photos – Page 26 – Orange Birding

2018 Year in Review

~This Least Bittern photo did not make my personal top 10 this year, but I felt like it deserved honorable mention. This was my first photo taken with my new Canon 7D Mark II. LIBI at the Liberty Loop, 06/28/18.~

Well, it was an interesting year for sure. I’d changed jobs at the end of 2017, so 2018 was my first full year of birding on a more restricted schedule where most of my birding had to be done on the weekends or in the evenings (and, I only had enough time in the evenings during Daylight Savings Time). I also got a promotion late in the summer, which also took some of my focus away from the birds. I felt like I was not as in touch with the birding world in our area as I had been in previous years; this was alleviated by my birding buds keeping me in the loop, as well as the Mearns Bird Club phone app, which kept the alerts rolling in, even while I was at work (a nice respite!). In spite of the time restrictions, 2018 proved to be my most productive ever in regards to Orange County birds. A lot of things just seemed to fall into place and I had a very lucky birding year and I finished with 228 species on my OC year list.

HIGHLIGHTS

~Wow, 3 of the 7 Black Terns flying over a tractor in a rain storm on Skinner’s Lane, 08/13/18.~

Looking back, I had some pretty fantastic birding experiences in 2018. Probably the most notable was getting the ROSEATE SPOONBILL in New York/Orange County on an early morning in late July. Other exciting experiences include seeing 7(!) Black Terns during a rain storm at Skinner’s Lane on August 13th, a remarkable 25 Red-throated Loons at Wickham Lake in early April, getting my first ever RUFFED GROUSE in Orange County in June, a remarkable 5 American Bitterns at the Liberty Loop at the end of April, and my first ever OC WHIMBREL in early August.

~Roseate Spoonbill at the Liberty Loop, 07/29/18.~

My most enjoyable experiences included watching and photographing a pair of dancing SANDHILL CRANES, photographing LAPLAND LONGSPURS in near breeding plumage, and getting my first NORTHERN SHRIKE in Orange County in several years.

~To me, this is one of the most inherently cool birds we see regularly – LAPLAND LONGSPUR in near breeding plumage, Black Dirt 03/11/18.~

THE YEAR OF THE MAMMAL

~Beautiful baby bobcat in Orange County, 10/18/18.~

I had some amazing luck when it came to mammals this year. I was fortunate enough to see and photograph BOBCATS on two occasions, one adult and one kitten. I also went through a time when I felt like I couldn’t walk out the front door without running into a bear. That got a little unnerving after a while. Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and I had a wonderful experience seeing the seals in Sandy Hook back in March, during a pelagic trip in November, humpback whales, fin whales, and common dolphins put on quite a show, and late in November I played a hunch and took my camera to work; I found a red fox in the snow that morning.

~Bobcat in Orange County, 05/21/18. This was a BIG cat.~

~I love this photo, what a big brute this bear was. Black bear in the rain at Black Rock Forrest, 06/24/18.~

~Red fox in the snow, Garnerville, NY 11/16/18.~

~A pile of seals at Sandy Hook, 03/24/18.~

TOP TEN PHOTOS OF 2018

Every year it’s tough for me to pick out my favorite photos. This year proved to be no different. Looking back over a year of posts, here are the ten photos that speak to me the most:

~Horned Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/07/18.~

~Least Bittern at the Liberty Loop, 08/05/18.~

~I think my love of this photo has more to do with the bird, which was my favorite from my trip to Ireland in July – Eurasian Skylark in Rossadillisk, Ireland 07/10/18.~

~Northern Gannet close-up, See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip 11/04/18.~

~Least Bittern at the Liberty Loop, 07/29/18. This is my 3rd Least Bittern in this post, but I should mention that the photos are from 3 different days, one in June, one in July, and one in August. ~

My luckiest shot of the year – Ruby-throated Hummingbird going for a snack at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge – Winding Waters Trail, 08/25/18.

