Rarities – Page 10 – Orange Birding

Heckuva Day, 02/08/20

As I was heading out this morning, I drove along 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, and I saw in the distance a pair of Red-tailed Hawks perched in a tree. They were about 15 feet apart, and in the perfect early morning light the difference between the larger female and the smaller male was quite obvious. It was a beautiful image, and for some reason I took this as an omen that it was going to be a good day.

~ *It’s still hard for me to believe that we are getting to see a GOLDEN EAGLE on a somewhat regular basis right now. GOEA in the black dirt, 02/08/20.~*

Every once in a while you have a day where things fall into place. It started with a GREAT-HORNED OWL on a nice perch, sunning itself. Add to that several flocks of Snow Geese moving around the black dirt. The icing on the cake was a relatively low flyover by the GOLDEN EAGLE that has been in the area. Getting a better look and photos of this bird was my main goal today, so that was awesome. As the morning ended and crept into the afternoon, things slowed down, but still, I was happy to find a cooperative Red-tailed Hawk on a wire, a bunch of vultures on a deer carcass (not for everyone, but I love those birds and find them very photogenic), and a couple thousand Common Mergansers at Greenwood Lake. Heckuva day for sure.

~Snow Geese in the black dirt, 02/08/20.~

~Black Vulture enjoying a meal. Warwick NY, 02/08/20.~

~GREAT-HORNED OWL sunning itself at an undisclosed location, 02/08/20.~

~I’m not usually a big fan of birds on a wire, but it’s been a while since I’ve taken a Red-tailed Hawk photo. Black Dirt, 02/08/20.

~Beautifully ugly bird. Turkey Vulture in Warwick, 02/08/20.~

~One more shot of the GOLDEN EAGLE. I know I definitely shouldn’t complain, but the light was tough for pics of this bird. Black dirt, 02/08/20.~

Wow, Black Dirt GOLDEN EAGLE!

My plan for the morning was to get outside and take a hike without worrying too much about getting any birds. I walked the trails near Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis. It was predictably quiet, but it was a pleasant walk in the woods on a cool, partly cloudy day. It wasn’t until I was on my way back that I started to think about getting some birds. Earlier, while I was hiking, Joyce Depew reported thousands of Snow Geese in the black dirt. On my way home, Ken McDermott followed up with another report of SNGOs in the fields off Onion Avenue. I figured I would stop by and check them out, especially because it was on my way home. Then, it got interesting: Bruce Nott reported a GOLDEN EAGLE flying over the Snow Geese, heading east.

~GOLDEN EAGLE flyover in the black dirt, photograph by Linda Scrima, 02/02/20.~

I arrived at Onion Avenue convinced that I had missed any opportunity to see the Golden Eagle. But, as I got out of the car everyone was urging me to hurry up – I jumped on Bruce’s scope and sure enough there was the Golden Eagle circling in the distance! It wasn’t great timing (see Linda’s photos in this post), but it was pretty darn good! Another minute or so, and I would have completely missed the bird. Exciting birding!

~One more shot of the GOLDEN EAGLE by Linda Scrima, 02/02/20.~

~My documentary shot of the GOLDEN EAGLE in the black dirt this afternoon, 02/02/20.~

Down in the Dumps, 02/01/20

I’ve been down in the dumps for a couple of weeks. Literally. Well, not the whole time, just the past 2 Saturday mornings, chasing gulls at Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority. Last week Maria Loukeris and I had no luck, but today, Linda Scrima joined us and we had an excellent morning. We had two main targets: the GLAUCOUS and LESSER BLACK-BACKED Gulls that were reported earlier in the week.

~Now this is a beautiful bird! GLAUCOUS GULL in flight at SCMUA, 02/01/20.~

Our morning had a slow start due to the heavy fog. When we first arrived at SCMUA, it was totally fogged in and from what we could tell, there were very few gulls present. So, we went and grabbed some breakfast (french toast!), and when we got back some of the fog had lifted and there were plenty of gulls around.

We got lucky and located the GLAUCOUS GULL within minutes of our arrival. It took over an hour, but eventually Maria located the LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL. Both gulls were close enough for some pretty good documentary shots and at different times we were able to photograph each species in flight. We were hoping that we might locate an ICELAND GULL, that would have been the icing on the cake (sorry couldn’t resist), but alas it was not to be.

~LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in flight at SCMUA, 02/01/20.~

Other good birds included several Bald Eagles, and just as we were getting ready to leave, several skeins of SNOW GEESE totally approximately 2,000 birds. It was a great morning of birding at the dump, and for me, since I’ve been so into gulls this winter, it was especially satisfying.

~GLAUCOUS GULL with Herring Gulls, SCMUA 02/01/20.~

~LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at SCMUA, 02/01/20. I like this shot because it shows 3 separate species, the LBBG front and left, a single Ring-billed Gull front and right and the remaining gulls are Herring Gulls.~

OC Greater White-fronted Goose, 01/25/20

After a week of beautiful weather, I can’t lie, I was ticked off this morning with rain being in the forecast for basically the entire day. I woke up early to get out a little before the rain; Maria Loukeris and I ran to try for the Glaucous Gull that has been reported at Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority. While we were there, it started raining. And, although I got on a larger white-winged gull in flight a couple of times, we we left without ever being able to locate the bird on the ground to confirm the ID (most gulls were landing on the other side of the hill and out of sight). Sigh.

~Awesome bird. Greater White-fronted Goose at Skinners Lane, 01/25/20.~

But, it’s amazing how one single bird can save a day of birding. After dropping off Maria, I stopped by Skinners Lane and found a good sized flock of Canada Geese. I started to sort through them and quickly located a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE; likely the same bird that has been reported intermittently in the area this winter. I went through the rest of the flock, hoping for a Cackling Goose, but no luck there. I’d put the word out, and Linda Scrima and Karen Miller both ran for and got the GWFG.

12/29/19 – A Pretty Good Day

I’ve gotten out a good amount during the holiday break, but while I’ve enjoyed getting out, unfortunately most of my birding has been unremarkable. Today I finally got a couple of notable birds. The first was at Glenmere Lake, where I had a female Red-breasted Merganser swimming with a couple of Common Mergansers. I also had four Ruddy Ducks, which were nice to see, and I sorted through a good number of gulls (only Ring-billed and Herring Gulls present).

~Excellent bird to see any day in Orange County: Greater White-fronted Goose at Turtle Bay Road in the black dirt, 12/29/19.~

Just as I was getting ready to leave Greenwood Lake, I got a call from Linda Scrima; she had a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE off Turtle Bay Road in the black dirt. Always a favorite, I ran for the bird. It’s been a good year for them in our area; I have four sitings in 2019. The bird stuck around and was close enough for some decent shots (least as far as rare geese in Orange County go). Huge thanks for Linda for locating and getting the word out.

~Red-breasted Merganser (left) with a Common Merganser, Greenwood Lake 12/29/19.~

On my way home, I drove by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. I could see a collection of gulls on the ice, so I stopped and got my scope out. I was surprised to find, along with 12 expected Ring-billed Gulls, 18 Herring Gulls. I don’t think I’ve ever come even close to that number at that location. It was a nice way to end a good day of birding.

~Red-tailed Hawk at Constitution Marsh Sanctuary, 12/27/19.~

~First winter Ring-billed Gull at Crawbuckie Park (just south of Croton Point Park), 12/27/19.~

~Ruddy Duck at Croton Point Park, 12/27/19.~

~White-throated Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, Wallkill River NWR, 12/28/19.~

Sunday Shots, 12/15/19

I was back at Sterling Lake before sunrise this morning. And the funny thing is that Bruce Nott was there already, ha ha. We were happily surprised to see that the KING EIDER had remained on the lake. Rob Stone and John Haas both joined us a little after, to get better views and photos (last night in the rain and fog was tough!), and they weren’t disappointed. I took the opportunity to try and use my 1.4x extender, since the bird remained at a distance. I set it up on my scope tripod for some added stability; I think the results were decent but certainly not amazing. We also had a Winter Wren (nemesis!), so I finally got that bird for the year.

~KING EIDER at Sterling Forest State Park, 12/15/19. Super bird for the county.~

~I think this shot looks pretty good for ISO 5000. I cleaned it up a little, but still. Huge thanks to Bruce and John for getting me this Winter Wren. This bird hates me and would never let me get it on my own, ha ha. Sterling Forest State Park, 12/15/19.~

~As usual, when looking for a Northern Shrike, you know a Northern Mockingbird will be found. Kendridge Farm, 12/14/19.~

~One more shot of the KING EIDER, Sterling Lake 12/15/19.~

KING EIDER It Is!

