photos – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 12/07/25

Well it was quite a weekend of birding! The big excitement was, of course, the record-breaking number of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE on Saturday. It was an exciting find for me, and it seems like a lot of birders have gotten to see them in the past day and a half. Other notable observations included:

(13) Sandhill Cranes at the Liberty Loop
White-crowned Sparrow, Gambel’s subspecies, also at the Liberty Loop
Great Horned Owl in the Black Dirt Region
Common Loon at Wickham Lake, just after sunrise Sunday morning, complete with beautiful calling
Northern Yellow Warbler and Blackpoll Warbler at Newburgh Waterfront
Loads of Horned Larks, a large flock of Snow Buntings, and a single Lapland Longspur (still no photo this season!)

~I didn’t think I would be posting a colorful warbler photo in early December. Blackpoll Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/078/25.~

~Great Horned Owl in the black dirt, 12/06/25.~

~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 12/07/25.~

~Ring-necked Duck at Round Lake, 12/07/25.

~I love this pose! Northern Mockingbird at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/07/25.~

~I haven’t photographed one of these dudes in a while. Hooded Merganser at Round Lake, 12/07/25.~

~Terrible photo of a remarkable 13 Sandhill Cranes at the Liberty Loop, 12/06/25.~

Sunday Shots, 11/30/25

Winter birding is here, which I definitely enjoy – I love getting out in the cold weather and seeing what’s around. And was a long weekend, so I got out a decent amount and I covered a lot of ground in the county. The only real excitement was finding and photographing a lovely pair of River Otters, which is always a treat. Otherwise, it was mostly the usuals, with some modest highlights thrown in – I had some Purple Finches at Harriman Park, a couple of Cackling Geese in the pond on Carpenter Road, a single Snow Goose in with a large flock of Canadas flying over the black dirt, and I did pretty well with raptors over the weekend, with 9 species making a showing (Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel, and Merlin).

~One final shot – OC River Otter 11/29/25.~

~Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Sterling Forest, 11/29/25.~

~One of many, many Horned Larks in the black dirt these days. This one was taken 11/28/25.~

~A young Northern Harrier in flight in the Black Dirt Region, 11/28/25.~

~Cackling Goose in the black dirt, 11/28/25.~

~European Starlings in flight in the black dirt, 11/30/25.~

Sunday Shots, 11/23/25

This weekend’s birding was a little bit of a mixed bag. Saturday morning I checked some nearby lakes and then went to the Newburgh Waterfront. I was hoping for any sort of interesting waterfowl but unfortunately I came up completely empty. I stopped by Kendridge Farm on my way home, and was able to salvage the morning by finding a couple of Fox Sparrows – my first of year. It was my 210th species of the year in Orange County. In the afternoon, I went out to the black dirt for a little while. It was mostly quiet, but I did find (4) young Bald Eagles on Lynch Avenue.

~Rock Pigeon flock in flight out in the black dirt, 11/23/25.. I do not recall seeing this behavior by Rock Pigeons in the black dirt before – it was a sizable flock of approximately 50 birds and they kept flying and landing in an old corn field.~

Sunday was a better day for me. I took a nice hike at Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis first thing. It was a pleasant and birdy walk. Highlights included many Red-breasted Nuthatches and (4) Golden-crowned Kinglets. Noticeably, I did not hear any Red Crossbills flying over. Afterwards, I went to the black dirt and had a productive visit. I had a large flock of Snow Buntings (60+ birds); thank you to Karen Miller for the heads up. There were loads of Horned Larks flying around in loose flocks – I dipped on Lapland Longspur, but I was able to find a nice flock of American Pipits (approximately 30+ birds). My best bird of the day was a single Vesper Sparrow; it’s always nice to catch up with that species.

~Vesper Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 11/23/25.~

~I always enjoy a good flock of Snow Buntings. Black Dirt Region, 11/23/25.~

~Eastern Bluebird at Reservoir 3, 11/23/25.~

~One of four young Bald Eagles in the black dirt on Saturday afternoon, 11/22/25.~

~Red-tailed Hawk in flight over the black dirt, 11/22/25.~

~Eastern Bluebird at Res 3 near Port Jervis, 11/23/25.~

~White-tailed Deer buck photographed during my travels through OC on Saturday morning, 11/22/25.~

Sunday Shots, 11/02/25

This morning I checked Wickham Lake and Glenmere Lake. There wasn’t much exciting going on at either lake, so I headed over to the Black Dirt Region, where I found my first Lapland Longspur, Snow Buntings, and Cackling Goose of the season. Other than that, I was just hoping to get some photos for the day – I finally got lucky with some American Pipits in the nice morning light, and I thought a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds in a field of dead sunflowers made for some interesting images.

~American Pipit in the black dirt, 11/02/25.~

~One more pipit image from the Black Dirt Region this morning, 11/02/25.~

~Red-winged Blackbirds in the black dirt, 11/02/25.~

~Mute Swans on a foggy morning at Wickham Lake, 11/02/25.~

~And finally, one more image of the Coyote I saw yesterday at Wickham Woodlands TP, 11/01/25.~

Sunday Shots, 10/19/25

First thing this morning I checked a few local lakes but didn’t have much luck so I switched gears and went the Liberty Loop and then continued birding through a bit of the black dirt region, and I finished up at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. It was a pleasant but mostly uneventful morning of birding. There were plenty of birds around, but nothing exciting. I did manage to get a few shots to share this evening. though.

