photos – Page 20 – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 05/31/20

This is a weak edition of SS, but I always like to at least check in on the weekends. My birding was a little unfocused; I think migration winding down had a lot to do with it. I tried for shorebirds in the county with almost no success (I did, however, get some at the Liberty Loop in Sussex Co., where I had Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and a Spotted Sandpiper). I also did a little atlasing. I know that’s not a real word. I think that I need to be patient and I will have success with it, but it’s slow going so far for me in my priority block. That said, I did manage to confirm one more species – Swamp Sparrow. Here’s some pics from the weekend (and one from a couple weeks ago – it was slim pickings this week).

~Great Blue Heron just after Sunrise at the Liberty Loop, 05/30/20.~

~There was a good stiff wind at the Liberty Loop on Friday night, this Red-winged Blackbird assumed the position. 05/29/20.~

~Cuteness. Young Brown Thrasher at the Liberty Loop, 05/30/20. It was one of 6 new species I added to my Orange County year list this weekend (others were: Alder Flycatcher, American Bittern, Common Gallinule, Black-billed Cuckoo, and Blackpoll Warbler).

~Singing Indigo Bunting at Goosepond Mountain SP, 05/18/20.~

~Gotcha! Great Blue Heron at Liberty Loop, 05/30/20.~

A Good Morning, 05/16/20

I can’t imagine many other birders feel this way, but warblers stress me out. Every spring I worry that I’m not going to be at the right place, on the right day, at the right time, and poof all the migrating warblers will be gone. It’s never happened, I always get my share, but this is what I do. Fortunately, today I was in the right place at the right time. After a relatively uneventful visit to Pochuck Mountain early this morning, I headed to Laurel Grove Cemetery, where I met up with Linda Scrima.

~We had at least half a dozen Bay-breasted Warblers at Laurel Grove this morning. They spent most of their time in the shadows, but I caught this one in good light.~

In spite of our late(ish) arrival, the place was hopping. And the birds lingered into the late morning, an unusual occurence at this location. We had a total of 13 species of warbler, highlighted by several Cape May Warblers, at least six Bay-breasted Warblers, a couple of Blackburnian Warblers, at least a couple of Magnolia Warblers, and a single Canada Warbler. Other good birds included Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Least Flycatchers (2), and I got my first Eastern Kingbird of the year. We had a total of 42 species for the morning, and some decent photos to boot.

~This was probably my favorite bird of the day: Canada Warbler at LGC, 05/16/20.~

~Not as flashy as the male, but still pretty in her own way, female Cape May Warbler at LGC 05/16/20.~

~American Robin amongst the headstones at LGC, 05/16/20.~

~Cape May Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 05/16/20.~

~Magnolia Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 05/16/20.~

~The disappointment of the day – in spite of ample opportunity, this is the best shot I got of a Blackburnian Warbler. So many blurry shots! Maybe next time.~

Pochuck Mountain, 05/10/20

After a pretty disappointing day of birding on Saturday, I was happy to have a pleasant and birdy walk at Pochuck Mountain State Park this morning. It was a sunny and cool morning, and had the place almost completely to myself; when I arrived there were no turkey hunter’s vehicles in the lot at all, my only contact with anyone was a single mountain biker on the trail briefly. I had a total of 31 species, which is just slightly above average for me at this location in early May. Highlights included 8 species of warbler (Ovenbird, Worm-eating, Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, and Black-throated Green), Yellow-throated Vireo, my first Baltimore Orioles of the year, and probably my best photo op of a Pileated Woodpecker to date.

~Pileated Woodpecker at Pochuck Mountain SP, 05/10/20.~

~Chestnut-sided Warbler at Pochuck Mountain SP, 05/10/20.~

~This is a bird I’ve struggled to get shots of – Black-throated Green Warbler at Pochuck Mountain SP, 05/10/20.~

~One more of the PIWO, with an ant on its bill. This bird was enjoying a nice snack, Pochuck Mountain, 05/10/20.~

~My yard continues to entertain. This week I watched Blue Jays build a nest in the tree right outside the window where I have my work computer set up. Also, two Wood Ducks roosted in the yard on Saturday night, I flushed them as I walked through the yard early Sunday morning. Here’s a Black-capped Chickadee in our crabapple tree.~

05/03/20: Backyard LINCOLN’S SPARROW!

