photos – Page 2 – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 06/23/24

We are in the summer doldrums of birding. Especially with the heat wave that we are currently experiencing. That said, it didn’t stop Bruce Nott from finding two exciting birds this week at the Newburgh Waterfront: a Lesser Black-backed Gull and a LAUGHING GULL. I ran for the birds Saturday morning and while I was successful with the Lesser Black-backed, I dipped on the Laughing.

On Sunday I birded the black dirt, including Liberty Marsh, where I first heard, and then saw my first Least Bittern of the year. It sounded like the bird was pretty deep in the marsh, but when I eventually found it, while it was a little bit out there, it was in plain sight and scope views were excellent. Photos not so much, but that’s how it goes sometimes (I’ve included a doc-shot at the bottom of this post). Regardless, I was out and about and taking photos as usual this weekend, so I hope you enjoy this week’s Sunday Shots.

~Nice find by Bruce Nott – Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 06/22/24.~

~Lesser Black-backed Gull in flight, Newburgh Waterfront 06/22/24.~

~I believe this is a young Orchard Oriole at Winding Waters Trail last weekend, 06/16/24.

~It’s that time of year again. Killdeer chick in the black dirt, 06/23/24.

~Killdeer close-up. Black dirt 06/23/24.~

~This was a first for me – a Grasshopper Sparrow singing on a perch on the ground. Black dirt region, o6/23/24.~

~Green Heron at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/16/24.~

~Least Bittern at Liberty Marsh, 06/23/24.~

Sunday Shots, 06/02/24

The most exciting bird of the weekend was definitely yesterday’s KENTUCKY WARBLER. Aside from that, it was just the usuals as we start slipping into summer birding mode. Fortunately the mornings were still cool which made for very enjoyable birding conditions. I had one exciting sighting which was not bird related – I witnessed a Gray Fox run across the road as I was driving on Route 50 in New Hampton. It was the first time I’ve ever seen one. Here’s a handful of shots from the weekend.

~One of many Bank Swallows at Hoops Road in Middletown, NY 06/02/24.~

~Goldfinches appear to everywhere right now. This one was in the black dirt, 06/01/24.~

~Horned Lark just after sunrise in the Black Dirt Region, 06/02/24.~

~A young European Starling on a pile of onions in the black dirt, 0601/24. I love all the flying insects in this shot!~

~One more Bank Swallow shot. Hoops Road 06/02/24.~

Sunday Shots, 05/26/24

With songbird migration winding down, and no real weather moving through, my expectations for this weekend were relatively low. And maybe because of that, I really enjoyed the past couple of days. In addition to several songbird locations, I tried for shorebirds in the county – in primarily three locations:

6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary: Conditions are quite good at this location right now, but unfortunately I haven’t had much variety. Shorebirds included Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover, Least Sandpiper, and Spotted Sandpiper.
Camel Farm: Conditions are not great (water is a little high), but I was thinking it might still be good for phalarope species. I had no luck with phalaropes, in fact on Saturday I had no shorebirds at all. On Sunday I faired a tiny bit better and had Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Sandpiper (my first of the year).
Hudson River Near Newburgh: I arrived at Plum Point right at low tide on Sunday morning and scanned the sandbar. I came up empty at first, but then the highlight of my weekend, a pair of CASPIAN TERNS flew in and landed. I joined up with birding bud Bruce Nott and we checked the sandbar at the mouth of the Quassaick Creek, where we found a single Killdeer and a Least Sandpiper. Afterwards, Bruce relocated the NEOTROPIC CORMORANT near the ferry, so I went over and enjoyed excellent looks but battled a backlit situation for photos.

~Neotropic Cormorant continues at the Newburgh Waterfront, 05/26/24.~

As we’ve come to expect, good photos for shorebirds in Orange County are tough to come by. But, I did take a lot of other photos, and I’m also playing a little catch up with some photos that I never got to last weekend.

~Belted Kingfisher at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 05/18/24.~

~American Redstart at Pochuck Mountain. I haven’t birded this location much in recent years, so I decided to spend some time there on Saturday morning. It was birdy enough to keep me interested, but really there was not much too exciting. Four Yellow-billed Cuckoos was a highlight.

~Ruby-throated Hummingbird, our yard, 05/18/24.~

~This pair is kind of cracking me up. I keep seeing them way out in the same field in the black dirt region. I took this shot on 05/18/24.~

~Great Blue Heron at Beaver Pond on 05/21/24. I was trying for the Tricolored Heron, but I had no luck.

