Orange County – Page 23 – Orange Birding

Hawkwatch Finale/Sunday Shots, 11/14/21

Today was my final day of counting at Mount Peter Hawkwatch for the year. Tomorrow is the last day of the season; it always seems to go by so quickly. The season ended with a dud for me, as I had (8) countable birds in six hours. Of note, I had a Common Loon fly nearly directly over the viewing platform and my penultimate bird of the season was a young Bald Eagle with tail plumage that made my heart race for a split second. It was a good season for me; I enjoyed it much more than last season and it’s got me excited to do it all over next year. I’ve included today’s report summary at the bottom of this post; I will also do a future post which will include Judy Cinquina’s end of season report.

~This is one mean looking Rusty Blackbird! Wickham Lake, 11/06/21.~

~Canada Geese on a foggy morning at Wickham Lake, 11/06/21.~

~I love this bird! Purple Finch at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch this morning, 11/14/21.~

~I posted a different photo of this same bird last week, but I just love the markings and I thought this shot was pretty cool too. Northern Harrier at Beaver Pond, 11/06/21.~

~Check out this Bald Eagle! Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 11/14/21.~

~American Pipit in the black dirt, 11/07/21.~

Super Saturday Morning, 11/06/21

What a morning! My first stop was Wickham Lake, which I thought was going to be a total bust because the lake was completely obscured by fog. But, I located a Greater Yellowlegs feeding in the puddles along the shore. The light was beautiful and the bird was very accommodating. I also had a Great Blue Heron in some interesting light, so I got some photos of that bird as well. From there, I was heading up to Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, where I was to be the official counter for the day. On my way there, I had a lovely, close encounter with a beautiful coyote. This was the first coyote I’ve ever seen that showed some curiosity towards me as I pulled my car to the side of the road. It’s been a good while since I’ve seen a coyote, and to get one this confiding was a thrill.

~Coyote on the frosty grass, Orange County NY 11/06/21.~

Once I was at Mt. Pete, I was getting the feeling it might be a slow day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and although the wind was from the northwest, it was just the slightest breeze. I had no raptors at all for nearly 2 hours. Then, I picked up a bird to the northeast of the platform – I immediately recognized it as a young GOLDEN EAGLE! I was so happy, the bird circled up and eventually migrated directly over the platform.

~GOLDEN EAGLE! Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 11/06/21.~

After the excitement of the Golden, my prediction came true and it was an incredibly slow flight. I had a total of only (8) migrating raptors in 6.75 hours of counting. I did have one other highlight though, I found a Purple Finch, which was a new 2021 county bird for me, bringing my total to 203 species this year in Orange County.

~Greater Yellowlegs at Wickham Lake, 11/06/21. This bird had a bum foot, but seemed to be feeding very well. I feel like I see a lot of shorebirds hopping around on one foot, but it doesn’t seem to hold them back too much.~

~Beautiful beast. Coyote in OC, 11/06/21.~

~This was actually on my way home this evening; I stopped at Beaver Pond to look for ducks. The markings on this Northern Harrier are just gorgeous to me.~

~An unexpected surprise at Wickham Lake this morning, Greater Yellowlegs 11/06/21.~

~Great Blue Heron first thing this morning at Wickham Lake, 11/06/21.~

~The Golden Eagle streams out over the platform at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 11/06/21.~

~Purple Finch at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 11/06/21.~

Sunday Shots, 10/31/21

The highlight of my weekend was running for the Sullivan County Lapland Longspur yesterday afternoon. But I did get out both mornings as well. American Pipits continue in high numbers in the black dirt, so I took advantage and tried for photos both mornings: Saturday in the rain and puddles and Sunday in the nice light. Late shorebirds in the heavy puddling in the black dirt were my main focus both mornings, but unfortunately they were relatively scarce. I had a nice sized flock of Killdeer Saturday morning (35+ birds), and then on Sunday I found 3 Lesser Yellowlegs at the Camel Farm on Sunday.

~A very accommodating Bald Eagle in the black dirt, just after sunrise on Sunday morning 10/31/21.~

Bruce Nott let me know he had a Black Scoter at the Newburgh Waterfront on Saturday; I got there a little late in the morning but the bird was still present. Photos were tough, but scope views were fantastic and the bird was my 202nd bird in Orange County this year.

And finally, later on Sunday morning into the early afternoon I joined official counter Ken Witkowski at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch. I expected a decent flight, but unfortunately it was on the slow side. We did have some pretty good looks at several migrating Red-shouldered Hawks, but otherwise it wasn’t noteworthy.

