With all the GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL excitement from last Sunday, I did not have time to do my usual end-0f-weekend post.
On Saturday morning, Karen Miller and I left Goshen before Sunrise and headed to Rye, New York. We birded the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the Rye Town Park. It was bitterly cold out, with a strong cold wind which made it even worse, but still we had an enjoyable morning. I felt good about our total of 37 species for the morning. Highlights included a giant flock of Long-tailed Ducks way out in the LI Sound – perhaps 65 birds or even more. Other highlights included a single Horned Lark and a couple of Purple Sandpipers.
~White-throated Sparrow at Read Wildlife Sanctuary, 01/20/24.~
On Sunday morning, I knew it was too early to try for gulls, so I made the rounds in the black dirt. I found only the usuals, but I had some really good photo ops, and the light was really nice. It was another cold morning of birding, even though I was in the car for the most part.
~One of 2 young Bald Eagles sharing a tree in the black dirt, 01/21/24.!~Horned Lark in the black dirt, 01/21/24.~~Gray Ghost on the prowl in the black dirt at sunrise, 01/21/24.~~The second young Bald Eagle, sharing a tree in the BDR on 01/21/24.~~Look at the toes and claws on this Horned Lark! Wow. Black dirt 01/21/24.~~A Peregrine Falcon enjoys breakfast just after sunrise in the black dirt, 01/21/24.~
Yesterday afternoon, birding bud Bruce Nott contacted me to let me know he had a gull at the Newburgh Waterfront that he believed was a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL. Unfortunately, I was unable to run for the bird yesterday, but I was able to catch up with the bird today. I headed over towards the river in the early afternoon – I knew it was likely too early for the birds to be in Newburgh, so I went directly to the Beacon Waterfront. Luck was on my side, as that was exactly where this rare gull had decided to spend the afternoon. There were many happy birders that came out to try for the bird, whose normal range is on the West Coast. There has been some chatter online, some from from gull experts, about the possibility of the bird being a hybrid – I will be curious to see if we get any additional information or clarity. Most reports from today seem to indicate that the bird looks good for GWGU, and yesterday’s eBird reports were confirmed. I will post a follow up if any more information is forthcoming. Huge thanks and congratulations to Bruce on yet another great find.
~Glaucous-winged Gull on the ice at the Beacon Waterfront, 01/21/24.~~GWGU, Beacon 01/21/24.~~I thought this was a sharp looking bird, especially in flight. Beacon Waterfront, 01/21/24.~~GWGU in flight, Beacon NY 01/21/24.~~GWGU in Beacon NY, 01/21/23.~~We also had 2 Iceland Gulls while I was in Beacon, one adult (above) and one 2nd year. Beacon Waterfront, 01/21/24.~
Aside from the excitement of the Snow Geese during the OC Winter Waterfowl Survey, the rest of the weekend was pretty much the usuals for me.. Of note was two large flocks of gulls in the black dirt – one on Missionland Road and the other on Glenwood Road. The Missionland birds were quite distant, so I couldn’t really go through them. The gulls on Glenwood Road were mostly Ring-billed, with 10 or so Herring Gulls mixed in. Also noteworthy, the Snow Geese seemed to be a one-day-wonder (at least for the time being), as I didn’t see them or any reports of them on Sunday. And finally, after seeing John Haas’ post from Friday, I tried for winter finches in the Reservoir 3 area on Sunday morning. Unfortunately it was a bust for me; I will have to try again another day soon; my goal is to get photos of Red Crossbills which aren’t flyovers.. Anyways, here’s some photos from my birding over the past couple of days.
~Northern Harrier in flight at Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Marsh, 01/13/24.~~Horned Lark showing off its namesake in the black dirt, 01/13/24.~~Snow Geese at the Camel Farm, 01/13/24.~~Red-tailed Hawk in the BDR, 01/13/24.~~NOHA at Liberty Marsh during the waterfowl survey, 01/13/24.~~HOLA in the black dirt, 01/13/24.~~A young Northern Harrier protects its catch from a pesky American Crow in the black dirt, 01/13/24.~
Today Linda Scrima and I participated in the Mearns Bird Club’s Orange County Winter Waterfowl Count. For the sixth straight year, the two of us covered the Black Dirt Region for the survey. This year was particularly interesting. Typically in mid January there isn’t much open water, but with this year’s recent warm temperatures, all bodies of water were open. Additionally, with all the rain we’ve had recently, the black dirt had much flooding, creating waterfowl habitat where typically there wouldn’t be (I had a pair of Northern Pintails and a Green-winged Teal in the middle of a flooded corn field!). And finally, a bit of luck is always helpful. Linda had a large group of Snow Geese fly over (2,500+ birds!), and then we both found a decent sized flock (approximately 700 birds), which had put down at the Camel Farm. The one disappointment was, that in spite of the large number of Canada and Snow Geese located, we were unable to locate any rare geese. Not even a Cackling Goose. Thanks to Linda for coordinating and for the good company. It was probably the most enjoyable Winter Waterfowl Survey I’ve done yet.
