Orange County – Page 14 – Orange Birding

Vulturific Hawkwatch! 10/15/23

After an early morning of unremarkable birding at Winding Waters Trail, I headed up to Mount Peter to see if any raptors were flying. I was not prepared for what the mountain had in store for us today. When I arrived, Ken Witkowski informed that Turkey Vultures were moving in numbers. He wasn’t kidding; he had over 130 the hour before, and we topped that the next hour with 199! They were actually kettling up! Tom Millard joined us shortly after I arrived, and the three of us enjoyed some of the best hawk watching I can recall in recent years.

~Turkey Vultures directly over the viewing platform at Mount Peter, 10/15/23.~

I couldn’t help but think of the epic day we had at Mt. Pete in October of 2021, when we counted over 850 migrating Turkey Vultures in an afternoon. Today didn’t quite reach those heights, but a total of 636 migrating TUVUs were counted today. Plus, we also had loads of other migrating raptors; they came through in decent numbers and with an excellent variety (11 different migrating species counted). See Ken and Tom’s full report below for more details. What a great day – it was a cool fall day, with a beautiful sky, excellent company, and absolutely loads of migrating raptors.

~These three Bald Eagles put on quite a show, before migrating through. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/15/23.~

~Red-shouldered Hawk passes over Mount Peter, 10/15/23.~

~Turkey Vulture close up taken in my backyard last week.~

Rainy Day, 10/14/23

I’ve had rotten luck this year with hawkwatch – I got rained out again today. Between vacation and poor weather, it’s mid October and I’ve only counted at Mt. Peter Hawk for grand total of 10.5 hours. I did enjoy some good birding today in lieu counting raptors. After checking in at Mt. Pete to assure it was in fact raining up there, I went to the black dirt, where some good shorebirds continue, including (40+) Killdeer, (6) American Golden-Plover, (1) Black-bellied Plover, (1) Pectoral Sandpiper, and (1) Wilson’s Snipe. I was also pleased to find a nice sized flock of American Pipits; always a favorite of mine.

~Patience paid off this morning. The American Pipit flock was WAY out in a field, but I waited and eventually a few came closer. AMPI in the black dirt 10/14/23.~

Afterwards, I checked in with Bruce Nott, hoping that the recently reported Laughing Gull was seen at the Newburgh Waterfront today. Unfortunately it hadn’t been seen, but he let me know that there was a young Lesser Black-backed Gull present. I ran for the gull, and it did not disappoint – what a beauty! I really enjoyed seeing and photographing this sharp looking bird.

~What a bird. Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront 10/14/23.~

~Love this bird. LBBG at the Newburgh Waterfront, 10/14/23~

~Good birding in the black dirt this morning. One Black-bellied Plover, 2 American Golden-Plovers, and a couple of American Pipits.

More Good OC Shorebirds, 10/07/23

Just when I was beginning to think that fall shorebird migration was winding down, I enjoyed an excellent morning of shorebirding in the black dirt with birding bud Bruce Nott. Dodging raindrops as the rain persisted on and off all morning, we enjoyed finding over 60 individuals and (7) species of shorebirds:

Black Bellied Plover (4)
American Golden Plover (6)
Killdeer (7)
SANDERLING (1)
Pectoral Sandpiper (37)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (3)
Lesser Yellowlegs (5)

~Most of the birds were distant, but these five Lesser Yellowlegs came close enough for a decent shot. Black Dirt Region, 10/07/23.~

~There were 4 Northern Harriers keeping the shorebirds on their toes. Black Dirt Region 10/07/23.~

When the rain finally cleared out of the area for a while, I went to Mount Peter to count hawks (I was the official counter for the day). It was windy and much cooler on the mountain, but unfortunately not too many raptors were migrating through. In two hours of observation, I had only 7 migrants, the highlight being an adult Bald Eagle.

~A puffed up Pectoral Sandpiper in the black dirt, 10/07/23.~

Sensational Shorebirding, 09/18/23

Everyone knows at this point that bad weather typically equals excellent birding. This evening after work I followed up on several reports of shorebirds in the black dirt. When I left the house, it was raining cats and dogs. But, by the time I arrived in the black dirt, it had slowed down and there were some clear skies in the distance. At first I was viewing the birds from inside my car, using my window mount for the scope. As it slowed up, Linda Scrima joined me; eventually it cleared up and we were treated to a beautiful double rainbow.