~I know I’m a little pipit-obsessed, but I want to enjoy them while they are here. American Pipit in the black dirt, 10/31/21.~

~Very possibly the last Blackpoll Warbler of the season for me. This bird is pretty late. Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 010/31/21.~

~I watched the American Pipits in the black dirt feeding in the rain and puddles on Saturday morning. I was impressed by how efficient they were and how well they seemed to be eating. This insect seemed to be the main fare, but they were also pulling up smaller rice-shaped insects from time to time. AMPI in the BDR, 10/30/21.~

Sunday Shots, 10/24/21

I went out to the black dirt first thing this morning with American Pipits on my mind. I wasn’t disappointed; I saw many (hundreds) and I was able to get some decent photos in the early morning light. Sparrows were also abundant with Savannah and Song Sparrows being most abundant. I did see a couple of White-crowned Sparrow and caught a brief glimpse of a Vesper as well. In the afternoon I went back to Mt. Peter Hawkwatch and counted with official counter Will Test. It was pretty good flight while I was there with a decent flow of birds and good variety (Sharp-shinned, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Cooper’s, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, and Osprey). Interestingly, Turkey Vultures continued to move through; we counted 120+ while I was there.

~American Pipit in flight, black dirt 10/24/21.~

Earlier in the week I spent some time in my yard – it’s been pretty birdy recently. I added Blue-headed Vireo to my 2021 yard list and the vultures are roosting in large numbers, probably 50-60 birds, mostly Turkey but with a handful of Black Vultures too.

~American Pipit on the road in the Black Dirt Region, 10/24/21.~

~White-crowned Sparrow in the black dirt, 10/24/21.~

~Savannah Sparrow on a nice perch in the black dirt, 10/24/21.~

~I’ve never seen an American Pipit perch on vegetation before, but today I saw several doing this. BDR, 10/24/21.~

~Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the backyard, 10/21/21.~

~Turkey Vulture coming in to roost in our backyard, 10/21/21.~

~A more typical look at an American Pipit in the black dirt, 10/24/21.~

~Blackpoll Warblers are still sticking around. This one was in the black dirt this morning, 10/24/21.~

Sullivan County Long-billed Dowitcher, 10/17/21

While I was out birding this morning, I got a call from John Haas – he had a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER at Morningside Park in Sullivan County. At first I was hesitant about running for the bird; I would first have to go home for my kayak and then head to the the park, it would be close to an hour and a half of travel time to get there. But then I thought about it and there were too many good reasons for me to go for it. At this time of the year how likely is it for me to see any more shorebirds in our area? Plus, Long-billed Dowitcher is a great bird that I don’t get to see very often, especially not locally. And, I would get great views of the bird in the kayak. AND, it would be a new species for me in Sullivan County (my 191st).

~Beautiful bird. Long-billed Dowitcher at Morningside Park, 10/17/21.~

So I ran for the bird, and I’m sure glad I did because I had an awesome time. It was great to see John, and as I paddled up to him he informed me that the dowitcher was still present, and had in fact been joined by a Pectoral Sandpiper. It was very windy on the lake, so I wedged my kayak against some branches in the water not too far from he island the birds were on and sat tight. They weren’t very close at first, but I stayed put and they both moved a little closer and I was able to get some great looks and photos before backing my kayak away and heading back in. On my way back I stopped to enjoy a couple of Ring-billed Gulls on a couple other islands; you know I always enjoys seeing and photographing gulls. Huge thanks to John for heads up, he made my day.

~Pectoral Sandpiper shaking it off. Morningside Park, 10/17/21.~

~Long-billed Dowitcher, Sullivan County NY 10/17/21.~

~Subadult Ring-billed Gull, Morningside Park, 10/17/21.~

Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/16/21

I was the official counter at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch today. It was a relatively slow day, with a total of only 19 migrating raptors. But, it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside and there was just enough raptor activity and non-raptor activity to keep me entertained nearly the entire time. Jeanne Cimorelli joined me for a couple of hours and helped assure we didn’t miss any birds shooting through the “gap” between the trees on the east side of the lookout. There was a pretty good southeast wind blowing, and I think that kept the birds down, giving us some pretty good views of the few birds that passed through. My Hawkcount.org report is included below.

~Cooper’s Hawk in flight over Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/16/21.~

~Terrible photo, but check out the full crop on this Peregrine Falcon! My goodness. Mt. Pete 10/16/21.~

October Big Day and Mount Peter Hawkwatch

On Saturday morning, my phone let me know that it was eBird’s October Big Day. I certainly wasn’t doing a bid day, but it did make me curious to know how many birds I would get on a normal day out in early October. So, I eBirded more locations than I normally would, and I kept track of the birds that I saw en route to get a total for the day. I spent the early morning in the black dirt, where my highlight was a sizable flock of American Pipits, always a favorite of mine. From there I went to Wallkill River National Wildlife refuge. I walked Winding Waters Trail for about a mile or so, and then I spent some time at the viewing platform at the Liberty Loop. I didn’t have any exciting birds, but it was busy enough to add a good number of birds to my tally.

