Just after sunrise this morning I was hitting the trail at Black Rock Forest. I was, of course, trying for Ruffed Grouse again; it was a total bust. The rain was relentless, the hike was difficult with slippery rocks, and there were hardly any birds – and no grouse.
Afterwards, I went home, dried off, got changed and went back out. This time to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary to try for Least Bittern. The rain had finally subsided, it was a cool, pleasant walk on level ground, and yes, I got a Least Bittern. It was actually a pretty productive visit; I had nearly 40 species. I got a decent look at the bittern, as well as a low flying Virginia Rail. I was also able to confirm breeding status for (4) species: Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Wood Duck, and Common Gallinule.
~Green Heron at 6 1/2 Station Road, 07/03/21.~~MODO at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 07/03/21.~ ~Adult female Wood Duck with some sleepy ducklings. ^ 1/2 Station Road, 07/03/21.~ ~Can you see the Least Bittern? It may have been distant, but it was still great to see. This bird was my 177th species in Orange County this year – I haven’t been really going for a big county list this year, and it shows – I’m 15 birds behind last year’s pace. LEBI at 6 1/2 Station Road, 07/03/21.~
I did most of my birding this weekend in my NYS Breeding Bird Atlas priority block, Warwick_CE. I was able to confirm several species, but unfortunately only one new species for the block: Yellow Warbler. Yesterday was pretty much a dud of a morning, but today was much better. I made a quick stop by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary to try for the Least Bitterns which have been reported there (I still need them for OC this year). I had no luck with the bitterns, but I did find a cooperative Swamp Sparrow, which was a nice treat.
~A singing Marsh Wren at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/27/21.~
Afterwards, I birded a new spot in my priority block. I walked along the train tracks in Sugarloaf, heading north. The block continues for nearly a mile along the tracks; the birding was pretty much non-stop and I had a total of 37 species in a one mile span, which I didn’t think was too bad at all. It was at this location that I confirmed Yellow Warbler, and I feel like it will be a good spot to confirm other species in the future.
~A young Yellow Warbler at the Sugarloaf RR Tracks, 06/27/21.~ ~I had a pair of Killdeer at Knapp’s View on Saturday morning. I thought they might have young nearby but no such luck. I’ll be going back to keep an eye on these birds.~ ~Garter Snake along the Sugarloaf RR Tracks, 06/27/21.~ ~Wood Duck duckling at Wallkill River NWR, on Tuesday 06/22/21.~ ~Today on my way home I spotted this Green Heron in the pond around the corner from my house~
I got a call this morning from John Haas – he let me know that the dove from my last blog post is an African Collared Dove rather than a Eurasian Collared Dove. While it’s still a striking bird, African Collared Doves, also referred to as Ringed Turtle-Doves, are very rarely seen in North America as a wild bird and so this bird is almost undoubtedly an escapee and therefore uncountable.
This evening I went to Newburgh to try again for the Eurasian Collared-Dove that has been reported there (I tried last Saturday with no luck). The bird has been reported at the tennis courts on Lilly Street, and when I arrived there was another birder there – I’m drawing a blank, but I believe his name was Paul. He had seen the bird already, but was lingering for another look at it. And I’m glad he did because he was able to relocate the bird about a block away. He actually came and got me on it – huge thanks. It’s a beautiful bird and a New York State bird for me; I’m glad I was able to catch up with it this time.
~Eurasian Collared-Dove, Newburgh NY 06/24/21.~~Eurasian Collared-Dove, Newburgh NY 06/24/21.~
Early Saturday morning I went to Black Rock Forest and hiked up to Jupiter’s Boulder. I was trying for Ruffed Grouse, but unfortunately I had no luck. I did pick up my first Acadian Flycatchers of the year; it’s always nice to see and hear that bird. Afterwards, I went to Newburgh to follow up on an eBird report of a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves, but again I had no luck. On my way home a played a hunch and went to the OC Airport to see if the Killdeer there had a second brood. They did, there was one young bird with two adults; the bird was so small it kept tipping over, lol.
~A young Killdeer seemingly mimicking its parent, OC Airport 06/19/21.~
This morning I went to the south end of the Liberty Loop. I’ve been meaning to get out there to try for Least Bitterns, so I finally did today and they did not disappoint. Once again, the southernmost compound at the loop is loaded with good birds during the summer. Least Bitterns were the big draw, but I also enjoyed seeing a young Pied-billed Grebe, many Common Gallinules, Killdeer, and loads of Wood Ducks.