Snow Goose: 3,200
Canada Goose: 2,566
Mute Swan: 1
Mallard: 124
American Black Duck: 9
Green-winged Teal: 5
Northern Pintail: 4
American Wigeon: 3
Bufflehead: 2
Common Merganser: 4
~Three of approximately 700 Snow Geese at the Camel Farm, 01/13/24.~~Snow Geese in flight over Route 1 in the Black Dirt Region, 01/13/24.~
Between my end of year post and the great birds I had over the past weekend, I’ve got some catching up to do as far as photos go. Here’s some additional shots from the past couple of weeks. I spent some time in the black dirt making sure I got Lapland Longspur for 2024 – I was able to photograph a couple of them this past Saturday morning. I’ve also been trying for gulls, but I’ve only been able to find the 3 expected species. That didn’t stop me from taking photos.
~Ring-billed Gulls during Sunday morning’s snowstorm. Newburgh Waterfront, 01/07/24.~~Always a favorite of mine – Lapland Longspur in the black dirt, 01/06/24.~~A Horned Lark enjoys a dust bath on a gravel road in the black dirt, 01/01/24.~~Portrait of an interesting looking Ring-billed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 01/07/24.~~Eastern Bluebird, Winding Waters Trail, 01/06/24.~~Bald Eagle in the black dirt, 01/01/24.~~Another Horned Lark taking a dust bath, BDR o1/01/24.~~Good looking gull. Great Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 01/07/24.~~Song Sparrow at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/26/23.~
As the snowstorm wound down today, I headed out to the Newburgh Waterfront to see what I could find. I was mostly thinking about gulls, but I also knew I had to check the Waterfront Trail for warblers. Well, the gulls were a bust (only the expected species), but I was thrilled to find a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER! I put the word out – at least I thought I did, but in my haste, I unfortunately sent it to the wrong What’s App thread. Bruce Nott and Peter Chernak arrived as I was departing (I’d contacted them directly), and they both got the bird as well. Hopefully it will stick for others. I also had a Palm Warbler and I was finally able to finally catch up with the Tennessee Warbler that’s been reported at the same location. It was quite an unexpectedly good afternoon of birding.
~Exciting bird! Yellow-throated Warbler at the Waterfront Trail in Newburgh, NY 01/07/24.~~YTWA at the Waterfront Trail, 01/07/24.~~Palm Warbler, Newburgh Waterfront Trail, 01/07/24.~~Tennessee Warbler at Waterfront Trail in Newburgh, NY 01/07/24.~
This morning, after a stop in the black dirt region to pick up Lapland Longspur for the new year (I found 2), I went to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I went for the NORTHERN SHRIKE that has been seen there for a few days (huge thanks to birding bud Maria Loukeris for the heads up). On my way out on the trail, I did not have any luck with my target bird. But, on the way back, I could see the shrike perched high in a tree in the distance. I made my way back towards the car (and closer to the bird), and I joined Linda Scrima. We enjoyed decent, if brief looks at the bird, and took some photos of course. I think Northern Shrike is a favorite of many birders, and you can certainly count me among them.
~Yes! Excellent way to start the new year off – Northern Shrike at Wallkill River NWR, 01/06/24.~~One more shot of the Northern Shrike at Winding Waters Trail, 01/06/24.~
…Buntings! I began the long Christmas weekend on Friday evening with a sizable but skittish flock of Snow Buntings in beautiful light. I continued on Saturday morning where the flock was more cooperative, but of course, the light was terrible for photos. Seeing how there is no snow in the forecast, this looks like the only “snow” we’ll have for the holiday. I hope everyone who is celebrating is enjoying a wonderful Christmas with loved ones.
