~A distant shot of the Sandhill Crane today at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/26/16.~
QUICK POST: Huge thanks to Kathy Ashman, who texted while I was at work to let me know she had located a SANDHILL CRANE at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. I ran for the bird after getting out of work this afternoon; Maria Loukeris met me at the sanctuary and got me on the bird very quickly (thanks!). Which was a good thing, because shortly after my arrival, the bird picked up and relocated deep into the reeds and out of sight. The bird was distant, but I was still super excited to see this excellent bird and get some documentary photos. And, of course, it was great to get it in Orange County and add it to my year list (#208).
~Wow! Two SURF SCOTERS with four Canada Geese at Wickham Lake, 10/10/16.~
After work I went to Wickham Lake to see if any good waterfowl had moved in. I’d read a report from Scotty Baldinger that he and John Haas had 8 Black Scoters and one White-winged Scoter at Neversink Reservoir earlier in the day, so I was hoping for scoters as well. I located two scoters, very distant out on the lake. I did not have a guide book with me because I’d used Tricia’s car for birding over the weekend and forgotten it there. I did a quick google search and thought I came up with a good match with White-winged. I did my best to take some usable photos and I put the word out. Rob Stone went for the birds later in the evening and he was thinking the birds were more likely SURF SCOTERS. I checked my guides, and I sent my pics to Rob and John who both agreed that the birds were SUSCs. Here are some of the indicators – first, no white was seen on the wings (this is not conclusive because depending on how the bird is sitting in the water, a WWSC might not show any white on the wings). But, more importantly, the pattern of white on the face of the bird runs up and down; this is indicative of the straight edge of the bill of a Surf Scoter (for WWSC it projects forward due to the shape of its bill). And, also, the head has a dark capped look and has a more blocky appearance than WWSC. This is my 235th life bird in Orange County and number 206 on my OC year list. Thanks to Rob and John for helping out on this one!
Update: I forgot to include this last night when I posted – I wanted to mention quickly that this post is a bit of a milestone here at Orange Birding; it’s the 500th post! Here’s to 500 more!
QUICK POST: This afternoon, Linda Scrima, Kyle Dudgeon, and I ran to Wickham Lake for a BLACK SCOTER that was located earlier in the day by Rob Stone. When we arrived, the bird was very distant, but identifiable with scope views. Kyle had to run, but Linda and I walked the trail on the east side of the lake to get a better look and some photos. The bird was closer from that side of the lake, but spent most of its time tucked in. It finally untucked a couple of times and I was able to get some documentary shots of the bird. I was particularly excited because it was the 205th species I’ve had in Orange County this year. Thanks once again to Rob Stone, who just keeps finding great birds.
Another highlight was seeing a pair of Bald Eagles sharing a branch as a perch. It was a little bit distant, but I’ve included a photo of the cute couple.
~Black Scoter with Ruddy Ducks at Wickham Lake, 10/9/16.~~It was pretty cool to see this couple of Bald Eagles perched together. Wickham Lake, 10/9/16.~~Earlier in the day, Kyle and I went to State Line Hawkwatch. In spite of the rain that was falling, many Bald Eagles and Osprey were flying. Grainy shot of a Bald Eagle over the Hudson River, 10/9/16.~
~What?!? An unobscured photo of a Connecticut Warbler? Winding Waters Trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 9/25/16.~
I met Linda Scrima out at Winding Waters Trail early this morning; I was hoping to get my first Lincoln’s Sparrow of the year, and we thought maybe we would get lucky with the Connecticut Warbler for Linda. Just a short way down the trail, Linda got me on a Lincoln’s Sparrow in very nice light. As we worked our way toward the area where the Connecticut Warbler has been seen, a group of birders caught up with us. It was Scott Baldinger, Karen Miller, Bruce Nott, Jody Brodski and Diane Bliss (who actually caught up with all of us further down the trail). I was thinking that I did not like our odds of relocating the CONW with such a large group, but we would try our best. It was a very birdy morning on the trail and having all the extra eyes helped locate many birds. We did particularly well with warblers; Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Black-throated Green Warbler were all seen well (it was my lifer Tennessee Warbler – woohoo!). The one warbler that was not cooperating was the Connecticut, at least not for a good while. Then, a bird popped up just to the left of me and Jody. We both got on the bird quickly and knew it was the CONNECTICUT WARBLER! It perched briefly and then moved further up and into another tree. We were trying frantically to get everyone on the bird, which then crossed the path and perched in some ivy high up on a tree trunk. It eventually showed itself very well on an open branch in good light and I was lucky enough to get a photo. AND, everyone in the group was able to get on the bird! I was really shocked that it worked out, and everyone was pretty giddy about it. The bird was a life bird for everyone in the group outside of myself and Scotty. Pretty exciting birding!
