This morning, Karen VanDyk located a Northern Shrike at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I went over to try for the bird, and Kyle Knapp was already present and on the bird. It was a little distant at first and I took some initial documentary shots. Then things got interesting; first the shrike got into a brief tangled with a Northern Mockingbird. The bird then relocated to the backside of a nearby bush; we could just barely through the branches. A Merlin then shot through; it made a pass at the shrike and then perched in tree along the river. Meanwhile, the shrike had somehow procured some sort of prey and we watched as it ate, through mostly obscured views in the depths of the bush. Once finished, the bird started calling, calling, calling. Finally the bird got quiet, and we lost the bird sometime soon after that. What a cool experience to spend some time with such an excellent bird. Huge thanks to Karen for the alert.
~Nothern Shrike at Winding Waters trail, 01/12/25.~~Red-tailed Hawk perched on some farm equipment. Black dirt region, 01/12/25.~~I was up early with Coyotes on my mind. I was not disappointed; this photo is pretty terrible, but I enjoyed watching this Coyote running full speed across a field. Black Dirt Region 01/12/25.~
On New Year’s Day, Diane Bliss found a EURASIAN WIGEON in the small ponds across from Warwick Town Hall. The bird was not relocated on the 2nd, but then it resurfaced on the 3rd. I couldn’t run for it because I was working, so I was hoping it would hang in there for me until today. Which it did. Huge thanks to Kyle Knapp, who was on the scene before sunrise, and not only did he let me know the bird was there, he stuck around to make sure I got it. The bird is a beautiful drake and was an Orange County lifer for me, nudging my total number of birds in the county to 278.
~Wow! EURASIAN WIGEON in Warwick, NY 01/04/25.~~I finally ran into the Warwick leucistic Red-tailed Hawk after not seeing the bird for a good while (maybe a year or so?).~
Looking back at it, it was a pretty remarkable year of birding in our area. We had an extraordinary number of what I would consider REALLY GOOD BIRDS. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with a good number of them. Here’s the list that I came up with, in chronological order. I’m sure there are additional birds that could have made the list; if you have any, feel free to add a comment to fill in the gaps.
01/01/24: Red Crossbills flyover at Reservoir 3, near Port Jervis. It was good to get this bird on my year list on the first day of the year, and I was able to photograph one gritting on the road several weeks later:
~Red Crossbill in Huguenot, NY 02/24/24.~
01/06/24: Northern Shrike at Wallkill River NWR’s Winding Waters Trail. It’s always good to see one of the coolest birds we get in our area.
~Northern Shrike at Wallkill River NWR’s Winding Waters Trail, 01/06/24.~
01/07/24: I found a Yellow-throated Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront trail See photo below in top 10 pics.
01/21/24: GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL!!! An absolutely fantastic find by Bruce Nott. Bruce originally found the bird at the Newburgh Waterfront; I was personally able to catch up with it in Beacon a day later.
~GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL at the Beacon Waterfront, 01/21/24.~
02/11/24: Ross’s Goose on Wisner Road, found by Maria Loukeris. Another Ross’s Goose was located in the fall by Silas Wareham.
03/02/24: I found a Red-headed Woodpecker at Brown’s Pond.
04/13/24: I finally caught up with the Great Cormorant that had been in the Newburgh area. I believe Bruce Nott was the original locater of that bird.
04/20/24: LITTLE GULL!!! Extraordinary find by Jeanne Cimorelli, originally at Washington Lake, and then later relocated by Bruce Nott on the Hudson River by Plum Point.
~I have been desparate to see this bird, and finally we got one in Orange County. LITTLE GULL at Plum Point, 04/20/24.~
05/12/24: The NEOTROPIC CORMORANT spent its 3rd year in a row at the Newburgh Waterfront area. I was able to catch up with it on this date.
05/13/24: TRICOLORED HERON!!! Another great OC find by Linda Scrima. It was really something to see this species in our area, and just minutes from my house.
~TRICOLORED HERON at Beaver Pond, 05/13/24.~
06/01/24: I was able to see and photograph the Kentucky Warbler on Mine Road, originally found by Bruce Nott.
~Kentucky Warbler at Mine Road, 06/01/24.~
06/30/24: I was thrilled to find an AMERICAN AVOCET at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary.
~AMERICAN AVOCET at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/30/24.~
07/12/24: I found a Blue Grosbeak in the Black Dirt Region. It had been a while since we’ve had one, and I believe a lot of birders got this one.
07/06/24: Borderline extralimital; Jeanne Cimorelli made another extraordinary find – she identified a PACIFIC LOON among a group of Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County. I was able to catch up with the bird a day later, and then I went back a week later and got some decent photos.