~A pair of Snapping Turtles (yes there is another one under the water), presumably mating at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 0/26/24.~

~Gray Squirrel with a nut in our yard earlier this week.~

Cape Cod 2024

Tricia and I enjoyed a five day weekend on Cape Cod last weekend. The weather was a mixed bag and it felt like we had all four seasons during those five days and the birding was very enjoyable and relatively productive. I had 63 species for the trip (see complete list at the bottom of this post). This is up 11 species from when we last visited during the same week back in 2022. That said, nearly all the birds where what I would consider ‘expected’ species; the only out of the ordinary birds I had for the entire trip were a handful of very distant, unidentified flying alcids at Race Point on 05/07/24. The bird of the trip for me, was Red-throated Loon. I went to Race Point on 05/04/24 & 05/07/24 and High Head Beach on 05/05/24, and both places were absolutely loaded with Red-throated Loons (and a pretty good showing of Common Loons as well). What I really enjoyed about the RTLOs, was that many were in or nearly in breeding plumage – something that I’ve never seen before.

~A Red-throated Loon just off shore at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

As readers of the blog know, gulls are maybe at the top of my favorite types of birds. I was disappointed with the trip in this regard -in addition to the 4 expected species (Laughing, Herring, Great Black-backed, & Ring-billed), I only had a handful of distant Bonaparte’s Gulls. Two years ago, I had absolutely loads of Bonies, as well as Lesser Black-backed, Iceland, and Glaucous!

As for mammals, in the water I had Gray Seals, Humpback Whales, and a Fin Whale. I met an old timer at Race Point – he had a Right Whale feeding before I ran into him, but unfortunately I was unable to relocate it. I was bummed, because that would have been amazing. On land, of note I had two Coyote sitings, both on my drive out to Race Point very early in the morning on 05/07/24.

~Red-thoated Loon in nice plumage at Race Point, 05/04/24.~

One final thing. It struck me during this trip was how different being at the shore is aesthetically, as compared to Orange County. There is an airy, light feel to the surroundings and regardless of the weather, the palette seems to have more of a pastel quality to it, which I really enjoyed, both just existing in it and photographing it.

~You can’t miss these guys at Race Point. Piping Plover in the early morning sun on 05/04/24.~

~Herring Gull with a nice meal, flying over Wellfleet Harbor, right across the street from the place we stayed, 05/06/24.~

~Willet perched high on vegetation during a hike I took at Great Island Trail, 05/06/24.~

~Common Loon, Wellfleet Harbor 05/06/24.~

~Laughing Gull in flight at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~Red-breasted Mergansers were present in MASSIVE numbers every day I was on the cape. This crew was shot at Race Point on 05/07/24.~

~Herring Gull at Wellfleet Harbor, 05/06/24.~

~A Gray Seal came in for a closer look at me on the shore at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~This was awesome – I’ve never seen it before. This Humpback Whale was repeatedly slapping its pectoral flipper on the water! High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~Fin Whale at High Head Beach, 05/05/24.~

~Selfie at Race Point, 05/07/24. I believe those are Coyote tracks over my shoulder.~

Cape Cod 2024 Teaser

Tricia and I spent a long, lovely weekend on Cape Cod. I did loads of birding, of course, and I took many, many photos which will take some time to get through before I can post. It was really great to get away for a few days – when I wasn’t birding I was resting, relaxing and enjoying some great seafood. I look forward to sharing my experiences once I’ve edited all these photos (I am really curious to see how they turned out).

~A pair of White-winged Scoters doing a fly-by at High Head Beach, Truro 05/05/24.~

Sunday Shots, 04/28/24

I did my usual running around the county this weekend, looking for birds. It’s a good time of year, as there are plenty of new birds around. I added 11 new species to my Orange County year list; most were the usuals and not entirely exciting, but on Saturday morning, I was able to see a Black-crowned Night Heron at the mouth of Quassaick Creek just south of Newburgh. These days that’s a pretty good bird for the county, and it’s been seen in that location now for several years. Warblers and other songbirds are starting to trickle in, but I haven’t been in the right place / right time just yet. I added Yellow Warble, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Redstart, and Warbling Vireo over the weekend. For shorebirds, I only added Solitary Sandpiper, but I was happy to see that 6 1/2 Station Road has good shorebird conditions and a number both Yellowlegs present – thanks to Linda Scrima for the heads up.

Next weekend we are heading to Cap Cod, so I’m looking forward to birding there for a few days and sharing my experiences here on the blog.

~Black-crowned Night Heron at Quassaick Creek, 04/27/24.~

~Red-winged Blackbird at Beaver Pond on Friday evening, 04/26/24.~

~Tree Swallow at Quassaick Creek, 04/27/24.~

~Wild Turkey at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 04/27/24. Is this a crazy looking bird or what?!?

