Orange County – Page 24 – Orange Birding

A Good Monday Evening, 09/13/21

As far as birding went, this past weekend was a total bust. My niece got married, so I spent much of the weekend down on Long Island to attend. But, tonight’s outing definitely took some of the sting out of it. I went to Skinner’s Lane after work, and after a slow start with just a single shorebird (a Black-bellied Plover), things heated up a little bit. First a flock of American Golden-Plovers flew in – twenty birds. They circled around several times before putting down in a distant field. Then a small group of Killdeer flew over; I noticed one bird appeared to be different, so I stayed on it until it landed… and it was a beautiful BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER.

~Black-bellied Plover at Skinner’s Lane, 09/13/21.~

I put the word out, but it was getting dark. Linda Scrima joined me and we enjoyed watching all the birds work their way closer to the road until they were quite close. At that point there was barely any light left, and normally I would have abandoned taking pics, but I really wanted to try for the Buff-breasted. They are all super grainy, but I’ve included my best shot of the BBSA below. It’s always nice to have an unexpectedly nice Monday night after spending the day getting back into the swing of things at work.

~I used some setting that I hardly ever venture into – ISO 10,000 and f/4 aperture. Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Skinner’s Lane 09/13/21.~

~American Golden-Plovers in flight over Skinner’s Lane, 09/13/21.~

~And thinking about landing. American Golden-Plovers at Skinner’s Lane, 09/13/21.~

~What a cutie. Semipalmated Plover in the black dirt last week, 09/09/21.~

~Also from last week, Baird’s Sandpiper in the black dirt, 09/09/21.~

More Good OC Shorebirds, 09/06/21

This morning I met up with birding bud Bruce Nott and we once again hit the black dirt looking for shorebirds. Early on it was not looking good; we were not finding the multitudes of shorebirds we were hoping for, and the puddling was greatly reduced. We did have a single Baird’s Sandpiper at Skinners Lane, so that was nice. Our fortunes changed at Pine Island Turf Nursery. First off, the office was closed for the holiday, but luckily we ran into some of the folks from the nursery in the parking lot as they were leaving, and they gave us permission to go in and look for birds.

~A nice look at a Lesser Yellowlegs at Pine Island Turf Nursery, 09/06/21.~

There was a good number of shorebirds present and we had a pretty darn good list with a cool dozen species when it was all said and done:

Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
SANDERLING
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER
Least Sandpiper
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs

~Wow, a relatively close Pectoral Sandpiper! PITN 09/06/21.~

~Sanderling in flight at Pine Island Turf Nursery, 09/06/21.~

~Baird’s Sandpiper alongside a Lesser Yellowlegs, PITN 09/06/21.~

~Great Egrets in a field at Pine Island Turf Nursery, 09/06/21.~

~I got lucky with this shot – I was focusing on the Lesser Yellowlegs, but happened to also catch what I believe is a Baird’s Sandpiper in flight ahead of the yellowlegs.~

Sunday Shots, Catch Up Edition, 09/05/21

Last weekend was a total bust for me. We had a sick cat which took up all my time (and money!) on Saturday, as I took my sick little girl to two different veterinarians. I spent Sunday staring at the cat, trying to will her back to health. A week later, the cat is doing better and my mind is no longer all consumed by the state of her health.

Meanwhile, this week the tail end of Hurricane Ida came through our area, leaving the black dirt flooded in many areas, creating great conditions for shorebirds. While storm did not bring in as many birds as I might have thought, afterwards and through the week and into the weekend, we accumulated quite a nice shorebird list in the black dirt:

BLACK-BILLIED PLOVER
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Killdeer
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER
Least Sandpiper
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs

~A number of Lesser Yellowlegs gather in one of the large puddles found in the black dirt, 09/04/21.~

I also made a relatively quick but very productive stop at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on Saturday afternoon (yes, hawkwatch is starting already!). I joined official counter Ken Witkowski for just about an hour, and we were lucky enough to have nearly 50 migrating raptors – forty something Broadwinged Hawks, 2 Bald Eagles, and an Osprey.

