Rarities – Page 2 – Orange Birding

Orange County BLUE GROSBEAK, 07/12/24

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.~

Ulster County PACIFIC LOON, 07/07/24

Believe it or not, I enjoyed a three-loon morning today. In Ulster County. In July. I can safely say I’ve never had a three-loon day anywhere in our area, at any time of the year.

A little background. Yesterday morning, Jeanne Cimorelli located a PACIFIC LOON in a raft of Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir. To me this is a just a remarkable find. To begin with, finding nearly 20 Common Loons on a reservoir in Ulster County in July is something on its own. Add to that a rare Pacific Loon, which could have very easily been overlooked, and you have one very impressive observation.

I couldn’t run for the bird yesterday, so I was up and at ’em early this morning and luckily the birds stuck around. The icing on the cake was relocating the Red-throated Loon in breeding plumage at another area on the reservoir, giving a total of 3 loon species for the morning. This is not your typical summer birding, to say the least! Congrats to Jeanne on a great find.

~Pacific Loon with Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/07/24. The Pacific is the bird on the far right.~

~Fourth bird from the right: PACIFIC LOON at Ashokan Reservoir, 07/07/24.

SATURDAY SHOTS: I birded locally on Saturday, hoping that the storms that rolled through early in the morning. would have grounded some shorebirds. The black dirt yielded a couple of Least Sandpipers, several Spotted Sandpipers, and many Killdeer. At 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, I was able to relocate the Short-billed Dowitcher that I thought was long gone. That bird made my day – it’s always a good bird for the county, and its plumage was striking.

~Short-billed Dowitcher at 6 1/2 Station Rd. Sanctuary, 07/06/24.~

~Killdeer chick in the black dirt region, 07/06/24.~

~Killdeer in the onions. Black Dirt Region 07/06/24.~

~Eastern Meadowlark in the black dirt, 07/06/24.~

~Pacific Loon among Common Loons, Ashokan Reservoir, 07/07/24.~

Ulster County Red-throated Loon in July?!?!

I was feeling uninspired this morning when I woke up, so I looked at my emails to see what the rare bird alerts in our area held. Peter Schoenberger reported a RED-THROATED LOON at Ashokan Reservoir. I clicked on the report, and although distant, the photo he included was amazing – the bird was in beautiful plumage. I knew right then what my plans for the morning were.

A couple of hours later, I was at the reservoir and had relocated the bird. It was distant, as I assumed it would be, but still, I got great scope views of something that who knows if we will ever see again in the area – a RTLO in breeding plumage. I’m half tempted to go again tomorrow morning in the hopes that the bird will be closer to the shore. What a treat!

Anyways, here are my photos – super duper heavy crop here! The bird was out there! Huge thanks to Peter for posting.

Wow! Orange County AMERICAN AVOCET, 06/30/24

I woke up this morning with shorebirds on my mind. My early stops (Camel Farm, Liberty Loop, & and Beaver Pond) didn’t yield any, with the exception of Killdeer. My final stop, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, however, had a doozy in store for me – an AMERICAN AVOCET. After scanning for a while and only finding more Killdeer, I was shocked to see an American Avocet in my scope view. I put the word out, and several birders came and enjoyed the bird. Additionally, after I left, Jeanne Cimorelli located a Short-billed Dowitcher, another excellent bird for the county.

~Exciting stuff! American Avocet at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/30/24.~

~Another look at today’s bird of the day -American Avocet at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/30/24.~

In other news, on Saturday morning, I went to Hickok Brook Multiple Use Area to try for Ruffed Grouse. Historically a good spot for grouse, I did not have any luck yesterday. I enjoyed a pleasant 5.25 mile walk, which was birdy and I enjoyed seeing my first porcupine of the year.

~Porcupine chowing on a leaf at Hickok Brook MUA, 06/29/23.

~I heard MANY Black-throated Green Warblers at Hickok Brook on Saturday, 06/29/24, but only a few were actually seen. The lighting was terrible all morning so super high ISO for these photos.~

~A young American Robin at Beaver Pond, 06/30/24.~

~Great Blue Heron in flight at Liberty Loop, 06/30/24.~

Orange County Kentucky Warbler, 06/01/24

While I was at work on Wednesday afternoon, birding bud Bruce Nott called me to let me know he had a KENTUCKY WARBLER at Mine Road. I was unable to make it out to try for the bird until this morning, but fortunately the bird hung in there and was still present. This was far and away the best experience I’ve ever had with this species – I’ve only ever had poor/distant looks previously, with no photos. The bird mostly stayed in the shadows while I was there, which made it a little bit difficult for photos – here are my results. Congrats to Bruce for yet another great find.