~Rainbow in the Black Dirt Region, 09/18/23. It was really cool because the shorebirds were located in the field directly under the end of the rainbow.~

We had an excellent assortment of shorebirds: Killdeer (35), Semipalmated Plover (1), Black-bellied Plover (4), American Golden-Plover (30), Semipalmated Sandpiper (1), Pectoral Sandpiper (45), and a flyover of (6) Short-billed Dowitchers. Pipits were flying over calling. All with a beautiful rainbow, allowing for some really interesting photo ops. What a night.

~Plovers flying through the rainbow. Black Dirt Region 09/18/23.~

~PLovers doing their thing in the BDR, 09/18/23.~

~A more conventional shot of the flock of Black-bellied and American Golden-Plovers in the black dirt this evening, 09/18/23.~

~One more rainbow/plover shote. Black Dirt Region, 09/18/23.!

Sunday Shots, 09/17/23

Hawkwatch was the main attraction for me this weekend, but I did enjoy some of my first migrating song birds of the season as well. I had a Magnolia Warble in my backyard on Thursday afternoon. I had a brief visit from a pair of Cape May Warblers at Mt. Peter yesterday. And this morning the black dirt was loaded with Savannah Sparrows. I also had short but enjoyable flurry of songbirds in the black dirt. Highlights included several Palm Warblers, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a couple of Ruby Crowned Kinglets, and a Least Flycatcher. Shorebirds were scarce, but I did locate one American Golden Plover in the corn stubble on Onion Avenue, a spot where I’ve not had many shorebirds over the years.

~Magnolia Warbler in my backyard, 09/14/23.~

~Savannah Sparrow in the Black Dirt, 09/17/23.~

~Roadside Savannah Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 09/17/23.~

Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/16/23

I thought I would hit it out of the park today: September 16. A good WNW wind. Clouds in the sky. With timing and the conditions like this, I expected a “big” day for Broad-winged Hawks. Alas, it was not to be. But, it still was a a pretty darn good day. I tallied 269 migrating raptors, 226 of which were Broad-wings. I had a lot of quality help up there today too: Linda Scrima, Tom Millard, Rick Hansen, and Ken Witkowski all put in some serious time helping me. The payoff was a good variety of migrants – we had a total of (9) different species of migrating raptors (Osprey, B. Eagle, N. Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, Broad-winged, Red-tailed, Am. Kestrel, & Peregrine Falcons). My favorite had to be an adult female and an immature Northern Harrier passing high over the platform together during the first hour of the watch. As always, my Hawkcount.org report is included at the bottom of this post.

~I alway enjoy seeing an Osprey migrating through. Mt. Pete 09/16/23.~

Hawkwatch Will Have to Wait

I was scheduled to be the official counter at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on Saturday. Unfortunately, when I arrived in the morning, the mountain was socked in with a heavy fog. I went back at noon to find that the fog had not lifted. I ate my lunch and took a little snooze in my car, and instead of lifting, the fog was getting heavier. So, I called it a day, with the idea of visiting the watch on Sunday to get my first hawk watching of the season in. But, I was thwarted again, and after just 20 minutes of scanning the skies and catching up with official counter of the day B.A. McGrath, the skies opened up with a steady rain.

~Roadside Cooper’s Hawk in Warwick NY, 09/10/23.~

In between trips to Mt. Pete, I was, of course out birding. I spent most of my time in the black dirt looking for shorebirds; Saturday morning was quite good with nice looks at a flock of American Golden-Plovers, a pair of Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers. Sunday was less productive; I saw the flock of plovers but they were very distant, and I had no other noteworthy species.

~A foggy morning American Golden-Plover in the Black Dirt Region, 09/09/23.~

~Merlin with prey. Black dirt 09/09/23.~

~Pectoral Sandpiper in the black dirt, 09/09/23.~

~It’s been a while since I’ve seen the leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Warwick. I was happy to see it’s still around.