~Backyard Ruby-throated Hummingbird earlier this week.~

~A young Peregrine Falcon in flight over Skinner’s Lane, 09/04/21.~

~Mixed flock of shorebirds. I can identify at least 3 species in this shot: Pectoral Sandpipers, Least Sandpiper, and White-rumped Sandpipers. Black Dirt Region 09/05/21.

~Savannah Sparrow in the black dirt, 09/02/21.~

~Red-tailed Hawk in the black dirt, 09/02/21.~

~There are loads of Brown-headed Cowbirds at Skinner right now. They are characters and have no fear, landing nearby, even on my car. ~

Black Dirt Shorebird Shots, 08/22/21

Shorebirds in the black dirt are generally quite distant; just miles out, which means photos are typically just documentary. But this week, I had some birds which, while not close enough for anything remarkable, were close enough to get some decent shots. I’ve been checking the black dirt frequently, I have the feeling we are going to get something good out there this fall. Or maybe I’m just hoping we will. Either way, it was nice to get some shorebirds which were not Killdeer, and some decent photos to boot.

~Lesser Yellowlegs in the black dirt, 08/22/21.~

One other quick note – I went out the Hudson River this afternoon, hoping the hurricane/tropical storm might bring in something interesting. I don’t think my timing was great, and there wasn’t much going on. Tomorrow might be better, but unfortunately I’ll be working.

~Always a favorite of mine – Pectoral Sandpiper in the black dirt, 08/19/21.~

~I was struggling to confirm the identification of this Least Sandpiper (and one other with it). First, the birds were not near any other birds, so I wasn’t sure of their size. Also, the bird’s posture looked taller and longer than what I would expect for a Least. But, I think it was behaving differently because of the height of the grass. Also, because of the high grass I never got a look at the color of their legs. Anyways, I’m pretty sure this is a LESA, black dirt 08/22/21.

Orange County Caspian Terns, 08/15/21

Shorebird migration hitting its stride has really gotten my birding blood pumping. On Saturday and early Sunday morning I birded the black dirt and Liberty Marsh and had a total of 10 species of shorebirds (Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, and Solitary Sandpiper). If I add my mystery shorebirds from last Sunday, which turned out to be UPLAND SANDPIPERS, that’s 11 species of shorebirds in a week.

~Caspian Tern in flight above Cornwall Bay, 08/15/21.~

But, as much as I love shorebirds, the real excitement began later in the morning when Bruce Nott notified me that he had several CASPIAN TERNS at Cornwall Bay. I headed straight over and joined Bruce. Two of the terns had departed, heading south, but that still left six Caspian Terns present. We enjoyed watching as the 3 adult birds actively fished and periodically brought back their prey to feed the waiting and calling 3 juvenile birds. We also had some shorebirds fly in and stay on the sandbar briefly – by my count there were 4 Greater Yellowlegs, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a single Least Sandpiper. Eventually the terns all settled in on the sand bar presumably content for the moment. We departed definitively content. Huge thanks for Bruce for the heads up and the awesome company.

~Caspian Tern at Cornwall Bay, 08/15/21.~

~Caspian Tern over the treetops, Cornwall Bay, 08/15/21.~

~CATE at Cornwall Bay 08/15/21.~

~Great Blue Heron at Beaver Pond on Friday evening, 08/13/21.~

~For all the shorebirds I’ve seen recently, decent photos are tough to come by as the birds are always so distant. I’ve looked at hundreds of Killdeer this week, here’s one at Skinners Lane, 08/12/21.~

~Sandhill Cranes in a ditch in the black dirt, 08/14/21.~

~House Wren in the black dirt, 08/14/21.~

~Red-tailed Hawk in the black dirt, 08/15/21.~

A Good Morning, 08/08/21

I toyed with the idea of heading back north to try for the Wood Stork again, but ultimately I decided to stay local. The bird was reported at the German Church Road location again yesterday evening, but I haven’t heard anything today.

