Orange County – Page 13 – Orange Birding

YES! UPLAND SANDPIPER!

I’m pretty jazzed as I write this. After work this evening I headed out to the black dirt with shorebirds on my mind. The evening was mostly a bust, with only Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers being observed. I was just about wrapping up, and I was looking in an area that has been good for Horned Larks, not really shorebirds, when I saw a bird naked eye that I knew had to be an Upland Sandpiper. I got my bins on it, and sure enough, it was! I was thrilled! What a bird! Regular readers of the blog know that I’m shorebird obsessed and I’m particularly partial to Uppies.

UPLAND SANDPIPER in the black dirt this evening, 07/21/23.~

Sunday Shots, 07/16/23

With even more rain falling overnight and into the morning, I headed back out to the black dirt to try for shorebirds again. I was really feeling like there might be an exciting bird out there today, but, alas, it wasn’t to be. I did enjoy observing the same 5 shorebird species (Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, and Lesser Yellowlegs), and I had some decent photo ops with a small flock of Least Sandpipers that flew in and landed not too far from my car.

~Least Sandpiper in the black dirt, 07/16/23.~

Later in morning I went to the Newburgh Waterfront to see if anything good was going on there, or if I could at least finally catch up with the Neotropic Cormorant. Unfortunately it was mostly uneventful, but I did manage to see my first Orange County Great Egret of the year.

A young Tree Swallow flying over the puddles in the black dirt, 07/15/23.~

~Marsh Wren at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Marsh, 07/15/23.~

~A Least Sandpiper reflects on things in the black dirt, 07/16/23.~

~I was enjoying the swallows that were feeding on insects above the puddles in the black dirt. Here’s a young Barn Swallow swooping in, 07/15/23.~

~A young raccoon peers from behind its parent. Purgatory Road, 07/16/23.~

~Great Egret fly-by at the Newburgh Waterfront, 07/16/23.~

OC Shorebirds, 07/15/23

With all the rain we got in Orange County this week, I was optimistic that we would see some shorebird activity. I went out after work on Monday and searched in the black dirt. Conditions were good, and Killdeer were plentiful. I also saw a decent number of Spotted Sandpipers, a single Solitary Sandpiper, and a handful of Least Sandpipers. This morning my plan was to go hiking at Sterling Forest, but I changed my mind after last night’s rainfall. Conditions in the black dirt were good again, and I added several Lesser Yellowlegs to the mix. Unfortunately, they were flying model airplanes over the field and the LEYEs flushed before I got any photos. Spotted Sandpipers were more scarce, but I did have close to a dozen Solitary Sandpipers.

~A couple of Solitary Sandpipers in the black dirt, 07/15/23.~

~Spotted Sandpiper in the black dirt, 07/15/23.~

~One more Solitary Sandpiper. Black Dirt Region 07/15/23.~

Sunday Shots – Catching Up, 07/09/23

It’s the time of year where there’s not much exciting happening, but, of course, I’ve still been getting out. I’m catching up a bit here today because with the 4th of July holiday, I was able to get out Monday and Tuesday as well as this weekend. I’ve been mostly sticking to my usual haunts in Orange County, but I’ve also checked out some spots in Ulster and Sullivan Counties, to mix it up a little bit.

Locally, I dipped on the Neotropic Cormorant at the Newburgh Waterfront a couple of times since the end of June when Bruce Nott discovered that it had returned. Hopefully I’ll catch up with it sooner than later. In the black dirt, I was happy to catch up with some juvenile Horned Larks this morning; I’ve been on the lookout for them. And, I found even more Killdeer chicks this morning; they seem to be everywhere this year.

~A young Horned Lark in the black dirt, 07/09/23.~

Outside of OC, my favorite trip was heading up to Peekamoose Road yesterday morning. I just love the name of that road, first off, but the spot is really worthwhile. I missed my target bird (Mourning Warbler), but got excellent binocular views of both Canada Warblers and Blackburnian Warblers. It was also a treat to hear several Winter Wrens singing; I was never able to lay eyes on them unfortunately.

On my way home yesterday, I stopped at the Bashakill. I checked in on the Prothonotary Warbler at the Stop Sign trail – I heard the bird but it never came close enough for looks. I enjoyed a few other stops at the Bash, including the Deli Fields where I got some decent shots of a Red-eyed Vireo (one of those birds always heard but not seen nearly as often). Earlier in the week, I birded The Grasslands in Ulster County, where I enjoyed hearing and finally locating and photographing a Grasshopper Sparrow just south of the viewing platform. My target bird was Upland Sandpiper (at Grasslands and Blue Chip Farm), but that was always a long shot.