~Baird’s Sandpiper at Apollo Plaza, 09/05/18.~

~Black-and-white Warbler at Sterling Forest, 05/05/18.~

~European Goldfinch, Rossadillisk Ireland, 07/09/18.~

~I couldn’t have a top 10 without at least one Common Loon shot; they are one of the most accommodating birds I see on a regular basis, providing plenty of opportunities for close ups. COLO in the Adirondacks, 07/21/18.~

As always, I’d like to thank some folks at the end of the year. Thanks so much to everyone that reads the blog, and especially those of you that make comments – you have no idea how much they mean to me. And, huge thanks go to the contributors to the blog – Karen Miller, Bill Fiero, and Kent Warner; I hope they will all continue to contribute in 2019. I’d also like to thank all my birding friends out there, with special thanks going to Rob Stone, Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, Kyle Dudgeon, John Haas, Karen Miller, Ken McDermott, Kathy Ashman, and Judy Cinquina. Happy New Year everyone, here’s to an exciting and bird-filled 2019!

Onondaga Lake Park, 11/23/18

I had to break tradition this year on Black Friday. Due to the recent substantial snowfall, Wildlife Drive at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge was closed, so I decided to try a new spot. I headed to Onondaga Lake Park’s West Shore Trail to follow up on recent eBird reports of COMMON REDPOLLS there. I’d never been to the park; I found the parking area easily enough and as soon as I got out of my car, a local photographer named Tim was kind enough to give me the lay of the land. There is a network of trails that run along the shore of the lake and around the amphitheater. Tim went off on his own, but we met up not too much later and we ended up spending the rest of the day birding together. The trail was birdy with many of “the usuals”, with American Robins being the most prominent. Raptors were around in decent numbers; we had several Red-tailed Hawks, a couple of young Bald Eagles, and a Cooper’s Hawk (which I misidentified in the field as a Sharp-shinned Hawk) that did a very nice, close flyby. The lake didn’t have as much waterfowl as I’d hoped, but we did have six species, including a distant large flock of what looked to me like Scaup, but I’m not sure which one. We saw fresh Coyote tracks in the snow, as well as some scat; it would have been excellent to catch up with one of them!. The highlight of the day, however, was coming across a small flock of COMMON REDPOLLS just off the trail. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen them, back in 2013 at the Shawangunk Grasslands. I’ve seen one report this year already in Orange County, let’s hope they continue. It was a good day of birding, it was a cool, crisp day and we hiked maybe 5 miles and totaled 28 species.

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~Cooper’s Hawk in flight. This bird chased a mixed flock of American Robins and European Starlings across the trail right in front of us. Onondaga Lake Park, 11/23/18.~

~Red-tailed Hawk in flight, Onondaga Lake Park, 11/23/18.~

~COMMON REDPOLLS! Nice to see these birds, and nice to get my target species – it feels like a while since I’ve done that. Onondaga Lake Park, 11/23/18.~

~I got my first good looks at American Tree Sparrows for the season. Onondaga Lake Park, 11/23/18.~

~White-tailed Deer at Onondaga Lake Park, 11/23/18.~

~This was taken on my trip up, on Thanksgiving. Cooper’s Hawk perched somewhere outside of Cortland NY, 11/22/18.~

Red Fox in the Snow, 11/16/18

Since the times have changed, I have not taken my camera to and from work like I normally do. With it getting dark before I get out, it just isn’t worth dragging it back and forth. But, today I went in late because of the snow. As I made my way out the front door, the light was beautiful. And I had a hunch. So I played it smart and grabbed it, and it sure paid off when I saw a fox in a snow covered field not far from my work. As luck would have it, there was a good area to pull off and I was able to take some photos before continuing on to work. You never know where or when you’ll see something good!

Bathing Dunlin

QUICK POST: Family obligations pretty much kept me out of commission this weekend birding-wise, so I have nothing to post from the weekend. However, I’ve been wanting to post this bathing Dunlin since I photographed it a couple of weeks ago out at Glenmere Lake. I’ve always liked bird images with water, particularly with splashing, spraying, or flowing water. I’ve tried to photograph bathing birds before, but usually the results are just not that great. I found these shots interesting and I hope you enjoy this glimpse of Dunlin behavior.

Interesting Pelagic, 11/04/18

~Great Shearwater at the end of a long day on the water, See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip 11/04/18.~

I would venture to say that See Life Paulagics‘ November 4th trip out of Brooklyn was not among their most productive in terms of seeing target birds. Unfortunately, it just comes with the territory. In spite of doing all the right things to find and attract birds, some days are just going to be better than others. Of the target species listed for the trip (Red Phalarope, Manx, Cory’s and Great Shearwaters, Northern Fulmar, Pomarine Jaeger, and Great Skua), we only saw Manx and Great Shearwaters. We did have all the expected gulls, scoters, and many Northern Gannets in every type of plumage you can imagine (they put on a real show, see below). Other good birds included: Black-legged Kittiwake (3-4), Lesser Black-backed Gull (3), Parasitic Jaeger (3), Bonaparte’s Gull (35+), and what I believe they eventually identified as Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (1 or 2). The Wilson’s Storm-Petrel was apparently a good find; they should have left the area by this time of year.

