit the black dirt to try for shorebirds (me) and raptors (Kyle). We were successful in both searches. American Kestrels were extremely numerous, we didn’t keep count but figured by the evening that we had seen over 30 kestrels! We also saw several Northern Harriers including one Gray Ghost, and we had one immature Bald Eagle fly over. For shorebirds we struggled for the most part with not many being seen, but eventually Kyle’s young eyes located three birds I am thinking might have been BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS; I’ve included a photo of one them below. And then a little later, way out in a field he spotted 23 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS! (Several of these birds lifted their wings to show wing pits that were not dark). What a day of birding! Crazy weather and awesome birds; it’s usually a good combination.
~I have this as a Black-bellied Plover – the bill and head look large enough to me? I’m not sure why I struggle so much to differentiate the plovers?! Any thoughts on this bird would certainly be appreciated. Black Dirt Region, 10/3/15.~
~Unidentified, distant tern at Owen’s Station Crossing, 10/2/15.~
This evening after work, I was birding the black dirt when I got a call from Marianne O., who told me that a Red-necked Phalarope had been reported at the back pond of the Liberty Loop at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. The quickest way to the back pond is to park at Owen’s Station Crossing and head into the loop from there. I hustled over and parked. I figured I should check the lake there before heading towards the loop. When I did, I saw a tern flying in the furthest part of the lake. I grabbed my gear and headed towards that end of the lake for a closer look and to take some photos. It was raining pretty steadily and getting dark very quickly. Marianne eventually joined me, and unfortunately, we were both stumped in attempting to identify this tern. I’ve put out a few emails looking for some help, but the photos are so poor that I’m not sure they will help. When Marianne and I left at sunset, the bird was still perched out in the lake. I plan on returning first thing in the morning to try and get a better look. If anyone has any thoughts on this bird, please contact me or comment – thanks!
~I only had a single Lesser Yellowlegs at the back pond of the Liberty Loop at Wallkill River NWR today, 9/1/15.~
QUICK POST: I hope folks are not sick of shorebirds – I am obsessed with them. I made it out to Liberty Loop back pond at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge tonight looking for shorebirds. I entered from the south via Owens Station Road, so I did not check the west side of the loop for shorebirds. The shorebird highlight of the afternoon was getting a pretty good look at one of the 5 Wilson’s Snipe that I had for the day. Here’s my list:
~This Northern Harrier was causing havoc in the back pond, making 4 passes over the compound and shuffling the shorebird deck each time it did. Walkill River NWR, 9/1/15.~~This was a nice look at a Wilson’s Snipe, although the photos just turned out so-so. Back pond at the Liberty Loop, 9/1/15.~
~A Northern Parula perches briefly on the west side of the Liberty Loop, 8/29/15.~
QUICK POST: I had a birdy visit this morning to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop Trail. The cool weather made for a pleasant walk and the clear skies helped with some nice light for photos. Birds are certainly on the move and I did pretty well with warblers (for me!) on the west side of the loop. Shorebird numbers seemed up to me, with a good number found on the west side of the loop (in addition to the back pond). My best shorebird was a single juvenile Semipalmated Plover located in the back pond. All in all, a good morning of birding with over 50 species seen or heard. I’ve included my species list at the bottom of this post.
~This was a shoot first and ask questions later situation. When I got home I figured out that this was a Nashville Warbler, Liberty Loop at Wallkill River NWR, 8/29/15.~~I had several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers while walking the loop today. Walkill River NWR, 8/29/15.~~This is a nice bird that I wish I’d gotten a better shot of. Magnolia Warbler on the Liberty Loop Trail, Wallkill River NWR, 8/29/15.~~I got some nice looks at several Yellow Warblers this morning. Wallkill River NWR, 8/29/15.~~With all the small birds in this post, I couldn’t resist posting this Great Egret flyover. Walkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 8/29/15.~~I can’t resist these wrens – they are numerous at the refuge right now and I keep taking pics! House Wren at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 8/29/15.~
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Virginia Rail
Sora Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Solitary Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Semipalmated Sand. Least Sandpiper
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Green W. American Redstart Common Yellowthroat Magnolia Warbler
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
House Finch
American Goldfinch
