Orange County – Page 42 – Orange Birding

OC STILT SANDPIPER, 08/31/19

I’d just gotten home after birding this afternoon when I saw that I missed a call from Karen Miller. I called her back and she told me that the Mearns Bird Club outing had a bird this morning that was later identified (through photos) as a STILT SANDPIPER. The location was at what I refer to as the Glenmere Pond (because it’s just right up the road from Glenmere Lake), but I think most birders call it Beaver Pond. It’s on Pine Hill Road in Chester just south of Glenmere Road. Anyways, I ran for the bird and joined Kathy Ashman, who had seen the bird but it was currently not visible. We shifted position and relocated the bird quickly – it was feeding in its sewing machine style, next to a Lesser Yellowlegs.

~STILT SANDPIPER feeding alongside 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, Glenmere Pond 08/31/19.~

Tom Burke and Gail Benson joined us shortly after, as did Karen Miller and Diane Bliss. We mostly enjoyed scope-distance views of the bird, but then all the shorebirds picked up and the Stilt relocated in a much closer position; allowing for much better looks and some halfway decent documentary photos. I was thrilled to finally get a good shorebird in our area – it was the bird that saved August 2019.

~STILT SANDPIPER in the foreground, Lesser Yellowlegs behind. Glenmere Pond, 08/31/19.~

Sunday Shots, 08/25/19

So, there really doesn’t seem to be much going on in our area right now. I spent most of the week and weekend trying for shorebirds in Orange County, but have only come up with the birds that we have already seen this season: Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, and Solitary Sandpipers. As a comparison, by this time last year, I’d already seen in the county: a WHIMBREL, several Baird’s Sandpipers, a White-rumped Sandpiper, a Short-billed Dowitcher, several Black-bellied Plover, an American Golden-plover, and several Upland Sandpipers. Last year was a great August, but still, by now I would have hoped to have seen some additional shorebirds.

~A young Black-crowned Night-Heron in flight at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 08/25/19.~

When it comes to raptors, however, I’ve done much better. Just this weekend, if I include our trip to Croton Point Park, I’ve seen every expected raptor for this time of year in our area, with the exception of Red-shouldered Hawk:

Black Vulture
Turkey Vultures
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
American Kestrel
Merlin

~Peregrine Falcon in the Black Dirt, 08/25/19.~

~Greater Yellowlegs at Wallkill River NWR, 08/24/19.~

~Dos MODOs en la tierra negra. Translation: two Mourning Doves in the Black Dirt, 08/25/19.~

~Common Yellowthroat at the Citgo Pond, 08/25/19.~

Orange County LITTLE BLUE HERON, 08/17/19

Finally! An exciting bird in Orange County! It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve had a good bird. Huge thanks to Bruce Nott, who found this beautiful LITTLE BLUE HERON on the Wallkill River just off of Route 208. I ran for the bird and met up with Bruce and John Haas; the bird was moving slowly south along the river and we caught up with it where the river runs along Bradley Park. John left to kayak at Morningside Park and then Karen Miller joined Bruce and I; we enjoyed excellent scope views of the bird and were able to get some halfway decent shots of the bird.

~Little Blue Heron in the Wallkill River at Bradley Park in Walden NY, 08/17/19.~

I spent the early morning at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge – I did not have anything too exciting, but I was able to get a decent photo op with a Green Heron just after sunrise. Again, huge thanks to Bruce for making my birding day.

~ Green Heron at Wallkill River NWR, 08/17/19.~

~One more shot of the Little Blue Heron on the Wallkill River in Walden, NY 08/17/19.~

~Great Egrets have been plentiful at the Wallkill River NWR this summer, but I haven’t posted many pics. Here’s one with prey, 08/15/19. I also had my first Peregrine Falcon of the year at the refuge on the same evening.~

Excellent Morning, 8/10/19

I missed posting last week because Tricia and I went to the Jersey Shore on a mini-vacation. I fit some birding in while I was there, and I’m working on that post. Meanwhile, I got out early this morning and headed to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. Kathy Ashman was already there when I arrived; we joined forces and had an amazing morning of birding. It was one of those lucky mornings where the light was beautiful and the birds were plentiful and didn’t mind our presence in the least.

~*Green Heron stalking prey, Wallkill River NWR 08/10/19.~*

My main goal was, of course, shorebirds – I’ll get to them in a minute. Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets are still present at the refuge in good numbers, and this morning they were joined by several very accommodating Green Herons, as well as a brief but amazing look at a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Swallows were also present in good numbers. I had mostly Tree Swallows, with a handful of Barn Swallows and a couple of Bank Swallows. Kathy had Northern Rough-winged before I arrived. Also of note, we had my first Northern Harrier in a good while.

~It was awesome to get such a close up look at this Wilson’s Snipe, Wallkill River NWR, 08/10/19.~

As for shorebirds, we had a respectable nine species:

Semipalmated Plover (3)
Killdeer (8+)
Least Sandpiper (35+)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (2)
Wilson’s Snipe (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (3)
Solitary Sandpiper (2)
Greater Yellowlegs (1)
Lesser Yellowlegs (4)

~Solitary Sandpiper at Wallkill River NWR, 08/10/19.~

I did pretty well with photos, as the birds seemed to be coming closer and closer rather than the opposite. Which was nice for a change. It was an enjoyable morning of birding; it was great to see Kathy who I hadn’t seen in ages and the birds were numerous and cooperative. Hard to beat that. Stay tuned, Jersey Shore post to come later this weekend…

~This photo will give you an idea of how large a shorebird the Greater Yellowlegs is. With a Green Heron, Wallkill River NWR, 08/10/19.~