~Northern Gannet up close and personal. These trips provide a great look at this bird – it’s really a treat. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

One of the more interesting things about the trip was the unbelievably large number of passerines we saw out there. By my count, we had at least 13 species of songbirds: Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch, Marsh Wren, Winter Wren, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, American Robin, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and Pine Siskin! Add to that two bats! Apparently Saturday’s strong west winds blew many birds off course. The Paulagics crew came prepared for it, however. They brought two potted plants, some loose brush cuttings, plenty of bird seed, and water dishes. Some of the songbirds landed on the boat for a rest and to hopefully refuel. Unfortunately, others seemed too intimidated by all the humans on-board and would not land, or if they did it was only briefly. The Dark-eyed Junco made itself at home on the boat. When it landed, it was in dire straits. But after getting some water and food it was up and about, always under foot so you had to be very careful not to step on it. A Brown-headed Cowbird joined it; they both stayed for the duration, only flying once we were on land again. For me, it was sad to see these passerines out of their element and in potential peril, but it was also sweet to be able to help a few of them.

~Crazy shot of a Red-winged Blackbird out at sea. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

Later in the afternoon, we came across a large group of Northern Gannets actively feeding. It was pretty incredible to watch them diving repeatedly into one relatively small area. Then, the first whale appeared and then the Common Dolphins became apparent. In all there were two Humpback Whales and who-knows-how-many Common Dolphins. The dolphins were curious and spent much time swimming alongside the boat. It was a pretty incredible show to watch, but one that I found difficult to photograph. Part of my problem is that I didn’t know where to look – there was so much going on all around the boat. I tried to document it for a bit, but then stopped and just enjoyed the show. In my opinion, between the gannets and the cetaceans, this show saved the pelagic. As expected, the trip offered plenty of photo ops, so enjoy the pics.

~Great Shearwaters were, in my opinion, the best bird/photo op combination of the trip. Nice looking bird and we had a good number of them around the boat at any given time. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~What a treat to watch these dudes. NOGA in flight low over the water, See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~I was having a hard time with this bird. We had at least a couple first winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls during the day. Once I lost it in the flock of gulls following the boat, it was hard for me to pick it out again without help. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~Common Dolphins! Looks like and adult and a young dolphin to me. This photo has a strange quality to me – I’m not sure why, but it almost seems like the dolphins were pasted there. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~Northern Gannet going down for a bite to eat. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04//18.~

~Now this bird will fly very close to the water, navigating flawlessly. Great Shearwater during See Life Paulagics’ Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~Northern Gannets! This was awesome to watch! See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~NOGA contemplating a dive. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~Lesser Black-backed Gull on the water. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~A mix of Surf and Black Scoters in flight. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~This was one smart junco, he/she knew a good thing – plenty of food and water AND a free trip back to land! Hard to beat that. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~I really didn’t get any good whale shots, but I had to include at least one. See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

~LIFER! I was happy to get at least a documentary shot of this bird – MANX SHEARWATER during See Life Paulagics Brooklyn Trip, 11/04/18.~

Sunday Shots, 10/28/18

~Dunlin with who-knows-what in its bill. Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

I went to Glenmere Lake again today, and it was awesome! I had 7 species of shorebirds: Dunlin (15+), WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER (at least 3), Semipalmated Sandpiper (9), Lesser Yellowlegs (1), Greater Yellowlegs (1), Killdeer (2), and Pectoral Sandpiper (3). The water was much calmer, and the sun actually was peeking out from time to time. I had rare occurrence of getting home and liking my photos more than I had anticipated, so that’s always a good thing.

The other excitement of the day was when I found a CATTLE EGRET in the parking area of the Liberty Loop. I pulled in and was eating my breakfast. It wasn’t until I got out of my car that I noticed the CAEA just 30 feet or so from my car! John Haas ran for the bird, and apparently the bird stuck around because I got word from several birders that they got it later in the day. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for CAEA photos.

~WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER coming at you. Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

~Lesser Yellowlegs making its move. Glenmere 10/28/18.~

~I never seemed to get a good look at any of the Pecs – this was the best shot I got of one. Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

~WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

~Bathing Dunlin, Glenmere Lake 10/28/18.~

~CATTLE EGRET at the Liberty Loop, 10/28/18.~

~A photographer pulled up, took some pics from by his car, and then walked out and flushed the bird. Sheesh. CAEG in flight, Liberty Loop 10/28/18.~

~Cattle Egret minding its own business. Liberty Loop, 10/28/18.~

Rainy, Windy Saturday 10/27/18

~American Pipit in the rain, black dirt, 10/27/18.~

The rainy, windy weather put the kibosh on hawkwatch at Mount Peter today, so instead I ran around Orange County hoping that once again bad weather would equal good birding. I checked Greenwood Lake and Wickham Lake early and came up empty, so I decided to shift gears and head to the black dirt. By the way, birding today was tough. It wasn’t raining all that hard, but it was pretty steady and the wind was strong and relentless. You absolutely HAD to bird with your back to the wind, otherwise your binoculars or scope would be instantly drenched. Or the inside of your car. Anyways, in the black dirt, the bird of the day was the American Pipit. I had many today, in several locations. In one flock, I was lucky enough to locate a couple of LAPLAND LONGSPURS, always a favorite of mine. I thought there might be some shorebirds around, but other than a single SANDERLING at Skinner Lane, I had no shorebirds in the black dirt (they’d come later, see below).

~Always a cool bird to see – one of two LAPLAND LONGSPURS in the black dirt, 10/27/18.~

In the afternoon I head to Glenmere Lake. Not for ducks, but for shorebirds. Kathy Ashman had let me know that she had been observing shorebirds on the vegetation in the southwest corner of the lake. You can walk out the blue trail about a half a mile or so and there is a lookout onto the lake. Which is what I did this afternoon, and I had a nice collection of shorebirds: 14 DUNLIN, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Least Sandpiper, and 1 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. I got pretty excited and went back to my car, unloaded my kayak, and headed out to get a better look. It was not the easiest paddle; it was with the wind on the way out and I was practically riding the waves but it was into the wind (and waves) on the way back, making it a bit of a chore. But, it was worth it! It was really cool to see these shorebirds up close and to get some photos. Oh, and of course there was bunch of American Pipits moving amounts the vegetation as well. I was exhausted and wet by the time I was done, but I felt I’d made the best of a blustery, wet day in Orange County.

~Semipalmated Sandpiper at Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~

~One more Dunlin shot – Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~

~It’s always nice to see a White-crowned Sparrow. Skinner Lane, 10/27/18.~

~Lapland Longspur in the rain, 10/27/18.~

Beautiful Baby Bobcat

Moments like these are like actual small miracles in my life. I will look back at them and draw on them for the rest of my days. Bobcat kitten, New York State, October 2018.

Surprisingly Good Sunday Birding, 10/14/18

~A young Cooper’s Hawk at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 10/14/18.~

I headed out early this morning to bird Liberty Marsh at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I’d had a good full day yesterday, so I was going out without much in the way of expectations. When I arrived at the refuge and got out of my car, I scanned the marsh and picked up two birds flying along the west side of the loop, just over the trees – SANDHILL CRANES! I took that as a good sign for the morning. Shortly after my arrival, I ran into birding bud Linda Scrima and we walked parts of both Liberty Lane and the Liberty Loop.

~A cooperative female Purple Finch, Liberty Lane at Wallkill River NWR, 10/14/18.~

Swamp Sparrow was bird of the day for sure. We had many as we walked out Liberty Lane, as well as a good number of Song Sparrows, a single White-crowned Sparrow, and a couple of White-throated Sparrows. Our best bird on Liberty Lane was Purple Finch – we had at least three with one female that was confiding enough for some decent photos. I also had a young Cooper’s Hawk fly right over my head and perch in a tree not too far off the trail.

~It’s hard to miss the Swamp Sparrows out at Wallkill River NWR right now.~

We then walked part of the west side of the Liberty Loop. We got about 100 yards down the trail when Linda picked up a bird that landed in the marsh just off the trail. I caught it just as it landed – its flight was a bit awkward and we agreed it was likely a marsh bird of some sort. We were scanning the area where we thought the bird flew in when the bird took flight again, heading deeper into the marsh – it was an AMERICAN BITTERN! I was not prepared and my camera setting were no good, so I ended up with a bunch of blurry pics. Linda did better than I did, and I’ve included one of her shots at the bottom of this post. On the west side of the loop we ran into a birdy area which produced my first Dark-eyed Juncos of the season, 2 Blue-headed Vireos and a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets as well. We finished up with a total of 36 species for the morning.

