Orange County – Page 44 – Orange Birding

Orange County CANVASBACK, 12/14/18

~Bad pic of a good bird. CANVASBACK at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/14/18.~

On Thursday, Bruce Nott found a CANVASBACK at the Newburgh Waterfront. Fortunately the bird stuck around and I saw reports of it while at work on Friday. And even more fortunately, Friday was my work’s Christmas Party, so we got out early. I ran for the bird and it was still present – woohoo! Orange County life bird #254 and OC year bird #223! The bird spent most of it’s time tucked in, but finally, just as it was getting dark, a bunch of gulls made a raucous and the bird finally looked up and I was able to get some grain pics. It made me think – it was this time last year I was trying hard for Canvasback in OC because we had so many just downriver in Rockland County near my work. The bird appeared to be settling in for the night as I left – hopefully it will stick around for a little while so more folks get to see it.

~This was my view of the bird for 99% of my time at the Newburgh Waterfront.~

Orange County White-winged Scoters, 12/02/18

~Two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS at Wickham Lake this morning, 12/02/18.~

QUICK POST: I spent most of my morning running around southern Orange County checking the lakes for waterfowl. The day was mostly a bust, but it was made when I located two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS at Wickham Lake. Rob Stone and John Haas were both able to join me; it was rainy and foggy and the birds were distant, but we enjoyed what looks we could get of them in our scopes. I was excited because, for one thing I just love scoters, and for another, it was my 221st species in Orange County for the year, making it my most productive year yet. And it was good bird for John too – it was his 270th Orange County life bird – congrats John!

OC Greater White-fronted Goose, 12/01/18

~A perched Red-shouldered Hawk at Wisner Avenue early this morning, 12/01/18.~

I ran around southern Orange County this morning and into the early afternoon. It felt really good to be out in the field after a long week of all work and no birding; this time of year is rough for me. The highlight of my travels was locating one of my favorites: a single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at the Camel Farm. Linda Scrima and her husband Artie met me out there and got on the bird as well. The bird was not exactly cooperative; it was quite distant and seemed to prefer spending time down in a ditch. Still, it was a great bird to see and I’ve included a documentary shot below. Other good birds for the day included 4 Blue Morph Snow Geese ( also in the black dirt – one adult with 3 juveniles), a young Red-shouldered Hawk at Wisner Avenue, and a nice sized flock of mixed blackbirds on Lynch Avenue (probably 200 birds – Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and European Starlings).

~The bird of the day, Greater White-fronted Goose at the Camel Farm, 12/01/18.~

~Canada Goose, Adult Blue Morph Snow Goose and Juvenile Blue Morph Snow Goose in the black dirt, 12/01/18.~

~I had a nice photo op with a couple of White-throated Sparrows on Lynch Avenue, 12/01/18.~

~I made the trip to Port Jervis and walked around Reservoir 3 for a while without coming up with many birds. On my way out I stopped at Laurel Grove Cemetery and found this Red-tailed Hawk.~

Orange County SNOW GEESE! 11/18/18

~Snow Geese in flight, Route 1 in Pine Island, 11/18/18.~

I had a nice weekend of local birding; after two weeks with almost no birding, it was just good to be out and about. For the most part, the birding was uneventful – I finally managed to locate a Fox Sparrow in Orange County which was noteworthy on a personal note as it was my 220th bird in the county this year.

The real excitement, however, happened late Sunday afternoon. I picked up my car from the shop and just wanted to do some last ditch effort birding (I didn’t want the weekend to end!). So, I headed to Skinner Lane, since I was nearby. It was mostly quiet until I heard the familiar sound of SNOW GEESE calling over my head. I didn’t even have my camera unpacked, so I grabbed it quickly and snapped some shots. Three more large skeins flew over, and then I noticed in the far distance, well south of my location, a large group of Snow Geese putting down. I’d put the word out, and I eventually met up with Ken McDermott and Linda Scrima. Ken had seen them putting down too – he thought maybe at Pine Island Turf Nursery, but we had no luck there. It wasn’t until we were leaving that Linda noticed a large group of SNGOs in flight just off of Route 1, west of the turf nursery. They were hidden once they put down, but we were able to get some grainy shots (darkness was coming quickly) of the birds in flight over the fields. What an excellent way to end the weekend!

