As anticipated, along with the weather came some good birds. Wickham Lake continues to deliver; I made an early stop there this morning while it was still snowing quite heavily, and had 8 Horned Grebes and a Bonaparte’s Gull on the lake. I also had my first Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Palm Warblers of the year. I checked a few other nearby lakes – I didn’t have any out-of-the ordinary birds at Glenmere, Round, and Greenwood Lakes. Walton Lake, however, had 4 Long-tailed Ducks. In the black dirt afterwards, I got the year’s first good looks at American Pipits, having had only flyovers previously.
~American Pipit marching through a field in the black dirt, 04/12/25.~~Long-tailed Ducks at Walton Lake, 04/12/25.~~Double-crested Cormorant in the snow at Round Lake, 04/12/25.~~Red-winged Blackbird flock in the black dirt, 04/12/25.~
I enjoyed an excellent weekend of birding, with plenty of good waterfowl. The highlight was Wickham Lake this morning; Kyle Knapp and I made two visits to the lake, and we enjoyed some really excellent birds. Highlights included: (2) WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, (7) LONG-TAILED DUCKS, (3) RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and (2) HORNED GREBES. Along with the more expected species, we had a total of (15) species of waterfowl. We also had (3) species of gull, Ring-billed, American Herring, and my first BONAPARTE’S GULLS of year.
~It always seems to be the case with these exciting sea ducks – always distant and in poor light~ (7) Long-tailed Ducks on the move at Wickham Lake, 03/30/25.~~Horned Grebe at Wickham Lake, 03/30/25.
Saturday was a little less exciting, with only new species of watefowl for me; a Common Loon at Walton Lake (the bird continued into Sunday morning as well). The bird was way too distant both days for photos, but the nicer weather on Saturday morning did allow me to get some decent shots of some other waterfowl.
~Northern Pintail at the Liberty Loop, 03/29/25.~~Pied-billed Grebe at Wickham Lake on Saturday morning, 03/29/25.~~Merlin at Wickham Lake 03/29/25.~~Fish Crow at Wickham Lake, 03/23/25.~~This one is from last weekend, when Eastern Phoebes moved back into our area. This one was at Silver Mine Lake, 03/22/25.~
I had an enjoyable but mostly unremarkable weekend of birding; I hit the black dirt both mornings and the Newburgh Waterfront on Saturday afternoon. I added three new species to my Orange County year list: Brown Creeper, Hairy Woodpecker, and Red-breasted Merganser. Photos were tough to come by in general, but I did score with a trio of Common Goldeneyes at the Newburgh Waterfront. It was probably comical to watch, but I waited for all three birds to dive at the same time, and then I ran and jumped into some brush on the shoreline.
On New Year’s Day, Diane Bliss found a EURASIAN WIGEON in the small ponds across from Warwick Town Hall. The bird was not relocated on the 2nd, but then it resurfaced on the 3rd. I couldn’t run for it because I was working, so I was hoping it would hang in there for me until today. Which it did. Huge thanks to Kyle Knapp, who was on the scene before sunrise, and not only did he let me know the bird was there, he stuck around to make sure I got it. The bird is a beautiful drake and was an Orange County lifer for me, nudging my total number of birds in the county to 278.
~Wow! EURASIAN WIGEON in Warwick, NY 01/04/25.~~I finally ran into the Warwick leucistic Red-tailed Hawk after not seeing the bird for a good while (maybe a year or so?).~
I started my morning of birding at Wickham Lake, where just after my arrival I found a pair of Long-tailed Ducks. Kyle Knapp joined me shortly after my arrival and we enjoyed some good birding. Kyle saw a gull in flight across the lake; I got on it with my scope and was happy to report it was a Bonaparte’s Gull! The bird moved through without stopping, and we would eventually have a second Bonie do the same thing. We found another Long-tailed Duck in the west section of the lake – we both agreed that the plumage on this bird was different than the first two.
~One of three Long-tailed Ducks at Wickham Lake, 11/23/24.~
Other good birds included an adult Bald Eagle, a Common Goldeneye, and a distant scaup that was too distant to properly identify, but I would venture to guess it was a Greater. A nice sized flock of Green-winged Teal did a couple of fly-bys which was fun to photograph.