~PACIFIC LOON with Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/14/24.~
08/02/24: A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was found by Mary B. at Majestic Park in Gardiner NY. I did not get this bird unfortunately.
08/09/24: Jeanne had a remarkable 21 Laughing Gulls at the Newburgh waterfront, and later in the evening, I found a pair of Willets in the Black Dirt Region. A day later, John Haas had a Laughing Gull at Rondout Reservoir.
~One of two Willets in the black dirt, 08/09/24.~
11/24/24: A CAVE SWALLOW was found by Patrick D. at Roundout Reservoir. I unfortunately did not have any opportunity to run for this bird.
OUT OF OUR AREA
In early February, I went on a 12 hour pelagic trip out of Brooklyn. While we did not have any extraordinary birds, we did do very well with good numbers of our target Alcid species, including Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Dovekie, and Common Murre. I also enjoyed some great photo ops with Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
~ICELAND GULL during the American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24. ~
In early May, Tricia and I spent a long weekend on Cape Cod. Again, I didn’t have anything out-of-the-ordinary, but but it was super birdy with loads of photo ops.
~White-winged Scoters in flight at High Head Beach on Cape Cod, 05/05/24.~
And then, in late August, I joined Rob Stone and we did an overnight pelagic out of Cape Cod. During this trip, we had several extraordinary birds, and I got 5 new life birds, including my #1 target for the trip, SOUTH POLAR SKUA. My other lifers were: Long-tailed Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, White-faced Storm-petrel, and Audubon’s Storm Petrel.
~The bird of the trip for me – one of two South Polar Skuas. BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~
TOP TEN PHOTOS OF THE YEAR
And finally, to my favorite part of this post each year: my top ten photos of the year. I love to look back over a year of bird photography and try to whittle it down to my favorites. I feel like this year’s top ten is a little bit weaker than some that I’ve had in previous years, but hopefully I’m being overly critical of my own work, and readers will find them appealing.
#1: American Kestrel in the Black Dirt Region, 12/01/24.~#2: I loved this photo from the moment I took it. Willow Flycatcher in the Black Dirt Region, 08/03/24.~#3: A snow covered White-tailed Deer at Reservoir 3, 02/17/24.~#4: A Semipalmated Plover marches through the dirt in the Black Dirt Region, 08/10/24.~#5: Northern Gannet in flight during the American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic on 02/10/24. This photo has always been a little bit of a mystery to me – I love the image, but I don’t know why it has such a pastel-y quality to it.~#6: Louisiana Waterthrush does a balancing act at Black Rock Forest, 06/08/24.~#7: Cedar Waxwing at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/28/24.~#8: Yellow-throated Warbler at the Waterfront Trail in Newburgh, 01/07/24.~#9: It’s not very often you get to see a Red-necked Grebe up close like this. Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~#10: A sharp looking Horned Lark in the Black Dirt Region, 11/17/24.~
I birded all morning and into the early afternoon today. I started at Highland Lakes State Park, just after sunrise. I was following up on a report of a Ruffed Grouse by Joyce DePew. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, I did not have any luck with the grouse. Afterwards, I headed over to the Newburgh Waterfront to see if I could find any good birds to contribute to the Eastern Orange County Christmas Bird Count. I could not, lol, I just had the usuals. I ran into birding bud Bruce Nott, and he’d found a couple of good birds: Horned Grebe and Yellow Warbler. I tried for both but did not have any luck.
My luck changed for the better in the early afternoon, when I went to Popp Park in Wallkill, to try for the two Greater White-fronted Geese that Jeanne Cimorelli found there yesterday. I was able to easily relocate the birds just after my arrival. They were tucked in tight for a good while, but finally they made a move and I was able to get some decent shots. It was the highlight of my day to see these two beauties.
~One of two Greater White-fronted Geese on the Wallkill River at Popp Park in Ulster County, 12/14/24.~~Here they are together; Greater White-fronted Geese at Popp Park, 12/14/24.~~This dude did a flyby and landed just across the way. Great Blue Heron at Popp Park, 12/14/24.~
QUICK POST: Yesterday morning, Silas Warham found a ROSS’S GOOSE in a field in the black dirt. The bird flew, but was later relocated at a small pond on Breeze Hill Road. I was unable to run for it yesterday, but today I went out during my lunch break and was able to relocate the bird at the Breeze Hill Road pond. It’s not very often I run for a bird during the work day, so I was pretty happy the bird stuck around. Thanks to Silas and Linda Scrima for keeping me posted of the bird’s whereabouts.