~My initial skein of SNGOs at Skinner Lane, 11/18/18.~

~Snow Geese in flight over Route 1, 11/18/18.~

~Now that’s a nice skein of geese. Snow Geese flying over Skinner Lane, 11/18/18.~

~SNGOs directly overhead, Skinner Lane, 11/18/18.~

Bathing Dunlin

QUICK POST: Family obligations pretty much kept me out of commission this weekend birding-wise, so I have nothing to post from the weekend. However, I’ve been wanting to post this bathing Dunlin since I photographed it a couple of weeks ago out at Glenmere Lake. I’ve always liked bird images with water, particularly with splashing, spraying, or flowing water. I’ve tried to photograph bathing birds before, but usually the results are just not that great. I found these shots interesting and I hope you enjoy this glimpse of Dunlin behavior.

A Word About Cattle Egrets

~Eastern Cattle Egret in Taiwan, breeding plumage. Photo by Bill Fiero.~

It’s going to take me a couple of days to go through and edit my photos from yesterday’s pelagic trip to the Huson Canyon, out of Brooklyn, NY. The trip proved to be interesting in ways I don’t think most of you would imagine, so stay tuned, I should post in the next few days. Meanwhile, with perfect timing, Bill Fiero has contributed yet another excellent post. I personally can’t get over how beautiful the Eastern Cattle Egret in breeding plumage is – great shot Bill and thanks for the post. -Matt

A Word About Cattle Egrets – By Bill Fiero

Cattle Egrets have undergone an extremely rapid and wide ranging expansion in the last century or so; originally found in tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia, at the end of the 19th century it was found in Souther Africa, and now occurs virtually worldwide, first being observed in North America in 1941.

The Eastern and Western populations have been recently split by some taxonomic systems as ‘Western” (Bubulcus ibis) and ‘Eastern’ (Bubulcus coromandus). They are very similar in appearance, but different enough to be considered separate species.

Here are pictures of both; the now famous ‘Western’ Cattle Egret found by Matt at the Liberty Loop, and the ‘Eastern’ species that I took in Sri Lanka; both are shown in non-breeding plumage. At the top of the page is a shot of the Eastern species in breeding plumage.

~Eastern Cattle Egret in Sri Lanka, non-breeding plumage. Photo by Bill Fiero. ~

~Western Cattle Egret at the Liberty Loop, non-breeding plumage. Photo by Bill Fiero.~

Mt Peter Hawkwatch, 11/03/18

~I was trying to turn this bird into a Northern Goshawk in the field. Examining pics at home, I’m sticking with a healthy looking Cooper’s Hawk. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 11/03/18.~

It’s hard to believe that today was my last day as counter for the 2018 hawkwatch season at Mount Peter Hawkwatch. I was scheduled to count next Saturday, but I will be out of town so Rick Hansen is covering for me. The morning rain caused a 2 hour delay to the start, and when I got up on the mountain it quickly became clear that it was going to be a cold and windy day. I had most of my 38 migrating raptors in the first 2 hours, and then things slowed down after that. Raptor highlights included 2 migrating Bald Eagles, one adult and one immature, as well as a nice adult Red-shouldered Hawk. The real highlight of the day, however, came when Bobby Linguanti and some of his family stopped up for a visit. Today is a year since Carol (Bobby’s wife, hawk counter extraordinaire, and all around awesome person) passed away, and they were making the rounds to some of Carol’s favorite spots. It was a sweet and sad visit. As usual, I’ve included my Hawkcount.org report at the bottom of this post.

~Red-shouldered Hawk passing over the platform, Mount Peter Hawkwatch 11/03/18.~

PELAGIC TEASER: Tomorrow I’m heading out on an 18 hour pelagic trip with See Life Paulagics, out of Brooklyn, NY. Hopefully it will be a good one, our target species include: Red Phalarope, Manx, Cory’s and Great Shearwaters, Northern Fulmar, Pomarine Jaeger, and the holy grail for this time of year Great Skua.

~Northern Gannet taken during a winter pelagic trip I took back in January of 2017.~

Sunday Shots, 10/28/18

~Dunlin with who-knows-what in its bill. Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

I went to Glenmere Lake again today, and it was awesome! I had 7 species of shorebirds: Dunlin (15+), WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER (at least 3), Semipalmated Sandpiper (9), Lesser Yellowlegs (1), Greater Yellowlegs (1), Killdeer (2), and Pectoral Sandpiper (3). The water was much calmer, and the sun actually was peeking out from time to time. I had rare occurrence of getting home and liking my photos more than I had anticipated, so that’s always a good thing.