This evening, Tricia and I were sitting on the back deck having a cocktail. Tricia stepped inside for something and I took the opportunity to check out a wren that was making a racket on the far side of one of the evergreens. I made my way around, but I couldn’t locate the bird until it flushed into the neighbor’s yard. Meanwhile, the wren was replaced with another bird – I got my bins on it and was very surprised to see it was a LINCOLN’S SPARROW!

~Beautiful bird! *LINCOLN’S SPARROW, my yard, Goshen NY 05/03/20.~*

I didn’t have my camera with me, so, barely moving a muscle I reached into my pocket and quietly called Tricia. Thankfully she answered immediately; I asked her to bring me my camera. I kept my eye on the bird while Tricia smoothly walked the camera out to me; the bird hadn’t moved an inch! I clicked away like mad, I was shaking from the excitement, so I knew there would be a lot of throwaways. The bird changed its perch one time before disappearing behind the evergreen and we never saw it again. Lincoln’s Sparrow in my back yard! I’m still floored by this!

~LINCOLN’S SPARROW, my yard, Goshen NY 05/03/20.~

Sunday Shots, 04/19/20

What a difference a day makes. On Saturday morning, I photographed the Red-tailed Hawk below in less than ideal conditions; it was dark, rainy, and snowy. In order to get anything useful from it, I had to bump the ISO to 2000 and overexpose by 1 1/3 stops (actually, I should have overexposed more, as I still had to increase the exposure significantly in post processing). In spite of it being grainy and little too dark in places, I sort of like the results. I’m wondering if it may just be because it’s a little bit different and kind of cool; the bird is clearly wet from the rain and is grasping a squirrel in its left talon.

~Red-tailed Hawk at Creamery Pond in Sugarloaf, 04/18/20.~

By contrast, this morning I was lucky enough to find a Bald Eagle perched on the roadside in the beautiful light not long after sunrise. I shot this bird at ISO 800, but really I should have dropped it to 400 for better results. This shot doesn’t capture my imagination quite as much as the Red-tail. It’s a beautiful bird with nice light (at least on the head and chest), but other than it being a Bald Eagle, it’s not all that exciting to me, and it’s also messy with all the branches in the foreground and background. Tricia prefers it, so different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

~Roadside Bald Eagle, Goshen NY 04/19/20.~

Orange County Caspian Tern, 04/15/20

After work I went to the Newburgh Waterfront to chase the Iceland Gull that Bruce Nott reported earlier in the day. I had no luck with the ICGU, but as luck would have it, I found a CASPIAN TERN! I was super excited to see this bird and I put the word out immediately. Bruce Nott arrived just before all the gulls, and the tern picked up and flew. I tracked the tern as it headed south along the river and eventually out of view.

~Right on! CASPIAN TERN taking off at the Newburgh Waterfront, 04/15/20.~

John Haas arrived shortly after the bird flew. The three of us tried to relocate the bird, searching areas to the south, but we weren’t having any luck. We reconvened at the waterfront, where the Lesser Black-backed Gull made another appearance. I decided to call it a night; I was just about to pull out when my phone rang – it was John – the Caspian Tern had returned! I was happy all three of us were able to get the bird.

~Excellent bird for the county! CASPIAN TERN at the Newburgh Waterfront, 04/15/20.~

~CATE in flight, Newburgh Waterfront 04/15/20.~

Easter 2020

To those of you celebrating, I wish you a Happy Easter. I got out in the morning and as luck would have it, I was able to take what I feel are some very appropriate photos. It was another pretty morning, cool and sunny just how I like it. I stayed local for the most part, and I spent some time in my NY Breeding Bird Atlas priority block; I watched a pair of Eastern Phoebe at Goosepond Mountain visiting a probable nest, so that was promising. I hope everyone is healthy and celebrating this strange version of the holiday in some fashion.

