QUICK POST: This afternoon, Linda Scrima, Kyle Dudgeon, and I ran to Wickham Lake for a BLACK SCOTER that was located earlier in the day by Rob Stone. When we arrived, the bird was very distant, but identifiable with scope views. Kyle had to run, but Linda and I walked the trail on the east side of the lake to get a better look and some photos. The bird was closer from that side of the lake, but spent most of its time tucked in. It finally untucked a couple of times and I was able to get some documentary shots of the bird. I was particularly excited because it was the 205th species I’ve had in Orange County this year. Thanks once again to Rob Stone, who just keeps finding great birds.
Another highlight was seeing a pair of Bald Eagles sharing a branch as a perch. It was a little bit distant, but I’ve included a photo of the cute couple.
~Black Scoter with Ruddy Ducks at Wickham Lake, 10/9/16.~~It was pretty cool to see this couple of Bald Eagles perched together. Wickham Lake, 10/9/16.~~Earlier in the day, Kyle and I went to State Line Hawkwatch. In spite of the rain that was falling, many Bald Eagles and Osprey were flying. Grainy shot of a Bald Eagle over the Hudson River, 10/9/16.~
~This is the best I could do! Barrow’s Goldeneye at Glasco Mini Park in Ulster County, NY 3/12/16.~
After some uneventful early morning local birding, I drove up to Glasco, New York in Ulster Count to meet up with Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris. We were going for the BARROW’S GOLDENEYE which had been reported at Glasco Mini Park in recent days. We located the bird fairly quickly far out in the Hudson River; it was keeping company with several Common Goldeneyes and a single scaup, which I’m pretty sure was a Greater Scaup. The birds were really quite distant, and additionally it was tough to get good looks because the water was quite choppy and the birds were diving regularly. But, we were patient and eventually we all got good looks in the scope and even managed to take some documentary photos, which was no small feat. One of us would look in the scope and call out when and where the Barrow’s surfaced while the others clicked away, hoping for the best. In spite of the distance and maybe because of the challenge of trying to get good looks, I really enjoyed going for this bird. The Barrow’s Goldeneye was life bird number 345 for me and my 259th New York State bird.
Linda and Maria continued north to do some Adirondack birding and I headed over to the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge to meet up with Kyle Dudgeon to try our luck with Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. Unfortunately, it was a slow afternoon and the then the owls got up on the late side so we did not do very well with photos at all. Still, it was nice just to be out, especially for Kyle who has been away at school since January.
~Northern Harrier with a FULL crop, Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 3/12/16.~~A super grainy shot of a Short-eared Owl in flight. Quite a difference from last weekend! Shawangunk Grasslands, 3/12/16.~~The only thing good about backlit Buffleheads is glowing pink feet! Glenmere Lake, 3/12/16.~~I really enjoyed watching these Buffleheads – six males were vying for the attentions of a single female. They put on a show! Glenmere Lake, 3/12/16.~
~I love this shot, it’s a little bit of a different look at a Ruddy Duck, Shark River in Monmouth County, NJ 4/27/16.~
I spent a full Saturday of birding on the Jersey Shore with Maria Loukeris and Linda Scrima. The day started a little extra-early – I met up with Linda at the Liberty Loop platform to try and relocated the GYRFALCON that she had found the night before. We spent just under a half hour scanning the area, but no luck. As far as I know there were no reported sightings of the Gyrfalcon all day.
Our first stop was Manasquan Inlet in Ocean County, with the recently sited RAZORBILL as our target bird (though we would all be happy just to see some different water birds and to be by the ocean). We walked the south side of the inlet and had incredible looks at Common Loons and Long-tailed Ducks, both of which were present in large numbers. At the end of the jetty we met a local birder, Alex, who told us the Razorbill had been seen earlier that morning in the channel, as had a RED-NECKED GREBE. The grebe did a fly-by shortly after he told us that, and I was lucky enough to have gotten a documentary shot of the bird. We didn’t locate the Razorbill, but we had great photo ops with many of the close in birds, and we got some distant looks at both Surf and White-winged Scoters. Another target bird for us was Purple Sandpiper; when a group of shorebirds flew in to the far side of the north jetty and Alex said they looked like Purple Sandpipers, we knew we had to drive around and check it out. It was a great decision because not only did we relocate and get photos of the Purple Sandpipers (life bird for Linda!), we ran into more birders who told us they had just seen the Razorbill in the channel. We took only about twenty paces in that direction when Maria located the bird, which was on the far side of the channel. It was a life bird for both Linda and Maria; we got very good looks at the bird but unfortunately it was heavily backlit so photos were not great.