As a side note, Jody had a flyover of a Sandhill Crane in the Black Dirt Region on her way to Winding Waters. I ran around a little bit afterwards, as did Bruce and Jody, but as of this writing no-one had any luck relocating that bird.
~A sweet looking Lincoln’s Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, 9/25/16.~~Tennessee Warbler at Winding Waters Trail, 9/25/16.~~Not as good a photo, but I wanted to include this TEWA with prey,. Winding Waters Trail 9/25/16.~
~ WOW! CONNECTICUT WARBLER at Winding Waters Trail, 9/23/16.~
I went out to the Winding Waters Trail at Walkill River National Wildlife Refuge two times today, hoping to relocate one of the two Connecticut Warblers that Rob Stone had there this week. I was there in the morning, but unfortunately there was no sign of the bird(s).
I ended up going back in the evening, as I was walking the trail a bird popped up out of the underbrush and perched about 4 feet up. I looked in my binoculars and saw the prominent eye ring and began taking photos. It was a CONNECTICUT WARBLER! The bird quickly returned to the underbrush and I never saw or heard it again. This is a life bird for me (#370), and also, more excitingly, my 200th bird in Orange County this year! I, of course, wish I’d gotten better photos, but really, I’m happy to have gotten any shots at all. Huge thanks once again to Rob Stone, what an excellent bird!
~ I’m including several poor photos of the bird; Connecticut Warbler at Wallkill River’s Winding Waters Trail, 9/23/16.~~CONW at Winding Waters Trail, 9/23/16.~~One more angle; Connecticut Warbler at Winding Waters Trail, 9/23/16.~
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 Lesser Yellowlegs feeds at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary’s Citgo Pond, 8/27/16.~
I spent nearly all my birding time this weekend looking for shorebirds in Orange County. Saturday was a bit of a bust, in spite of favorable overnight winds. Today was another story. I got out to the black dirt early while it was still on the cool side. At my first stop I had a small shorebird flyover with a small flock of Killdeer. I watched the bird in my binoculars until it was out of sight, never to be identified. At my second stop, I had a similar experience, but this time the bird put down about three fields over. I got on it with my scope and it looked like a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER! I followed the bird, walking on the road as the bird worked the field. I would stop every so often when the bird would come to an area unobstructed by grasses and put down my scope for a look or to take some photos, becoming more and more convinced that it was a BBSA. I eventually lost the bird, so I walked the road to the other side of the field to try and relocate it. At first I could not find it, but I did see in the middle of the field, a single AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER! Very exciting! Of course, at the time I wasn’t sure exactly which plover it was (American Golden or Black-bellied), I figured that out later. I eventually relocated the Buff-breasted Sandpiper and it was with a second Buffie. Then I heard a call I was unfamiliar with – I looked away from the scope to see 3 more American Golden-Plovers coming in! I took photos as the birds came in to land on the field – showing clear wing pits (not black as would be seen in Black-bellied). I had put the word out earlier, but unfortunately, before anyone arrived to see the birds, a low flying plane flushed first the plovers, followed shortly afterwards by the Buffies. Kathy, Scotty, Bruce, and I combed the area but came up empty. Sorry for the poor photos of these birds, but they were extremely distant and the heat shimmer was terrible.
I did check 6 1/2 Station Road’s Citgo Pond in the early afternoon, but I did not locate any new birds – I found basically the same birds as were present on Thursday, minus the Baird’s Sandiper and the Greater Yellowlegs.