My first stop was the Camel Farm for shorebirds; I found nearly a dozen Least Sandpipers and a couple of Semipalmated Sandpipers. Moving on, I went to the Liberty Loop. Again my main goal was shorebirds, but I also was hoping for the SNOWY EGRET and LITTLE BLUE HERON, both of which were present. I had a decent list of shorebirds: Semipalmated Plover (2), Killdeer (25+), Least Sandpiper (1), Semipalmated Sandpiper (1), Solitary Sandpiper (2), Greater Yellowlegs (1), and Lesser Yellowlegs (2). It’s great to be seeing shorebirds again.

~Little Blue Heron at Wallkill River Nation Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Marsh, 08/08/21.~

I made a couple more stops after that – I checked Beaver Pond but found poor conditions and no shorebirds. I also went to Skinners Lane, where I had a good number of Killdeer, as well as 3 mystery shorebirds which were rude enough to just do a flyover and not stop. Another exciting thing for me was a decent number of Horned Larks (20 or so), with many young birds in the mix.

~One Snowy Egret with 3 Great Egrets, a couple of Great Blue Herons, and some Mallards. Liberty Marsh, 08/08/21.~

~A messy looking Northern Mockingbird at the Camel Farm, 08/08/21.~

~Mystery shorebirds at Skinners Lane, 08/08/21.

Orange County Sedge Wrens, 07/27/21

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a life bird (over a year), but that’s what happened today. It was a bonus that the location was in Orange County and less than a 1/2 hour away. So, after work tonight I headed over to Lower Wisner Road, where up to 4 SEDGE WRENS have been reported in the last couple of days. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear a SEWR calling from the north side of the road. As I got closer, I could hear a second bird, closer, calling from the south side of the road. I stayed still, listened and scanned, and eventually I located the bird, just about 30 yards out. I was pretty excited, it’s not every Tuesday evening you can get a lifer that easily; it was my 424th life bird.

IMPORTANT: *Please do not use tapes to try and get these birds closer for views or photos. They are pretty cooperative and patience will pay off. Use of tapes will likely disturb their attempts at breeding and ruin this great situation.* Thanks to John Haas for the above advice put forth on his blog Bashakill Birder.

Siblings

I was on vacation last week; we rented a large house up in the Catskills with members of Tricia’s family. I took the opportunity to mostly relax poolside and while I didn’t actually do all that much birding, I did get out a couple of times. I’ll go through my pics and put together a post in the next day or so. Meanwhile, here are some shots of Green Heron siblings in the pond near my house from before I left. I’ve been in the area for 10 years now, and I think this is the second time that Green Herons have bred in that little pond.

Sunday Shots, 07/11/21

It was a mostly uneventful weekend of birding for me. On Saturday I birded in my NYS Breeding Bird Atlas priority block and was able to confirm three additional species: Northern Mockingbird, Red-tailed Hawk, and House Sparrow. On Sunday I decided to change it up a little and I headed to Sullivan County, where I birded Hickok Brook Multiple Use Area. I was hoping for the outside chance at seeing/hearing Ruffed Grouse, but had to settle for seeing and hearing some species I don’t see very often in Orange County: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, Black-throated Blue Warble, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Magnolia Warbler.

~Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Hickok Brook MUA, 07/11/21.~

~Although most were heard, it’s always good to see a Hermit Thrush. Hickok Brook MUA, 07/11/21.~ .

~A recently fledged Red-tailed Hawk waits for a parent to bring a meal, Sugarloaf NY 07/10/21.~

~I initially thought this was a new species confirmed, but it turns out that Chipping Sparrow had already been confirmed in my priority block. Sugarloaf NY, 07/10/21.~

More Atlasing and a Photogenic Gray Catbird

I birded along the railroad tracks north of Sugarloaf again this morning – it’s turning out to be a very productive spot in my NYS Breeding Bird Atlas Priority Block (Warwick_CE). I confirmed (8) species this morning, (3) of which were new confirmations: Song Sparrow, House Finch, and Downy Woodpecker. Other highlights included watching a family of Barn Swallows during feeding time, and a rather charismatic Gray Catbird. I’ve actually always thought they were quite a photogenic species, I even included a shot of one in my top ten photos of the year back in 2016.