~Snow Buntings in flight, Black Dirt Region, 12/22/23.~~Single SNBU in flight, BDR, 12/22/23.~~Snow Bunting foraging in the black dirt, 12/23/23.~~I really like this photo because it contains 3 species… can you pick out the Lapland Longspur and the Horned Lark? ~SNBU in the BDR, 12/23/23.~~SNBUs in the black dirt, 12/22/23.~~It’s funny to me, because sometimes in close-ups, Snow Buntings have a little bit of an old man look to me, with the wrinkles around the eyes. Black Dirt Region 12/23/23.~
I really enjoyed my birding this weekend. It’s that time of year when the days are just too short to fit any birding in during the week, so when I get out on the weekends it seems just that much better.
On Saturday I took an eight mile hike out at Black Rock Forest. My target species was Red Crossbill, but unfortunately I didn’t have any luck with them. It was a relatively birdy walk though; I had a total of 23 species with my highlight being a trio of Purple Finches. Afterwards, I went to the Newburgh Waterfront, thinking about gulls and waterfowl. Little did I know that I should have been thinking about warblers! On Watefront Trail, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Palm Warbler and then a little later, a Northern Parula. Bruce Nott later found a Tennessee Warbler! Not bad for December.
~A crazy looking shot of the Northern Parula at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/16/23.~~Palm Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront, 123/16/23.~
On Sunday I stayed closer to home; I hit the black dirt early and then checked a few nearby lakes. In the black dirt, I enjoyed sifting through some large flocks of mixed blackbirds, looking unsuccessfully for a Yellow-headed Blackbird in the mix – a total long shot, but if you don’t look, you’ll never find one. The flocks consisted of nearly all Common Grackles, with a smattering European Starlings, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and Red-winged Blackbirds as well.
Afterwards, I found a single Common Goldeneye loosely associating with a small flock of Buffleheads at the northernmost part of Greenwood Lake. At Wickham Lake, surprisingly the Common Loon that I found there back on December 1st was still present. I watched the bird for a good while – it was pretty far out, so I was just enjoying looking at it in my scope. Then the bird appeared to try to take flight – taking a long runway, flapping like mad, but it never got airborne. It did this 3 times, and I started to figure that this was probably why the bird was still present. I waited it out, because the bird still seemed itchy. On the fourth attempt, the bird got airborne! It took a few laps around the lake, only clearing the treetops a few times, before landing in the lake again. I’m choosing to believe that this was finally a successful test flight. Hopefully the bird will have enough strength and get over whatever is ailing it soon so it can continue its migration.
~Attempt #3, where this Common Loon did not get airborne. Wickham Lake, 12/17/23.~~Northern Mocking bird with a bite to eat; Turtle Bay Road 12/17/23.~~Not something you see every day in inland southern OC, dozens of Ring-billed Gulls literally on Bellvale Lakes Road, 12/17/23.~A more conventional shot of the Northern Parula, Newburgh Waterfront 12/16/23.~~NOMO in BDR, 12/17/23.~
Today was an unexpectedly good day of birding for me. My first stop was Reservoir #3 in Port Jervis. I have birded this location a lot over the years, and I think as far as fall/winter birding is concerned, today was the most productive day I’ve ever had out there. As soon as I got out of the car, a Pine Siskin flew over calling. Not long after that, I heard and saw my target bird of the morning: a small group of RED CROSSBILLS flew over. I recorded the call on the Merlin app, and I was able to get some documentary, mostly-silhouetted photos. I took a modest hike and I tallied 20 species; other highlights included a Red-breasted Nuthatch, several Brown Creepers, and three Golden-crowned Kinglets.
~Bald Eagle in the black dirt, 12/09/23.~
Afterwards, I made a short visit to the black dirt. I tracked down a flock of Horned Larks with 2 Snow Buntings and 1 Lapland Longspur among them. I also enjoyed a nice photo op with a Bald Eagle.
~Iceland Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/09/23.~
In the evening, I joined Bruce Nott at the Newburgh Waterfront. Bruce had informed me earlier in the week that he had a couple of ICELAND GULLS, so I was excited to get out and get the gulling season started. We were able to locate one first winter Iceland Gull among approximately 400 gulls of the expected species (Herring, Great Black-backed, and Ring-billed) on the river.
~Red Crossbill in flight at Reservoir #3, 12/09/23.~~Brown Creeper at Res 3, 12/09/23.~