Orange County – Orange Birding

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.

~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.~

A Good Sunday Morning Birding, 04/06/25

My first stop this morning was Glenmere Lake, where I found 2 Common Loons. Karen Miller went there a little later in the morning and she had a total of 4 Common Loons. Next I went to Wickham Lake, where it was busy. Highlights included 5 Bonaparte’s Gulls and a female Red-breasted Merganser. I also had my first Great Egret and Spotted Sandpiper of 2025. I then tried a few more southern Orange County lakes, but came up empty, so I headed to the Newburgh Waterfront. It was a successful morning on the river; I was able to catch up with the 5 Great Cormorants and the Black-crowned Night Heron which have been reported this week. l also added another 11 Bonaparte’s Gulls to the day’s tally. And, finally, there was also decent sized flock of scaup (40 birds) on the river; they were distant and difficult to identify, but I was able to discern several each of both Lessers and Greaters.

~Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake, 04/06/25.~

~Not exactly a primo photo op, but always a good bird to see. Black-crowned Night Heron on Quassaic Creek, 04/06/25.~

~Sleeping Mourning Dove in the black dirt, 04/05/25.~

~Wilson’s Snipe on Lynch Avenue in the black dirt region, 04/05/35.

Waterfowl Weekend, 03/30/25

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.~

~This one is from last weekend, when Eastern Phoebes moved back into our area. This one was at Silver Mine Lake, 03/22/25.~

Saturday