~Northern Mockingbird at Knapp’s View, 04/12/20.~

~Another shot of the NOMO at Knapp’s View. This bird was very accommodating!~

~Eastern Bluebird at Wickham Lake, 04/12/20. I watched this bird and its mate building a nest in the bluebird box near the lake.~

Saturday, 04/11/20

It was a beautiful morning to get out birding: cool, crisp, and sunny. I had an enjoyable and productive morning. I started out at Wickham Lake, where the light was nice and I enjoyed photographing the many Tree Swallows present, as well as a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. The lake was quiet with hardly any waterfowl present; my best bird was a single Ruddy Duck.

~Tree Swallow at Wickham Lake, 04/11/20.~

I also took a 4 mile hike, doing the entire loop at Doris Duke Trail. It was my first time there, it was a nice hike and pretty darn birdy. I added 4 year birds: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Palm Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Hermit Thrush. I made some stops at some of the southern Orange County lakes on my way home, but I guess it just wasn’t a good day for waterfowl, as I had nothing noteworthy. I have to say, this morning was some enjoyable birding, the best outing I’ve had in some time.

~This is a bird I always enjoy seeing – Lousiana Waterthrush at Doris Duke Trail, 04/11/20.~

~I enjoyed watching a photographing a pair of Downy Woodpeckers for a good while at Wickham Lake, 04/11/20.~

~One of my highlights of the morning – Hermit Thrush at Doris Duke Trail, 04/11/20.~

~Chipping Sparrow at Wickham Lake. This is from yesterday evening, 04/10/20.~

A Little Catch-up

Ahh, I finally got out and did some Orange County birding after work tonight – thank goodness for Daylight Saving Time. It was just a brief stop at Glenmere Lake, with the usuals, but it’s a sign of the start of spring for me. I wasn’t able to fit in as much birding as I normally do for the past couple of weekends due to traveling to visit family. Last weekend I went to the Poconos to visit my sister Aileen and her husband Bill. We had a nice breakfast and I headed out before noon. That left the rest of the weekend to try for birds, but it was just one of those weekends and I didn’t have any luck at all.

~This is the most dense Snow Goose shot I think I’ve ever taken. Knox Marsellus Marsh at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 03/08/20.~

Then, this past weekend Tricia and I headed up to Syracuse to meet up with her brother John, her sister Carolyn and Carolyn’s husband Bill. It was a work weekend, so I didn’t get out at all on Saturday, but I was able to get out for a few hours on Sunday. I headed to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. On the way, I called my ex-wife Stephanie Bane, who lives in the area and volunteers at the refuge, to see if she was free to meet me there. It had been several years since we’d seen each other, so birds or no, it would be good to catch up. We met at the visitor’s center, where we had several species of waterfowl (Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Canada Goose, and Mallard). Unfortunately Wildlife Drive was closed, so we headed over to East Road (Knox Marsellus Marsh; some folks call it the Mucklands too, I think). It was a good choice, we arrived to find what I estimate was 8,000 to 10,000 Snow Geese. It was certainly the most Snow Geese I’d ever seen at once. There were also plenty of Bald Eagles around; they kept flushing the geese which provided some good photo ops. I felt for the geese though – they didn’t barely get a moment of peace. At one point, two young Bald Eagles were just flying through a sea of Snow Geese, I swear they were just doing it because it was fun. I didn’t have much time to bird Montezuma, but we certainly made the best of it.

~A massive wave of Snow Geese makes its way across the marsh, being flushed by Bald Eagles. Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 03/08/20.~

~I photographed a total of 2 birds last weekend, this White-throated Sparrow made the cut. Black Dirt Region, 03/01/20.~

Weekend Wrap-up, 02/16/20

I had a pleasant, if uneventful weekend of birding. I spent time at the Hudson River, the Black Dirt, and in between, finding mostly the expected species. Highlights included the continuation of several thousand Snow Geese as well as three Rough-legged Hawks in the black dirt on Sunday. It’s been a slow winter for RLHAs, so that made me pretty happy. On Sunday afternoon I attended workshop on the 2020 New York State Breeding Bird Atlas, which I plan on participating in. I will write more about that in an upcoming post.