~One of my favorites, close-up of a Common Loon. I’ve never seen so many loons in my life, it was hard to keep count but I’d say we had well over 25 COLOs just at Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~COLO at Manasquan Inlet, Ocean County NJ 2/27/16.~~The Common Loons were going to town with these crabs. Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~Target bird located! RAZORBILL at Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~Red-necked Grebe fly-by, Manasquan Inlet 2/27/16.~
From there, we headed to Shark River Inlet in Monmouth County, where I had my first warbler of 2016 – a group of 10 or so Yellow-rumped Warblers. We walked out on the jetty and experienced what was the highlight of the day for me. A Red-throated Loon was fishing north of the jetty and resurfacing very close to us. What a beautiful and elegant bird, even in winter plumage. There was a Common Loon nearby as well, and I was struck at the size difference between the birds. We had our first Black Scoters of the day, just a fly-by off in the distance and also a flock of shorebirds flew by, which I am thinking were likely Sanderlings having looked at the photos.
Our final stop was at the Shark River estuary, and it was unexpectedly good. The spot was loaded with waterfowl and the viewing is really great with the sun at your back in the afternoon. We had close up looks at Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, a Red-breasted Merganser, and a single Great Blue Heron on the shore right at sunset. It was a fabulous day of birding and just what I needed; I’ve been stressed out at work lately and it had been carrying over to life after work and even interfering with the joy I normally get from birding. A day at the beach with so many great birds and great company was the perfect medicine.
For the day, at three locations, we had a total of 37 species. I’ve included a list at the bottom of this post.
~Another favorite (I know I say that a lot!), Long-tailed Duck in flight at Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~Like a little puppy dog – Long-tailed Duck at Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~LTDU cuteness. Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~Brant in flight down the channel at Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~This might be my first half way decent shot of a Surf Scoter. Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~Purple Sandpiper on the north side of the north jetty at Manasquan Inlet, 2/27/16.~~It was the highlight of the day for me to get such great looks at this Red-throated Loon, Shark River Inlet 2/27/16.~~RTLO at Shark River Inlet, 2/27/16.~~Beautiful bird. Red-throated Loon at Shark River Inlet, 2/27/16.~~I was hoping we would get all three scoters for the day, and we did when we had these Black Scoters in flight over the water, Shark River Inlet, 2/27/16.~Sanderlings? in flight at Shark River Inlet, 2/27/16. Any thoughts on this ID would be appreciated. Click on the photo once and then a second time to see the photo enlarged.~
~My first warbler of the year, Yellow-rumped Warbler at Shark River Inlet, 2/27/16.~~This bird kept coming closer to us! Red-breasted Merganser at Shark River Estuary, 2/27/16.~~We had a group of twenty or so Ruddy Ducks right in front of us. They must be being fed by people because they just kept coming in close. Shark River Estuary, 2/27/16.~~RUDU at Shark River Estuary, 2/27/16.~~Our final bird of the day, a Great Blue Heron at sunset. Shark River Estuary, 2/27/16.~
Species List For the Day:
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Purple Sandpiper
Sanderling
Razorbill
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Fish Crow
European Starling
American Robin
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow
~I love Brant, and I was finally able to get some decent photos. Brant foraging on the shore at Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~
I made a site visit to examine the stained glass windows in a church in New Haven, Connecticut this morning. Once I had completed my work, I headed over to Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, located in West Haven, right on the Long Island Sound. I had checked on eBird and found several hotspots not too far from the church, with Sandy Point having some good recent reports. I took a nice long walk along the beach; it was a gorgeous day but with a very strong wind that made it a little bit on the cold side and also made keeping my spotting scope and even my binoculars steady. I had only a modest 16 species, but there were a couple of favorites in there – I had a single Common Loon and many Brant. The most numerous bird, by far, were scaup – I had about 75 birds in close enough to identify as Greater Scaup and then an additional 300 or so that were quite distant (I was thinking they were likely Greater, but it was too far for me to be sure). It was a really nice way to spend a Thursday afternoon and a welcome break from the routine.