~Wow! Kentucky Warbler at Mine Road, 06/01/24.~

Excellent Morning, 05/27/24

I woke up late and with low birding exceptions. Things started out pretty well when I ran into Kyle Knapp in the black dirt and we enjoyed photographing one of the most confiding Grasshopper Sparrows I’ve ever come across (see photos below). But, it wasn’t until I went to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary afterwards, that things got really good. I arrived and almost immediately found an adult LITTLE BLUE HERON. I was really surprised by this, as we have only had an adult in Orange County one other time that I know of. I took some quick photos, and put the word out. At some point, when I was looking at my phone or camera, the bird had just disappeared…

Enter Dave Hultgren. We had never met before today, but I saw him further up the trail, so I went to him to see if he saw the bird fly. He did not just then, but he informed me that earlier, he had TWO adult Little Blue Herons! I walked further up the trail trying to relocate the birds, and sure enough, when I found one, I found two! It was pretty cool. Several other birders came to see the herons; Bruce Nott found a couple of Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a Least Sandpiper. Then, John Haas found a slightly larger sandpiper – it was a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER! What a great morning!

~Little Blue Heron at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 05/27/24.~

~Make that TWO Little Blue Herons! 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 05/27/24.~

~Grasshopper Sparrow in the Black Dirt, belting it out! 05/27/24.

~Grasshopper Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 05/27/24.~

Wow! Orange County Tricolored Heron, 05/13/24

Towards the end of the work day today, Karen Miller reported a Glossy Ibis at Beaver Pond, near Glenmere Lake. Linda Scrima ran for the bird, and not only did she get the ibis, she also located a TRICOLORED HERON! I ran for the bird after work, and fortunately it was still present. The bird was a little bit distant, but views in my scope were spectacular. It was actually a little jarring to see this beautiful bird right here in Orange County. Unfortunately, the bird flew, heading south, right around 6:30. Some of the birders present were going to go to the Liberty Loop to see if it showed up there, but as of this writing, I haven’t heard anything. This is the second documented siting of this species in OC, the previous was found by Ken McDermott in Cornwall Bay, way back in 1982! Congratulations to Linda on another great find.

All images taken at Beaver Pond in Florida, NY on 05/13/24.

Making Up For Lost Time

Wow, it was a very birdy weekend for me. Being away, there were plenty of birds that moved into the area that I hadn’t gotten yet for the year, so when I finally got back to it this weekend, I added a remarkable 34 new species to my Orange County 2024 year list. This put my year total at 167 (see my list of all the birds I added this weekend below). My birdiest spot was Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis, where I added 16 species in just about an hour’s time.

My most exciting bird was tracking down the NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, which has recently returned to the Newburgh Waterfront area (thanks to Bruce Nott for the heads up). Unfortunately, as birdy as it was, I did not have many photo ops, so here is a distant shot of the Neotropic Cormorant doing a nice wing flap.

~NEOTROPIC CORMORANT returns to Newburgh! Taken just south of Quassaick Creek, 05/12/24.~

Wow! Orange County LITTLE GULL!

I was on the golf course this morning when Jeanne Cimorelli reported that she briefly had a LITTLE GULL at Washington Lake. Fortunately, larophile extraordinaire Bruce Nott relocated the bird a little later at Plum Point. After golf, I ran for the bird, convinced that I had only a very slim chance of getting it. Fortunately the bird stuck around, associating with a large flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls on the Hudson River just north of Plum Point. I was thrilled to get on the bird on the water – at first it was a challenge to find it among the 70 or so Bonies, but then it got a little easier. Then the flock took flight, and that’s when finding the bird was easy, its dark underwings showing up very well. I believe this is the first county record of Little Gull; the bird was a life bird for me.

~It was really exciting to see this bird – LITTLE GULL at Plum Point 04/20/24. I would have loved to get closer looks and pics, but this could very well end up being a once in a lifetime occurrence, so I’m just thrilled to have gotten the bird.~

LITTLE GULL in flight amongst 70 or so Bonaparte’s Gulls, Plum Point, 04/20/24.~

OC Red-headed Woodpecker, 03/02/24

A mostly uneventful, rainy morning was saved when I found a single RED-HEADED WOODPECKER at the south end of Brown’s Pond. It’s been a few years since I’ve had this species in the county (others have had it), so for me it was good to see one. The bird was working some dead trees on the far side of the pond, so photos were difficult but I was able to at least document it. The only other noteworthy birds this morning was a quartet of distant Red-breasted Mergansers which I viewed on the Hudson River from Donahue Memorial Park.