~One of two Bonaparte’s Gulls at Wickham Lake, 11/23/24.~~Green-winged Teals in flight at Wickham Lake, 11/23/24.~
I hit the black dirt afterwards and the winter usuals made a good showing. The Three Amigos (Horned Lark, Snow Bunting, & Lapland Longspur) were all present; there are loads of larks, I had a handful of buntings, and at least 6 longspurs. I still had about a dozen American Pipits. The Cackling Goose at Breeze Hill Pond continues. And finally, I had a single Rough-legged Hawk high over the Camel Farm.
~Lapland Longspur with a couple of Horned Larks; Black Dirt Region 11/23/24.~
I birded Wickham Lake both mornings this weekend. It was birdy both mornings, but on Sunday morning there was a nice collection of mostly new waterfowl present. The highlight was a single Red-necked Grebe (too far out for photos unfortunately); that’s a bird I alway enjoy seeing. Other waterfowl species included: Canada Geese, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Ring-necked Ducks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, American Coots, and Double-crested Cormorants. Both mornings were beautiful, and really I didn’t do as well with photos as maybe I should have, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Wickham Lake, 10/26/24.~~Double-crested Cormorant in flight at Wickham Lake, 10/27/24.~~Ruddy Duck at Wickham Lake, 10/27/24.~~This Belted Kingfisher was chased across the lake by a Northern Harrier, of all things. I’ve never seen anything like that before. BEKI at Wickham Lake, 10/27/24.~
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.
~RNGR at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~~One more shot of the Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~
The old adage ‘bad weather = good birds’ held true once again this evening. I’d like to add to that and say bad weather = good birds = terrible photos. But it also makes for a very happy birder. I headed out directly after work today, and I spent a rainy evening checking out a couple of local lakes. At my first stop, Wickham Lake, I was pleased to find 9 (!) Common Loons on the water. Eight of the birds were in a tight group, with one bird that was only loosely associating with them:
~Exciting stuff – nine Common Loons at Wickham Lake, 04/11/24.~
My next stop was Glenmere Lake. At first I thought it was a bust, but then I saw 2 distant birds in my binoculars. I got the scope on them, and sure enough, it was a pair of RED-THROATED LOONS! Always a favorite and seemingly more difficult to get in the county in recent years, this sighting made my night.
~Good bird for the county – A pair of RED-THROATED LOONS on Glenmere Lake, 04/11/24.~
Looking at field guides, and from my own personal experience, Ring-necked Ducks do not show off their namesake very often. Even today, when I photographed this drake, I didn’t take notice of it. But, when I reviewed my photos, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I’ve never seen a maroon/brown neck-ring this distinctive. I’m not sure if this is the effect of particular lighting condition, or if this is this individual’s current plumage. Regardless, I didn’t much luck otherwise with photos today, but I definitely wanted to share a couple shots of this good-looking bird, which I photographed at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary this morning.
~Male Ring-necked Duck at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03/17/24.~~One more shot of the drake Ring-necked Duck at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03/17/24.~
I was up super early this morning, so I was able to enjoy one of my favorite things – the Black Dirt Region at sunrise. I was hoping I might catch a glimpse of a Coyote at that hour, but it wasn’t to be. I was, however, rewarded by finding and photographing three Lapland Longspurs just after sunrise. It’s been several weeks since I’ve found any LALOs, so it was good to catch up with those birds. Unfortunately, not long after seeing the longspurs, I found a recently deceased Short-eared Owl. The field where I found the bird had been recently cleared; sadly it appeared to me that the bird had been killed by a run-in with some farm machinery.
~Red-tailed Hawk perched on a limp wind sock at sunrise in the black dirt, 03/16/24.~~One of three Lapland Longspurs in the black dirt on 03/16/24.~
Later in the morning, I checked some of the lakes in southern Orange County. I didn’t find much, but I was happy to find a Common Loon at Wickham Lake in beautiful plumage:
~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 03/16/24.~
My final destination on this Saturday was the Hudson River near Newburgh. The big excitement for me was finding a single Lesser Black-backed Gull on the sandbar in Cornwall Bay. Also of note was a trio of Red-breasted Mergansers. Unfortunately there was no sign of the Great Cormorants which have been in the area recently.
~Lesser Black-backed Gull waaaaay out there. It’s the bird on the far right. I kind of like having the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge in the background for this shot. Cornwall Bay, 03/16/24.~
