Orange County – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 06/29/25

At my first stop this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find two young Barred Owls. They were being mobbed by Common Grackles, which is the only reason I found them.

For my second stop, I’d nearly forgotten about one of the best summer birding spots in Orange County: the Mongaup River Trail. It’s an easy hike that, as the name indicates, runs along the Mongaup River. I find that it’s not a great spot first thing in the morning because everything is still in dark shadows. I arrived around 9:00 am, and that seemed to be a good time to arrive. I was in some shade on the way out and mostly in sun on the way back. My first bird was a Pine Warbler, followed shortly by a high, calling Blackburnian Warbler. There were a good number Louisana Waterthrush, Ovenbirds, and Black-throated Green Warblers. I usually get Magnolia Warbler at this location, but did not today. I also had a single Northern Parula and an adult Bald Eagle.

On my way home, I took the long way and went through the Rio Dam area. I had a Red Fox cross the road in front of my car. They disappeared into the woods quicker than you can imagine! And, a little later I had a Winter Wren singing just off the road.

~Young Barred Owl in Orange County, NY 06/29/25.~

~A Louisiana Waterthrush with a mouthful of insects. Mongaup River Trail, 06/29/25.~

~Ovenbird at Mongaup River Trail, 06/29/25.~

~A Green Heron cuts a nice figure on a dead tree limb, 06/29/25.~

Owlet Rescue, 06/28/25

I walked Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop first thing this morning. It was mostly just the usuals, until I found an apparently distressed Great Horned Owl owlet perched on the ground, only about 20 feet off the trail. Last night Linda Scrima forwarded me a Facebook post where someone had found this same owlet the day before. So that meant the bird had been there for a full day already (the bird was not really on my radar – I figured it had been helped already). I let Linda know the bird was still there; she shared the contact information for The Avian Wildlife Center. I got in touch with Giselle (some readers may remember she helped me with Carson C. Waxwing back in 2020), and we made arrangements for her to come out and get the bird.

~Poor little dude. Great Horned Owl owlet at the Liberty Loop, 06/28/25.~

Linda joined me on the trail and we kept an eye on the bird until Giselle arrived. We made a quick plan to catch the bird, and it went pretty smoothly – Giselle really knows what she is doing. Upon initial examination, Giselle observed that the bird was underweight, but not emaciated. There were no obvious injuries, but Giselle did note that the bird’s eyes looked a little weird. We hustled back to Giselle’s car and she took the bird back to her place, where it will get the care that it needs. I will post an update on the bird when I hear something. For any readers who would like to donate to the Avian Wildlife Center, you can click here to do so. Thanks!

~Giselle begins her initial examination of the owlet. Liberty Loop, 06/28/25.~

So that was the excitement for the day! Otherwise, the loop was birdy and I observed over 50 species. The most interesting to me was over a dozen Great Blue Herons (it seems early for them to be congregating there already), a single Great Egret, and a single Greater Yellowlegs. Here’s a few photos from the morning. I’m also including a complete list of birds observed – I haven’t done that in a while.

~I was just telling some friends last night that sometime you can catch a glimpse of the Gray Catbird’s rufous under tail. Liberty Loop 06/28/25.~

~Young Tree Swallow perched at the Liberty Loop, 06/28/25.~

~Red-winged Blackbird striking a pose at the Liberty Loop, 06/28/25.~

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Common Gallinule
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Great Horned Owl
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Roe-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting

Black Rock Forest, 06/21/25

I took my yearly hike out to Jupiter’s Boulder in Black Rock Forest to try for Ruffed Grouse. As with the last 6 years, I did not have any success with my target species . But, it was still a birdy and enjoyable hike. I hit the trail just after sunrise and covered around 5 miles. I observed a total of 35 species; all were expected species. Highlights included a low flyover of a Broad-winged Hawk while I relaxed on Jupiter’s Boulder, eating my Cliff Bar breakfast, and getting fantastic looks at an Acadian Flycatcher which was vocalizing nonstop with with its excellent call of “peeet-SAH!”.

~Common Yellowthroat at Black Rock Forest, 06/21/25.~

~Here I am at the waterfall near the beginning of the trail to Jupiter’s Boulder, Black Rock Forest, 06/21/25.~

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.~