~Sweetness. White-tailed Deer crossing the marsh, Wallkill River NWR, 08/10/19.~

~*It was nice to see these dudes. Sandhill Cranes at Wallkill River NWR, 08/10/19.~*

Sunday Shots, 07/28/19

I think we picked a good weekend to go to the beach. Not for birding, but for going to the beach like normal people – getting a little sun and riding the waves. I say that because not much is going on with local birding lately. I can’t remember the last report to come over on the Mearns Bird Club app. Anyways, I did manage to get locally out for few hours this evening; it was more of the usuals. One highlight was seeing my first juvenile Pied-billed Grebe of the season at Wallkill River NWR. Here’s hoping that things start to pick up sooner rather than later; I’m looking forward to some more exciting posts…

~Indigo Bunting in the Black Dirt Region, 07/28/19.~

~A pair of European Starlings in the Black Dirt, 07/28/19.~

~Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Wallkill River NWR, 07/28/19.~

~There are loads of Great Egrets at Wallkill River NWR these days, 07/28/19.~

Sunday Shots, 07/21/19

I got out early both days of this weekend; with the hot weather we’ve been having, it was the only time to do any sort of comfortable birding. It was mostly more of the usuals – it’s that time of year. The most notable siting I had was nearly 100 Great Blue Herons at a single pool at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. There is also a good number of Great Egrets at the refuge these days. Returning shorebirds have been sparse thus far in OC but I finally had some at the refuge on Saturday morning; but just Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpipers, and a single Lesser Yellowlegs. Let’s hope that it’s the start of a good fall shorebird migration in our area.

~Common Yellowthroat at Stewart Forest – Ridge Road, 07/21/19.~

~A recently fledged Cedar Waxwing at Glenmere Lake, 07/21/19.~

~American Goldfinch at Black Rock Forest, 07/14/19.~ ~

~17 of the nearly 100 Great Blue Herons in one pool at Wallkill River NWR, 07/20/19.~

~Giant Swallowtail at Wallkill River NWR 07/20/19. Thanks to Linda Scrima for the ID help.

~Tiger Swallowtail at Wallkill River NWR, 07/20/19.~

~I have this as a large Painted Turtle. Silver Mine Lake, 07/19/19.~ UPDATE: this is a Red-eared Slider, thanks to Michael Mallon for the ID help (see comments).~

More OC Cliff Swallows, 07/19/19

After work this evening I stopped again at Silver Mine Lake in Harriman State Park. The first time I visited the lake, prior to my post from last weekend, I had over 160 swallows on the wires at the boat launch. But, it was absolutely pouring rain and I was unable to document what I felt, in spite of the poor lighting conditions, was mostly CLIFF SWALLOWS. Linda Scrima went yesterday and had a similar experience – loads of swallows on the wires in terrible rainy conditions. I stopped after work but unfortunately there were not that many swallow present and I counted only 38 CLSWs. But tonight, I went back…

~Cliff Swallow in flight, Silver Mine Lake, Harriman SP, 07/19/19.~

… and it was a different story. When I arrived there were many swallows present. I immediately counted 51 Cliff Swallows on the wires in the parking area. Then I went down to the boat launch and my best count in one sweep was a remarkable 172 Cliff Swallows! That was counting only the birds I felt confident about; I left many birds unidentified. Also present were approximately a dozen Barn Swallows, several each of Tree Swallows and Bank Swallows, and a single Northern Rough-winged Swallow. I digiscoped some video through my scope in an effort to try and document; it’s long (over 5 minutes) and poorly shot, but if interested, you can link to that video on Youtube here. I also took many pics; I’ve included several here. By the way, I went to the lake twice this week, during the week, and did not have to pay to park.

~I didn’t see any swallows spend much time on the ground, but when I first arrived I had a group of about a half dozen in the parking lot. Cliff Swallow at Silver Mine Lake, 07/19/19.~

~Bank Swallow on a wire, Silver Mine Lake, 07/19/19.~

Eastern Kingbirds

Sometimes it just takes one good bird or one good photo to make my day. Today it was this shot of a pair of Eastern Kingbirds taken at Black Rock Forest. I got out early(ish) and took a shorter hike that was not overwhelmingly birdy, but still pleasant enough. I had a secret hope that I might hear Ruffed Grouse in the distance, as the trail I walked is not all that far from Jupiter’s Boulder, but alas it didn’t happen. This time of year, it’s just nice to get out for a little while, and if you can beat the heat it’s that much better.

Orange County CLIFF SWALLOWS, 07/13/19

QUICK POST: My birding time was limited this morning, but I made the best of it by following up on an eBird report by Scott Barnes from earlier in the week. He reported 40 Cliff Swallows at Silver Mine Lake in Harriman State Park; the birds were still present today and my best count was 37. It was certainly the highlight of my morning, I hiked around the lake to some extent (just under 3 miles), and had a total of 36 species (all the usual suspects). It’s actually a nice area to hike and it was quite birdy, but be aware that parking in that lot right now costs $6.00.

~Cliff Swallow at Silver Mine Lake, Harriman State Park 07/13/19.~

~Cliff Swallows at Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

~Cliff Swallow at Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

~I have this as a young Common Yellowthroat, but I’m not sure. Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

~This is a young flycatcher, I’m not sure which species. Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

~I couldn’t resist the nice lighting on this chipmunk, Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

~Red-winged Blackbird at Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

~If anyone can identify this, please comment! Silver Mine Lake, 07/13/19.~

Sunday Shots – From the Archives

Since this weekend was pretty much a bust as far as photos go, I decided to take the opportunity to go back to some photographs that I previously hadn’t posted. This spring and early summer, several Sandhill Cranes were being seen in the area of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I was lucky enough to get flight shots on two occasions; it was quite a treat to see these big beautiful birds in flight.