~Least Bittern at the Liberty Loop, 06/20/21.~ ~What a cutie. Killdeer chick at OC Airport, 06/19/21.~ ~Least Bittern in flight at the Liberty Loop, 06/20/21.~ ~A nice look at a female Red-winged Blackbird. Liberty Loop 06/20/21.~ ~LEBI at the Loop, 06/20/21.~ ~One of many Common Gallinules at the back pond of the Liberty Loop, 06/20/21.~Killdeer chick with parent, 06/19/21.~ ~LIBI at the Loop, 06/20/21.~ ~Wing flap from a young Pied-billed Grebe, 06/20/21. ~And one final Least Bittern shot, Liberty Loop 06/20/21.~
It’s the time of year when birds are heard more often than seen. It’s also the time of year, especially now that things are opening up on the tail end of the pandemic, when there are things going on that are not birding. I know, it’s true sometimes I do things other than work and bird, lol. Anyways, last weekend was a bust in spite of a full morning of birding the Port Jervis area on Saturday, hence no post. This weekend was only slightly better in terms of photos. I spent Saturday morning birding my NYSBBS priority block Warwick CE; I was able to confirm Cedar Waxwing and Common Grackle. The block now has 29 confirmed species; I have to thank Jarvis Shirky who has been birding the block often and has confirmed 10 species. Photo ops were few, thank goodness for the Bobolinks at Knapp’s View, otherwise this weekend would have been another photo bust.
~Male Bobolink at Knapp’s View in Chester, 06/11/21.~ ~A female Bobolink with a mouthful. Knapp’s View 06/11/21.~ ~BOBO at Knapp’s View, 06/11/21.~ ~Female BOBO going for it. Knapp’s View, 06/11/21.~ ~Mute Swan Cygnet learning the ropes. Beaver Pond, 06/12/21.~ ~The Great Blue Heron Rookery in Central Valley NY, just east of the Woodbury Commons, is active again this year. You can see the rookery from the Route 6 rest area lookout. I counted at least a dozen herons in the above photo, taken this afternoon, 06/13/21.~
I guess it was just a shorebird kind of weekend. This morning I went back to Skinners Lane; nearly all the shorebirds I had yesterday continued. Linda Scrima reported that the three Black-bellied Plovers, which I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post, also continued. I headed back to the west side of the Liberty Loop, convinced there had to be something good there. Maria Loukeris had the same idea and joined me out there, unfortunately we were both disappointed. But! When I got back to my car and was starting to head home, John Haas had put out a notification on the Mearn’s Bird Club app that he had a WILSON’S PHALAROPE at Morningside Park!
~What a gorgeous little shorebird – WILSON’S PHALAROPE at Morningside Park, 05/31/21.~
I hustled out to the park, and the bird hung in there. I joined John and several other birders as we enjoyed some of my best views ever of this species. What a treat it was and a great way to end a killer shorebird weekend. Huge thanks to John for locating the bird and for putting the word out. You can see his blog post about it here. If he hasn’t posted about it yet, I’m sure he will this afternoon or evening.
~Wilson’s Phalarope giving me a nice profile. Morningside Park, 05/31/21.~
~One more shot of the Wilson’s Phalarope at Morningside Park, 05/31/21.~
This morning I was put off by the cold temperatures and the incessant rain, so it took me a little while to work up the gumption to go out. Once I did, it was totally worth it. I ran around southern Orange County, hoping for shorebirds. I came up with just the usuals in my first four stops, the usuals being: Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Solitary Sandpiper and Spotted Sanpiper. But, when I got to Skinners Lane, that all changed and I got some really good birds:
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (23)
SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER (7)
Killdeer (4)
DUNLIN (6)
Least Sandpiper (2)
Greater Yellowlegs (1)
~The Semi-palmated Plovers weren’t close by any means, but they were miles closer than the rest of the birds. Semiplover at Skinners Lane, 05/30/21.~
As is usually the case, the birds were distant, so no good pics. But – shorebirds in OC! I was pretty pumped.
~Six Dunlin (front left in puddle), and seven Black-bellied Plovers, Skinners Lane 05/31/21.~
This morning I woke up super early and took a road trip up to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. I was heading up in hopes of getting a shorebird fix and to meet up with my ex-wife Stephanie Bane who lives in the area and who volunteers at the refuge and birds it regularly. We had an excellent morning of birding, as you know Montezuma very rarely disappoints. Non shorebird highlights for me included the Purple Martins at the visitor’s center, a single Snow Goose on Wildlife Drive, and watching a Bald Eagle and a Northern Harrier tangle way up in the sky.