~To me, this Grasshopper Sparrow’s head shape is not what I’m used to seeing. Usually, the transition from bill to head is flat, whereas this bird there is a little bit of a rise at the bird’s forehead. This sort of threw me at first. GRSP at the Grasslands, 07/03/23.~

~A young European Starling in the black dirt, 07/09/23.~

~Blue Jay fledgling in our yard, 07/03/23.~

~The 2 adults were never very far away.~

~No Neotropic, but I of course found several Double-crested Cormorants at the Newburgh Waterfront, 07/04/23.~

~Killdeer puffball in the black dirt this morning, 07/09/23.~

Sunday Shots 06/18/23: Swallows

This morning I followed up on a report on the Mearns Bird Club app. The other John, aka The Lobsta, found a Bank Swallow colony in Slate Hill. The site did not disappoint – there were many Bank Swallows present and very active. I parked my car and used it as a blind and enjoyed the show. Afterwards, I decided to make it a swallow day, and I headed to a known nesting area for Cliff Swallows. Unfortunately the light was terrible there, making for terrible photos (I’ve posted one nonetheless). And finally, I headed over to Lower Wisner Road and spent some time with the nesting Tree Swallows at that location.

~Bank Swallow taking off. Slate Hill NY 06/18/23.~

~An adult Bank Swallow leaves the nest, Slate Hill 06/18/23.~

~Bank Swallow, Slate Hill, Orange County NY 06/18/23.~

~One more Bank Swallow shot, Slate Hill 06/18/23.~

~Tree Swallow at Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, NY 06/18/23.~

~One more Tree Swallow at Wisner, 06/18/23.~

~Terrible shot, but I wanted to include at least one Cliff Swallow shot. Warwick, NY 06/18/23.~

Sunday Shots 06/11/23: Killdeer of All Ages

Aside from my hike at Black Rock Forest, I seemed to find Killdeer everywhere I birded this weekend. Many are working on their second clutch of the season. Meanwhile, the young Killdeer from the first clutch now have the appearance of clumsy teenagers; not quite adult size with a very pathetic looking tail, lol. Here’s a few shots from the weekend, with Killdeer ages ranging from eggs in the nest to the adult watching over.

~Ulster County Killdeer chick, 06/10/23.~

~Another puffball in Ulster County, 06/10/23.~

~Adult Killdeer with eggs on the nest. I took this shot through a fence, using my car as a blind. Orange County 06/11/23.~

~A young Killdeer in Orange County, 06/11/23. To me, at this age they look like awkward teenagers.~

Black Rock Forest, 06/10/23

It was five years ago today that I finally got my first Ruffed Grouse in Orange County. The location was at Jupiter’s Boulder in Black Rock Forest, so I headed there first thing this morning, hoping to finally get lucky again. Unfortunately, I had no luck with the grouse, but it was a beautiful and birdy hike. I enjoyed a couple of my favorite summer birds – Acadian Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Vireo. Another highlight was a low flyover of a Broad-winged Hawk while I ate my snack and drank some water right beside Jupiter’s Boulder. I completed my hike with 28 species observed, which I was pretty happy with.

~Broad-winged Hawk at Black Rock Forest, 06/10/23.~

~One more of the ACFL at Black Rock Forest, 06/10/23.~

Sunday Shots, 05/14/23

I was up early both morning this weekend, focused on catching up on some of the songbirds that have moved into our area. I didn’t find nearly as many warblers as I’d hoped, but with some decent yard birding, I added a total of 15 species to my Orange County 2023 list this week. On Saturday morning I birded Cedar Hill Cemetery (just north of Newburgh), and then went to Kendridge Farm. On Sunday I went to Port Jervis and birded Laurel Grove Cemetery and Elks Brox Memorial park.

~Baltimore Oriole at Kendridge Farm, 05/13/23. I’ve seen and heard more BAORs this year than I can ever remember before.