More Good Birding, 09/03/23

A good weekend of birding continued on Saturday night, when we had a dozen Common Nighthawks fly over the backyard while we sat on the back patio enjoying a cocktail.

Then, on Sunday morning I went back to the Liberty Loop, where, in addition to many of the same species as Friday night, I was able to catch up with the White Ibis that has been there in recent days. On my way home, I stopped by Missionland Road and found (33) American Golden-Plovers! The birds were distant at the start, but patience paid off and they eventually came close enough to get some decent shots.

~Common Nighthawk over our yard on 09/02/23.~

~White Ibis at the Liberty Loop, Sussex County NJ, 09/03/23.~

Today (Labor Day), I checked the black dirt first thing – I was optimistic due to a modest rainfall earlier in the morning, but it wasn’t until I got to the Camel Farm that I had any birds of note. I was scoping the pond and looking at a Pectoral Sandpiper, when a White-rumped Sandpiper walked right through my field of view. Linda Scrima joined me and eventually we saw that there were actually (2) WRSAs present. The birds were too distant and obscured by vegetation for photos, but we enjoyed scope views and I was happy to add the species to my 2023 year list.

~American Golden-Plover at Missionland Road, 09/03/23/~

~American Golden-Plover, Missionland Road 09/03/23.~

~Backyard Turkey Vulture. This is preview of hawkwatch season, which starts tomorrow. I’ll be the official counter at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on most Saturdays, starting next weekend.~

~I have no idea what was behind this Song Sparrow to cause this effect, but I think it looks pretty cool. Song Sparrow in the black dirt, 09/03/23.~

~Green Heron at the Liberty Loop, 09/03/23.~

Good Birding, 09/02/23

The hottest hotspot in the area right now is the southern leg of Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop, in Sussex County NJ. I met Linda Scrima at the loop yesterday evening after work. We missed a couple of the more exciting birds (White Ibis, and Stilt Sandpiper), but it was an excellent night of birding. But we did catch up with the immature Little Blue Heron, and the number of shorebird individuals present was striking to me – very possibly the most I’ve seen in one small area in our region. We tallied (11) species of shorebirds, with the highlight being (4) White-rumped Sandpipers. The icing on the cake was finding 30+ Common Nighthawks flying over the parking area when we got back to our cars.

~Little Blue Heron at the Liberty Marsh, Sussex Co. NJ, 09/01/23.~

~Wilson’s Snipe at the Liberty Loop, 09/01/23.~

~The West side of the loop was filthy with Green Herons, so I couldn’t resist taking a few photos.~

This morning I figured the loop would be loaded with birders and photographers, so I chose to bird the black dirt instead. It was mostly the usuals, with very few shorebirds (other than Killdeer), but I was able to find a single BAIRD’S SANDPIPER. It was kind of a crazy story because I had just met a birder named Joe. He was out for one reason – to get his lifer Baird’s Sandpiper. About 5 minutes after Joe and I parted ways, don’t you know I found a BASA. I tried to flag him down; I was waving and practically doing somersaults to try to get his attention, as I could still see his car at a distance. Unfortunately he didn’t see me, and the Baird’s flew shortly after I’d located it.

~Distant shot of a Baird’s Sandpiper in the black dirt, 09/02/23.~

~Wild Turkey family in the black dirt, 09/02/23.~

~Bobolink on Turtle Bay Road in the black dirt, 09/02/23.~

~One more shot of the Little Blue Heron at the Liberty Loop, 09/01/23.~

Sunday Shots, 08/27/23

First thing this morning, I went to Bullville Pond to see if anything was going on. I had shorebirds (of course) and Little Blue Heron on my mind. Unfortunately it was a bust, so I headed back out to the black dirt, where I eventually joined up with several other birders and finally got the Baird’s Sandpiper. After missing that species last year, I wanted to see one – it had been nearly 2 years! Also present were 50+ Least Sandpipers, a Semipalmated Sandpiper, 5 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, many Killdeer, and a flyover of a Semipalmated Plover. Photos were tough today, so I’m mostly posting more photos from yesterday’s shorebirds and a couple of cowbirds from this morning.