~A single Snow Goose at Montezuma NWR, 05/29/21.~
But, as hoped, it was the shorebirds that stole the show. Most of the birds were fairly distant, but we enjoyed excellent scope views of 10 species of shorebird:
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (25+)
Semipalmated Plover (6)
Killdeer (10)
RUDDY TURNSTONE (7)
Dunlin (35+)
Least Sandpiper (15+)
Semipalmataed Sandpiper (1)
Short-billed Dowitcher (2)
Greater Yellowlegs (2)
Lesser Yellowlegs (3)
~It was awesome to see a good number of Black-bellied Plovers. We had them at two locations, on Wildlife Drive and also at the Potato Farms, 05/29/21.~
We were joking about how awesome it would be to see RUDDY TURNSTONES, and then moments later I was looking at 7 of them in the scope! The flock of Dunlin were beautiful to see and were putting on quite a show, making frequent flights from muddy island to muddy island. We had a handful of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS on Wildlife Drive, but also were pleasantly surprised to find another 30 or so at the Potato Fields, our last stop of the morning. It was a tough morning for photos, with very few ops, but the good company and the shorebird fix more than made up for that.
~Four Ruddy Turnstones and a Short-billed Dowitcher at Montezuma NWR, 05/29/21.~
This weekend had a very different feel compared to last weekend. Last weekend it was cool and birds seemed to be everywhere, including many migrants. This weekend the heat moved in, that jump that we seem to have in our area from spring to summer at a moment’s notice. The trees were that much more leafed out, and while it was birdy, I found fewer migrants and the birding experience had the beginnings of a summery feel to me.
~A recently fledged Common Grackle clings to a tree at Kendridge Farm, 05/22/21.~
I had an interesting experience on Friday evening. I went to the Beaver Pond near Glenmere Lake to try for shorebirds (I found Least Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpiper, and Killdeer). While I was there, a man and his daughter pulled over and the man got out of his car and was listening to the pond with his hands cupped over his ears. We eventually started chatting, his name was Jay, and he was listening for Northern Cricket Frogs. I’d heard them the night before and thought they must be insects (hence the name!). He explained to me that these little frogs are endangered in New York State, and the “Glenmere Lake” population and another small population at Little Dam Lake are among the few that can be found in the state. Check out the DEC write up on Northern Cricket Frogs here.
~A stunned Cedar Waxwing at Sterling Forest, 05/22/21.~
I had another interesting experience on Saturday evening. After birding Kendridge Farm in the morning, where it was birdy but nothing noteworthy, I went home during the heat of the day and then headed back out in the evening. My goal was to try for Eastern Whip-poor-wills at Sterling Forest, so I knew I would be out past sunset. I birded Ironwood Road and eventually ended up at the power cut at the end of the road, where I birded and waited for Whip-poor-wills.
While I was waiting, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small flock of birds flying across the power cut, and then something dropping like a stone to the ground. It was a flock of Cedar Waxwings, I found 5 of them perched in the trees. I went to check out where I’d seen something fall – I couldn’t find anything so I was baffled. Then, deep in the vegetation, I found a single Cedar Waxwing. I’m guessing that the bird hit one of the wires and stunned itself. I let the bird be and gave it plenty of distance; checking on it from time to time. It took a good while, but eventually the bird picked up and off it flew! I was relieved, I didn’t necessarily want to rescue another Cedar Waxwing.
~Eastern Towhee at Goosepond Mountain, 05/23/21.~
A little after sunset, the Eastern Whip-poor-wills started calling; I counted three and headed home. On Ironwood Drive, on my way out, I was driving very slowly and I saw one single glowing eye, glowing super bright. I stopped and tried to figure out what it was in my bins; just as I lifted them up it flew and landed in a nearby tree and started calling – it was another Whip-poor-will!
Sunday morning was mostly uneventful – I walked Goosepond Mountain and had the usuals plus one good bird – Canada Warbler! That’s not a bird that I do well with, so I was pretty happy about that. Then, Linda Scrima called me. She had 2 Short-billed Dowitchers at the Camel Farm. I ran for the birds, and had some decent scope views. It’s super hard, especially at that distance, to tell Short from Long-billed Dowitchers, but they looked good to me. I checked eBird bar graphs when I got home and there are no reports of LBDO in the spring in Orange County, so I’m pretty happy with SBDO. I’ve included a distant shot at the bottom of this post. Thanks to Linda for heads up.
~There are plenty of Blue-winged Warblers at Goosepond Mountain this year, 05/23/21.~ ~A couple of Short-billed Dowitchers at the Camel Farm, 05/23/21.~