Here’s a list of the birds I added to my OC list this week:

Baltimore Oriole, 05/08/23, my yard
Great Crested Flycatcher, 05/09/23, my yard
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 05/12/23, my yard
Red-eyed Vireo, 05/13/23, Cedar Hill Cemetery
Eastern Wood-Pewee, 05/13/23, Cedar Hill Cemetery
Magnolia Warbler, 05/13/23, Kendridge Farm
Blue-winged Warbler, 05/13/23, Kendridge Farm
Green Heron, 05/13/23, Kendridge Farm
Common Nighthawk, 05/13/23, my yard
Pine Warbler, 05/14/23, Laurel Grove Cemetery
Scarlett Tanager, 05/14/23, Elks Brox Park
Prairie Warbler, 05/14/23, Elks Brox Park
Blackpoll Warbler, 05/14/23, Elks Brox Park
Northern Parula, 05/14/23, Elks Brox Park
Common Gallinule, 05/14/23, Liberty Loop

~Northern Mockingbird at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 05/13/23.~

Tricia and I are heading to Ireland for vacation at the end of this coming week, so unless something really interesting happens this week, this will be my last post for a couple of weeks. I look forward to sharing my experiences in Ireland when I get back; this time I am planning to get back to the Cliffs of Moher, so that will be exciting.

~A Red-tailed Hawk peers down from one of the buildings at Kendridge Farm, 05/13/23.~

~I had to include at least one warbler photo, even if it’s not a great shot. Blue-winged Warbler at Kendridge Farm, 05/13/23.~

~Female Red-winged Blackbird in the black dirt, 05/13/23.~

Sunday Shots, Shorebirds and Babies, 05/07/23

It’s the time of year when A LOT is happening. Birds are on the move and seemingly everywhere. While I think most birders were out looking for wood warblers, I kind of did my own thing since warblers are not high priority for me. That said, I added 27 species to my Orange County year list in the past couple of days. I added over half of those birds on a 7.5 mile hike at Black Rock Forest on Saturday morning. It was a birdy hike with 44 species observed.

~Killdeer chick in the Black Dirt Region, 05/07/23.~

Saturday afternoon I went over to Walkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. Birding bud Kyle Knapp let me know that he’d had shorebirds there in the flooded fields. I was able to relocate the Dunlin that he’d had there earlier, as well as: Killdeer (2), Least Sandpipers (9), Greater Yellowlegs (many), Lesser Yellowlegs (even more), and Solitary Sandpipers (15+). The birds were distant, and the heat shimmer was terrible, which made for poor viewing.

~Lesser Yellowlegs at Winding Waters Trail, 05/07/23.~

I went back to Winding Waters this morning to follow up on the Black-bellied Plover that Jeanne Cimorelli located after I’d left on Saturday. As luck would have it, I was joined by fellow hawk watcher and all around good guy, Tom Millard. We scanned the shorebirds from many locations on the trail and totaled 9 species of shorebirds (we added Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover and Spotted Sandpiper to the birds listed above). The number of shorebirds at that location right now is really something – it’s hard to put a number on it, but I’m guesstimating over 200 shorebirds present.

~Earlier in the week, I went for the red fox kits again. Cuteness overload. Orange County 05/01/23.~

~Solitary Sandpiper at Winding Waters Trail, 05/07/23.~

~For some reason, it seems hard to get a catchlight on the eye of a young Killdeer. I took many photos of these chicks, and the top photo of this post was the only one with a catchlight. Killdeer chick in the black dirt, 05/07/23.~

~Lesser Yellowlegs with a worm for a snack. Winding Waters, 05/07/23.~

~This little dude was having a blast playing with this stick….

~….but she/he tired quickly and was fast asleep when I left. Orange County red fox 05/01/23.~

~Bald Eagle flyover at Winding Waters Trail, 05/07/23.~

~American Goldfinch in the black dirt, 05/07/23.~

What a Day!

I spent yesterday on Long Island visiting with my family; it had been a while, so it was really great to make up for lost time. But, that meant no birding. So, I woke up early this morning, hoping that the weather would bring in some good birds. I was at the Newburgh Waterfront just after sunrise, but unfortunately there was nothing going on. It was hight tide, as I knew it would be, so that may have had something to do with it.

~Three red fox kits, Orange County NY 03/30/23.~

I also checked a couple of lakes in the Newburgh area and came up empty. Then John Haas put out an alert that he had several CASPIAN TERNS at the Bashakill. It took me what seemed like ages to get there, but the birds stuck around. There ended up being a total of (7) Caspian Terns in all, and they did offer a few decent photos ops as they flew back and forth over Haven Road. It was very enjoyable birding, and CATE was my 207th species in Sullivan County, so that is exciting.

~Caspian Tern in flight at the Bashakill, 04/30/23.~

After leaving the Bash, I just cruised around southern Orange County to see what I could find. The birding was just the usuals (American Pipits in the black dirt was the highlight), but by a stroke of luck I found a litter of Red Fox kits. They were just awesome – inquisitive to a certain extent, but mostly just very cautious and of course, cute as can be. As much as I enjoyed the terns, these little beasts made my day.