Orange County – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 06/08/25

This weekend I hiked out at Reservoir #3 in Port Jervis both mornings. My target bird was Ruffed Grouse, which I know is a total longshot, but I had to try. Yesterday I cut my hike short when I was just soaked through and had had enough. So I gave it another go this morning in the dry weather. Both mornings were quite birdy; I had 22 species yesterday in the rain, and 34 species this morning. Species were all expected; highlights for me included Blackburnian Warblers and an Acadian Flycatcher.

I also spent some time at the Liberty Loop platform on Saturday. My best bird was a calling Least Bittern. I also enjoyed a couple of Green Herons which were spending some time around the platform, providing some photo ops.

~Green Heron coming right at me. Liberty Loop, 06/07/25.~

~One more Green Heron shot from the Liberty Loop platform, 06/07/25.~

~Black-and-white Warbler at Reservoir #3, 06/08/25.~

Sunday Shots, 06/01/25

We’ve enjoyed some good and exciting birding in the area recently; my recent posts have reflected that. So this afternoon I’m just doing a little clean up and posting some of the shots which were also taken during that time. Migration is winding down now, and the exciting birding will probably be on hold for a little while; meanwhile we can change our focus to breeding birds, hiking, and just enjoying being out.

~American Goldfinch in the black dirt, o5/25/25.~

~Grasshopper Sparrow in the black dirt, 05/25/25.~

~Barn Swallow in the Black Dirt Region, 05/31/25.~

~Cedar Waxwing at Port Orange Road, 05/25/25.~

Sunday Shots…a day late, 05/19/25

Tricia and I went away for the weekend, but I was able to get out and do some local birding on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. I hit the black dirt on Sunday, hoping for the White-rumped Sandpiper that had been reported earlier in the week. I dipped on my target, but I was able to add Semipalmated Plover to my year list and get a handful of shots of a Grasshopper Sparrow. This morning I birded Ironwood Drive at Sterling Forest State Park. It was birdy as can be, and I had several new year birds. Most notable for me, was Alder Flycatcher, as that’s not a species I get every year. I had some frustrating likely misses, as the Merlin app was hearing birds that I wasn’t able to hear nor locate. The trees are full of leaves now, and that made it challenging as well. Here’s some shots from the last couple of days.

~These guys are generally pretty accommodating. Male Bobolink in the black dirt, 05/18/25.~

~I rarely take backlit photos – I’ve seen others have some great images with backlighting, but usually I don’t see it. This case was an exception – backlit Prairie Warbler singing at Sterling Forest State Park, 05/19/25.~

~For a bird that I see and hear daily, I rarely get any photos of Baltimore Orioles. This one was at Sterling Forest, 05/19/25.~

~I was pleased to find this GRASSHOPPER SPARROW perched near the road as I made my way home from the black dirt on Sunday afternoon, 05/18/25.

Sunday Shots, 05/11/25

After a couple of days of focusing on shorebirds, I figured I better get out and try for some songbirds this morning before they all pass me by. I spent some time early at Elks Brox Memorial Park, and it was fairly productive. I added several species to my OC 2025 list: Blue-headed Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler. Afterwards, I went to Port Orange Road and enjoyed trying for photos of a couple of Cerulean Warblers that were present.

~Cerulean Warbler at Port Orange Road, 05/11/25.~

~Magnolia Warbler hiding in the shadows at Elks Brox Memorial Park, 05/11/25.~

~Prairie Warbler at Elks Brox, 05/11/25.~

~Eastern Phoebe at Port Orange Road, 05/11/25.~

OC Shorebirds, 05/10/25

Yesterday evening, and then again first thing this morning, I was out in the Black Dirt Region, looking for shorebirds in the all the puddling from the recent heavy rains. Between the two days, at a couple different locations, I had a total of 8 shorebird species:

Wilson’s Snipe (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (4)
Solitary Sandpiper (9)
Lesser Yellowlegs (14)
Greater Yellowlegs (3)
DUNLIN (3)
Least Sandpiper (84)
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (3)

~Lesser Yellowlegs in the black dirt, 05/10/25.~

~Close up of a Spotted Sandpiper in the Black Dirt Region, 05/10/25.~

~I kind of like this photo. Solitary Sandpiper, in the rain, on a pile of onions, in the black dirt region, 05/09/25.~

Sunday Shots, 05/04/25

Well, it was quite a bird-filled weekend. It’s that time of year where just being out and about you will see many new birds for the year. If I include Thursday, I personally added nearly 30 birds to my Orange County year list. I’ve included a list of all my new birds at the bottom of this post.

While most of the birds were nothing out-of-the-ordinary, there were some highlights. On Saturday morning, the Camel Farm was well stocked with shorebirds. While most of the birds were Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, I did add several new species, including a single DUNLIN in beautiful plumage. It was funny, because Linda Scrima joined me there; she was trying to get on the Dunlin and she casually asked me if it was near the GLOSSY IBIS… I was like what GLOSSY IBIS??? The ibis must have flown in while I had my head down in my scope, so that was a funny, pleasant surprise.