~Great Blue Heron with a nice catch. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 04/28/24.~

~Another Tree Swallow, this one at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 04/28/24.~

Sunday Shots, 04/21/24

It was definitely an exciting week of birding for me; you can read about yesterday’s LITTLE GULL here, and Thursday’s Red-necked Grebe here. Meanwhile, I’ve also enjoyed some less exciting but still good birding as well this week. On Tuesday evening I went to Wickham Lake – I enjoyed some decent looks at a Common Loon and tried my hand at photographing swallows in flight, which is always fun. This morning I checked a few lakes out before heading to the black dirt to try for Lapland Longspur in breeding plumage (no luck!). At Wickham Lake, I had another (very distant) Red-necked Grebe, and I got my first Spotted Sandpiper of the year.

~iPhone shot of Beaver Pond first thing this morning, 04/21/24.~

~Common Loon at Wickham Lake on 04/16/24.~

~A Northern Rough-winged Swallow on the verge of grabbing a bite to eat. Wickham Lake, 04/16/21.~

~Northern Rough-winged Swallow in flight at Wickham Lake, 04/16/24.~

~My first Spotted Sandpiper of the year – at Wickham Lake on 04/21/24.~

~After being out all morning, I came home to find this Cooper’s Hawk on my neighbor’s hedge. Goshen, NY 04/21/24.~

~In spite of the low temps today, spring is here and things are changing. American Goldfinch in the black dirt, 04/21/24.~

~One more shot of the Common Loon at Wickham on 04/16/21.~

OC Red-necked Grebe, 04/18/24

Question: Is it pathetic or is it awesome that a single bird can make my week? Regardless of your answer to that question, that’s what happened tonight. I’d been having a rotten week; heavy with work stress and deficient in joy. But that changed tonight when I rolled up to Greenwood Lake and found a gorgeous RED-NECKED GREBE on the water. The bird was a little bit distant at first, but it was slowly making its way towards the shore. I put the word out, and Kyle Knapp joined on the beach. We enjoyed some good looks, but the bird remained tucked in most of the time.

~Beautiful bird! Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~

The bird was drifting further out, so we decided to leave. Just before we got in our cars, Kyle took one more look – at first he didn’t see the bird, but then we found it, it was very close to shore. We slowly made our way closer; the bird stayed put and we enjoyed fantastic looks and photos ops of this beautiful bird. What a night, what a way to melt the stress away. What a great hobby.

~One more shot of the Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~

Easter 2024

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates. It was a busy weekend for me, as we hosted family for the the holiday, but I did manage to get out a for a little bit on both days of the weekend. I walked Winding Waters Trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge on both days; it’s been absolutely loaded with waterfowl, and I was really interested in tracking down the Eurasian Green-winged Teal that Bruce Nott found earlier in the week. There are hundreds of Green-winged Teal there right now; I sorted through them a good while on Saturday and for a little while on Sunday, but I did not have any luck with my target bird. So I finished the weekend having seen just the usual suspects for this time of year, but as usual, I enjoyed trying to get some interesting photographs.

~I kind of dig this photo. Mostly Green-winged Teal, but I’m also seeing a few Mallards and four Northern Pintails. Winding Waters Trail, 03/30/24.~

~A fierce looking Bald Eagle at Brown’s Pond, 03/30/24.~

~I cannot believe the number of Song Sparrows I’m seeing this Spring. This one was at Winding Waters, 03/30/24.~

~American Kestrel in flight in the Black Dirt Region, 03/31/24.~

~Beaver just after sunrise at Winding Waters Trail, 03/30/24.~

A Good Morning, 03/24/24

After a bleak and rainy Saturday that broke my “bad weather = good birding” rule in convincing fashion, I enjoyed a lovely, crisp, cold, and sunny Sunday morning of productive birding. I ran into Kyle Knapp at Lower Wisner Road, where we easily found my first Rusty Blackbirds of 2024; they were feeding with a small flock of American Robins out in a field. The Brown Thrasher that Kyle found skulking in some nearby hedges was an excellent bonus bird. Brown Thrasher is not a bird I see very often, so it was good to get one so early in the year.

~Brown Thrasher, Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, 03/24/24.~

~One of four Eastern Bluebirds on Lower Wisner Road, 03/24/24. I don’t know if it was the light, or what, but these birds were just spectacularly blue; just gorgeous.

Afterwards, I headed out to the black dirt to see what I could find. I was finally able to track down some Wilson’s Snipe – they were in an odd location to me – out in a field on Skinners Lane, loosely associating with nearly a dozen Killdeer. Later, at The Camel Farm, I was able to find my first American Pipits of the year; a trio of birds working around some of distant puddles out in the field.