~Black Vulture in the Black Dirt Region, 10/19/25.~

~I don’t photograph Mute Swans very often, but the light was pleasant first thing this morning at Wickham Lake, 10/19/25.~

~Eastern Bluebird at Wickham Lake, 10/19/25.~

~And one more Eastern Bluebird shot. I enjoyed a few minutes with a small flock at Wickham Lake before they moved on.~

Sunday Shots, 09/21/25

I birded the black dirt and 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary this morning. I didn’t have any targets in mind, I just wanted to see what was happening. It was a birdy and enjoyable outing; notably I had my first fall American Pipits of the season, a dozen or so lingering American Golden-plovers, and an impressively large flock of Tree Swallows. Savannah Sparrows were also quite numerous. At 6 1/2 Station Road, conditions continue to be less than optimal, with high water levels and no birds of note. I was hoping for another look at the Sora, but I was unable to relocate it. Here is a handful of shots from the morning.

~Tree Swallows in a corn field in the black dirt, 09/21/25.~

~Mourning Dove in the Black Dirt Region, 09/21/25.~

~American Golden-plover in the black dirt, 09/21/25.~

~A young Red-shouldered Hawk at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 09/21/25.~

~Savannah Sparrow in the black dirt, 09/21/25.~

~Male Wood Duck at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 09/21/25.~

Sunday Shots, 09/07/25

Saturday was pretty much a dud for me. I started the day up at Mount Peter Hawkwatch; when I arrived it was socked in with fog. I counted for 4 1/2 hours when a big storm rolled through and I left (with 0 migrating raptors counted). Hopefully this is not an indication of how this season will go for me.

This morning was much better – at my first stop I found a nice collection of shorebirds. The highlight was a couple of BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS. There was also a huge flock of American Golden-Plovers – probably between 40 and 50 birds. Additional species included Pectoral Sandpipers and, of course, plenty of Killdeer. Later at the Camel Farm, I had a couple of Wilson’s Snipe and a handful of Least Sandpipers. At the Liberty Loop platform, I had a single Semipalmated Sandpiper. And finally, at Winding Waters Trail, I had a Spotted Sandpiper and a Greater Yellowlegs. That’s a total of (9) species of shorebirds, not too shabby. And, in my travels, I found a pair of Sandhill Cranes in range for some photos.

As always, I took photos as I went; several of these were actually taken earlier this week, on Labor Day. Unfortunately all the shorebirds from today were just too distant for any good shots.

~American Goldfinch on Missionland Road, 09/01/25.~

~Sandhill Crane in the Black Dirt Region, 09/07/25.~

~Red-tailed Hawk in the black dirt, 09/07/25.~

~Chestnut-sided Warbler at Winding Waters Trail, 09/01/25.~

~A second Sandhill Crane in the black dirt on 09/07/25.~

~Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Missionland Road, 09/01/25.~

~Red-tailed Hawk on a pile of crates in the black dirt, 09/07/25.~

~Great Egret at Bullville Pond, 09/01/25.~

Sunday Shots, 08/24/25

After last night’s Uppy excitement, today was relatively uneventful. Kyle Knapp let me know early in the day that he had (3) Baird’s Sandpipers in the black dirt; I eventually caught up with those birds later in the morning alongside Bev, Rich, and Diane. There was young birder there as well; it was only his second trip to the black dirt. We got him on the birds and it was a lifer for him, so that was exciting. I did some running around prior to that, hoping for more shorebirds. At 6 1/2 Station Road I had just (8) Least Sandpipers; Bullville Pond had high water levels and just a single Spotted Sandpiper. The platform at Liberty Marsh had a similar situation with high water and no shorebirds at all. As always, I took photos as I went, so here’s the latest batch.

~Horned Lark in nice light in the black dirt 08/23/25.~

~Great Blue Heron at Echo Lake, 08/23/25.~

~Upland Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/23/25.~

~Upland Sandpipers can make some quirky movements – here’s one caught in a funny position in the Black Dirt Region, 08/23/25. ~

~This image is from a couple weeks back, but I never got around to posting it. Least Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/11/25.~

~There are MANY Bobolinks on the move right now. I seemed to hear them everywhere I went this weekend. BOBO in the black dirt 08/24/25.~

Young Horned Larks

I went out to the black dirt three nights this week, and again this morning, hoping for shorebirds of course. Unfortunately, notable shorebirds were not in the cards; the only shorebirds I found were Killdeer (many!), a handful of Least Sandpipers, and a single Semipalmated Sandpiper. As a consolation prize, on a couple of evenings I spent some time with some young Horned Larks. I think they have a fantastic look at this age – it’s obvious that they are larks, but at the same time they look like an entirely different bird. The photos with the nice golden look were taken on 08/11/25 and the others were taken on 08/14/25.

Sunday Shots, 08/03/25

Well, there wasn’t much happening this weekend with one exception: On Saturday morning, in the black dirt, I relocated a DICKCISSEL that Bruce Nott had originally found on Thursday morning but hadn’t been seen since. It was a nice surprise for me – I figured that bird was a one-hit wonder for sure. Otherwise, not much was going on, so I’m supplementing this weeks shots with some recent shots from my back yard. Hopefully things will really start to pick up this coming week.