~One of the hundreds of Killdeer in the black dirt, 8/28/16.~ ~American Golden-Plover in the black dirt, 8/28/16.~ ~Three American Golden-Plovers coming in for a landing. Notice the lack of black wing pits, indicating AMGP. Black Dirt 8/28/16.~ ~A distant partially obstructed shot of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Note the small squarish head on a slim neck and the bird’s erect stance. Black Dirt 8/28/16.~ ~In the scope the bird’s yellowish legs could be made out. BBSA in the black dirt, 8/28/16.~ ~A young Cooper’s Hawk seen while searching for shorebirds. No wonder there were none at this location. Black Dirt 8/27/16.~ ~It was good to see some Horned Larks this weekend. Black Dirt 8/28/16.~
Okay, so I guess I can keep calling the blog Orange Birding. This evening I just wanted to make a quick stop at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary’s Citgo Pond to check the water levels, because when I was there on Friday the levels were too high and there were no shorebirds present. Well, the water levels were still high and there were still no shorebirds, but I found a welcome surprise: a BLACK TERN! When I arrived the bird was perched on the ground, but it took flight not long after I got on the bird and never set down again. The bird flew around the pond, hunting continuously and splashing into the water from time to time. I put the word out and John Haas, Karen Miller, and Diane Bliss were all able to run for the bird. Bad weather was moving in quickly, so we ended up having to hustle out of there to beat storms. It was a nice looking bird and we got good, if slightly distant views – all my pics are cropped within an inch of their lives. This is my 193rd species for Orange County this year.
~BLTE, wings down at Citgo Pond, 8/16/16.~~Black Tern right after splash down on the water. Citgo Pond, 8/16/16.~
~Love, love, loved this bird! WILSON’S PHALAROPE at DeKorte Park, 8/15/16.~
Okay, so at what point do I change the name of this blog to Bergen Birding? Over the weekend, another GREAT bird – a WILSON’S PHALAROPE, was located at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. I didn’t go for it then, I but today after work, I ran for the bird and luckily the bird not only stuck around, it was very accommodating for photos. I was talking with Chris Takacs while viewing the bird, and he indicated that this was likely a young bird. The bird is absolutely beautiful, white as white can be with a long very thin and pointy bill. It fed nearly the entire time I was there, only stopping to preen and then relax for a short time. This is the second time I’ve seen a Wilson’s Phalarope, my lifer was at the Liberty Loop back in April of 2013.
Huge thanks to both Maria Loukeris and Denise Farrel, who kept me posted with the alerts for this bird today.
~Beautiful bird. Wilson’s Phalarope at DeKorte Park, 8/15/16.~~WIPH at DeKorte, 8/15/16.~~I had to include at least one water flick shot. Wilson’s Phalarope at DeKorte Park, 8/15/16.~~There were many other shorebirds close by too, but I barely paused to take their photos. Lesser Yellowlegs at DeKorte Park, 8/15/16. ~~And for comparison, a Greater Yellowlegs at DeKorte Park 8/15/16.~~This is not a bird I’ve been this close to before. Short-billed Dowitcher at DeKorte, 8/15/16.
~Wow! RUFF at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst NJ, 8/21/16.~
QUICK POST: I’m going to try to keep this short because it’s late and I’m tired. It’s remarkable to me how much luck plays a part in birding. After work today, thanks to some prodding from Maria Loukeris, I ran for the RUFF that has been reported in recent days out at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. I searched for the bird for over 2 1/2 hours from the Transco Trail, along with several other birders and then I decided to head home. On my way back to my car, I ran into Chris Takacs on the boardwalk; Chris had originally located the bird over a week ago. While we were talking, a group of yellowlegs flew over and Chris commented that it looked like the Ruff might have been in with them. Moments later, he received a text – he was right, the Ruff had just come in! We headed back out to the Transco Trail and sure enough the bird was still present! What an incredible bird, and I was so lucky to get it! I got great scope views and tried to take some photos and video – none came out very well, but I did get to document it. The Ruff is life bird #368 for me. Huge thanks to Maria for letting me know the bird had been relocated today, and also to Chris Takacs for all his help out there.