~I had both Fish Crows and American Crows at the sanctuary. I never heard this bird call, so I’m not sure which this is. Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, West Haven CT 2/18/16.~~Greater? Scaup take off in numbers, only to relocate very nearby. Sandy Point Bird Sancturary, 2/18/16.~~Brant at Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~~Brant in flight in front of the rocks, Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~ ~iPhone shot of the beach at Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~
~A Lesser Scaup in Playland Lake at the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 2/7/16.~
I had planned to get to Rye, NY for some birding at the end of 2015 or early January of this year, but somehow I never made it out there. So, today I finally took the trip to the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, a spot that always seems to deliver a good amount of birds in the winter compared to what we are getting in Orange County. I had a pretty good day, with a total of 34 species (this is ten fewer than I had during a trip late last February but only two fewer than Karen Miller and I had in January of 2015). The highlight for me was getting relatively good views of Long-tailed Ducks – they were still distant, but typically at the sanctuary the LTDUs are miles out into the Long Island Sound. Another highlight was a distant look at a pair of Horned Grebes, a species I’ve never had at the sanctuary before. I was mostly surprised by the number of species that I expected to get but did not: Brant, Double-crested and Great Cormorant, Great Blue Heron (I remember large numbers on the islands at Playland Lake in the past), American and Fish Crow. I’ve also typically done well with photos at the sanctuary, and that was not the case today. Still, it was good day – gorgeous, seasonably warm, with enough birds to keep it interesting. I’ve included my species list at the bottom of this post.
~One of my favorites, Long-tailed Duck out beyond the rocks, Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 2/7/16.~~Keeping my Species Photos 2016 page in mind, I spent some time with this Northern Cardinal, Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 2/7/16.~~I stopped at the town park to have my lunch and I was joined by numerous gulls looking for a handout. Ring-billed Gull mooching in Rye, NY 2/7/16.~~Herring Gull close up. This bird was so close to me that I didn’t think my camera would focus on it. The bird eventually joined me on the bench. Rye Town Park, 2/7/16.~
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Horned Grebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
European Starling
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
I blame the insomnia. I do. I really struggled to sleep last night and ultimately only got a very little bit of shut-eye. Which made for a really tough morning, a difficult workday, and some bizarre birding.
Just before noon, I received a phone call from John Haas – he had a WESTERN GREBE at Piermont Pier! When I got out of work I headed straight to Piermont and arrived with plenty of beautiful light. I parked at the beginning of the pier, and as I walked towards where the bird had been seen, Bob Senerchia pulled alongside me and gave me a lift the rest of the way, explaining that there was plenty of parking further up. Maria Loukeris and Christopher Takacs were both there and photographing the bird, which was in perfect evening light and not very far out (I’ve included one of Maria’s shots below). I jumped out of Bob’s car and pretty much immediately started to take photos… I looked at my camera and saw some awful words: No Card in Camera. Ugh, no way, not today. I must have a spare back in the car! Bob let me borrow his car, which is a Prius which apparently you need a special degree to drive. I finally figured out out how to get it into gear and drove back to my car. With the parking brake on – I thought the beeping was for the seatbelt! I checked my camera bag and of course, no spare card. My heart was broken, but I grabbed my scope and my iPhone adapter and called Bob so he could tell me how to release the brake. I made it back incident-free, and decided to make lemonade out of lemons. I stayed for a good while and enjoyed the bird, what a beauty! I took what photos I could through the scope and shot the above video, which made me happy. When it came time to leave, I took the wrong exit and went across the Tappan Zee Bridge… it’s the insomnia – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Huge thanks to Bob for letting use his car, Maria for her photo, and of course to John Haas for locating the bird and getting the word out.
~WESTERN GREBE at Piermont Pier, 1/716. Photo by Maria Loukeris.~~One more digiscoped shot of the WESTERN GREBE, Piermont Pier 1/7/16.~~iPhone digiscope shot of the WESTERN GREBE at Piermont Pier, 1/7/16.~
~TUFTED DUCK at Lake Capri in West Islip, NY 12/26/15.~
Tricia and I had a great time on Christmas Eve and Christmas day in Suffolk County, Long Island, celebrating with our families. On our way out of town today, we stopped at Lake Capri in West Islip to try for the Tufted Duck that has been reported there. The earliest reports on eBird are from 12/13/15, and the most recent report was from Christmas Eve, so I was feeling confident that the bird would still be present. Shortly after arriving, we realized that viewing at Lake Capri is less than ideal. As far as we could tell, the only viewing area was along Montauk Highway at the south end of the lake. There is a chain link fence and much vegetation to look through, which made viewing and taking photos a little bit of a challenge. I did better capturing the bird with my iPhone through the spotting scope, but for them the photo quality is then pretty poor. Previous reports indicate that this is a young male TUDU; it is a beautiful bird and life bird #344 for me.