~Black-throated Green Warbler at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on Saturday 10/09/21.~

My next stop was Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, where I joined Tom Millard and Judy Cinquina for about an hour and a half. The flight was slow but steady, and with a good variety of migrants. My raptor highlight was a Peregrine Falcon which flew, very high, directly over the platform. For non-raptors, we had a migrating Common Loon fly close enough for a photo, a first for me at Mt. Pete. My final stop was Wickham Lake, where my best bird was a Greater Scaup. I finished the day with 57 species; I’ve included a complete list at the bottom of this post.

~Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Mount Peter on Sunday, 10/10/21.~

On Sunday I was the official counter at Mount Peter. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, with a combination of clouds, fog, and light rain making the flight practically non-existent. I had a total of 4 migrating raptors, 2 Cooper’s Hawks and 2 Northern Harriers, before I called it at 1:30 when the fog had really rolled in and the rain was starting up again.

~Yellow-rumped Warbler with a snack at Wickham Lake, 10/09/21.~

~Blackpoll Warbler at Mt. Peter 10/10/21.~

~Black-throated Green Warbler at Mt. Peter 10/09/21.~

~This got me really pumped – Common Loon flying over Mount Peter, 10/09/21.~

~A subadult Bald Eagle flushes some Mallards at Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Loop, 10/09/21.~

~Love these dudes! Cedar Waxwings at Mt. Pete, 10/10/21.~

Canada Goose (Wallkill River NWR, Mount Peter, Black Dirt, Wickham Lake)
Mute Swan (Glenmere Lake, Wickham Lake)
American Wigeon (WR NWR)
American Black Duck (WR NWR)
Mallard (WR NWR)
Greater Scaup (Wickham Lake)
Common Loon (Mt. Peter)
Double-crested Cormorant (Wickham Lake)
Ring-necked Pheasant (Black Dirt)
Great Blue Heron (WR NWR)
Great Egret (WR NWR)
Black Vulture (Mt. Peter)
Turkey Vulture (Mt. Peter, WR NWR)
Bald Eagle (Black Dirt, WR NWR)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (WR NWR, Mt. Peter)
Northern Harrier (WR NWR, Mt. Peter)
Cooper’s Hawk (Mt. Peter)
Red-shouldered Hawk (WR NWR, Mt. Peter)
Red-tailed Hawk (Black Dirt, Mt. Peter)
American Kestrel (Black Dirt, Mt. Peter)
Peregrine Falcon (Black Dirt)
Common Gallinule (WR NWR)
Killdeer (CVS Goshen)
Ring-billed Gull (Wickham Lake)
Rock Pigeon (Wickham Lake)
Chimney Swift (Mt. Peter)
Belted Kingfisher (Beaver Pond)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (WR NWR)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Wickham Lake)
Downy Woodpecker (Wickham Lake)
Northern Flicker (WR NWR)
Eastern Phoebe (Black Dirt, WR NWR)
Blue Jay (Mt Peter, WR NWR, Black Dirt, Wickham Lake)
American Crow (WR NWR)
Common Raven (Mt. Peter)
Black-capped Chickadee (WR NWR)
Tufted Titmouse (WR NWR)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Mt. Peter)
Northern Mockingbird (Mt. Peter)
White-breasted Nuthatch (WR NWR)
Eastern Bluebird (Wickham Lake)
American Robin (WR NWR, Wickham Lake)
European Starling (Wickham Lake, Black Dirt)
American Pipit (Black Dirt)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Mt. Peter)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Mt. Peter)
Blackpoll Warbler (WR NWR)
Common Yellowthroat (WR NWR)
Field Sparrow (WR NWR)
Savannah Sparrow (Black Dirt, WR NWR)
Song Sparrow (Black Dirt, WR NWR)
Swamp Sparrow (WR NWR)
White-throated Sparrow (WR NWR)
Red-winged Blackbird (WR NWR)
House Finch (WR NWR)
American Goldfinch (WR NWR)
House Sparrow (Wickham Lake)

Winding Waters, 10/03/21

This morning I got out relatively early and went to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. It was a cool, mostly sunny morning; pretty much a perfect fall morning for birding. The trail was hopping, and I found myself enjoying birds for nearly every step of the my 2.5 mile walk. Sparrows were numerous and the expected species for this time of the year: Savannah, Song, Swamp, White-throated, and I’m happy to say, a good number of LINCOLN’S SPARROWS.

~One of several LINCOLN’S SPARROWS on the trail this morning. Winding Waters at Wallkill River NWR, 10/03/21.~

Other highlights included a couple of Blue-headed Vireos, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, and a couple of Blackpoll Warblers. By the time I got back to the lot, I had tallied 36 species for the morning, and managed to add (2) species to my Orange County 2021 year list (Golden-crowned Kinglet and Lincoln’s Sparrow).