~This photo made my weekend. It’s been absolutely years since I’ve gotten a decent cuckoo photo, so I was thrilled to spend a little time at Winding Waters Trail with this Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 05/04/25.~

On Sunday morning, for my final stop, I took a walk out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail, where two excellent things happened. First, I ran into and caught up with my friends Jeff and Liz; It had been ages since I’ve seen them, and I was coincidentally just thinking about them the day before. And second, a little while after that, I ran into a relatively cooperative YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. It’s been absolutely ages since I’ve had a good cuckoo experience, so I really enjoyed it.

~Greater Yellowlegs at the Camel Farm, 05/04/25.~

~My warbler game is right on par, lol. Here’s snazzy shot of a distant Blue-winged Wabler on an electrical tower in Sterling Forest, 05/03/25.~

~There were loads of Yellow Warblers at most locations I went to over the weekend. This one was taken at Winding Waters Trail, 05/04/25.~

~One more Yellow-billed Cuckoo shot. Winding Waters Trail, 05/04/25.~

~Cuteness. Canada Goose goslings at Wickham Lake, 05/03/25.~

130. Barred Owl – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
131. Black-billed Cuckoo – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
132. Solitary Sandpiper – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
133. Northern Rough-winged Swallow – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
134. Northern House Wren – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
135. Bank Swallow – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
136. Eastern Kingbird – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
137. Northern Waterthrush – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
138. American Redstart – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
139. Dunlin – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
140. Least Sandpiper – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
141. Pectoral Sandpiper – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
142. Glossy Ibis – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
143. Red-eyed Vireo – Pochuck Mountain – 05/03/25
144. Ovenbird – Pochuck Mountain – 05/03/25
145. Scarlet Tanager – Pochuck Mountain – 05/03/25
146. Yellow-throated Vireo – Elks Brox – 05/03/25
147. Worm-eating Warbler – Elks Brox – 05/03/25
148. Wood Thrush – Reservoir #1 – 05/03/25
149. Rose-breasted Grosbeak – Reservoir #1 – 05/03/25
150. Indigo Bunting – Reservoir #1 – 05/03/25
151. Green Heron – Sugar Loaf – 05/03/25
152. Eastern Whip-poor-will – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
153. American Woodcock – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
154. Blue-winged Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
155. Cerulean Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
156. Chestnut-sided Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
157. Prairie Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
158. Yellow-billed Cuckoo – Winding Waters – 05/04/25

Sunday Shots, 04/27/25

Songbird migration is really kicking into gear, so just being out and about this weekend I added a dozen species to my year list. While none were out of the ordinary, it was just enjoyable to be out with so many birds around. As far as warblers go, I added 6 species: Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, and Black-and-white Warbler. While I came up short regarding warbler photos, I did manage to get some shots over the weekend:

~Bald Eagle in flight in the Black Dirt Region, 04/27/25.~

~Bald Eagle in the black dirt, 04/27/25.~

~One of my first Gray Catbirds of the yeaar. Wickham Lake, 04/26/25.~

~Tree Swallow at Wickham Lake, 04/27/25.~

~Horned Lark on the move in the rain on Saturday morning. Black Dirt Region 04/26/25.~

Easter Birding, 04/20/25

We hosted for Easter, so it was mostly a birding-free weekend for me. I did manage to get out for a couple of hours late this morning into the early afternoon, and it was productive for not being out very long. At Wickham Lake I picked up my first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the year. Then in the black dirt, I saw my first Broad-winged Hawk of the year. And, I also found a trio of VESPER SPARROWS. It had been 2 years since I last saw a Vesper Sparrow in Orange County, so I was pretty happy about it. The birds did not stick around very long, and heat shimmer wreaked havoc on my photos, but it was still great to see them.

~Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Wickham Lake, 04/20/25.~

~One of three Vesper Sparrow in the black dirt today, 04/20/25.~

~One more shot of the BGGN at Wickham Lake, 04/20/25.~

Sunday Shots, 04/13/25

I enjoyed a decent Sunday morning of birding, hitting several of my usual spots – Wickham Lake, Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Loop and Winding Waters, and of course, the black dirt. It was mostly the usuals, but I enjoyed being out and a I was fortunate enough to get a few decent photo ops. My highlight was having a single Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake fly in and land not too far out from where I was standing on shore.

~Beautiful bird – Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake, 04/13/25.~

~Singing Palm Warbler at Wickham Lake, 04/13/25.~

~Greater Yellowlegs in the black dirt, 04/13/25.~

~One more shot of the beautiful Bonie at Wickham Lake, 04/13/25.~

More Good Birding, 04/12/25

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.