So everyone that I sent my photos to came back with the ID of KING EIDER, including Tom Burke (John forwarded to him). As I posted below, either bird would have been exciting, BUT, I was hoping for King Eider because it is a life bird for me (#421). It’s also my 259th bird in Orange County. I’m going to head back first thing tomorrow morning with the hopes that the bird is still present and I can maybe get some better looks and photos.

Wow! Orange County Eider!

Today was almost one of the worst days of birding I’ve had all year. The weather was crappy and I wasn’t finding any birds. But then, birding bud Maria Loukeris passed on an interesting alert from one of the New Jersey birding apps. Daniel Carola, Hugh Carola, and Ivan Kossak reported a KING EIDER on Sterling Lake at Sterling Forest State Park. I immediately turned my car around and started heading that direction. I connected with Linda Scrima and we made our way to the lake.

When we first arrived, we viewed the lake from behind the visitor’s center; it was raining pretty good and the fog was thick as pea soup. We could barely see more than 75 yards into the lake. We decided to relocate and we followed the blue trail on the west side of the lake. The viewing was much better and the fog seemed to be lifting just as we located a lone duck in the distance. I got it in the scope, and sure enough, it was an eider; very exciting! Now, the question was is it a King or a Common? We put the word out and tried our best to study and document. Photos were tough; between the lack of light and the distance, our ISOs were cranked up high so the photos would certainly be grainy. In my scope, I had some good looks that, to me showed some good King Eider field marks: warm brown coloring, a shorter, all dark bill will a little bit of slope and a pale area above the eye. But, neither of us had previous experience with the species, so I was hoping for help.

~One more shot of the EIDER SP. at Sterling Forest State Park, 12/14/19.~

Eventually Rob Stone, John Haas, and Bruce Nott showed up. Viewing the bird in our scopes, we all discussed the bird and went back and forth on the ID. Once home, I quickly edited pics and sent them around; now we await confirmation on the ID. I’ll be happy either way – both are Orange County life birds for me and both are super exciting. Excellent birding! Huge thanks again to Maria for the intel; I’ll post a follow up as soon as we know more about the ID.

Wow! Three Orange County ICELAND GULLS, 12/06/19

One of these days I’m going to write a post about timing and luck in birding. This afternoon I had an appointment in Newburgh. I scheduled it perfectly (do we create our own luck?), finishing my appointment in time to go to the Newburgh Waterfront to try for gulls before sunset. As luck would have it, there were many gulls present, mostly floating out on the river. I started scanning, and quickly got on a first winter ICELAND GULL.

~One of three ICELAND GULLS at the Newburgh Waterfront this evening, 12/06/19.~

Shortly after I got on the bird, many of the gulls picked up and and then put down on the roof of Gully’s. They didn’t stay for long and moved back onto the river. It took me a little while to relocate the bird, but when I did, it was with a second ICELAND GULL! I was able to document the two birds together before they once again flew from the river to the roof of Gully’s. John Cavalari joined me at that point and got his lifer Iceland Gull, which was awesome.

~Two Iceland Gulls on the Hudson River at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/06/19.~

John left and I decided to scan the remaining birds on the river one final time. When I did, I found a third Iceland Gull! I immediately pointed my scope back at the roof of Gully’s, and sure enough the other two were still there! Those of you who know me know how crazy I am for gulls; to get a single good gull in an evening makes me freak out. Imagine how I was with three! Awesome birding.

~Flying back to the roof of Gully’s, Iceland Gull 12/06/19.~

~Join the party! Iceland Gull landing on the roof of Gully’s at the Newburgh Waterfront 12/06/19.~

Orange County Northern Shrike, 11/17/19

This morning at Wisner Road in Warwick, I located a NORTHERN SHRIKE. I was freaking out because this bird is among my all time favorites. That was the good news. The bad news is that the bird was not very cooperative. Within five minutes of finding it, the bird took off from its distant perch and flew north. I tracked it in my scope as it disappeared behind trees in the distance.

~Northern Shrike at Wisner Road in Warwick, NY 11/17/19.~

Rob Stone joined me to help relocate, and then Bruce Nott after him. We checked the areas north as well as the area where I first saw the bird for a good long while (I tried for the next three hours), but unfortunately we were unable to relocate it. Hopefully that bird is still around; I was thrilled to get it, but for me a lot of the joy gets zapped if no one else gets the bird. Time will tell, I guess.