~I got some super looks at this Blue-headed Vireo, Winding Waters Trail 10/03/21.~

~Blackpoll Warbler with a meal, Winding Waters 10/03/21.~

~Unidentified flycatcher at Winding Waters this morning, 10/03/21.~

~Another Lincolns’ Sparrow. Winding Waters Trail, 10/03/21.~

~I took this earlier this week – Savannah Sparrow at Skinner’s Lane, 09/30/21.~

~We’ve been lucky enough to have this Red-shouldered Hawk hanging around the house for the past week or so. It has been giving the Turkey Vultures hell, repeatedly flushing them from their favorite perch. My yard, 10/02/21.

Shorebirds, Mt. Peter, & Reservoir #3

I went out to the black dirt first thing Saturday morning. I was counting at Mount Peter in the afternoon, so I wanted to get an early start. As always, I was looking for shorebirds – any new species or some better looks and photos of some of the birds we’ve been seeing. Well, I didn’t see any new species, and the best I could do for photos was a decent shot of a Greater Yellowlegs. But it was still a decent morning with 6 species of shorebirds: Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Pectoral Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Greater Yellowlegs.

~Greataer Yellowlegs at the Camel Farm, 09/25/21.~

~Fogbow at Skinners Lane Saturday morning 09/25/21. According to Wikipedia, “a fog bow, sometimes called a white rainbow, is a similar phenomenon to a rainbow; however, as its name suggest, it appears as a bow in fog rather than rain.”~

MOUNT PETER HAWKWATCH

In the afternoon I was the official counter at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, taking over for BA McGrath who, unfortunately had a terribly slow morning. The afternoon, in general, wasn’t much busier but ultimately, I counted a total of 67 migrating raptors. A surprise kettle of 39 Broad-winged Hawks accounted for most of that number. I had (3) migrating Bald Eagles, and there were several Common Ravens putting on a show on the cell tower and in the air over the platform. You can see my report for HMANA at the bottom of this post.

~~ The Common Ravens helped pass the time when it was slow at Mt. Peter on Saturday, 09/25/21.~

~Broad-winged Hawk directly over the viewing platform, Mt. Peter 09/25/21.~

RESERVOIR #3

This morning I decided it was finally time to give the shorebirds a break. So I headed to Port Jervis and I birded Reservoir #3. It was just what the doctor ordered, birdy, peaceful, perfect weather, and some good photo ops. I tallied 30 species for the morning, with highlights of Brown Creeper (Res 3 is money for that bird!), several Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a pair of Blue-headed Vireos. Actually the real highlight for me came afterwards – after shooting distant shorebirds and raptors, it felt good to look at some decent photos of songbirds.

~ I am generally not to quick to ID silent flycatchers, but I’m thinking this bird is a juvenile Eastern Wood-Pewee due to the buffy wing bars.~

~Eastern Phoebe at Reservoir #3, 09/26/21.~

~One more of the Brown Creeper, Res 3 09/26/21.~

~One of several Yellow-rumped Warblers at Reservoir #3, 09/26/21.~

~And, one more Pine Warbler shot. Res 3 09/26/21.~

~I was struck by how beautiful Beaver Pond looked on Saturday morning, so I took a photo with my phone.~

Sunday Shots – A Pretty Good Week, 09/19/21

I enjoyed some pretty good birding this week and into the weekend. As regular readers of this blog know, I’m obsessed with shorebirds and that’s how I spent most of my birding time. I did not add any new species to my year list, but I just enjoyed the variety we’ve been having and trying for photos. The highlight was seeing the largest flock of American Golden-Plovers I’ve ever seen in the black dirt, a remarkable 76 birds. Two Buff-breasted Sandpipers continued up until Thursday evening, but I haven’t seen or heard any reports since then.

~American Golden-Plover at Skinners Lane, 09/17/21.

~Flock of American Golden-Plovers in flight over the fields of Skinners Lane, 09/14/21.~

On the weekend, I also went up to Mount Peter to see how the hawkwatch was going. Right now should be primetime for Broad-winged Hawk migration and I was hoping to see a kettle or two. I went Saturday for a about an hour or so, and unfortunately it was a bust. Sunday was another story and I enjoyed my most successful flight of Broad-winged Hawks ever. When I left in the early afternoon, over 2,500 BWHAs had been counted. We had over 1,500 in a single hour! I also saw the largest kettle I’ve ever seen, consisting of approximately 700 birds. It was remarkable. Will Test was the official counter, and nearly every other counter from Mt. Pete was there as well, giving him a hand and enjoying one of the best days of the season.