~ROSS’S GOOSE, Breeze Hill Road, 11/19/24.~~One more shot of the ROGO at Breeze Hill Road, 11/19/24.~
It was a strange day at Mount Peter. Between the warm temperatures, the very light winds, and a completely cloudless sky, I did not have very high expectations for today’s flight. And for the most part, my low expectations were met. BUT! Just after 1:00, the day was saved. I picked up a dark/silhouetted bird south of the platform; it was heading south. It had a slight dihedral, so I was thinking Turkey Vulture. But then it flapped and I knew it was not a vulture… I picked up some white on the tail and then the bird started to circle and I could clearly see the white on the underside of the wings – GOLDEN EAGLE! This was probably the most unexpected Golden Eagle I’ve ever seen – this bird was a little early for GOEA, and conditions were less than ideal. But I’ll take it, lol, it certainly saved a day where I had only 13 additional migrating raptors.
~Golden Eagle just south of Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/19/24.~~There was a small flock of Purple Finches present when I arrived at Mt. Pete. I thought they would be the highlight of day, but I was wrong. PUFI at Mount Peter Hawkwatch 10/19/24.~~One more shot of the Golden Eagle at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/19/24.~
At 6:00 am, on Monday of this past week, I joined Rob Stone and we set sail on the Brookline Birding Club’s overnight pelagic birding trip. We boarded the Hellen H, a 100 foot deep sea fishing boat in Hyannis, Massachusetts, and headed out to the Hydrographer Canyon area (east and south of Cape Cod).
As always, I started the trip with my usual anxieties – what would the ship be like? Where would I store my stuff? Where would I sleep? What would the restrooms be like? Would we get any good birds? Some these anxieties were well founded – as we boarded, it was difficult to determine what areas were up for grabs and which had been taken already. I ended up stashing my gear under some occupied benches in the cabin; less than ideal, but at least my gear was out of my hands and I could wander the boat and start doing some birding. I eventually found an area on the deck which looked good for sleeping (and it was, to a point – more on that later). The layout of the lower deck was nice and lended itself to good birding. The upper deck, where I had spend most of my time birding on previous pelagics, was not as accommodating as it was filled with benches and sleeping areas which would allow for easy movement from one side of the boat to the other. And the men’s room. It was a tremendous upgrade to the restrooms I’ve experienced on every previous pelagic. It had both a urinal and a toilet, with plenty of room and handrails.
~The bird of the trip for me – one of two South Polar Skuas. BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~
As for the birds, they certainly did not disappoint. We located all of my target birds on the first day, and I enjoyed adding a remarkable 5 species to my life list. Here’s a list of highlighted species, with my life birds indicated:
Red Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Long-tailed Jaeger (life bird)
Pomarine Jaeger (life bird)
South Polar Skua (life bird)
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
White-face Storm-Petrel (life bird)
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Black-capped Petrel
Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater (reported but I did not see)
Manx Shearwater
Audubon’s Shearwater (life bird)
~Thankfully they call out all the bird species as they find them, because it took me some time to (hopefully) correctly identify all the jaegers in my photos. I believe this is a Pomarine Jaeger; what a sharp looking bird this is. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/27/24.~
And, sleeping. I ultimately did not get very much sleep. I went to sleep on Monday night somewhere between 9:30 and 10:00, as I was exhausted. I slept for a couple of hours and then woke up and started to toss and turn trying get comfortable on the hard deck. Then, around 2:15am, I was dozing when a crew member woke me up to let me know that there was a storm coming through and I’d have to get off the deck or get soaked. A couple waves of some serious thunderstorms rolled through; we enjoyed some of it from the deck (the lightning was fantastic!) until it started coming down sideways and we took refuge in the cabin. I did not get much sleep (other than dozing off from time to time while sitting up on a bench) after that, and I got gradually more and more seasick with the boat being anchored and just rocking away. It wasn’t until first light, when I could see the horizon again, that I started to feel a little bit better.
~Long-tailed Jaeger, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~
Tuesday’s birding was as productive as Monday. The first good bird of the day was our second White-faced Storm-Petrel of the trip. We got good looks at both of them, but I’ll tell you that that’s a tough bird to photograph. That didn’t stop me from trying; see my less than stellar result below. On Tuesday we added one really good bird – Black-capped Petrel. The bird was on the move and although I saw it, it was not good looks and I didn’t get any photos. A second South Polar Skua capped off the trip, which was pretty remarkable. In the early afternoon, a thick fog rolled in, and from then on we just were on a steady course heading back to Hyannis. It was an excellent and exhuasting trip.