~Here’s an iPhone shot of the Tufted Duck, digiscoped through my spotting scope. This shot almost has the feel of a painting to me. TUDU Lake Capri in West Islip, NY 12/26/15.~
~I was very excited this afternoon to see this White-winged Scoter in the distance at Indian Kill Reservoir, 12/1/15.~
For the past couple of weeks I have been sort of playing a hunch and stopping by Indian Kill Reservoir on my way home from work. Today it paid off when I located a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER in the distance. The bird was distant and it was rainy and gray, but I was able to get some decent documentary shots of the bird, which made me happy. For those who don’t know, Indian Kill Reservoir is located at the intersection of Route 17A and Long Meadow Road (which is the road that leads to the Sterling Forest State Park Visitor’s Center). The best viewing is from the various pull offs on Long Meadow Road. White-winged Scoter is my 196th bird in Orange County this year… creeping towards 200 with less than a month left in the year.
It’s also worth mentioning that Wickham Lake has been decent lately as well – I had a Common Loon there last night, and a Common Goldeneye there on 11/25/15.
~American Coot at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, Liberty Loop 11/29/15.~
This afternoon, upon my arrival home after a fun but busy Thanksgiving weekend up in Syracuse, I headed out to do some birding and enjoy the beautiful weather. I was undecided on where to go, but excited to get out locally. I tooled around the black dirt to see what I could find; it was a birdy ride, and I hit many of my usual spots and I eventually made my way out to the Camel Farm, where I ran into Karen Miller. We caught up, trading Thanksgiving stories and we sorted through the nearly 1200 Canada Geese that were present. A Red-tailed Hawk flew right over us, calling the whole time. We did not locate anything different among the Canada Geese, and I kept moving eventually making brief stops at the Wallkill River NWR’s Winding Waters Trail and Liberty Loop. I was happy to find over a dozen American Coots in front of the viewing platform at the Liberty Loop, in very nice light so I took some photos. For the afternoon I had a total of 29 species, I’ll include my list below.
~A Red-tailed Hawk flyover at the Camel Farm, 11/29/15.~ ~I like the look on the the face of this Northern Cardinal, she does not seem entirely pleased. Black Dirt Region, 11/29/15.~
Black Dirt Region 11/29/15:
~Downy Woodpecker at Wallkill River NWR, Winding Waters Trail, 11/29/15.~
Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow
~Two more cute coots at Wallkill River NWR, Liberty Loop, 11/29/15.~
Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, my brother-in-law Bill and I went out to one of my favorite birding spots – Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. It was a terrible day for photos and tough for viewing distant birds as it was very gray and dark all day long. The refuge was loaded with waterfowl and we had 17 different types of water birds: Canada Geese, Tundra Swan, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Pied-billed Grebe, and American Coot! We did not get a large number of raptor species, but we had plenty of individuals, with several Northern Harriers and over a half a dozen of both Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks. As I mentioned, it was a tough day for photos, but here are a few shots from the morning:
~Red-tailed Hawk at Montezuma NWR, 11/28/15.~~It was exciting to get close up looks at this young Bald Eagle, unfortunately it was tough light to photograph. Montezuma NWR, 11/28/15.~~A nice look at a Northern Shoveler at Montezuma NWR, 11/28/15.~
~One of the many Yellow-rumped Warblers at Wickham Woodlands Town Park tonight, 10/8/15.~
I was happy to finally get out to bird Warwick’s newest town park, Wickham Woodlands. For me, the best thing about the park is that it offers a good look at nearly all of Wickham Lake. My highlight was seeing 11 Ruddy Ducks that were present on the lake, my first of the season. Scanning the lake, I also had many Mallards, Canada Geese, a dozen Ring-billed Gulls, 2 Belted Kingfishers, a Double-crested Cormorant, and an adult Bald Eagle. But as I wandered through the 50 acres that make up the park, I realized that it was quite birdy. I had easily over 20 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, several Eastern Bluebirds, and I got a nice look at a Pileated Woodpecker as it flew across the lake. Nice night of birding!
~Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Wickham Woodlands, 10/8/15.~~Ten Ruddy Ducks, my first of the Season, out on Wickham Lake, 10/8/15.~~I actually took this on Tuesday afternoon at the Liberty Loop but still wanted to post it – Sharp-shinned Hawk perched, 10/6/15.~~iPhone panoramic shot of Wickham Lake, taken from Wickham Woodlands Town Park, 10/8/15.~