~Photo by Linda Scrima – Blue-headed Vireo at Wallkill River NWR, 10/14/18.~

~I will never tire of seeing these two birds. I hope they just stay in OC forever. SANDHILL CRANES in flight, Wallkill River NWR 10/14/18.~

Afterwards, I headed to the Camel Farm to see if I could dig up any more shorebirds. I had the feeling yesterday that there were more birds out there than I was able to see and/or identify. It’s a tough spot to bird these days. It’s a good distance to be looking (as always), and right now everything is overgrown and the shorebirds just disappear when they land. Additionally, depending where you are viewing, there is not much room to pull off the road and the traffic on that road is relentless. So, it makes for a less than ideal birding situation, but that’s where the shorebirds seemed to be this weekend. I was easily able to get good looks of several Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, as well as a handful of Killdeer. I had a group of shorebirds in flight that I was unable to see once they landed (*they may have been Pectoral Sandpipers, see below). I also had a flock of longer billed shorebirds in flight. I was able to get photos of these birds and I have them as Wilson’s Snipe, 24 of them:

~Wilson’s Snipe in flight over the Camel Farm, 10/14/18.~

I repositioned to try and locate the unidentified group of birds I’d seen, but I was just not able to find them in the area where I thought they went down. Then, I heard a shorebirdy call behind me – and sure enough there was a flock of PECTORAL SANDPIPERS flying behind me. They put down right on one of the Camel Farm neighbor’s front lawns, which I thought was pretty funny. I’d love to have Pectoral Sandpipers on my front lawn, ha ha!

~Pectoral Sandpipers on a front lawn at the Camel Farm, 10/14/18.~

~Photo by Linda Scrima. It was awesome to see this bird! I wish I’d done better with photos, but it happened very quickly. AMERICAN BITTERN at the Liberty Loop, 10/14/18.

A Full Day of Birding, 10/13/18

~Cape May Warbler at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/13/18.~

This morning’s rain delayed the start of hawkwatch, so I spent the morning in the black dirt looking for shorebirds. Although it was not raining all that hard, the weather was tough on my gear today. The humidity must have been through the roof, because frustratingly, every time I lifted my binoculars to my eyes they seemed to fog over. I had two sets out and I was alternating just to be able to see with any consistency. Even my scope developed some moisture between the filter and the lens, leaving a perfect circle of condensation which lasted for most of the day. Regardless, I ran around for shorebirds and here’s what I had:

Skinner Lane: 4 American Golden-Plovers

Missionland: 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 18 Killdeer

Turtle Bay: 1 Least Sandpiper, 15 Killdeer

Camel Farm: 20+ Wilson’s Snipe, 4 Killdeer, 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 12 Lesser Yellowlegs

Pine Island Turf Nursery: 18 Killdeer

~Lesser Yellowlegs at Missionland. This shot was from Friday evening, 10/12/18.~

The rain let up and I was up at Mount Peter for Hawkwatch at 11:45. It was a really good day to be on the mountain, with cool temperatures and a steady northwest wind. Birds were flying and I had a decent number of birds (total of 83 migrants), with very good variety (11 species). Linda Scrima, Rob Stone, and Bob Klenk all visited and helped me out. Sharp-shinned Hawks were the number one migrant, and highlights for me included a couple of Merlins, a Peregrine Falcon, and a couple of Northern Harriers ( a bird we see frequently in our area, but to me it’s awesome to see them flying high over the hawkwatch in migration). Non-raptors had some good highlights too, with a couple of CAPE MAY WARBLERS, and two skeins of BRANT flying over. See my full report at the bottom of this post.

~BRANT! I was super pumped to have a couple skeins fly over the watch today, Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 10/13/18.~

After hawkwatch, I stopped at Glenmere Lake, where the Mearns Bird Club was holding a big sit. They spent the whole day, sunrise to sunset, at the lake counting birds. I joined Kathy Ashman and Karen Miller, who had a long but good day of birding along with 12 other members of the club. They finished the day with 47 species, which I thought was pretty good.

I headed home, tired but happy with a full day of birding behind me.