~Excellent bird, not so excellent photo. Very cool to see this bird and add it to my life list. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~As I’ve grown to expect, we got great looks at plenty of Great Shearwaters, both on the water, and …~~…in flight. Great Shearwater during the BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Another Pomarine Jaeger zips by. BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~ ~Manx Shearwater on the water. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Manx Shearwater taking flight, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~I got my best looks at Cory’s Shearwaters during this trip. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~~Pomarine Jaeger, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~One more shot of Monday’s South Polar Skua. What a bird! BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Wilson’s Storm-Petrel on Tuesday morning, not long after sunrise. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/27/24.~~I kind of dig this photo. Long-tailed Jaeger banking during the BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Pomarine Jaeger, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/27/24.~
QUICK POST: This evening I was out late birding until I couldn’t see anymore because the number of shorebirds in the black dirt region was off the charts. Earlier today Kyle Knapp texted me to let me know he had a good number and variety of shorebirds in the black dirt. A little later Bruce Nott let me know he had a Red-necked Phalarope at the Camel Farm. I was working, of course, so at 5 o’clock when I called it a week, I headed out to see how I could do. My highlight was finding two WILLETS – this is only the second time I’ve ever had them in the county, so I was pretty excited. Other shorebirds that I located in the black dirt this evening included: Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Greater Yellowlegs.
~One of two Willets in the black dirt tonight, 08/09/24.~
I’ll be curious to see how many birds stick around until tomorrow. I know that I’ll be out bright and early, looking. Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday!
Also, one more note – there was some action at the Newburgh Riverfront today also: Jeanne Cimorelli reported at first a single Laughing Gull, and then later in the afternoon, a remarkable 21 Laughing Gulls! It will be interesting to see if the river provides any more gems tomorrow as well.
~Here they both are together. Willets in BDR, 08/09/24.~~I was really trying to get a shot of their pretty wings, but unfortunately this is the best I could do. Willet in the black dirt, 08/09/24.~~Pretty bird. Willet striking a pose in the black dirt, 098/08/24.~
If you missed it, the big excitement for me this weekend was the BLUE GROSBEAK that I found in the black dirt on Friday evening. Reports indicate that the bird continues today, but I did not try for it.
Instead, I woke up early and headed back to Ashokan Reservoir to see if I could get a better look and photos of the PACIFIC LOON. As luck (and patience) would have it, the Pacific Loon, along with 16 Common Loons, eventually made a relatively close pass on Dike Road . I had been joined Diane Bliss, and the two of us enjoyed fantastic looks at the birds; it was really something.
~Pacific Loon with Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/14/24.~~PALO at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/14/24.~~Loons at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/14/24.~~Pacific Loon with a shy Common Loon, Ashokan Reservoir, 07/14/24.~
And as usual, I was taking pics throughout the weekend. I was hoping for some shorebirds, but I wasn’t able to find any new birds in county. I enjoyed spending some time with a pair of cooperative American Kestrels, as well as a Horned Lark that spent some quality time right next to my car on Friday evening. It’s been a good stretch of birding – much better than the summer doldrums I would have expected.
~Female American Kestrel. Apparently it’s difficult to differentiate adult from a first year bird in the field, but based on its behavior (not very skittish), I’m thinking this is a young bird. Black Dirt Region 07/13/24.~~First year male American Kestrel in the black dirt, o7/13/24.~~Horned Lark up close and personal in the Black Dirt Region, 07/12/24.~~HOLA in the black dirt, 07/12/24.~~Wood Duck at 6 1/2 Station Road, 07/11/24.~
Yesterday evening after work I hit the black dirt, looking for shorebirds. I scanned a field containing about a half dozen Killdeer. Convinced that there weren’t any other shorebird species present, I packed up my scope and prepared to move on. I had turned on the Merlin app earlier – I don’t recall what made me put it on initially, but when I looked at it, it indicated that a BLUE GROSBEAK had been identified. As soon as I saw that, I heard the bird call again! I spent some time trying to get a look at the bird, but the bird was uncooperative and I only got a couple brief looks. I put the word out, and Jeanne Cimorelli joined me and got the bird as well – it was a county life bird for her.
I got word from Bruce Nott and Kyle Knapp this morning that the bird continued. I joined Linda Scrima, Kyle, and later Karen Van Dyke came as well and we all got the bird. The bird was still not cooperative for photos, but I did get to see it and to document it with some flight shots. Blue Grosbeak is a very good bird for the county and I haven’t had one for several years.
~Blue Grosbeak in the Black Dirt Region, 07/13/24.~ ~One more shot of the BLGR in the black dirt this morning, 07/13/24.~