The other excitement of the day was when I found a CATTLE EGRET in the parking area of the Liberty Loop. I pulled in and was eating my breakfast. It wasn’t until I got out of my car that I noticed the CAEA just 30 feet or so from my car! John Haas ran for the bird, and apparently the bird stuck around because I got word from several birders that they got it later in the day. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for CAEA photos.

~WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER coming at you. Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

~Lesser Yellowlegs making its move. Glenmere 10/28/18.~

~I never seemed to get a good look at any of the Pecs – this was the best shot I got of one. Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

~WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, Glenmere Lake, 10/28/18.~

~Bathing Dunlin, Glenmere Lake 10/28/18.~

~CATTLE EGRET at the Liberty Loop, 10/28/18.~

~A photographer pulled up, took some pics from by his car, and then walked out and flushed the bird. Sheesh. CAEG in flight, Liberty Loop 10/28/18.~

~Cattle Egret minding its own business. Liberty Loop, 10/28/18.~

Rainy, Windy Saturday 10/27/18

~American Pipit in the rain, black dirt, 10/27/18.~

The rainy, windy weather put the kibosh on hawkwatch at Mount Peter today, so instead I ran around Orange County hoping that once again bad weather would equal good birding. I checked Greenwood Lake and Wickham Lake early and came up empty, so I decided to shift gears and head to the black dirt. By the way, birding today was tough. It wasn’t raining all that hard, but it was pretty steady and the wind was strong and relentless. You absolutely HAD to bird with your back to the wind, otherwise your binoculars or scope would be instantly drenched. Or the inside of your car. Anyways, in the black dirt, the bird of the day was the American Pipit. I had many today, in several locations. In one flock, I was lucky enough to locate a couple of LAPLAND LONGSPURS, always a favorite of mine. I thought there might be some shorebirds around, but other than a single SANDERLING at Skinner Lane, I had no shorebirds in the black dirt (they’d come later, see below).

~Always a cool bird to see – one of two LAPLAND LONGSPURS in the black dirt, 10/27/18.~

In the afternoon I head to Glenmere Lake. Not for ducks, but for shorebirds. Kathy Ashman had let me know that she had been observing shorebirds on the vegetation in the southwest corner of the lake. You can walk out the blue trail about a half a mile or so and there is a lookout onto the lake. Which is what I did this afternoon, and I had a nice collection of shorebirds: 14 DUNLIN, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Least Sandpiper, and 1 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. I got pretty excited and went back to my car, unloaded my kayak, and headed out to get a better look. It was not the easiest paddle; it was with the wind on the way out and I was practically riding the waves but it was into the wind (and waves) on the way back, making it a bit of a chore. But, it was worth it! It was really cool to see these shorebirds up close and to get some photos. Oh, and of course there was bunch of American Pipits moving amounts the vegetation as well. I was exhausted and wet by the time I was done, but I felt I’d made the best of a blustery, wet day in Orange County.

~Semipalmated Sandpiper at Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~

~One more Dunlin shot – Glenmere Lake, 10/27/18.~

~It’s always nice to see a White-crowned Sparrow. Skinner Lane, 10/27/18.~

~Lapland Longspur in the rain, 10/27/18.~

Golden Day at Mt. Peter, 10/20/18

~A Beautiful Red-Shouldered Hawk passes through, Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/20/18.~

Yesterday was an excellent day at Mount Pete. The flight was steady and and on the low side, with most birds being able to be seen naked-eye. The highlight of the day, however, came pretty early, during the first hour of the watch. I spotted an eagle just over the treetops to the north of the platform. I got the bird in the scope, in perfect light, and sure enough it was a GOLDEN EAGLE! I was flipping out, and of course that early I was up there all alone. I made an adjustment to my scope, and when I tried to relocate the bird, it was gone! It presumably had dropped below the tree line; I looked for was seemed like ages right and left to see if I could catch the bird passing through, but I had no luck. I was disappointed – I was really thinking I’d get better looks at this bird! Nearly ten minutes passed, and I picked up another eagle rising up north of the watch – sure enough it was the Golden, and it eventually passed relatively high up and west of the platform, allowing for documentary pics and the extended look that I was hoping for:

~Wow! GOLDEN EAGLE at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/20/18.~

The rest of the day was less exciting, but still good. The flight was relatively low and consisted mostly Sharp-shinned Hawks but also had good variety – of the expected species we missed only Broad-winged Hawk and Northern Goshawk. As usual, I’m including my Hawkcount.org report at the bottom of this post. Today (Sunday) could be a good day for hawk watching, so if you are so inclined, head out to your local hawkwatch.